Looking at the weather forecast it seems like the perfect day for finally tackling a few gardening tasks, like moving two shrubs, planting bulbs and Sweet Williams and covering up the swing seat with the new, replacement cover. Alas, I’m working this morning, but maybe I’ll be able to make a start on some of the tasks this afternoon… following a spot of lunch, a coffee and a quick nose at some other Six on Saturday posts. Talking of which, I’d better get on with this one.
1-3. A few of the Strawflowers are still flowering, including this pink one, as are the Cosmos. What’s that? You like the swallow? It should probably have migrated to the shed by now – another task to add to the list, along with tidying the narrow gravel path in front of the conservatory which is a mass of Forget-me-nots, Foxgloves and a Nettle.
4-6. I thought I’d lost all the Hesperantha coccinea, but no – one has just flowered (although a white variety planted a few years ago never reappeared). Geum ‘Lemon Delight’ seems to bloom off and on for months on end, outdoing ‘Mrs Bradshaw,’ ‘Scarlet Tempest’ and ‘Totally Tangerine’ by a country mile. And yes, you guessed it, ’tis another Strawflower.
They were my Six on Saturday, a meme originally started by The Propagator. For more Sixes on Saturday, from all around the world, head over to the blog of the current Six on Saturday host, Jim.
The neighbour’s fence that was toppled during Storm Eunice has been repaired. Posts and panels are upright once more and, as far as I can tell, with minimal plant tramplage on this side (although I noticed Gerty the climbing rose had been trussed up to a cane, presumably to minimise risk of injury from our side whilst battling with a Pyracantha on their side). New wires have been attached to the posts in order to tie in and train Gerty once more and the posts will be painted over the weekend once I’ve purchased a tin of green paint from Wilko later today, steering well clear of the plant and seed aisle. What was that? Oh ye of little faith. I have great willpower. Honest. And while we’re on the subject of honesty…
1. This has a tendency to get a little overenthusiastic in the wildlife border (the border with the small pond). Still, it’s easy enough to pull up. Last autumn I transplanted a few seedlings to some of the other beds. It’s looking rather elegant at the moment, although I should have been a bit more ruthless with one particularly large plant that appears to be loving the extra sun in the err… sunny border. I’ll let a few go to seed and pull up the rest.
2. Also growing in the sunny border is a plant I’d completely forgotten about. A new addition last autumn, the two Camassia bulbs are up and flowering. I’m baffled why I didn’t grow this years ago and more will definitely be acquired.
3. One of the main things I’ve tried to do with our small plot of green is to ensure that there’s scent to enjoy all year round. The Coronilla, Viburnum carlesii ‘Compactum’ and Daphne x transatlantica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ are still all doing their fragrant flowery thing. However, the dwarf Korean Lilac (Syringa meyeri ‘Palibin’) is poised, ready to join in the perfume par-tay.
4. Like Honesty, the Forget-me-nots also have a tendency to be a little overenthusiastic at times. Again, they’re easy enough to keep in check if necessary. Sown nearly 10 years ago, they’ve seeded themselves here, there and everywhere ever since. The bee-flies love them.
5. Whereas I’m guaranteed Forget-me-nots and Honesty every spring, alas the same can’t be said for Saxifraga. I treat them as annuals. This time I’ve decided to plant them in the newly rockeryfied border under the swing seat. Will this make the slightest difference as far as their longevity goes? We’ll find out in 2023.
6. And finally… Tulips. A new batch of ‘Violet Beauty’ was potted up in December. It wowed me back in April 2021 and it’s wowing me again this spring.
They were my Six on Saturday. For more Sixes on Saturday, from all around the world, take a look at the site of the chap who started it all over at https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.
Growing plants from seed is a great way of filling your borders, allowing you to grow loads of your favourite flowers for peanuts. Sow sparingly though; sprinkle a whole packet of 500 Antirrhinum seeds in a tray of compost and you’ll come to regret it come pricking out and potting on time.
Mind you, not all of the seeds you sow will make it to flowerhood. There are always the odd no-shows as well as casualties along the way. You’ll probably find yourself offering words of encouragement to ailing seedlings or uttering dark mutterings as you wander around the garden or greenhouse at night, seeking out slugs and snails that have taken a fancy to this and that. But come the summer you’ll experience an immense feeling of satisfaction when carefully nurtured tiny shoots of green have grown into fully fledged flowering plants.
The sight of newly emerging seedlings never gets old. It’s both wondrous and exciting and each spring I’ll try growing something I’ve not tried before. Yet there are several plants I sow from seed every year, the ‘old reliables’ that are long flowering, insect friendly and easy to grow. What was that? “What are these long flowering, insect friendly and easy to grow ‘old reliables’ of which you speak?” I’m glad you asked.
Scabious ‘Blue Cushion’
One such old reliable is the hardy annual Scabious. They come in a variety of colours (including lilac, red, white and pink) and will flower throughout the summer and autumn with regular dead-heading. The slugs and snails tend to leave them alone (always a bonus) and some will often survive a winter or two, forming bigger plants the following year if chopped back in the spring.
Scabious St George
Now I must admit it took me a while to discover the joys of Cosmos. They’re speedy germinators, have fine, feathery foliage that is generally ignored by gourmet gastropods, and go full-on-floriferous from around July all the way through to late autumn with regular dead-heading.
Cosmos ‘Gazebo White’
These annuals come in a variety of colours, flower shapes and sizes and do well in borders or in pots on a sunny patio. Just remember to pinch out the tops of leggy seedlings to create bushier plants.
Cosmos ‘Fizzy Rose Picotee’
Up next, Calendula, an easy and quick to grow hardy annual that does best in a sunny position, flowering throughout the summer and autumn.
Calendula ‘Lemon Cream’
And they don’t just come in orange these days, oh no. Another favourite with pollinators, start them off in pots or sow straight into the ground in the spring and if you’re lucky you may find they self-seed the following year. Talking of self-seeders…
Calendula ‘Snow Princess’
There are some flowers that you will only ever need to sow once, prolific self-seeders that will do the work for you in subsequent years. I sowed a packet of Forget-me-nots straight into the borders way back in 2012 and they’ve spread themselves here, there and everywhere ever since. A biennial, sow them outdoors in early summer and you’ll have flowering plants come spring.
Forget-me-nots
They’re easy enough to pull up to keep them under control, but their small blue flowers mingle rather nicely with most plants and they’re a big favourite of the bee flies.
Bee fly
Another self-seeder that just gets on with it is Honesty (Lunaria). Sow this shade tolerant biennial in early summer and you’ll have white or purple flowering plants in the spring and pretty silvery paper disk-like seed heads by winter. It’s another good mingler, though like the Forget-me-nots, you may wish to pull out the odd plant to curb any attempts at world domination, perhaps potting some up for family and friends.
Honesty flowers
Honesty seed heads
And finally… Sometimes you don’t want your flowers subtle. Sometimes you want bright and bold. Summer flowering California Poppies are another of those sow-them-once-and-they’ll-probably-be-in-your-garden-for years-to-come plants. Chop them back when they start to get a little leggy and they’ll flower again later in the year. I often plonk a few of their cheerful blooms in a bud vase to provide some indoor floral sunshine and never grow bored of watching their petals close up in the evenings and unfurl in the mornings, even indoors. These cheerful plants will usually last a few years but more often than not you’ll find their distinctive grey-green feathery leaved offspring growing close by.
California Poppy
Keen to discover more gardening tips and join in with the virtual Spring Flower Show (Monday 3rd May until Sunday 9th May)? Then head on over to Tweeters Gardening and follow the #TweetersFlowerShow hashtag.
Finally, rain! On Tuesday I had three completely empty water butts and one half empty/half full (delete according to your outlook on life). On Wednesday I awoke to find the two connected to the guttering of the house completely replenished. Plants are certainly looking a lot perkier but I’m going to have to keep a closer eye on some of my seedlings; I fear the slugs and snails are going to have an extra glide to their slide.
Later today the process of hardening off the sweet peas will begin. Once they’re ready to live out the rest of their days in the garden I’ll have space in the mini greenhouse for the adolescent Black-eyed Susan and Tomato seedlings that have been living a far too cushy life on window sills. The Black-eyed Susans are growing at a frightening pace despite pinching out the main shoots. Still, they’re not in quite the same league of rampant growiness as my first Six on Saturday.
1. Clematis Montana may well be the only clematis I haven’t managed to finish off. It’s buds have just started to open and the egg custard/nutmeg scented flowers are looking rather splendid, especially against a blue sky.
It grows up and occasionally over a fence. I usually chop it back hard every other year or so, but last year I decided to send it over to the blue shed, bridging the gap with some wire. I may come to regret this (shoots have already made it inside the shed) but it’ll be easy enough to stop the monster Montana in its tracks should I need to.
2. From Montana to Mahonia, not something I thought I’d find myself writing as I’ve always been a bit anti-Mahonia. The flowers are lovely and fragrant but I’ve always found the leaves to be freakishly out of proportion somehow. I know, I know, I have issues. But a few years ago I came across Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’ and found myself adding it to my maybe-one-day wish list. On a trip to a garden centre early in April I spotted this little Mahonia, the last one, and it’s now planted in the rather shady conservatory bed to help provide some more structure. The leaves are pleasingly ferny (and in proportion) and the flowers will be an added bonus come late summer and autumn.
3. Growing in the same bed as the Mahonia are these Blue Bells, the native English variety. Those growing in another bed are almost certainly a hybrid lot that I’ll attempt to get shot of once they’ve finished flowering, although I don’t fancy my chances of success.
4. Next up, a Saxifraga. A White one. They never survive the winter here for some reason so I treat them as annuals.
5. The Forget-me-nots have been flowering for a while but they’ve gone full-on frothy now. Once they’ve started to die back and set seed they’ll be removed to make space for other things.
6. And finally… I appear to be somewhat lacking in flowering Honesty this spring, though there are plenty of seedlings coming up in the wildlife bed. Perhaps I was a little too ruthless pulling up last year’s seedlings.
They were my Six on Saturday. For more Sixes on Saturday, from all around the world, take a look at the site of the chap who started it all over at https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.
The garden has received a bit of a battering over the past few days. Thankfully, most of the spring flowers are made of pretty tough stuff, shrugging off the strong winds and showers. Around this time last year I had uncovered the swing seat. I can’t see that happening this weekend, but I do have a list of chores to keep me occupied, weather permitting, mostly of the choppy-back-diggy-up-and-movey kind. And that leads me swiftly to my first Six on Saturday.
1. Forget-me-nots. Originally sown from seed about 8 years ago, they have spread themselves here, there and everywhere. I started tackling a thick carpet of them near the patio last weekend, transplanting them around the garden. I thought I’d done a good job but I must have gone forget-me-not blind as further thinning is definitely required. A few have begun to flower.
2. Sown at the end of February, the tomato seeds have germinated. My tomatoes were something of a disaster last year, taking an age to get going. This year I’ve gone for a dwarf variety of cherry tomato called Minibel. They shouldn’t require any staking and hopefully will do okay in pots outdoors.
3. Next up, ‘Tete-a-Tete’ Daffodils. Soggy ones. More will definitely need to be planted come the autumn.
4. Now this is exciting. Last year a grew Meconopsis ‘Lingholm’ from seed. Two plants survived but I wasn’t very hopeful either would make it through the winter. But look! Life! I guess I’ll have to commit to planting them in the ground at some point.
5. Last autumn’s Violas haven’t done all that well, many succumbing to some sort of fungal disease soon after they were planted. I’d decided not to bother replacing them but then I spotted this variety in Wilko. Resistance was futile.
6. And finally… Oh yes, more Crocus. Probably long since flattened since this photo was taken earlier in the week.
They were my Six on Saturday. For more Sixes on Saturday, from all around the world, take a look at the site of the chap who started it all over at https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.
Rain! Water butt replenishing, garden soaking, plant rejuvenating rain. Blue sky and balmy sunshine is all well and good but after a while you can have too much of a good thing and yesterday’s wet stuff was very much welcomed. More is forecast for today. We’ve also had the odd frosty morning or two in Somerset, though thankfully seedlings were tucked up all safe and sound. Most of the tulips have gone over now (I’ve come to terms with it) but there’s still plenty of colour to be found in the garden, although this week’s Six on Saturday features quite a bit of blue…
1. First up, bluebells. They’re supposed to be our native variety but I’m not so sure; they’ve always looked suspiciously hybridised to me. However, I’m learning to live with them as past attempts at pulling up the bulbs have proved futile; besides, they look nice.
2. Continuing the blue theme, the standard Ceanothus thyrsiflorus var. repens has bloomed. Last year it failed to do much of anything but it’s upped its game this spring. Interestingly, prior to opening, the flower buds resembled the deep blue of the old and rather large Ceanothus that used to grow in this spot. Now they’ve opened the flowers are a pale blue and proving popular with the bees.
3. The sweet peas are looking nice and healthy so far, much better than last year’s batch. I pinched their tops out earlier in the week. One box of sweet peas will be left on my mother-in-law’s door step in a few weeks leaving me with two boxes of plants to find space for; it might be a struggle.
4. Back to flowers of bluey hue. The forget-me-nots are flowering away now and are a big favourite of the bee flies.
5. As predicted, the red and white Saxifrages I planted last spring didn’t make it through the winter. Replacements were purchased at the beginning of March and I’ll continue to treat them like annuals.
6. And finally… The only Clematis that I haven’t yet managed to kill, the nutmeg scented Montana, is in full bloom. Last year it escaped over and through the fence into the neighbour’s Pyracantha. I’m keeping a closer eye on it this year. It usually gets a very harsh prune after it’s finished flowering to keep it vaguely under control.
They were my Six on Saturday. For more Sixes on Saturday, from all around the world, take a look at the site of the chap who started it all over at https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com. Stay safe everyone.
One Man And His Garden Trowel 