Showing posts with label late spring flowers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label late spring flowers. Show all posts
Wednesday, 28 May 2014
Wednesday, 21 May 2014
Two weddings and a planting session.
Gearing up for a two wedding weekend and my garden is living up to the challenge. This early warm spring has brought everything on really early this year - my roses are bursting into bloom which I don't usually expect til June. Perfect for filling teacups with for Wedding Two on Sunday - hooray.
The visiting florist for Wedding One requires English cottage garden flowers in blue, yellow, purple and white. Each colour box is ticked and I've just realised that my crop of buttercups at the allotment might have a purpose after all! Those glossy, dainty and luminous flowers will make a perfect filler in country wedding bunches.
Had a good session at the plot today, planting out dahlias. It really makes me feel like summer is on the way when I take the plunge and put these South American visitors in their final flowering positions. Have got half a bed full at the moment - just twenty five more plants to go! The success of dahlias at the allotment last year made me realise how much they love having lots of sunshine and space in which to extend themselves. The plants I put in mixed borders at home were nowhere near as productive, so that is one lesson to chalk up to experience.
Am using the newly emptied end of the border in the back garden for dahlias as well - the soil is rich with compost as the bins have been standing on this area for several years, and it has been completely emptied, so will give the dahlias breathing space.
Have interspersed the home dahlias with American Potomac snapdragons - the seed was probably more expensive than gold dust, but the baby snaps are looking sturdy now that the weather has warmed up and it is surely time to give them their head. From £15 worth of seed, I've got 24 plants - wasn't quick enough to whip them out of the propagator initially, so lost quite a lot of seedlings to damping off - they just flopped and shrivelled in the warm fug of their enclosure. Another lesson learned which has stood me in good stead with the seed trays that followed them - at the first sign of germination, the lid came off and everything thrived much better. Pity I didn't sow cheap seed first mind!
Cosmos have also been planted out into the garden today after a couple of weeks coming in and out of the greenhouse to toughen up their stems. Hopefully they've developed a bit of woody resilience as a first line of defence against marauding molluscs.
Must try to sow a tray a day for the rest of May to keep the flower borders well stocked later in the season and to avoid the July hiatus which usually overtakes me.
Rain is forecast tomorrow and I welcome it as two of my waterbutts are now empty. It will also hydrate my flowers beautifully before I chop them for Wedding One on Thursday evening if all goes to plan. Let's just hope the slugs don't come out for a feast before I can get to them…
The visiting florist for Wedding One requires English cottage garden flowers in blue, yellow, purple and white. Each colour box is ticked and I've just realised that my crop of buttercups at the allotment might have a purpose after all! Those glossy, dainty and luminous flowers will make a perfect filler in country wedding bunches.
Had a good session at the plot today, planting out dahlias. It really makes me feel like summer is on the way when I take the plunge and put these South American visitors in their final flowering positions. Have got half a bed full at the moment - just twenty five more plants to go! The success of dahlias at the allotment last year made me realise how much they love having lots of sunshine and space in which to extend themselves. The plants I put in mixed borders at home were nowhere near as productive, so that is one lesson to chalk up to experience.
Am using the newly emptied end of the border in the back garden for dahlias as well - the soil is rich with compost as the bins have been standing on this area for several years, and it has been completely emptied, so will give the dahlias breathing space.
Have interspersed the home dahlias with American Potomac snapdragons - the seed was probably more expensive than gold dust, but the baby snaps are looking sturdy now that the weather has warmed up and it is surely time to give them their head. From £15 worth of seed, I've got 24 plants - wasn't quick enough to whip them out of the propagator initially, so lost quite a lot of seedlings to damping off - they just flopped and shrivelled in the warm fug of their enclosure. Another lesson learned which has stood me in good stead with the seed trays that followed them - at the first sign of germination, the lid came off and everything thrived much better. Pity I didn't sow cheap seed first mind!
Cosmos have also been planted out into the garden today after a couple of weeks coming in and out of the greenhouse to toughen up their stems. Hopefully they've developed a bit of woody resilience as a first line of defence against marauding molluscs.
Must try to sow a tray a day for the rest of May to keep the flower borders well stocked later in the season and to avoid the July hiatus which usually overtakes me.
Rain is forecast tomorrow and I welcome it as two of my waterbutts are now empty. It will also hydrate my flowers beautifully before I chop them for Wedding One on Thursday evening if all goes to plan. Let's just hope the slugs don't come out for a feast before I can get to them…
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| The roses return. |
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
Where's the splash?
Dry borders - how long is it since I've had those? Well, they are back for the time being and the water butts are starting to run dry. A light shower this morning refreshed the garden slightly, but the ground could still do with a bit more of a soaking. I never thought I'd ask for rain again after last year, but here I am.... Hope I haven't jinxed the summer now.
Busy busy busy in the garden - keeping on top of weeds and pests - will be looking to stock up on organic 'Growing Success' slug pellets at Gardener's World Live at the NEC this Friday - my local garden centre no longer stocks them and I'm underwhelmed by the other organic alternatives available. Slugs are tucking into my dahlias in spite of coffee grounds and wool pellet barriers. Devilish beastlies.
Had to risk planting out my delphiniums - hope at least some of them will make it to join the two grown up plants which have emerged from last year's efforts. The glorious thing about growing from seed is that you can plant in drifts and big groups as you get so many plants from your packet - it would be hideously expensive to do this if buying pot grown plants from a nursery.
The borders are really growing tall now and the roses are starting to open and waft their luscious smells around the place. A few bright heads of knautia are bobbing, deep pink, in the sea of foliage, and sweet williams will soon start showing colour in their sea anemone flowers and add to the show.
I love June for flowers - it's often the best time for my garden. I shouldn't judge it quite yet as things have not really exploded, but I'm a bit concerned that things are getting too subtle again. So much so that I'm pleased to see the shouty oriental poppy which is going bang in the main border. Need more eye-jabs of colour to liven things up a bit at the moment. When the yellow rose comes out, that should add a bit more contrast to the pinks and blues - Christopher Lloyd gets his contrasts right in my book - can't be doing with restricted colour schemes really - too boring.
Desperate for a splash of really vibrant colour to set the borders alight. Greedy gardener.
Busy busy busy in the garden - keeping on top of weeds and pests - will be looking to stock up on organic 'Growing Success' slug pellets at Gardener's World Live at the NEC this Friday - my local garden centre no longer stocks them and I'm underwhelmed by the other organic alternatives available. Slugs are tucking into my dahlias in spite of coffee grounds and wool pellet barriers. Devilish beastlies.
Had to risk planting out my delphiniums - hope at least some of them will make it to join the two grown up plants which have emerged from last year's efforts. The glorious thing about growing from seed is that you can plant in drifts and big groups as you get so many plants from your packet - it would be hideously expensive to do this if buying pot grown plants from a nursery.
The borders are really growing tall now and the roses are starting to open and waft their luscious smells around the place. A few bright heads of knautia are bobbing, deep pink, in the sea of foliage, and sweet williams will soon start showing colour in their sea anemone flowers and add to the show.
Desperate for a splash of really vibrant colour to set the borders alight. Greedy gardener.
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| More along the lines of that orange t-shirt and poppy burst please. Flowers are coming. Must learn to be patient. |
Sunday, 2 June 2013
All grown up
The boing moment may have happened a few weeks ago, but now the garden is well and truly into its stride. The plants seem to have been plotting a surprise party for my return from holiday, despite the hail which was apparently hurled at them in my absence.
Greenfly peeped round rose buds and cowered from the squishing fingers which loomed towards them whilst slugs crawled along lugubriously, content in the morning dew. RIP slugs (evil cackle). A snail doing early morning calisthenics on a dried stalk was plucked to meet its final crunch.
On my photo safari this morning, I was spoilt for choice as marshmallowy peonies purred for attention, and ruffled granny's bonnets (aquilegia) nodded coyly towards the lens. Blue centaurea appeared neon in the post dawn light and dog daisies prepared to sprawl across the borders.
Gaps are filling, things are sprouting, clematis is smothering the old pear tree with a twisty tangle of pink-frothed vines and all is well in the Tuckshop Garden. It's good to be back!
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