End of month view – March 2018

What a grey day for the end of March!

There were the odd glimmers of sunshine earlier, but sadly I didn’t manage to take my photos then, and by the time I got round to taking these, the light was very flat.

The photo above shows the Drive Bed which has a mix of inherited multi headed Narcissi (which are so top heavy they tend to collapse), seed grown Erysimum ‘Ivory Giant’ and newly planted ‘Thalia’.

Below, the Swing Bed has been cut back and nearly all of the roses pruned.  As previously, I’m concerned I’ve cut back the ramblers (outside posts, Rosa ‘Wedding Day’ on the left and ‘Snow Goose’ on the right) too hard, too late, but they’ve always bounced back, so fingers crossed!

This photo makes me think I really should add some sort of shrubby planting in these beds to keep some structure over winter, but what?

There’s are a patches of  ‘Jenny’ Narcissi here, 

with tulips to follow.

The ‘Minnow’ Narcissi are just starting to flower in the troughs and the Stocks (Matthiola Incana, at the back) are looking much more established having been transplanted as diminutive cuttings last year.

In the Veg Patch I persuaded the son to do a bit of weeding and plant out the broad bean ‘Stereo’ seedlings.  I also asked him to take some photos and this is what he came up with:

And proof to family members who find it hard to believe he really was helping:

Whilst in the Grass Bed the ‘Peeping Jenny’ Narcissi are perkily peeping at the Duver, I’m rather concerned that many of the grasses (Stipa tenuissima) are less than perky, indeed I think a number have been lost over the winter.  I’ll wait and see over the next few weeks but will then need to either replant or think again.

The Mid Century Bed has been rather taken over by self seeded Euphorbia.  I think these will have to come out, but at this time of year there isn’t much else going on, so I’m leaving them for the minute.

You may have noticed in the background a tree in front of the greenhouse.  This greeted me when I returned from London on Thursday.  The OH had bought it during the week from ‘some guy with a van load of plants’.  It’s an olive tree, and whilst a very handsome specimen, I have no idea where on earth it’s going to go.   Hmmm.

Round the corner, the tin bath has taken a nasty knock from the recent weather and as well as losing the Chocolate Cosmos, and some of the Pelargoniums, I think I may have lost all the Osteospermums and Gazanias.

See much happier picture from January below:

The eagle eyed will spot a significant absence from the picture below.  The Melianthus Major, which normally forms the backdrop for the Bronze Bed photo, has been cut right back.  The Narcissi ‘Cragford’ are as floriferous as ever, but no sign of the ‘Yazz’ which follow, and were already flowering this time last year.

In the Oak Bed plenty of Hellebores are still flowering strongly

In the greenhouse everything is almost exactly as it was a month ago.

The Winter Sunshine Sweet Peas still haven’t been planted out

and pretty much the only other seeds planted to date have been the ‘outside’ sweet peas. 

I don’t know what I’ve been up to, but I clearly haven’t been gardening.  Looking at last year’s March post makes me realise just how behind everything is.  Partly that’s the weather, but it’s also the lack of time I’ve spent out there.  And that’s not going to be helped by being away for the next three weekends.

Perhaps three weekend’s gardening can be squeezed into Easter Monday?

Wishing you all a wonderful Easter, with as much, or as little gardening as you like! 

With thanks to Helen at the Patient Gardener who hosts EoMV.

In a vase on Monday – more golf flowers

Another golfing event – the Captain’s Dinner – led to another request for flowers.  I have to say a couple of weeks ago I was less than enthusiastic as, to my eyes, the garden was full of dying bulb foliage and not much else, but things have definitely moved on, and in the end there was plenty to choose from.

I only needed to prepare eight table decorations, plus one larger one, so the pressure was off compared to the original set of 20 in October .  The first plant I have copious amounts of currently is Cerinthe purpurescens.  This has self seeded everywhere to the extent that cutting for the arrangements was actually beneficial to clear it away from paths and grass.

For the purple arrangements I started with the Cerinthe and added purple sweet peas (still the Winter Sunshine ones from the greenhouse), Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’ and a few springs of lavender.

The pink arrangements contained Madame Gregoire Staechelin roses,  Euphorbia, Erysimum, Daucus Carota ‘Black Knight’ and a sweet pea that has self seeded in a large trough containing an Olive tree.  I think this is Lathyrus tingitanus which I grew two years ago in the greenhouse.  Quite how it’s found its way outside I have no idea, but I love the tendrils and its delightful colouring.  Sadly it has no scent.

The white and green contained more Euphorbia, as well as Matthiola incana, white Winter Sunshine Sweet Peas and a couple of Calendula buds.

And the carnival pink and orange pair had more Cerinthe, Geum ‘Totally Tangerine,’ buds of Rosa ‘Pat Austin’ and Pelargonium ‘Surcouf’

As well as the table decorations I threw together a larger arrangement which was designed around anything I could find that had some stem length.  The foliage was bronze fennel and black cow parsley (both of which seemed to be inclined to droop), with Euphorbia, larger heads of Daucus Carota,  Nectoscordum siculum, Allium ‘Purple Sensation’, Sisyrinchium striatum and Rosa ‘Snow Goose’.

With many thanks to Cathy for hosting this lovely meme.  Why don’t you see what others have in their vases this Bank Holiday?  Now I must get in the garden!

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – mid May 2016

There are still a few bulbs clinging on, particularly Tulip ‘Queen of the Night’ (above) and below with ‘Merry go round’

just a few Tulip ‘Jimmy’ and Narcissus ‘Yazz’

Narcissus ‘Goose Green’

and in the Swing Beds, the Tulips ‘Menton’ and ‘Mistress’.

New bulbs emerging include these Gladiolus byzantinus, just coming into bloom in the Lavender Beds but rather more shy elsewhere,

as well as these Nectoscordum siculum that I’ve said for two years I was going to pull out.

I’ve already got a good showing of Pelargoniums, both outside and in the greenhouse

and a couple of Clematis.  I love this Montana, which has found its way through the (sadly now empty) chicken hut

but I’m really not convinced about Clematis ‘Josephine’.  What was I thinking?

Meanwhile, thinking of climbers, my Wisteria is already going over.

and has showered its purple petals on the succulents

Also in containers the Matthiola incana has gone mad in the troughs and smells absolutely divine.

Surviving through the winter and already looking better than last year, Cerinthe major purpurescens (such a favourite)

and Daucus carota ‘Black Knight’, grown from seed last year.

And to finish, the first of the roses, Rosa ‘Snow Goose’ on the pergola.

With thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens who hosts everyone’s GBBD.

In a vase on Monday – When two worlds collide

If Cathy, at Rambling in the Garden, who hosts ‘In a vase on Monday’, wasn’t already using the epithet ‘The Golfer’ for her husband, I would definitely have used it for mine.  He joined the local ‘Shanklin and Sandown’ golf club shortly after we moved to the island and this Saturday became their captain.

A week earlier he had (casually) asked if I could produce some flowers for his ‘Captain’s Drive in’ event on Sunday, when he hosted as captain for the first time, and ran a charity competition, to be followed by cream teas at the clubhouse.  Whilst my initial reaction was ‘no’, I looked around the garden and realised there were still hundreds of blooms. What I couldn’t quite picture was how they would work together, and then I realised, they didn’t have to.

There were to be ten tables of ten, so I splashed out on some cute spherical jam jars from Nutleys and set about making two matching arrangements for each table, twenty in all.

It all seemed like quite a good idea, until many hours later on Saturday….

So here they are, Cosmos Purity and Ammi,

Rosa Snow Goose and Zinnia Giant Lime

Helianthus Italian White and hebe

Rosa Jubilee Celebration, Cerinthe and Antirrhinum Orange wonder

Rosa Pink Flower Carpet, Antirrhinum and Honeysuckle

Dahlia Happy Single Date, Scabious Fata Morgana and mint

Zinnia Raspberry Cordial, seedheads of Iris unguicularis and Photinia leaves

Zinnia Giant Wine and Antirrhinum Liberty Crimson

Cosmos Double Click Cranberries and Dahlia Downham Royal.

and lastly Salvia Horminum ‘Oxford Blue’, Aster frikartii ‘Monch’ and Linum

And of course what happened?  They’ve already signed me up for New Year’s Eve.

Oh Captain, my Captain, what have you started?

End of month view – May 2015

Sadly the Swing Beds are currently having rather a lull after the gorgeous bulbs in evidence last month.  Whilst in April and early May they were bright with a succession of tulips, now, whilst the roses are starting and there is a vast amount to come, the main blooms are the rather quiet, understated Nectoscordum.

I moaned about them last year, so I really think they’ve had their day and I should replace them with something jollier and more visible from a distance.  Shame Alliums don’t come in the shocking pink of the Pink Impression Tulips!

The right hand swing bed is showing a little more colour with the geraniums, Cerinthe and self seeded foxglove.

And it is lovely that the roses are finally making a real impression on the pergola (four years after planting).

You can also see the netting erected for the sweet peas.  They’re currently being a little shy and seem currently to have been rather stopped in their tracks by the shock of being moved out into the ground.

The Grass Beds, to the right of the Swing Beds, still have their rather exhausted forget me nots, and I really need to clear these to make way for some annual planting to take their place.  Last year I planted some seed grown perennial Verbascum chaixii album in this bed and they’ve come back better than ever.  Problem is, I’m not sure I really want them there…

The troughs are resplendent with last autumn’s planting of Allium Purple Sensation.  They’re growing amongst the gloriously scented stocks, Matthiola incana, but sadly are also accompanied by a rather tatty array of decaying daffodil foliage.  Last year I had the bright idea that I should turn the troughs around to hide the dying foliage at the back.  This would have been an absolutely brilliant solution if only we could have lifted the troughs!   Hopefully the foliage has now done its job, so shortly I should be clearing it to add some annuals for the summer.

The Lavender Beds are rather dominated by the Erysimum Bowles Mauve, but hey, there are worse things…

One bed I rarely show is the drive bed.  I planted new alliums here this year too, this time Allium Violet Beauty, which are slightly larger and paler than A. Purple Sensation.  Also, I moved numerous Sisyrinchiums here as they were threatening to take over the Swing Beds.  I was inspired by this vase, as I thought the Sisyrinchiums would echo the colour of the Rose, R. Snow Goose.  The Sisyrinchiums aren’t quite in flower, but I live in hope that the composition will work and be enhanced by the Alliums.  We’ll see (in a week or two…).

As for the self seeded Gladiolus byzantinus, well, I think I’ll leave them be for the minute.  But, ooh, light bulb moment, is this what I should be adding to jolly up the Swing Beds?

On the other side of the drive, the Cytisus is looking spectacular and the colour is now picking up on the buds and flowers of the inherited rose.

Progress on the new beds is still reasonably slow.  The Mid Century bed has precisely two blooms, both Ranunculus I planted as bulbs.  They’re not exactly as ‘bruised’ as the planned colour scheme, but they’re the first I’ve ever grown, and I love them.

Just as a little aside, in 2012 I visited the Flower Farm at Carlsbad, California, and the Ranunculus there were absolutely unbelievable – see photo from their website below.

I’d love to start a Ranunculus farm here, but really not sure the island can quite match the Californian climate…

Anyway, back to home.  The new Bronze Bed isn’t displaying anything in the way of blooms other than the Calendula Sunset Buff, sown last year.  Like the Swing Beds, there’s plenty to come, but I am starting to worry that the Hamamelis, now in leaf in the centre of this bed, is taking up too much room.  Hmmm.

On the far side of the lawn from the new Bronze Bed above, you can see how the over-the-road-Oak’s shadow almost completely covers the Oak Bed.  I really need to try to add some more interest here, but the lure of planning and planting the new Bronze Bed  – in almost full sun – is of course far greater.

Another shady area is this bed, running along the north side of the porch.  This has been completely given over to hostas, which are now bulking out nicely after three years.

Meanwhile, in the veg bed, the canes are up and the first wave of peas and beans are in.

And to finish, a view of the utter chaos in front of the greenhouse.  These are just some of the seed trays, turfed out of the greenhouse and hardening off all over the gravel.

And no, I don’t know where they’re all going to go.  So don’t ask!

With many thanks to Helen at the Patient Gardener for hosting everyone’s End of Month Views.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – May 2015

Whilst there are a few tulips still clinging on, the majority of bulbs flowering now are Alliums. Above, Allium Purple Sensation, matching beautifully with the stalwart Erysimum Bowles Mauve behind. Funny, I don’t remember that combination last year, and yet they were both there!

In the Swing Beds, Nectoscordum siculum (not a true Allium, but in the family), are just starting to bloom.  Last weekend my daughter, old enough to know better, took great delight in peeling back some of the papery sheaths to help them on their way.  I think she missed this one.

In the Drive Bed, Allium Violet Beauty, planted new for this year.

Sharing the Drive Bed with the Alliums are these Erysimum Ivory Giant

and growing on the fence above, Rosa Snow Goose, in bud and fully open.

In the new Bronze Bed the Calendula I grew from seed last year, Calendula Sunset Buff, are one of the first things to flower.  I love the soft apricot colouring.

Annoyingly, not all of the seeds I planted seem to be Sunset Buff.  These two, whilst very jolly, were not what I had in mind for the bed, and so I’ve now moved them out to the raised cutting beds.

A few daffodils are still blooming, this one, the very late N. Sinopel is in the Grass Bed,

these are N. Bellsong, in the greenhouse pots,

and these N. Lieke.

In the Oak Bed the broom is blooming.  It’s an inherited plant so I’m not sure which one it is, but Cytisus Scoparius Killiney Red looks similar.  There have been years when this flowers at the same time as the Bottlebrush it’s planted next to, but sadly not this year.

In one of the Lavender Beds, this little Cistus is looking happier than it has for a while – perhaps because of the hot dry April.

For scent I have to mention my stock flowers, Matthiola Incana.  I think this is my favourite garden scent of all, shame you can’t scratch and sniff!

And to finish, not yet a bloom, but oh what a pregnant bud!

With thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens  for hosting everyone’s GBBD.

End of month view – January 2015

A rather sorry end of month view, but then it is January so perhaps I shouldn’t fret.

The old tin bath above was new (in a second hand sort of way) towards the end of last summer. I painted it to match the house and initially filled it with a bit of a quirky mix, including a number of Aeoniums and some Diascia which provided a jolly show to greet those arriving up the steps at the front of the house.

For the winter, I’ve changed its look to a dark red and silver combination of Cyclamen, pansies, Cineraria and Euphorbia mysinites.  Unfortunately I hadn’t read the crucial advice for winter containers, which is to cram in the planting from the word go as the plants won’t really grow and spread in winter as they do in summer.  Consequently my pot is a little sparse, but still, it provides welcome colour at this time of year.

The rest of the garden looks a lot like it’s ‘resting’.

The Drive Bed, below, has a few hellebores (worryingly I think fewer than last year) as well as one of the two Garrya Elliptica.  The strap like leaves are the Sisyrinchium striatum I moved from the Swing Beds in the autumn, the idea being that their flowers should match with the pale yellow flowers of the climbing rose ‘Snow Goose’, later in the year.

The right hand Lavender Bed is not showing much apart from the Phormium, Euphorbia and clipped Lavender

whilst the left hand Lavender bed is a little fuller with Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve‘, Anisodontea and a low conifer (front left) which I’ve forgotten the name of.

The view of the Grass Bed is rather disturbed by all the workmen’s kit.  Whilst the grasses are still looking good, the rest of the bed is pretty empty apart from the Forget me knots.  The numerous spring bulbs are still to raise their heads.

I had a little tidy of the two Med Beds in front of the greenhouse, and cleared away many leaves which had blown into the bed.  The two most obvious plants here are the Euphorbia mysinites (front left) and Agapanthus plants which I planted out last year and were grown from seed two years earlier.  I don’t know whether the Agapanthus will flower this year but I live in hope.

The picture of the two Swing Beds shows the Salvia and Phlomis italica dominating the foreground.  Both need cutting back so they don’t get too leggy this year.

The photo below is of the Oak Bed, which spends most of the year shaded by the Over-the-road-Oak.  There are a lot of Spring bulbs to come in this bed which take advantage of the better light before the Oak gets its full canopy.  And there are already a number of Hellebores flowering towards the front of the bed.

The Viburnum Tinus is rather overwhelming here and also needs to be cut back.

And to finish, a little more colour.  Sadly this isn’t in my garden, rather in my neighbour’s, but it’s their lovely Mimosa, flowering bravely in the January chill.

 

With thanks as ever to Helen at the Patient Gardener for hosting this End of Month meme,

End of month view – November 2014

Unsurprisingly the garden is looking rather sad in places.  The drive bed, above, is looking better than most, with an ongoing second flush from Rosa Snow Goose, as well as some new planting below.  The strap like leaves are from Sisyrinchium striatum, which I’ve moved from the swing beds where they were taking over.  It was an early ‘In a vase on Monday‘ post which alerted me to how well the rose and Sisyrinchiums go together and so now they’ve been moved to live together, rather than just appearing fleetingly in a vase.

The downside of digging all the Sisyrinchiums out of the swing beds, is that they are now looking very bare.  And that’s not the only reason; I also dug up the large Euphorbia wulfenii Characias from each bed, as neither was looking well, and I pulled out the ‘only-two-apples’ apple tree which was starting to shade the right hand bed and looked rather incongruous amongst the perennials.  On a positive note, all the space has allowed me better access to plant my bulbs, so hopefully things will start bouncing back soon (quickly crosses fingers…)

The grass bed hasn’t yet had any autumnal clearing, and whilst the Stipa teniussima at the back are looking rather tired, the Nasturtiums at the front are in very rude health. Consequently I’ve left them alone for the time being, but sadly, the last few flowers on the nasturtiums are rather buried by the generous foliage.

Some of you may remember that I want to clear some, if not all, of the fox and cubs from this bed as they don’t really flower for long enough to justify their position, but that work is also yet to be done – and I think I need to get rid of all that nasturtium foliage so that I can even see the fox and cubs.

I’ve also done some clearing in the small veg patch, which is now back to just the raspberries, the diving lady (who has new bulbs planted in her pool) and Nimbus.

I’ve also cleared the exhausted Cosmos Purity from the troughs, but have left the stocks at the back.  They are getting rather leggy now but I just love their scent and forgot to plant any new ones this summer, so I’ll have to hope they survive the winter and reflower.

As well as clearing, I’ve planted some more Alliums (Purple Sensation) in this bed as their numbers seemed to have dwindled this year, so I gave them a top up.  They should follow on from the two Narcissii, Minnow and Segovia.

The raised beds I used for cutting for the first time this year still need clearing, but there are a few Antirrhinums clinging on, as well as one sentinel Zinnia.

I think I judge these beds a success.  Of course I would have had bigger plants and consequently more blooms if I’d planted in the ground, but I just didn’t have the space, and this is a relatively out of the way position so it didn’t matter that the whole effect wasn’t very cohesive.  I’ll definitely use the space again, but will need to replace the compost for next year.

Meanwhile the shady bed continues to look good in its monochrome way.  

Aside from the beds, I’ve also been planting up lots of pots with bulbs.  The one below is one of a pair which sit outside the greenhouse.  I’ve lain strips of rose prunings across the top to discourage marauders, and they seem to have worked so far.

In the greenhouse I have Iris reticulata ‘Gordon’ bulbs just starting to show their green shoots

and the cuttings taken last month are also putting on some new growth.  Certainly not 100% success, but definitely lots of new babies to tend. 

And lastly, a couple of sights more applicable to much earlier in the year – still a few blooms on my Plumbagos,

and yes! more Tomatoes Sungold ripening.  The question is, where am I going to put all my tender plants if the greenhouse still has tomatoes in it?

With many thanks to Helen at The Patient Gardener for hosting the end of month meme. Please visit her website to see how other bloggers’ gardens look at this time of year.

 

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – November 2014

So it’s November, and whilst the garden isn’t exactly overwhelmed with blooms, there are still many flowers – and some quite exotic.  Firstly this orange abutilon, Abutilon ‘Orange Marion’. This is still sitting on my barrow and has been flowering non stop since June.  It’s in a large pot so will be brought into the greenhouse once frost is threatened, but in the meantime it’s enjoying the sunshine.

There are still roses flowering – Snow Goose,

and two inherited, nameless varieties:

Another good genus still going strong is Salvia, Salvia microphylla ‘Cerro Potosí’

unknown and 

Salvia ‘viridis blue’, flowering in front of the Stipa tenuissima in the grass bed.

Climbers include Honeysuckle and 

Clematis ‘Freckles’.

In the ‘med’ beds, this Potentilla nepalensis ‘Shogran’ is still flowering well.  I just love this particular shade of pink.

On the more exotic side, flowers which you think should perhaps know better than to be flowering in November, there is a Grevillea (is it just me or do the buds remind you of a rather pretty  fist?)

Marguerites, still looking cheerful despite the chill, 

Nerine bowdenii,

Zinnia ‘Giant Dahlia Mixed’, in the cutting troughs

and the lovely diascia I was given by Nick Peirce from White Cottage Daylilies, which I wrote about here.  I really must ask Nick what it’s called.

And still the Verbena bonariensis come!

With thanks as ever to Carol at May Dream Gardens for hosting GBBD.

In a vase on Monday – Romance and roses

Mushy alert – those of a cynical disposition look away now!

So Friday was my 27th Wedding Anniversary (child bride you know!) and what better way to mark it than by arranging roses in a rose bowl, bought by my sister and me for our parents’ 25th Wedding Anniversary?

Clearly life isn’t quite that perfect, and the weekend passed without any roses in rose bowls, but thanks to the joys of ‘In a vase on Monday’ the moment has now arrived.  And I can share it with you all long before the OH staggers back from the golf course.  Ah, the secret of a happy marriage – ‘apartness’!

The roses are St Swithun,

Korizont,

Madame Gregoire Staechlin,

Snow Goose (buds),

as well two lovely, inherited roses I don’t know the names of.  They’re both scented.  Any clues?  By the front steps

and in one of the Lavender Beds.

With thanks again to Rambling in the Garden for hosting  – and allowing me to share the lurve 😉