End of month view – March 2016

In the Bronze Bed the Hamamelis ‘Aphodite’ is poking up through a froth of Narcissus ‘Cragford’ which have now completely taken over. According to my records I only bought 30 ‘Cragford’ bulbs, but there look to be far more than that.  Perhaps that’s the joy of multi-headed blooms!

In the Oak Bed, nearer the road, the Hellebores and Narcissus ‘Jenny’ are still flowering

and the long table is continuing to host a large number of succulents protected by the glass canopy.

Looking east, the Swing Beds are beginning to fill out

and there are even a couple of Tulip ‘Pink Impression’ returning from last year.

In these photos you can see I’ve pruned back the roses, but haven’t yet tackled the Phlomis Italica which is rather overwhelming both beds.

In the right hand bed, there is still one very shaggy rose to tame.

In the metal troughs I was delighted to see signs of Narcissus ‘Minnow’ returning.  Looking a couple of weeks ago there seemed to be nothing but leaves, but now there are multiple flower buds to admire.  Phew!

Similarly, in the new MCB, there are also plenty of bulbs ready to flower, but not there yet. Looking back at my list I see the first to flower is only ‘due’ in early April, so I suppose that’s fair enough!

In the pots by the door I’ve gone for scarlet Tulip ‘Matrix’.  Quite a colour deviation for me!

The greenhouse pots are a rather more subtle combination, repeating last year’s Narcissus ‘Bellsong’ and Tulip ‘Angelique’.

And in the greenhouse itself the seeds are taking over

and hopefully I’ll soon have an early sweet pea flower to admire.

With thanks as ever to Helen at the Patient Gardener who hosts everyone’s End of Month Views.

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – May

Eleagnus ‘Quicksilver‘ with (I think) Green Orb-Weaver spider.  I had never noticed the flowers before, so thank you GBBD for making me look!

Last month I said was all about the tulips, and whilst every other tulip is long gone, my gorgeous Angeliques are still flowering, so I think they deserve a final curtain call.

Also in pots (as well as those on the barrow) I’ve got lots of pelargoniums and maguerites.

I’ve also taken a couple of photos of flowers on the succulents,

but the big news has to be the number of roses coming into bloom.  These three were inherited, so I’m afraid I don’t know the names,

but these were all planted by me in the last three or four years, and they’re finally starting to look properly established – Madame Gregoire Staechelin

Rosa Korizont

and Rosa St Swithun

This Veronica prostrata is another plant that looks much more settled than it did last year.

I love the colour of this Potentilla, I think it’s Potentilla nepalensis ‘Shogran‘

The Cerinthes are just getting better and better, here with Erysmum ‘Winter Orchid’

However, I’m not entirely sure about this Clematis, Josephine, I think she may be a little too showy for my liking

On a rather more subdued note, a dark Aquilegia with Nectoscordum siculum.  I’m not convinced about the Nectoscordum either, but for the opposite reason – I’m not sure it’s showy enough – but it’s so perennial I don’t have the heart to rip it out.

I certainly wouldn’t want to be without my Allium Purple Sensations

But to finish, my first sweet pea – the Tangier Pea, Lathyrus tingitanus.  which I wrote about in January.  How the year’s flying by…

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

 

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – 15th April

Like Annette at her Aberdeen Garden, it really is all about the tulips.  Above you can see Tulip Spring Green in the grass bed emerging from a froth of forget-me-nots.  I know some people are a bit sniffy about forget-me-nots but I pulled all mine out last year and then regretted it, so this year I’ve allowed them free rein, and they’ve really gone for it.  Anyway, I seem to recall Christopher Lloyd was a fan, so that’s good enough for me.

There’s also another white tulip in this bed, but it’s very early and has already come and gone.  Conversely, my Narcissi Sinopel, which I bought last year because I was intrigued by its slightly green trumpet, has only just come out – I thought it had gone blind.  However, like last year, the green really isn’t very obvious, and also (as mentioned in a previous post) it does tend to look towards the sun and therefore faces the road rather than the garden, leaving the colour of its trumpet a little academic!

Three more tulips I bought last year are Apricot Foxx

and Avignon, together with the species tulip Honky Tonk.  

These latter two are in a huge pot by the entrance steps, sitting just behind my Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’ which just keeps on flowering.  The tulips were supposed to flower successionally, but this beautiful sunny weather has obviously accelerated the Avignons, well ahead of their supposed May flowering.  Sad to think they may well have come and gone by next month’s GBBD.

Another succession which hasn’t quite worked is the Angelique tulips in the pots by the greenhouse doors.  The Minnow Narcissi are still going strong, but the Angeliques are muscling their way in, strange behaviour for something so girly!

The last tulip is the stunning Doll’s Minuet in a pot by the front door.  Still pink, but somehow not so girly:

Other blooms to note include Lithospermum ‘Heavenly Blue’

my Clematis Montana (already!)

the Melianthus Major (this bloom is over six inches long!)

and to finish, the Wisteria (and Nimbus).

With thanks to Carol at May Dreams Garden who hosts this meme on the 15th of every month.