Tags
Allium Purple Sensation, Allium shubertii, digitalis, foxgloves, geranium macorrhizum, Iris Sibirica, six on saturday
May is a month of great promise. It is also a phenomenally busy month. Perhaps I should rephrase that, a busy month for growing plants. Tender plants are desperate to get outside yet sudden cold nights could kill them off. Consequently there is a seemingly perpetual motion of succulents between the house and the garden.
The same can be said for pelargoniums and any other bedding plants. They need to be growing, given space, soil and light but the nights might burn them. Inside they remain for a few more weeks.
Half hardy annuals can be hardened off before going into the ground. There is watering to be done, grass to be cut and never ending weeding. The weeds are loving the warming soil, the lengthening daylight hours and it is good practice to keep on top of the blighters before they set seed.
In between all the shuffling of plants I am taking time to look at what is happening all on its own. Just growing quietly, flowering or budding these are my six to share with you and our host The Propagator this week.
I hope that these are white foxgloves as I cast some seed a couple of years ago. How eager they look, reaching up and up to the sunshine.
I purchased three, yes three fat bulbs, three years ago. I seem to remember they cost about £7 which seemed rather a lot for just three bulbs. Yet what great value they turned out to be as I have three magnificent, bonkers flowers coming again.
Alliums have rather ugly leaves which get tatty and brown. The flower heads are loved by everyone. Grown in between shrubs such as Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ the leaves are not seen and the flower heads stand clear above the foliage ready to be admired.
Ground cover can be tricky when creating a new border. The geranium family are one of my favourite, go to ground cover plants. The pink flowers here are small and insignificant but en masse they dominate the soil between the line of Euphorbia amygdaloides purpurea and and Aquilegias. This is Geranium macorrhizum It copes with my heavy clay soil very well.
Another happy plant is Iris sibirica. These were tight buds as recently as yesterday but the warm sunshine has encouraged them to open. I would have liked them to have staggered the opening so that I might enjoy them for a little longer. No matter, I am enjoying them now.
This Iris was a gift from Sandra. I am so thrilled to have this beauty in the garden. I adore its colour and markings and it too has opened today in this incredibly lovely weather.
These are my six to share this Saturday. I hope you have a wonderful weekend wherever you are. Thanks for reading. D.
digwithdorris.com 
Your irises are lovely Dorris. I don’t have any yet as it is rather dry and hot here, but they did well in my last garden so I suppose they would be fine here too. That last one is quite striking! We are getting frosts still, so I know the dance of taking things in and out!
Thanks Cathy. We are enjoying some wonderful summer weather but it is forecast to change with overnight temperatures down to 1degree. Mad! Hope you are keeping safe
I sowed some white foxglove seeds in the greenhouse 2 years ago and, at last, they appear to be on the verge of flowering (see next week). I’m pleased you mentioned that allium foliage is disappointing because I thought that I had done something wrong with mine. They are flowering quite happily. Lovely irises…..another one for my list.
Fingers crossed on the foxgloves. Alliums are all about the globes and spheres. Hide the foliage 😉
Beautiful irises and you’ve captured their markings well.
You’re right that everyone loves alliums, mine didn’t do too well last year, but I’m hoping for better when they open (soon I hope!). I cut the leaves off my mine, apparently it doesn’t do them any harm – and it increases their attractiveness.
i had Siberian Iris when I lived further north. Beautiful and I loved the photos and seeing them again. Hopefully the cold is not too much for the tender ones. Enjoy.
Thank you. I am glad the photos were a nice reminder of your old garden
A lovely six this week. I love G. macrorrhizum – such a great plant that will thrive in all situations, hot/dry, sun/shade, moist. Quite the trouper! Thanks for the tip about alliums, I might try some in the fall around my hydrangeas.
Trouper is the exact description for macorrhizum! I think you will be pleased with the layer of allium amongst hydrangeas. Thanks Eliza
That is a lovely Iris. I am not a fan of the Iris’s but when you see ones like that it sometimes makes you think but unfortunately I have not got enough room in my garden.
Thank you and I am pleased you like some Iris now. There are so many plants it would be impossible to have everything and that’s why I like looking at other peoples gardens.
Yes, we need to praise these dependables that just carry on and do their thing without any input from us – even with their tatty foliage! I have realised that hiding the foliage would be the best solution, although in narrower borders that’s not so easy. I have added A schubertii this year so am hoping for good things – and big things! Thanks for sharing, Dorris, and keep enjoying all the promises your garden has to offer
The dependables are what we all need more of, to give us time to faff in greenhouses with the attention demanding seedlings. Hoping you are going to see good results from A schubertii
Yes, much greenhouse faffing goes on here, but we are approaching leaner times….! We saw a HUGE shubertii at Wisley last year which prompted me to add it to my bulb order.
I have the skeleton of one that is half a meter across. They are incredible and bonkers and I love them. Look forward to seeing yours
I thought we were safe from frost but now we are in for a week of cold nights. I hope it doesn’t ruin the wisteria. Your Iris sibirica look wonderful. I get so excited at iris time, I love them all.
Could really be very cold this week. Such a contrast to the weekend.
I am new to growing iris and it’s fair to say I’m thoroughly smitten!
Thrilled to see the iris flowering for you!
Me too !!
Alliums are a popular topic at this time of year. I do not know what to think of them. I intend to try them eventually. I had been postponing doing so because not many spring bulbs naturalize here. I can not remember the name of the one I want to try first, but it is one with big flowers. I might try ‘Mount Everest’ too, either with the first alliums, or the following year. They sure look compelling in pictures, in which the foliage is conveniently obscured. I do not really care about the foliage.
Try some
Ignore or hide the foliage
I have no problem with the foliage. I grow plenty of other bulbs among other perennials to obscure the foliage.
The iris are all absolutely beautiful! I was also interested to read that your pink geranium handles clay soil. I do like it’s colour.
Thank you🌞. The flower on geranium macorrhizum is small but a strong pink and the foliage when crushed has a scent which to me is reminiscent of gin and tonic . Try some
That sound interesting. I will see if I can source a plant locally.