Tags
Aeoniums, Alchemilla mollis, Catalpa pulverulentum, David Austin Roses, Dianthus carthusianorum, lilies, Rose 'Gertrude Jekyll', six on saturday, speckled Indian bean tree, supermarket plants, variegated Indian bean tree
After the deluge the last couple of days I can almost hear the garden sighing in relief. I am joining The Propagator our host for this meme of six things in the garden on a Saturday. Simple. Do join in. Take a look at his blog for details.
Come into the garden with me
Firstly the roses are coming into their own. Rose Gertrude Jekyll smells divine and in early light her colour sings.
Another pink ( I did not realise I had chosen as much pink as this, I don’t think of myself as a pinky sort of girl).
Unscented these supermarket bulbs were popped in a few years ago. Normally I get half a dozen to enjoy . Alas this year, the lily beetle has eaten the rest to a stump.
To counter all the pink I like Alchemilla mollis. As an edging it is delightful and I allow it to seed around. The chartreuse colour is great when against pink.
Another similar shade of green is from the foliage of the variegated Indian bean tree species Catalpa pulverulentum.
The leaves had started to emerge and then they were hit by the late frost. I won’t lie but I was rather worried that I might have lost it. Thankfully new leaves have emerged and it is looking gorgeous.
Back to more pinks and it seems I really do like them after all. This time Dianthus.
I love this Dianthus for its tall willowy habit that blends so well with Verbena bonariensis.
In the run up to my open garden last year, I received over 30 Aeoniums which had been generously donated. ( Thank you Anthony if you are reading). I sold some entire plants on the day and lots and lots of cuttings. I have overwintered the leftovers in the house and taken cuttings to grow on for further sales. As I have had to cancel my prearranged openings I shall grow them on for another year. Now outside I have created a little collection.
These are my Six for today. I hope you have a good weekend and thanks for reading. D.
digwithdorris.com 
LOL, I am in a similar pink state. I think I don’t really like it and there it is again and again…love the Lady’s Mantle with it. And Gertrude.
Great minds?
Absolutely, I would not dream of painting anything in my house pink…
Never!
I absolutely love pink – Actually I need more!
Excellent
One can never have too much pink it seems!
Well, pink looks great in your garden! I group pinks and golds together on one side of the rose garden. To some it may be garish, but to me it works!
Pinks and golds? Oh that sounds very striking
A friend who visited (socially distanced) recently asked if there was a reason why my garden seemed to be mostly pinks and purples – I would say it isn’t but maybe looks that way! Love your aeonium corner – seeing Monty’s has made me want to add some different ones. Gertrude really is a gorgeous rose, isn’t she? Mine is still settling after a move
Could it be the season for pinks changing as the season progresses?
To a degree, but the part of the garden nearest the house is virtually all pinks and purples, as are the main herbaceous beds. The cutting beds are definitely bright at their peak, but my bold borders are still not as bright as I would like them to be
More yellows and oranges for the bright border then.
Retail therapy in order😉
I have tried, Dorris, and even things like crocosmia gave up flowering. Funnily enough, another blogger had mentioned buying a new plant recently and I felt a little frisson of excitement, so who knows… But I have some practical tasks to do first whilst I cogitate on possible plant expenditure 😉
Crocosmia can be tricky I think. I have tried several over the years but finally had success here in the raised bed. Perhaps drainage is key?
What about hemerocallis? There are some gloriously bright colours and they tolerate most souls and most conditions
Same with hemerocallis – used to flower and was then just all leaf, despite subdividing them and the crocosmia. I don’t think drainage is a problem but perhaps they needed more sun. Saying that, the hemerocallis I kept and which is currently in a pot as part of my experiment with the middle bold border does have a bud on it this year!
Yes shade could be a factor. Tricky business gardening
Indeed, and at least I am less likely to assume I am at fault these days 😉
Lovely contrasting colours, and I especially like the yellow-green foliage plants.
Thank you . So interesting how we all respond to colours.
Yes indeed!
Loving the Aeonium Corner. There should be an Aeonium corner in every garden. Lady Mantle is such a wonderful plant which for some reason people turn there nose up to.
Thank you! People do turn their nose up at alchemilla but not here, I love it. When it rains it looks unbeatable
Catalpa pulverulentum? I never heard of it. What is variegated about it? Is the foliage always that color, or just when new?
Oh, it is just a cultivar, Catalpa bignonioides ‘Pulverulentum’. What odd foliage it has.
Just a cultivar
Speckled bean tree
Oh, that sounds silly, as if it makes speckled beans. I so like catalpa. It is such a vigorous tree.
I shall coppice it when it begins to get too big
Is coppicing same as pruning?
Not really. But sort of. It is taking all branches off the tree leaving just the trunk following which new shoots will emerge from the trunk. It stops the tree from reaching its full ( massive) size.
That is even more interesting. Coppicing will enhance foliar color for the first year afterward. The leaves should be quite large.
That’s the hope. Too young a tree at the moment but one day.
Paulownia tomentosa, which I know as the Empress tree (although I do not know if that is a proper name), is sometimes pollarded so that it produces strikingly big leaves, and a billowy canopy. It looks like a catalpa with even bigger leaves. However, I think that the purple bloom is so pretty too, that I would now want to pollard it.
Oh yes that is a gorgeous tree with fabulous big leaves.
Yes, but the bloom is too pretty to compromise.
I’m not sure I’ve seen it flower
You would be sure if you had seen it flower. It is not something to forget. It is quite purple. I am none too keen on purple, but those who are really dig the Empress tree.
I wonder where I could see one in flower. Kew Gardens maybe. I am going to have to look one up
It is more sensitive to frost than the catalpa and other trees in the family. It is marginal here. There was a nice specimen in San Jose that bloomed splendidly, although it got frozen back every few years or so. It is happier in the Los Angeles region. I really can not understand why it is not more popular than it it.
It would struggle where I am over winter but I believe they grow happily in London
Does it get cold in London? Does it snow there?
Yes we can get snow in London but rarely in these more recent years.
Even though the snow is not necessarily very cold, climates in which snow is possible tend to get frosty while the weather is clear. It has not snowed in San Jose since half an inch of snow fell in 1976, but the climate is marginal for Empress tree. Of course, that does not stop a few of us from growing it anyway.
When I look it up online, it seems that most pictures of it show Jacaranda mimosifolia instead.
Ah that’s not helpful
Well, that is the internet.
Lovely!
Thank you so much
my gertie j has produced one flower. one. it is a young plant, so perhaps i will forgive it. needs to buck up its ideas though…
She certainly does. Throw her some muck and tell her to buck up!
A lovely read, a chara! I’ve lost track of the number of times I have commented about a well-written SOS and my admiration for gardeners who seem to effortlessly remember plant variety names.
I love a quirky turn of phrase and your “I don’t think of myself as a pinky sort of girl” is right up there. Beir bua. Looking forward to more.
Thanks so much .