Six on Saturday: 21/11/21

Tags

Allium sphaerocephalon, buxus sempervivums, Calamagrostis brachytricha, Cercis canadensis, Forest pansy, Hornbeam, hydrangea arborescens Annabelle, Leucanthemella, six on saturday, stipa tenuissima, topiary box, tulips

Have you noticed how brown things have turned? My six today are mainly all a bit brown.

Hydrangea arborescens Annabelle

Starting with these, the remains of Hydrangea arborescens Annabelle, my first of the six I have to share with you and our host The Propagator .

As the ball heads dry out, they become delicate to the touch with a slight rustle to their sound. Gone may be the creamy lime green of summer but beautiful nonetheless. Last year I cut and then touched some of the flower heads with gold spray to make Christmas decorations. I thought they were rather pretty.

Hornbeam

The hedges of Hornbeam have taken on their winter form, curled brown leaves, crisp and pleated will remain throughout the winter before shedding in spring as the leaf buds begin to swell.

Leucanthemella

The daisies of Leucanthemella which I love so much have lost their fresh as a daisy look and are beginning an elegant shift into decay. The flower heads are dark brown, almost black, slightly bowed and the foliage is slowly fading from green to brown. The stems are holding up well and I shall leave them throughout winter to act as shelter for creatures and insects.

Cercis canadensis

The glorious red heart shape leaves of the forest pansy have gone. Dropped and bagged up with other leaf litter. All that is left is the bare, so bare branches of the tree. That is it until spring. Underneath, a mixed bag of 30 orange and yellow tulips have been planted, along with 25 Allium Sphaerocephalon, the burgundy drumstick allium.

Leucanthemella stems, box shape Box all mulched.

Not brown at all are the evergreen Box. Slowly growing and slowly beginning to take on the square form I am looking for. Topiary takes time, lots of time. Eventually these box shapes will create strong winter structure. What can I say, they’re getting there.

Golden brown Stipa tenuissima and Calamagrostis Brachytricha

I am slowly working my way around the raised beds, bulb planting, weeding and mulching, topping up the bark chippings on the pathway. These grasses are energised by a breeze and arguably look interesting all year round. A lighter shade of golden brown.

These are my six for this week. I hope you have a good weekend and thanks for reading wherever you are. D.

Six on Saturday: 17 October 2020

Tags

aster lateriflorus Lady in Black, Carpinus betulus, cornus midwinter fire, crimson glory vine, Hornbeam, Leucanthemella, parthenocissus quinquefolia, penstemon, six on saturday, Virginia Creeper, Vitis coignetiae

Have you noticed how our gardens this week have become very autumnal thanks to the weather and shorter daylight hours? It is mid October so I suppose it is to be expected yet it seems to have changed almost overnight. Sharing the sights of the garden with you and our host The Propagator

Golden

This impressive display is from Cornus Midwinter Fire, so called I should imagine because it has incredible stems which are the colours of fire, orange through to yellow. These will reveal themselves once the golden leaves drop.

Multicoloured

These multicoloured shades of green to yellow to red are from Vitis coignetiae, crimson Glory vine. The crimson colours are starting to come through and I am hoping it gets time to show before the leaves drop.

Ruby red leaves

This is Virginia creeper, Parthenocissus quinquefolia. This is at the garden where I work. It is a plant which I really dislike for its rampant growth literally meters per season. Self clinging, it leaves dirty sucker marks which are almost impossible to remove over anything in its way including brickwork, paintwork and window panes. High maintenance. When cutting it back I have had a severe reaction to its sap which has left my forearms swollen for a week. Then it changes into this stunning show and all is forgiven. Almost.

Autumn light on the Hornbeam

Hornbeam, Carpinus betulus, is catching the sunlight, illuminating the subtle change from fresh green leaves to a yellowing before turning fully brown. Rather like Beech these leaves will not drop until the spring.

On the opposite side of the path is Aster lateriflorus Lady in Black which is covered in tiny daisies.

Lady in Black

Late to flower these tiny sequins of daisies have only emerged in the last ten days.

White flowers are still shining in the garden, this white penstemon.

Fresh and bright

Nearby the tall daisies of Leucanthemella are still flowering.

White daisies

These are my selection to share with you this week. Have a good weekend wherever you are and thanks for reading. D.

Goodbye April, hello May

Tags

Acer, April, cerinthe, friday flowers, Hornbeam, perennial poppies.papaver Patty’s Plum, Spring, Tulip Ballerina, tulip Brown Sugar, tulips

April collage

I cannot believe April has been and gone. The tulips came and thrilled me with their vibrant colours. The emerging foliage of Hornbeam all pleated and fresh never looked so good, well not since it looked so good this time, last year.

Cerinthe has emerged from the ground. Self sown and so very striking. Such an exquisite plant, flower and foliage so interesting and different.

Still emerging and opening into May are the perennial poppies. Patty’s Plum is still looking like crushed velvet or crumpled tissue paper.

April gave us some beautiful weather this year. Blue skies against the blood red foliage of the Acer was astonishingly striking.

Violas and mint to dress a birthday cake for daughter Dorris. Another year older. Best she start lying about her age as I cannot possibly have a 24 year old daughter !

Have a good weekend wherever you are. Thanks for reading. D.

Six on Saturday: 18 April

Tags

Anthriscus sylvestris, apple blossom, carpinus betula, cow parsley, Hornbeam, hostas, six on saturday, Sweet cicely, Veratrum, violas

Avoiding any references to that virus or lockdown., my six to share with you are nothing but pure garden escapism.

Veratrum and Violas

Pot grown and displayed with my hostas the emerging foliage is always pleated and pleasing. Not dissimilar to hostas, in that the foliage is irresistible to slugs and snails and so the battle to keep the molluscs off and the plant looking ‘pleats please’ is tricky. This is arguably Veratrum at its best.

Next is apple blossom, it is blossom time.

Emerging Apple blossom on the old tree.

Hopefully we will not get a hard frost. Last year I got 44 bottles of apple juice and the previous year 72! Hoping for a good crop.

More pleats, this time from the new leaves of the Hornbeam hedge.

This is not Cow parsley but Sweet cicely. It is much lower growing than Anthriscus and it’s deeply divided foliage tastes slightly of aniseed and is sweet. It is good cooked with rhubarb.

Anthriscus sylvestris or Cow parsley is taking over rather.

Here with Euphorbia amygdaloides and against my WillowFencing. Tall, billowy, romantic, it is running amok and will need deheading to stop it self seeding everywhere.

Finally my pots of hostas are beginning to emerge. More about who, what, where, when, another time.

Wishing you, Master Dorris and our host The Propagator a good weekend wherever you are. Stay home, stay safe, save lives. D.

Six on Saturday: pulling away

Tags

Brunnera macro Dawson’s white, carpinus betula, cerinthe major purpurascens, euphorbia griffithii Dixter, Hornbeam, philadelphus coronarius aureus, six on saturday, Tulip Ballerina, tulip Brown Sugar

After some time away I am looking at the garden afresh. So much has pulled away thanks to the light and warmer temperatures. My favourite six to share with you and The Propagator this week are these.

1.

Fresh foliage doesn’t come much fresher looking than Philadelphus coronarius aureus. Catching the sunshine it is luminous.

2.

Euphorbias are such good plants somehow always interesting looking. This is Euphorbia griffithii Dixter showing its orange bracts to the sunshine.

3

Cerinthe major purpurascens

These are self sown from last year. I like the glaucous, slightly fleshy leaves and drooping purple heads. They make a good cut flower.

4.

‘ Pleats please’ of the Hornbeam, Carpinus betula variety rather than the Issey Miyake creation. Such neat foliage.

5

A new combination for me Brunnera macro Dawson’s white ( yes I know the flowers are blue but the foliage is white) Tulips. I cannot find the note I will have made, somewhere, with the names of these two varieties. Sorry about that. So annoying when that happens.

And 6.

More tulips. These are the scented ones I had in my vase here this week. They are in a raised bed to help the bulbs keep out of the thick clay. It seems to work well as these are last years bulbs. In the foreground are Tulip Brown sugar and Ballerina.

Thank you for looking at my Six for this Saturday. Enjoy the long Easter weekend and some warm weather, perfect to enjoy the garden. D.

Wordless Wednesday: cold

Tags

Carpinus betulus, cold, Coreopsis moonbeam, Eupatorium Elin, Hornbeam, Joe pye weed, wordless wednesday

 

Hornbeam, Carpinus betulus

Joe-pye weed, Eupatorium ‘Elin’

Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’

Green

Tags

Carpinus betulus, Hornbeam, pleated leaves, Red veined sorrel, Spring garden

The light levels may be rising even if the temperatures are not, we had snow flurries here today.  The garden is beginning to pull away and I thought I would share a couple of pictures from this morning.

There is a delightful freshness to the various shades of green.

Tiny pleated leaves courtesey of the year old Hornbeam  ‘hedge.’

Red veined Sorrel

The light captured the red vein marking of the SorreI leaves.

I hope you had a good day.

I’ve been thinking………

Tags

Carpinus betulus, Cornus alba Elegantissima, Cornus alba sibirica, Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire', davidaustinroses.com, Dogwoods, Fragrant English Rose The Lark Ascending, Hornbeam, Rubus cockburnianus, white stemmed bramble

The garden is now blank, following many weekends of clearing.  It is not a garden at all really as it is devoid of shrubs, flowers or bulbs. Yet in my mind, it is full of my favourite shrubs, grasses, perennials and bulbs and, on a warm day, it has colour, scent and movement.

So where to start?

Back of an envelope type plans were scribbled to start the process, before the scale drawing started.  From this point the ground plan was drawn to scale and then the grass was marked out.

The turf was lifted, then the soil was turned over by digger, pending planting in the Spring.

Carpinus betulus, Hornbeam whips have been planted and will become a hedge.  The hedge will become a green wall for the birds to shelter in and for a bench to back up against.  A quiet spot to read a book or share a cup of tea perhaps. Rather hard to imagine, I admit.

There are dogwoods to plant.  I have chosen a combination of Cornus alba Elegantissima, the silver variegated dogwood, Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’ and the red stemmed dogwood, Cornus alba ‘ Sibirica’. I have also added a white stemmed bramble, Rubus cockburnianus to the group.  They may not look much now but they will eventually create a large curve of colour for the drab Winter months and a natural screen to block out the roadside.

There are lists of must have plants, yet to be organised into a planting plan proper.

There are roses.  How fantastic to take delivery of, not one, but three, David Austin Roses. Thank you Gail and Neil.   ‘The Lark Ascending’ is not familiar to me, although the piece of music after which it is named, is!  The website davidaustinroses.com tells me that The Lark Ascending will have cupped, medium sized blooms in a light apricot colour.  It is repeat flowering, has a tall airy growth and a light fragrance. How exciting.

So that is where I have got to.  Lots of plans.  A planting plan to draw up. A bucket full of seeds to start off, as clearly there is going to be room for lots and lots of annuals. Whilst the weather is freezing and the ground too hard to work outside, I need to get on with the plan and make that list.

If you have any must have plants that you think I should include, do let me know. The site is North facing but remains in sunshine most of the day thanks to the open position. The soil is flinty with clay patches. D.