Six on Saturday: 30/5/20

Tags

Allium christophii, allium schubertii, clematis Annabelle, clematis Arabella, nigella, penstemon, Sambucus Nigra, six on saturday

It is 1800hrs and I have quickly taken some pictures in the garden. The light is still too bright for good photos but unless I leave things for another two or three hours, there will be no discernible difference. May has officially been the driest on record and we have had the sunniest Spring since 1929.

Joining our host The Propagator and other bloggers from round and about, here are my quick six for this, the last Saturday in May.

Nigella and Allium christophii

The Allium Purple sensation has finished and the A christophii are stepping up next. A steely or metallic looking pale purple, these are bigger than Purple Sensation but shorter. In the foreground is the first of my Nigellas.

Allium christophii

Nigella

I love annuals. I love it when they self seed and appear where they choose. One packet of seed, costing a couple of quid can give years of joy.

Penstemon

I thought my garden might be too cold, too exposed and too heavy for these lovely perennials. Planted in a raised bed to help drainage I leave it long and shaggy all winter, resisting the urge to tidy up until April. Dark claret bells are quietly forming. Yay!

Sambucus Black Lace

This is a shrub I would not be without. I love the deeply divided, dark foliage, the froth of flowers and dark berries. To encourage more foliage, I cut it back by a third each spring.

black lace

Clematis Annabelle

I have admired herbaceous clematis for many years and finally I have introduced Arabella into my borders. Rather than climbing, she will scramble through the borders. Neat, tidy, single, purple flowers. I am so pleased to introduce this to my garden. From Westcountry Nurseries (north Devon) ltd.

Clematis Arabella AGM

Another Allium, this time Allium schubertii .

Allium schubertii

I love this bonkers Allium. Arms waving like a conductor leading his orchestra.

I hope you have a good weekend wherever you are and thanks for reading. Stay safe. D.

Six on Saturday: 2 May 2020

Tags

Allium Purple Sensation, asiatic lilies, buxus, Cercis canadensis, Foeniculum vulgare purpureum, Forest pansy, forget me nots, Hebe hulkeana, May, myosotis sylvatica, New Zealand lilac, Purple fennel, Sambucus Nigra, six on saturday, Sweet cicely, Thalictrum Elin

Forget me not

Do you feel a little bit like I am feeling? I feel as though we didn’t really ‘have’ an April. The days and weeks of lockdown are merging and although we did have some standout weather, we strangely haven’t been anywhere or seen anyone. It might be that May is going to be the same. Weird.

That said, the garden is making rapid progress now. The warm weather, the rain and longer daylight hours are creating a massive growth spurt. If we were going places and seeing people we might have missed the detail of this happening. My six today reflect the changes.

Above is a carpet of forget me nots, drifting across the ground, encircling the box ball ( loosely ball shape). By next week they will need ripping out as they begin to set seed. The space they leave behind will be perfect for annuals.

New Zealand Lilac and fennel

The fennel has doubled in size since last week and the NZ Lilac which is not a lilac at all is starting to open. It has no scent to enjoy which is disappointing but it’s flowers are very pretty.

Sweet cicely, purple cow parsley, flowering Thalictrum and Sambucus

The froth from umbellifers has filled out more. The Thalictrum has opened its pinky flowers and the sweet cicely has opened more flowers. The dark divided foliage of the Sambucus is contrasting in a pleasing fashion with the divided foliage of the the green and white sweet cicely.

Emerging lilies

I really like the dark pointy leaves on the spines of lilies. These flower well each year and are a very very dark maroon lily. On the lookout for the orange lily beetle so far so good.

Alliums are opening offering purple clusters of star shaped flowers to make a globe. They are a splash of interest, a layer of colour after the tulips and before the Hydrangeas flower.

Looking through to the seating area

Looking through the emerging red heart shaped foliage of the Forest Pansy. My favourite shrub/tree. It’s petals dropped in the rain but still the beautiful foliage is emerging.

These are my six for this Saturday joining our host The Propagator and other bloggers from around the globe.

Have a good week wherever you are. Stay safe and thanks for reading. D.

Six on Saturday: kaleidoscope

Tags

Allium christophii, Allium Purple Sensation, Allium shubertii, Astrantia 'Roma', calendula, cytisus battandieri, Eschscholzia, marigolds, papaver Perry’s White, Rose 'Gertrude Jekyll', Sambucus Nigra, six on saturday

Orange.

Hello June, goodbye May. The garden has exploded into a kaleidoscope of colour. Above is the first of my Six on Saturday. Eschscholzia. They are self sown from last year and have popped up in drifts. I couldn’t have created this show if I had tried.

Marigolds.

The Propagator asks us to share six sights from our garden on a Saturday, a fun thing to do. Try and join us. His blog has any instructions you might need. My Six today are colour themed.

2. Purple

Of course it had to be Allium Purple Sensation. Old hat maybe but still a great colour.

Aliium christophii

Allium shubertii

3. Pink

The first rose to open is the strongly scented Gertrude Jekyll. If she wasn’t so thorny she would be perfect.

Astrantia Roma

4. Yellow

The pineapple scented Cytisus battandieri. I do not favour yellow in my garden but I enjoy this for its scent and silver foliage rather than its colour.

5. Black

Less black more deep claret to be honest. One of my favourite shrubs, Sambucus niger.

Just look at those dark leaves.

6. White

Perennial poppies this one is perhaps Perrys white. Shining and clear. Here’s a thing, before the marigolds and Eschscholzia did their thing I was planning a white planting show. Hey ho, there’s always next year.

Wishing you all a great weekend. Enjoy this summer weather. D.

Six on Saturday: galloping

Tags

Anthriscus sylvestris, cow parsley, dwarf Narcissus, Euphorbia amygdaloides, Grape hyacinth, March, Muscari, Narcissus 'Tete a Tete', Prunus Nipponica Ruby, Sambucus Nigra, six on saturday, spurge

Hello. I am joining The Propagator with a Six on Saturday. Galloping? As the days lengthen and the sun warms a little, growth in the garden is changing almost as we look and the time to get all the jobs done is well , galloping by.

1.

Prunus Nipponica Ruby. On Monday only one or two of the flower blossoms were open and I included a piece of it in my vase IAVOM. Now just five days later the blossoms are nearly all open.

2.

Cow parsley, Anthriscus sylvestris. Last week there was only a peek of it on the ground now it is ankle deep at the bottom of my garden under the big three Horse chestnut trees.

3.

Spurge Euphorbia amygdaloides. I love the lime colour against the willow fencing. This is a must have plant for rough ground under trees.

4.

Narcissus Tête-à-tête. Still flowering these are quite early to show their faces. Tiny but bright and a sign of spring if ever there was one.

5.

Sambucus niger from darkest black buds to delicious rich leaves, these are opening out now and I shall look forward to the lace effect of those leaves soon.

6.

Finally muscari, Grape Hyacinth. These are a great shot of blue growing happily under the Hormbeam hedge.

Enjoy your weekend, wherever you are. Thanks for reading. D.

Saturday smile: mingling

Tags

cytisus battandieri, David Austin Roses, Rose "Lark Ascending", Sambucus Nigra, Saturday smile, Sweet cicely, Thalictrum Elin

All together, mingling.

Thalictrum, pineapple broom, black leaf elder, Roses, sweet cicely.

Elderflower, Sambucus nigra

Tags

Elderflower, Sambucus Nigra

Forgive me reader, it is many days since my last blog

Tags

Cerciscanadensis Forest pansy, Dahlias, Echinops bannaticus Taplow Blue, Euphorbia characias subsp.Wulfenii, Nymolle Denmark, Passionflower, Sambucus Nigra, Sweetpeas

So this month. blogging efforts have been hampered by laptop failure. Tedious but it has made me realise how much I am beginning to enjoy the sitting down and writing process.  So that is good. All fixed, I am now back to it and catching up with news from other bloggers.

October is about Harvest and I have already written about the fruit harvest but have recently been given a ceramic wall hanging which sums up October.  This is now hanging in my kitchen.  It is by Nymolle Denmark and simply called Oktober, thanks Sam, I love it.

October is no longer Summer and not yet Winter, but this Autumn has crept up on me as family life has been quite full on.  True there are signs that Summer is fading, the sun really has little real heat left in it although the daily temperatures are mild, remaining in the mid teens centigrade. The benefit of the warmth is that Sweet peas are still available for picking:

The mild October also means that the Dahlias are delightful and remain ready for picking

On my west facing wall, the Passion flower is still flowering and although I have yet to see any fruit, it thrills me with its exotic looks, each time I come through the front door.

Of course we all know that the mild spell cannot last , the clocks changed last night and the forecast is for gale force winds tonight.  To try to hold onto the beauty in the garden I dashed around with my camera to collect images of other plants looking good. Below is the wonderful Dogwood, Cornus  sanguinea ‘Midwinter fire’  which I have growing in a large half barrel.

  Aster species unknown

   Above is the magnificant Forest Pansy Cercis canadensis which is looking abolutely stunning at the moment.  This is a small tree which makes a spectacular feature in a small garden. Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii Echinops bannaticus ‘Taplow Blue’Dark berries of the Sambucus nigra

October is always a busy month in the garden and this year is no exception.  The mild spell has meant that the grass is still growing and yet heavy rain and wind has made it necessary to just grab the opportunity for cutting whenever it lends itself.  Then there are the falling leaves which are really only just starting to fall.  These are collected and saved to make a mulch for the garden, especially important on chalky soils. If you have never done this can I suggest you give it a go this year.  Stuff black bags with the collected leaves and tie a knot in the bag, pierce the plastic with a fork and hide your bags in a dark corner of the garden. That’s it! Leave for a year or more to rot away following which you will have a crumbly earthy mix ready to mulch your flowerbeds. Mulching in Spring 2013 

Anyway the forecast for gale force winds has caused a huge amount of debris in the lanes around where I live, but I moved all my pots into a sheltered spot and lay down the bird table so I am relieved to see that we have escaped without any damage.  This area of the Chilterns seems to have escaped the worst of the weather and I hope that you are all safe and that your gardens have remained in one piece, where ever you are.

Great Colour Combinations

Tags

Alchemilla mollis, Sambucus Nigra

I love this combination of the dark purple/black Sambucus Nigra under-planted with the lime tones of the leaves of Alchemilla mollis/ Lady’s mantle. Not only are the colours a pleasing combination, to my mind, the downy leaves of the Alchemilla contrast  fabulously with the deeply cut leaves of the elder. I am easily pleased.