Garden Nostalgia.

I now have a small garden but I am very much involved with the garden I owned and loved 18 years ago now we live very close by. The garden was nearly 11 acres, but the summer and winter gardens now belong to somebody else, so it is several acres smaller. I am supervising the restoration of the woodland garden which is glorious in spring. Many years ago, this garden belonged to a well-known nurseryman. I believe he planted it nearly 80 years ago so the camellias and magnolias are enormous. It has been neglected since I left, but now we are trying to rejuvenate the trees and shrubs. The great thing about huge, ungainly trees is the fun you can have making them into interesting shapes and creating glimpses through the woodland that weren’t there before.

While the camellias and magnolias are looking their best I want to show you some of them. So let’s stroll through the woodland. The carpets of snowdrops are mainly over now, but there are plenty of hellebores. Honesty and brunnera are coming out and soon there will be bluebells and dicentras.,

Lunaraia rediviva and Mahonia aquifolium

In my day there were 23 magnolias, some of them are no longer there and some are not yet in bloom. I wish I had names for them but I am afraid I don’t. But they are very venerable and make a fabulous show. Some of the camellias are as big as haystacks too.

In late winter and spring, fragrance fills the air from sarcococcas, Mahonia japonica and masses of Skimmia ‘Kew Green’.

Skimmia ‘Kew Green’

Huge shrubs of Viburnum burkwoodii are intensely fragrant too. The scent reminds me of furniture polish.

Viburnum x burkwoodi

Pieris japonica has a light, sweet fragrance.

Pieris japonica

And Osmanthus x burkwoodii is strongly fragrant too.

Osmanthus x burkwoodii

I planted pink and white flowering currants years ago and now there are masses of them in all shades of pink and white.

Ribes sanguineum

If we leave the woodland we can walk round the lake. The banks are full of wild flowers later, including wild orchids. Sometimes kingfishers visit and of course there are always plenty of ducks and Canada and Grey-lag geese.

The row of Prunus shirotae is a delight at this time of the year and delicately fragrant.

Prunus shirotae

Other visitors to the garden are hares and badgers and the dreaded Muntjac deer, They even breed in the garden. They are incredibly destructive. Here is a new born one.

Muntjac baby

I would like to show you the birch circle I made years ago. This part of the garden was sold along with the barn which is now a house. So let’s have a cheeky peep into the neighbour’s garden. A quick look as we haven’t asked permission, so don’t tell anyone. So many people have asked me what the birch circle with the stone in the middle was for. So let me say right now, it’s not for anything. I just love birches. Rumours of me being a Druid are quite unfounded, but they have caused me and my family much amusement. This is a village, so what people don’t know they make up. The new owner said she had a priest bless it, so goodness knows what she thought I had been doing there. I’m just a down to earth gardener who’s getting on a bit, not some New Age nut in robes sacrificing goats.

There is a little wild woodland where I planted 100 wild daffodils, Narcissus pseudonarcissus years ago. They have multiplied into a huge carpet over much of the copse.

Narcissus pseudonarcissus

At the heart of the woodland garden is a giant redwood. William Lobb brought back seeds from these trees from America in 1852. They became a status symbol for wealthy Victorian estate owners. Choosing a name for this tree was controversial. Dr. Kellogg, the founder of the California Academy of Science, thought such an iconic tree should be called Washingtonia after George Washington. Here in England, John Linley of the Horticultural Society thought it should be named Wellingtonia after the Duke of Wellington. This seems a colossal cheek wanting to name an American tree after our own bellicose Duke. In fact, even now some people refer to it incorrectly as Wellingtonia. To be honest I am not sure whether the tree here is Sequoiadendron giganteum or a coastal redwood, Sequoia sempervirens, they are both enormous and look the same to me.

The garden here was built round a thatched cottage, not some stately pile. But after the war the local ‘big house’ set in glorious parkland was demolished. The owner of the nursery here grew a seed from the enormous tree which is still there 170 years after it was planted. It is now quite an impressive sight. The park was painted by Gainsborough and was obviously much loved by its owner who asked to be buried in his garden, standing up for some reason. Giant redwoods live to be 3000 years old so growing one from seed and planting it must give you a little taste, if not of immortality, but at least of reaching down to future generations. This tree was obviously special to the nurseryman who created this garden, for when he became very ill with cancer he took his own life underneath it and his ashes were scattered here. This seems like a fitting memorial to a very talented horticulturalist.

Giant Redwood

Spring Garden Update.

I have been a little absent from the blogging world because I have been trying to adjust to a small garden with little to excite me through the winter months. It is coming on and I have created a winter garden but my previous garden had so much to offer every day of the year and there was always a multitude of things to write about.

But today spring is here and the two magnolias in the back garden are looking fabulous. I wouldn’t choose Magnolia soulangeana because it is seen in every suburban garden and as it blooms so early it often gets burnt brown by frost. But so far this year it is looking fabulous and as it is so enormous it makes quite an impact.

Magnolia soulangeana

There is also a good sized Magnolia stellata which is quite a pleasing shape.

Magnolia stellata

But it is the winter garden which has given me the most pleasure although it is very small, only 8.5 metres by 5.5 metres. It was created from the gravel drive which was far bigger than we need. I had to fight for every inch of it though, as the Pianist seemed to think we needed space to park several cars and the odd pantechnicon. I have created a garden for winter interest in every garden I have had, but I have never had one I could see from the house and it is a real treat to be able to sit in the conservatory and look out at it.

The creating of it last year was very challenging as under the gravel was more compacted gravel and under that was building rubble and under that was more building rubble so we had to hire a man with a mini digger and then two skips as one wasn’t enough. The resulting money pit had to be filled with twice as much top soil as I had anticipated. I had sand put down under the soil as the garden is lower than the road and I was worried about soggy soil.

This is what it looked like last May. The wisteria on the boundary is a bonus. The hedge you can see is horror of horrors, Cupressocyparis leylandii. I had it cut right back and as it rarely comes back from bare branches I have planted five Clematis montana all the way along. It should look pretty once they get going.

Of course I have crammed in far more shrubs and trees than the small space can cope with. I had to have my very favourite winter-flowering tree, the Japanese apricot Prunus mume ‘Beni-chi-dori’.

Prunus mume ‘Beni-chi-dori’

There is now a multi-stemmed Prunus serrula, an Acer griseum and Betula ‘Pink Champagne’ for lovely bark. For gorgeous stems I have Acer palmatum ‘Sango Kaku’, Cornus alba ‘Baton Rouge’ and Cornus sanguinea ‘Anny’s Winter Orange’. And for mad curliness there is a contorted hazel and the twisted copper wire- looking Muehlenbeckia astonii.

Acer palmatum ‘Sango-Kaku’

For scent, I have Edgeworthia chrysantha, although it is not highly scented, I love the flowers.

Edgeworthia chrysantha

Skimmias and sarcococcas are a must and I seemed to need three witch hazels, (I know, it’s madness.) I planted variegated Azara micorphylla for a delicious whiff of vanilla in March. Of course I absolutely need the divine Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’.

Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’

For interesting foliage, there are various small conifers, Abies koreana which I love, Picea glauca var. Albertiana ‘Lilliput’ and Thuya plicata ‘Whipcord’, For all-year round colour there is a Nandina domestica‘ Bright Lights’, pittospermum and a new bright red leaved Photinia fraseri ‘Red Light’.

Photinia fraseri ‘Red Light’

At a lower level I have heuchera, tiarella, ferns, grasses and bergenias such as ‘Bressingham Ruby’ with big leaves which turn red in winter. I know I have crammed far too much in and in a few years I shall have to sacrifice some of the shrubs and trees but I want instant impact. I am getting older, I have planted too many gardens and then moved away just as they are maturing.

This was the winter garden in February. I have my special snowdrops all round the edge, the warm weather put paid to the flowers very quickly. The daffodils are N. Rijnveld’s Early Sensation’ which often start blooming in January.

Other early daffodils include Narcissus ‘Spring Dawn’, Narcissus ‘February Gold’ and Narcissus ‘Jetfire’. All the daffodils were early this year.

Narcissus ‘Jetfire’

Little snowflakes, Leucojum vernum look just like bell-shaped snowdrops with glossy leaves. I have the green tipped ones and Leucojum carpathicum with yellow tips and Leucojum vernum var. wagneri with twin heads on each stalk. These are still looking good when the snowdrops have gone over.

Leucojum vernum var.wagneri

I planted a lot of the dear little tommies, Crocus tommasinianus but the squirrels dug them all up and ate them. A friend told me to plant crocuses with holly leaves and so I planted out pots I had in the greenhouse and it worked. Squirrels don’t like getting their paws pricked. I grew the pretty Crocus sieberi tricolor, lovely yellow ‘Romance’ and ‘Dorothy’, and lilac ‘Vanguard’. I like the dainty little species Crocus rather than the big fat Dutch ones.

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Crocus ‘Vanguard’

I grow plenty of little Iris, I think my favourite is Iris reticulata ‘Katherine’s Gold’ although I love the shades of blue too.

Iris ‘Katharine’s Gold’

Cyclamen coum is wonderful for winter and the silver leaved form is pretty all year round.

Cyclamen coum ‘Silver leaf form

Little bulbs of scillas and chionodoxias make blue carpets eventually, but at the moment I just have small clumps. Not all grape hyacinths are invasive, I grow the white Muscari ‘White Magic’, Muscari ‘Jenny Robinson’ in powder blue, sky-blue Muscari azureum and Muscari ‘Purple Rain.’

Muscari ‘Jenny Robinson’

Muscari latifolium ‘Purple Rain’

Puschkinia libanotica is irresistible with its striped blue flowers

Puschkinia libonatica

I miss my carpets of hellebores but I love the many doubles you can get nowadays, ‘Penny’s Pink’ is lovely and all the Frostkiss range with girls names such as ‘Anna’s Red’, ‘Cheryl’s Shine’ and ‘Molly’s White’. The IceN’roses range is lovely too. I have just got ‘Carlotta’ so far.

Helleborus ‘Snow Rose Camelot”

Helleborus ‘Penny’s Pink

Helleborus ‘Anna’s Red’

Helleborus ‘HGC Ice N’ Roses Carlotta’ .

Helleborus niger ‘Snowdrift’

Some people say the only place for heather is on the moors but I disagree, Erica carnea is not the moorland heather, it is a beautiful plant which gives colour in the depths of winter and bees love it.

Now that spring is here I have lots of primroses in every colour, I love the hose in hose, doubles and the gold and silver laced ones.

Laced primroses round Prunus serrula

And now is the time for fritillaries, ipheions, wood anemones, violets, corydalis, pulsatillas, epimediums, pulmonaria, erythroniums and trilliums and all the little spring jewels.

Pulsatilla vulgaris

Ipheion ‘Jessie’

Erythronium californicum ‘White Beauty‘

Even with my small garden I have room for many more of these little treasures. I am not keen on broad sweeps of colour, I much prefer to create a tapestry of interest where there are always new things to look at. It’s just as well as I no longer have room for broad strokes.

Wordless Wednesday. ‘Cor Blimey, Mary Poppins!’

Narcissus bulbocodium ‘Mary Poppins’

Six on Saturday. November Stars.

As the poet, Thomas Hood remarked, November is a gloomy month. Here in Suffolk we have not had the awful storms that have battered other parts of the country, but we have had torrential rain and flooding making many roads and lanes impassable. But even though everything looks a little limp and traumatised by constant downpours, there are still lovely blooms to enjoy in this early part of the month before the frost destroys everything.

I spent nearly three months in our French home this summer after an interminable wait for electricity to be installed, so I have not kept up with the blogging community. Lovely Evie kept my garden here watered, but I wasn’t prepared for the eruption of weeds and I have still not quite got it all back as I like it. But never mind, there are still some of my favourite flowers to enjoy so let’s make a start.

Readers of my blog will know that I have a passion for nerines and as many of them are not hardy a large part of my greenhouse is dedicated to them.

But following the six rule means I have to pick just one for today and it is my all-time favourite Nerine undulata. Clive Boyce found this fine form of it in his mother’s garden. He submitted it to the RHS for assessment. It was confirmed as a new variety of special merit and he named it ‘Seaton’. Clive gave me this plant more than 20 years ago and despite life changes and several different houses I have kept it with me. I have several pots of it now and this year I am risking a clump outside as despite its delicate, fragile appearance Clive assures me it is hardy. It looks lovely with Salvia ‘Mirage Rose’ and Salvia ‘Water Melon’ which are past their best but still quite colourful.

Nerine undulata ‘Seaton’

My other passion for this time of the year is chrysanthemums and I collected quite a few in my previous garden, many of them on the red list. I brought cuttings from many of them and next year they should have built up into good plants. My favourite, Chrysanthemum ‘Mavis Smith’ is already a substantial plant. I love it for its quilled flowers like pink shuttlecocks. Mavis who was a member of Suffolk Plant Heritage found this in the garden of her Pilates class.

Chrysanthemum ‘Mavis Smith’

A few years ago I was given seeds of giant dahlias bred by Keith Hammett in New Zealand. These were crosses of Dahlia imperialis and other dahlias such as Dahlia coccinea. Dahlia imperialis grows to three metres high and its hollow stems make it very susceptible to autumn winds. Also, because it grows so huge it has a lot of growing to do before it can bloom and in the UK frosts normally zap it before it has flowers. The dahlias I grew all had pink flowers which was a bit disappointing as I thought there would be a bigger range as they were crosses with other dahlias.. But they all bloomed in early October in my previous garden so I was able to get a good display before the frost. I brought a couple of the massive tubers with me but I mislaid them so they were planted late. I thought I would lose them as they were quite dried up. Anyway, this one grew and grew until its support could no longer cope with it so I trained it along the top of the fence. At last its buds are opening and I can enjoy the pink flowers.

The bushy perennial snapdragon Antirrhinum ‘Pretty in Pink’;’ was launched at Chelsea Flower Show in 2015, I grew it and it had several white seedlings which were quite pretty.

Antirrhinum ‘Pretty in Pink’

Antirrhinum ‘Pretty in Pink’ seedling

I now have a seedling which I think is even prettier, it is white but delicately tinged with pink. I am going to dig it up and bring it in as it is quite a young plant and I don’t know how hardy it will be.

Alstroemerias bloom all summer long and keep going into the autumn if you keep removing the spent stems. I was not here to to do that, but still my Alstroemeria ‘Indian Summer’ is looking as fresh and colourful as it did when I planted it. After the first frosts alstroemerias die down so I am enjoying it whilst I can. I am looking forward to having a bigger clump so that I can spare a few blooms for a vase.

Alstroemeria ‘Indian Summer’

I bought this next plant as Digitalis ‘Bella’ but it looks like an Isoplexis to me. I am confused, has Isoplexis now become Digitalis? Well, I just looked it up and find that it was a new Chelsea introduction in 2019 and it is called Isoplexis isabelliana ‘Bella’. It is a compact form of the sprawling Canary Island Foxglove. I have never grown it before and although I believe it is a short-lived perennial, I am not sure how hardy it is. It is looking pristine right now so I think I will dig it up and bring it into the conservatory so I can enjoy it for longer.

Isoplexis isabelliana ‘Bella’

I have now brought all my succulents and most of my tender plants into the conservatory and it is looking like a jungle. I love it and I will write a conservatory post soon. I shall also write a post about the French home and garden where I disappeared to this summer. It was too hot to plant much, but I have made a start.

So here we have my Six on Saturday which is hosted by Jim of Garden Ruminations. I am looking forward to catching up with the SoSers and all my other blogging friends.

By the way, I have plenty of Lilium regale seeds now ready so if I promised you some please email me your address.

Six on Saturday. Enjoying the Rain.

Well, that is a bit of an exaggeration; I am getting a bit sick of grey skies and rain but my newly planted garden is loving it and so is my first plant, Eucomis vandermerwei.

Eucomis vandermerwei

This beauty comes from an alpine area with heavy summer rainfall so it should feel quite at home this year. Its homeland is a South African mountain plateau in Mpumalanga and it is used to frost in winter, but not winter wet, so it lives in the greenhouse in winter and is kept fairly dry. This is a dwarf eucomis with attractive purple spotted leaves with wavy edges. It is on the red list in the wild in South Africa because it is becoming quite rare. The flowers with the typical eucomis pineapple-like tuft are a lovely dark maroon. Incidentally, although this is sometimes called the Pineapple Lily, it is neither a pineapple or a lily. It is actually a member of the asparagus family. I think next year I will keep it in a pot as it gets a bit overlooked when it is planted out as it is so small and rather dwarfed by nearby Eucomis ‘Sparkling Burgundy’ which is huge. Mind you, this is not one for the conservatory as the flowers are pollinated by flowers and smell of carrion.

Dahlias are thirsty plants too and they are relishing all this rain. I miss all my dahlias. As readers of my blog will know I grew lots and ended up with 70 home grown ones because, I couldn’t bear to throw any away. Now I have just a few named varieties and I have left all my babies behind. This Japanese variety called Dahlia ‘Tsuki-yori-no-shisha’ is one that many of my fellow bloggers grow. The flowers are wonderful for a vase. It is ridiculously over the top, some may say, vulgar. But I love it. It has huge fimbriated creamy white flowers and looks like a huge, shaggy bird ruffling up its feathers in a rage.

Dahlia ‘Tsuki-yori-no-shisha’

It makes a large, imposing plant which I like in front of the black shed. Some visitors love it and others see it and look rather startled and embarrassed, as if they have caught me out in an appalling lack of taste and don’t like to mention it. I can never remember its Japanese name but the translation is ‘Messenger from the Moon’ which is lovely.

Dahlia ‘Tsuki-yori-no-shisha’

I love white flowers and I was pleasantly surprised when the sanguisorba I bought as ‘Pink Tanna’ turned out like this. I just love those fluffy white caterpillars. It looks like Sanguisorba albiflora but I can’t be sure as sanguisorbas are a relatively new passion. I have a few others and I shall certainly buy more as I can’t resist them. I believe most of them prefer a moist soil, so here is another plant enjoying this summer. Different species hybridise readily so if you have several different ones the children might be interesting.

Sanguisorba alboflora?

Since moving to this small garden I am growing a lot of clematis because I love them and because vertical gardening is a great use of space. They have done very well in such a short time and another day I will show you some of them. But although I grow plants from seeds and cuttings all the time, I have never had much success growing clematis from cuttings. This next one, a lovely texensis type called ‘Princess Kate’ is my only success.

Clematis ‘Princess Kate’

Recently, I saw lovely Clematis ‘John Huxtable’ a beautiful late-flowering Jackmanni clematis in a friend’s garden and came home with lots of cutting material. My friend assured me that this is one that is easy from cuttings. I have found that some roses root much easier than others from cuttings, but I never thought that this might be the case for clematis. Anyway, I have a tip that I’d like to share with you that comes from the lady who does all the propagation for Suffolk Plant Heritage. You probably know that clematis cuttings should be internodal, but I have learnt that if you slice the stem vertically for a short way, then spread the two ‘legs’ out and insert them all the way into the compost then this encourages roots to grow. You probably knew this, but it is new to me and I am looking forward to seeing how it works.

Clematis ‘John Huxtable’ in Maggie’s garden.

I do like to include something fragrant and my next flower is intensely sweet-smelling, but only at night. I have written about it before because it is a great favourite of mine. During the day it is quite an insignificant little flower with tightly closed white flowers backed with maroon. It is an easy to grow annual called Zaluzinskya capensis ‘Midnight Candy’ and I always have to look up how to spell it. I sow it in March in pots so that I have some to keep and some to give to friends. It is no use growing this in a border as it looks so insignificant during the day and doesn’t smell at all. Grow it in a pot and bring it in for the evening and the scent will amaze you. Those starry white flowers open up at night and smell of honey and spice and maybe coconut; I find scents difficult to describe, but take it from me this one is amazing.

Zaluzinskya capensis ‘Midnight Candy’

I will finish with an iris which is putting in a surprise August performance. It is a Cedric Morris Iris seedling and this is the first time it has flowered so perhaps it hasn’t yet learnt that it is supposed to bloom in June. It has quite a small flower but I love all these Cedric Morris babies and get very excited when one blooms for the first time.

Cedric Morris Iris seedling.

Six on Saturday comes to you courtesy of Jim at Garden Ruminations. He always has interesting plants to show us and so do all the many bloggers who now join in. What a lovely way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon; a nice cup of tea and lots of interesting plants from all round the world.

Six on Saturday. Potted Pleasures.

July has been a bit of a washout. But I’m not complaining because I’ve been spared hours of watering in my newly planted garden. Still, I am trying to warm myself up with some fiery colours. Last week, I was in the red and this week I have some more reds and warm oranges in pots.

Petunia exserta

My first one is beautiful Petunia exserta which I grew for the first time several years ago and wrote about on my blog. This year I am growing it again as it is a favourite of mine and it has a story; I love a plant with a story. This species petunia is so rare in its native homeland; the ancient and isolated pampas grassland of the Serras de Sedesta in Southern Brazil that it is almost extinct, like the Dodo. In fact maybe it already is extinct in the wild and growing it just like having a Dodo in the garden. It was only discovered in 1987 and in 2007 there were only 14 true Petunia exserta plants in the wild. Of course, there are the usual pressures of loss of habitat and climate change, but the other problem for this dear little petunia is that it hybridises with the wild white Petunia axillaris which is one of the parents of our modern petunias. Actually, I have found seed companies which list Petunia axillaris and next year I think I might try it, as it is intensely fragrant and will climb if given support. Obviously I won’t grow it alongside Petunia exserta. Mayan and Inca people believed that the scent of petunias warded off dangerous underground monsters and spirits, so that is handy. Petunia exserta is not fragrant as it is pollinated by hummingbirds and that is why it is bright red, so that it will attract them in spite of being tucked away in shady nooks on rocks. The flowers are star-shaped and the name exserta means projecting or thrust out and it refers to the extended stamens and stigma. I love it. It is easy from seed, I just sow it thinly in the pots it’s going to live in, so I don’t have to bother pricking it out.

Petunia exserta

Next I have a common or garden hippeastrum which we all grow at Christmas and for some reason incorrectly call ‘Amaryllis‘. I am not sure of the name of this one; it’s possibly ‘Red Lion’, but it is such an intense red. I like the way it blooms on a short stalk; they usually have such impractical giraffe necks. I have found that when I get these bulbs to re-flower they always do it in summer.

Hippeastrum

I have lots of red pelargoniums in pots which I have accumulated over the years; most of them with long forgotten names. But I always recognise Pelargonium ‘Paul Crampel’ because of its huge bright red flowers. This is a zonal pelargonium which took the world by storm when it was introduced in 1860. Nobody had ever seen such vigorous, bushy pelargoniums with such huge intensely scarlet flowers. It sold for a guinea each, which was a huge sum; about £110 in today’s money. This pelargonium became a familiar sight as it was planted outside Buckingham Palace for many years. Today, it has perhaps been superseded by ‘Moulin Rouge’ which is even better, but I like a bit of history with my plants. This is just a young plant from a cutting earlier this year but it will grow into a substantial plant.

Rosebud pelargoniums also create a bit of nostalgia, especially Pelargonium ‘Apple Blossom Rosebud’ which appeared in 1870 and was a favourite of Queen Victoria.

Pelargonium ‘Apple Blossom Rosebud‘

The Rosebud pelargonium was not created by some sort of Frankenstein genetic manipulation, it appeared as a spontaneous mutation in 1850. As you can imagine it was popular for buttonholes with its tight heads of double flowers. I also have Pelargonium ‘Scarlet Rambler’ which is a rosebud pelargonium from 1870. Both these rosebuds grow to about 60 cm. ‘ Apple Blossom Rosebud” kept on growing and bloomed all winter in the conservatory. ‘I chopped ‘Scarlet Rambler’ down and kept it in the shed, so I am lucky it survived. This winter it will come into the conservatory. I don’t know why it’s called ‘Rambler’ because it is an upright one and doesn’t ramble with me.

Pelargonium ‘Scarlet Rambler’

Mimulus auranticus has lovely orange, tubular flowers. I find it has confusingly been renamed Diplacus auranticus which I might have trouble remembering. But still, I refuse to call it Sticky Monkey Flower, even though it is sticky. This lovely plant is smothered in flowers throughout the summer. It comes from California where it is pollinated by two sorts of flies which have extremely long tongues which can reach down its long tubular throat. I don’t know whether we have any flies with long tongues here, but I take cuttings. This plant has to be kept frost free and quite dry in winter.

Diplacus auranticus

The orange flowered Thunbergia alata (or Black-Eyed Susie if you must,) flowers all summer long. I have it in a pot growing up the trellis in my secret garden. I wish I had planted it in the ground now, as it grows huge. It is usually treated as an annual but I put it in a pot because it can be perennial if it’s kept frost free. This is a fast growing climber which is easy from seed. You can get it in the more traditional yellow with a black eye or white or even pink. I love this orange one because it really glows.

Thunbergia alata ‘Orange Beauty‘

Thunbergia alata ‘Orange Beauty’

Oh dear, that seems to be seven plants, but I only included Pelargonium ‘Rosebud Apple Blossom’ to show you Queen Victoria’s favourite, so let’s not count it.

As usual Six on Saturday is hosted by Jim at Garden Ruminations who always has interesting plants to show us. And of course, here you’ll find links to keen gardeners round the world who share their seasonal beauties.

In a Vase on Monday. First Pickings.

These are the very first flowers I have picked for the house since we moved in 6 months ago, so it is quite historic for me. At first there were no flowers to pick and then when I eventually had flowers to pick I couldn’t bear to pick them. I still can’t really; I started off with some parsley which has gone to seed, some fat, puffy silene seedheads and just two cosmos. Obviously, it was underwhelming, so I added a rose which is growing up the wall by the front door, I don’t know which one it is but I am not keen on it, it does keep on flowering though. Then I added one bloom of lovely pale pink Rosa ‘James Galway’ which I grew from a cutting, a couple more cosmos and some zinnias..

Rosa ‘James Galway’ on the right

I know that the more you pick cosmos, the more they come but I didn’t want to sacrifice any buds. The ones I have grown this year are ‘Double Click Rose Bonbon’ and ‘ Cupcakes Blush’ which is my current favourite. Cosmos are the easiest annuals to grow from seed; they never fail to germinate and they grow like weeds. They don’t even seem to mind too much if you don’t pick them out at the right time.

Cosmos ‘Cupcakes Blush’ on the left, C. ‘Double Click Rose Bourbon’ on the right.

The dark purple flower stem is the tall growing Salvia ‘Amisted’, at least I think it is, I bought it as Salvia ‘Black and Bloom’ but I think that is more blue. I put a black petunia to go with it but I think I will take it out, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Cosmos Pink Cupcake’

The zinnias are a bit of a disappointment, they don’t look anything like I expected and they don’t grow very tall. I wish I had put them in a pot now, instead of giving them valuable space in the border. They are supposed to be Zinnia elegans ‘Queen Red Lime’, but they don’t look like any picture I’ve seen of them.

Zinnia elegans ‘Queen Green Lime’? bottom.

The tips of the zinnia flowers are slightly green and the backs of the flowers are greenish too. Still, I don’t like them very much.

I picked one little marigold, Calendula ‘Art Shades’ and one spray of the perennial antirrhinum which was a seedling from Antirrhinum ‘Pretty in Pink’ which turned out white.

I also added a hosta flower and that was it. I have many more beautiful and interesting flowers in the garden but nothing I can bring myself to pick. I haven’t even unpacked all my vases yet, they are still sitting in boxes in the shed and I am not too keen on unpacking them at the moment as they are carefully guarded by this beautiful wasp’s nest which looks just like a paper lampshade. At one time I would have got rid of it but now I adopt a more live and let live attitude to the creatures in my garden. Unless we’re talking about vine weevils, lily beetles, slugs or snails, and then I’m a ruthless killer.

Anyway, today is a gloomy day and it seemed the right time to bring just a little bit of the garden indoors.

Thank you to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for hosting this popular meme. It is a pleasure to join in again, even though I have only grudgingly plonked a few flowers in a vase ; it is a start, and maybe next time I will spare a few treasures.

Six on Saturday. In the Red.

I’m always impressed by gardeners who plan their gardens out on graph paper before planting and stick to their scheme. I always have a grand plan for my garden projects, but I never stick to it; the garden takes on a life if its own and evolves despite me. When I started this garden I thought I would keep to a pastel colour scheme so that nothing would jar when the garden is seen as a whole, as the space is quite restricted. I have a friend who is an artist with a small courtyard garden and she only allows white flowers; her garden looks fabulous. But I am a gardener, not an artist, and I can’t bear the idea of banishing so many of the colourful plants that I love. I have an area of white flowers, as who didn’t fall for a white garden after visiting Sissinghurst? But then I bought a few plants with red flowers and the only place to put them was with the whites because I can’t mix pink and red. And then the reds seemed to want to take over and then carry on up the garden and mingle with peach and apricot. I didn’t really plan this, it just happened.

The first red plant I had to have was Lobelia x speciosa ‘Fan Scarlet’ which I couldn’t grow before as it needs a moist soil. I still don’t have moist soil, but I now have a wall -mounted retractable hosepipe which has revolutionised my life. I now grow astilbes and candelabra primulas for the first time. This plant is a cross between the blue Lobelia syphilitica and the gorgeous red Lobelia cardinalis. It looks just like Lobelia cardinalis with its beautiful red, tubular flowers but it is a bit of a cheat for the poor humming birds who pollinate it because it only has 20% of the nectar found in its parent. That doesn’t matter here in the UK as there are no humming birds to disappoint.

Lobelia x speciosa ‘Fan Red’

Red flowers are often pollinated by humming birds rather than bees in their native lands and so they are more nectar rich. Although bees do take pollen from red flowers, apparently they find it hard to differentiate between green and red so they are more likely to leave them for humming birds. I always thought that Monarda didyma was called Bee Balm because bees love it, but I found out recently it is because the leaves were used to soothe bee stings and red Monarda digyma is another plant pollinated by humming birds, but bees love it too. This plant is so pretty with its scarlet whorls.

Monarda didyma x fistulosa ‘Oneida’

Its name used to be Monarda digyma ‘Squaw’ but Piet Oudolf who bred it has decided that this name might be offensive to Native Americans, so he has changed it to Monarda digyma x fistulosa ‘Oneida’. The Oneida tribe believed that this was the sixth plant given to them by their supreme creator, Orenda for medicinal purposes My previous attempts to grow this beauty have meant mildew and lingering death, but now I can give it the moisture it needs, I have a beautiful, tall and healthy plant.

Monarda ddidyma x fistulosa ‘Oneida’

My number three plant, Gaillardia is also from America. Its common name Blanket Flower could come from the patterns of the flowers resembling the brightly coloured blankets of Native Americans. My plant, Gaillardia x grandiflora ‘Mesa Red’ is not bi-colour but I bought it on impulse because it has masses of flowers which are a beautifully intense red. I have never grown Gaillardia x grandiflora before and I don’t really know why, as it is a such a jolly daisy. I believe it is a short- lived perennial.

Gaillardia x grandiflora ‘Mesa Red’

Number four is another daisy, Echinacea purpurea and like the monarda was used by Native Americans for medicinal purposes,; this one was used for wounds and infections. These plants are loved by bees and butterflies, although they prefer the straight species; some of the fancy new hybrids are sterile. They also rarely survive the winter. This year I have bought two ‘Sombrero ‘ hybrids as they are supposed to be more winter hardy. I hope they will prove more long lasting. This lovely red one is called Echinacea ‘Sombrero Tres Amigos’. They are supposed to show three colours at once, starting off peach and ending up pink. Mine are just red, but still beautiful.

Echinacea ‘Sombrero Tres Amigos’

We move to a different continent for number five, Crocosmia ‘ Lucifer’ which comes from the grasslands of Africa. This lovely red one was bred by Alan Bloom of Bressingham in the 1960s. I have had it for years and it has moved around with me. The owner of my earlier garden was a friend of Alan Bloom and he gave him this plant so I take a piece with me whenever I move. It’s still a good red, although it is very tall, if I was buying one now I would perhaps try the shorter Crocosmia ‘Hellfire’.

Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’

Number six is a Martagon lily from Europe, I have seen martagons growing wild in dappled shade in the mountains of Switzerland. This lovely mahogany red one was bred by an American breeder, Claude Shride. I love all martagon lilies and unfortunately they seem to be favourites of the lily beetles too. But I have worked hard to keep Lilium martagon ‘Claude Shride’ pristine. Next year I shall add to the clump and have even more, I think it’s gorgeous. My other martagons have finished blooming now and I don’t know whether I was late planting Claude or if he is always late flowering.

Liium martagon ‘Claude Shride’

So there we have my six ‘ In the Red’ this week, which depicts my red flowers and the way my bank balance is heading as I have spent the last six months making a garden from scratch. I bought a lot of plants with me and grew masses of stuff from seeds and cuttings. But still, it has been a punishing time for my credit card. And I know that the only way I’m going to stop is when I can’t fit any more plants in. And that will be a very sad day for me. July is a floriferous month, so do check out Garden Ruminations to find flowers of every colour under the sun, courtesy of Jim and his followers.

Six on Saturday. From the Sublime to the Ridiculous.

I have three honeysuckles which waft their sublime perfume round the garden in summer. They are all varieties of our native honeysuckle, Lonicera periclymenum. Titania’s bower in Misummer Nights Dream was ‘ quite overcanopied with luscious woodbine‘ so the Queen of the Fairies must have loved the delicious fragrance too. What a pity that woodbine, the old name for honeysuckle is now associated with cheap cigarettes. My first honeysuckle is Lonicera periclymenum ‘Graham Thomas’ which was found in a Warwickshire hedgerow in 1960 and named after the famous horticulturalist, Graham Thomas. Actually, this is not such an incredible find, because as I cycle round the lanes in Suffolk I often come across really beautiful and floriferous forms of the common honeysuckle. ‘Graham Thomas’ has grown very quickly and filled the whole trellis but it has not many blooms. I am much more excited by Lonicera periclymenum ‘Rhubarb and Custard’ which has a silly name, but the two- tone orange and pink flowers are the colour of rhubarb and custard and they have a gorgeous perfume. It seems to be quite a compact form, so far anyway.

Lonicera periclymenum Rhubarb and Custard’

Lonicera periclymenum ‘Scentsation’ proved its worth in my previous garden with its masses of yellow and white flowers and wonderful fragrance so I have it here too and it is looking lovely. It is highly perfumed as its name suggests.

Lonicera periclymenum ‘Scentsation’

My third choice today is neither sublime or ridiculous but it is very pretty and it is new to me. It is a catmint with lovely large flowers with spotty throats and I don’t know whether it is a new cultivar or just one that has passed me by. It is Nepeta subsessilis ‘Blue Prelude’ and it is just as attractive to pollinators as Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’ which I used to grow, but it is a much neater plant. I grow it in front of Orlaya grandiflora.

Nepeta subsessilis ‘Blue Prelude’

And now for the ridiculous. My last three plants are marmite plants which some people love and some loathe. I have a friend who hates this next one. Albuca nelsonii has ridiculously huge onion-like bulbs which protrude from the soil.

.Its common name is Slime Lily which doesn’t add to its charm. It is called this because of the mucilaginous sap contained in the sap and leaves. This might sound rather off-putting, but I love the white and green- striped flowers, My friend says the stems are too long, but they would probably be good for flower arrangements. And anyway, I like the 60 cm long stems; such an enormous bulb would look silly with short stems and the upward facing ivory and green flowers are quite showy. I just went out to take a photograph and I find the flowers have closed up as it has been raining all day, I didn’t realise they did this. It looks set to be rainy all weekend, The Pianist is convinced that it is my fault as I have been wishing for rain too hard. I keep telling him that I don’t have that much influence but he doesn’t believe me. This plant bulks up quickly from offsets so you have to try to find friends who don’t hate it to take some on. It is not hardy so needs to be kept in the greenhouse in winter. It is becoming rare in its native South Africa. It is toxic to eat, although an infusion of the these bulbs and kniphofia are used for a protection against sorcery. But I wouldn’t recommend it, you might poison yourself rather than any passing sorcerers.

Albuca nelsonii

I also have Albuca shawii with pretty nodding yellow flowers which smell of almonds, but this is for another day as it is not in bloom yet. My second ridiculous plant is also an albuca. It was given to me by a lovely lady who had read my blog and saw that I like albucas. Every time I look at it I can’t help smiling as it looks endearingly weird. It is called Albuca spiralis but is known as the Frizzle Sizzle Plant. As you can see, it is quite bonkers.

Albuca spiralis

Albuca spiralis

I can’t make up my mind about my last plant. I bought it recently because it is curious and I have never seen it before and I love plants with unusual foliage. It is called Farfugium ‘Wavy Gravy’ and it looks a bit like kale. But the crinkled leaves are edged with silver and pink which is quite an attractive look. Apparently, the plant has bright yellow flowers in autumn. But it is the foliage which is interesting- I think, I’m still not sure about it.. Maybe you think it is ridiculous. I haven’t shown it to my Slime Lily hating friend yet, I can’t face her scorn.

Farfugium ‘Wavy Gravy’

So there we have my Six on Saturday on this rainy July day. For more seasonal plants from different parts of the world go and visit Jim of Garden Ruminations. He always has interesting plants to see and so do his many followers.

Six on Saturday. Lazy Summer Days.

Lilium regale

It’s been a hammock sort of day today, it was very hot and the promised thunder storm never arrived. But I’m not complaining, the hammock is a wonderful hot July day treat. A pity the pond is too small for a quick plunge.

I will start my six this week with my favourite lily, Lilium regale. I grew this from seed and it is the easiest and quickest lily to grow from seed. The seeds germinate like mustard and cress and you can get flowers in as little as two years; I don’t know any other lily which comes on so quickly. It has sumptuous white trumpets backed with pink and an intoxicating fragrance. In the wild this grows in an incredibly restricted area in the mountains of Sichuan in China. It was collected by E.H .Wilson in 1903 and it has since become the most popular lily in the world and with good reason; it is divine. He first collected 18,2007 bulbs, most of which rotted because they weren’t packed properly. He went back in 1910 and 6000 more bulbs were collected, which seems awful vandalism. It was on this occasion that Wilson broke a leg in two places when a landslide fell down on his party on a narrow path. He nearly had to have it amputated as it became infected and he walked with what he called his lily limp forever afterwards. Lilium regale is the parent of many of the modern trumpet lilies.

Lilium regale

I love fragrance and the sweet-smelling Heliotropum arborescens ‘Cherry Pie’ is wonderful in a pot. Victorian gardeners were keen on it and used it for bedding or greenhouse culture. Sometimes they trained it as a standard and I think I might try that one year. It has clusters of violet flowers and crinkly leaves. It is popular for the delicious fragrance which is supposed to be a cross between cherry pie and vanilla. I can’t quite detect cherry pie but it does smell delicious which is a bit misleading, as it is toxic. So don’t eat it. The plant will look good all summer as long as you remember to deadhead and keep pinching it out to stop it getting straggly. My grandmother used to grow this although she always claimed the modern cultivars had lost much of the delicious fragrance. The scent takes me straight back to my childhood and spending time with my grandmother who was a fanatical gardener.

Heliotropum arborescens ‘Cherry Pie’

Begonia ‘Tiger Paws’ seems to be enjoying its summer holiday in a shady part of the garden. This is a house plant really, it likes shade and high humidity. It would have got neglected in my old garden, but here I have time to cater for the needs of even the fussiest prima donna. I love the chocolate brown leaves with lime green spots and each one is edged with hairs. Now it is flowering with little pink flowers, but it is grown for its fabulous foliage rather than the flowers..

Begonia ‘Tiger Paws’

Nearby, is another spotty plant, Podophyllum versipelle ‘Spotty Dotty’. It’s one I loved and lost in my previous garden. It needs plenty of moisture and probably needs feeding too. This time I hope to keep it happy. It has large, crazy, spotty, parasol- like leaves. I love it. It has red flowers too but I don’t care if it never flowers as long as it keeps producing those wonderful leaves.

Podophyllum versipelle ‘Spotty Dotty’

Habranthus robustus is in bloom now. It lives in a pot in the greenhouse in the winter and I forget about it each year until suddenly the pink buds appear. Actually, I think this is another case of a name change and it is now called Zephyranthes robusta. The bulbs need to be kept dry and then the flowers emerge in summer after a soaking. Hence the name Pink Rain Lily I suppose. I think I might try a few bulbs in the gravel garden to test their hardiness. They are members of the Amaryllis family and very beautiful. I would probably value them more if they weren’t so easy.

Zephyranthes robusta

I have had Calceolaria integrifolia ‘ Kentish Hero’ in a pot for years. It is very easy from cuttings if you need a new one. I love its red pouches which become more orange as they go on. They look like smiley mouths and chins to me, you can even see the tonsils. It blooms all summer long if you deadhead it and I think it looks dramatic in a pot.

Calceolaria integrifolia ‘Kentish Hero’

So there we have it, a quick six today because I need to get back to the hammock. It’s evening now but still very hot. Do visit Jim at Garden Ruminations to have a look at other gardeners’ July treats.