Appropriately planted on the full "Planting" moon today:
- French Lavender "Silver Anouk"
- Scabious Barocca
- Phygelius Candydrops Red
- Astilbe Red
- Lobelia Queen Victoria
Now, the last three additions have red flowers, nominally. Only the phygelius is actually in bloom, and the colour is more of a shocking pink. The lobelia has purple foliage, and we'll see if it actually flowers in this garden - I've tried it before, and it never thrived enough to do so. The astilbe, we'll see - should be shaded by the angelica enough to hide the redness...
In addition, we planted my old rosemary that I raised from seed a couple of summers ago. I also changed the entrance hanging basket plants (and the compost too - this one got some gel crystals to help with retaining water) and now have mini petunias in there, still to produce buds. Finally, I planted my Gardener's Delight tomatoes into halved growbags stood on the edge. Oh, and today I trimmed the grass, and it was fun! :))
Pictures of everything to follow!
Showing posts with label planting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label planting. Show all posts
Saturday, 26 June 2010
Monday, 31 May 2010
May Bank Holiday
Not the greatest weather by far; today there was no rain, but the clouds were dark and low. Oppressive. Good for a visit to the garden centre, though, and planting!
We got a lot of herbs and some perennials I was looking for. Verbena bonariensis, only a couple of inches tall at present but should rise to 1.5 m. Jasmine and honeysuckle, for the west-facing fence. Angelica and bronze fennel for the border, with some golden and variegated lemon balm for edging. A selection of mints (spearmint, Swiss, eau de Cologne and pineapple mints), a couple of pink and salmon pelargoniums in lovely blue metallic pots, red-veined sorrel and Honey Melon sage went into pots and troughs. Oh, and we also took the opportunity to plant the lily of the valley under the elder bush, and some African daisies (osteospermums) that we picked up a couple of weeks ago.
In addition to all the hard work of digging planting holes, my wonderful SO trimmed the grass (using a new, bladed strimmer), dug out some more of the insidious bramble, and pruned the weird shrub/trees that were hiding the patio and blocking the light. I think these will have to go completely, but that's usually an autumn job.
The following picture is what we currently look out on from the living room patio doors. On the bricks behind the table we've lifted the strawberry tub so it would be out of the way of slugs; next to it is a huge terracotta pot of lavender and pots of spearmint and night scented stock (still seedlings). In the next month or so the table should go to the trellised area on the side, thus creating space for patio seating, surrounded by scented flowers and herbs for our olfactory pleasure (and nectar for bees and butterflies). Something to look forward to!
We got a lot of herbs and some perennials I was looking for. Verbena bonariensis, only a couple of inches tall at present but should rise to 1.5 m. Jasmine and honeysuckle, for the west-facing fence. Angelica and bronze fennel for the border, with some golden and variegated lemon balm for edging. A selection of mints (spearmint, Swiss, eau de Cologne and pineapple mints), a couple of pink and salmon pelargoniums in lovely blue metallic pots, red-veined sorrel and Honey Melon sage went into pots and troughs. Oh, and we also took the opportunity to plant the lily of the valley under the elder bush, and some African daisies (osteospermums) that we picked up a couple of weeks ago.
In addition to all the hard work of digging planting holes, my wonderful SO trimmed the grass (using a new, bladed strimmer), dug out some more of the insidious bramble, and pruned the weird shrub/trees that were hiding the patio and blocking the light. I think these will have to go completely, but that's usually an autumn job.
The following picture is what we currently look out on from the living room patio doors. On the bricks behind the table we've lifted the strawberry tub so it would be out of the way of slugs; next to it is a huge terracotta pot of lavender and pots of spearmint and night scented stock (still seedlings). In the next month or so the table should go to the trellised area on the side, thus creating space for patio seating, surrounded by scented flowers and herbs for our olfactory pleasure (and nectar for bees and butterflies). Something to look forward to!
Monday, 17 May 2010
Rainy Sunday
Yesterday was a miserable, wet, cold day and I didn't do anything in the garden. Today, however, it was sunny and warm, and I did a lot!
1. Repotted my fig tree and placed it in front of a south-facing wall. In a few years, we may even have figs!
2. Planted 6 strawberry plants: 3 Honeoye (early), 1 Elsanta (mid-season) and 2 Symphony (late). I believe that their fruiting seasons will overlap quite a lot, and they didn't influence my choice at the garden centre (B&Q actually). I got those as they looked the best in their little pots. Strawberries produce a little fruit in the first summer, then give their best in years 2 and 3; after that they should be replaced for best results.
3. Sowed seeds indoors: 3 tomatoes Gardener's Delight, 3 courgettes De Nice a Fruit Rond, 1 patty pan squash and 1 butternut squash. Some would say that it's too late to sow tomatoes, and I was considering buying young plants; however, I decided against it. I already had the seed packet, and they may still catch up with the earlier sowings due to starting in (relatively) warm and sunny weather.
4. Sowed some Night Scented Stocks, a hardy annual, straight into the border but also in a pot (seen next to the strawberries). I've never grown them before, but they are supposed to be highly scented in the evenings, so a pot on the patio will help us appreciate them better.
5. Added some compost to the Jerusalem artichoke pods. The plant seem to be flourishing, and as they should reach 2m in height when fully grown, they need a stable anchor. I'm not sure if they are also stem rooting.
1. Repotted my fig tree and placed it in front of a south-facing wall. In a few years, we may even have figs!
2. Planted 6 strawberry plants: 3 Honeoye (early), 1 Elsanta (mid-season) and 2 Symphony (late). I believe that their fruiting seasons will overlap quite a lot, and they didn't influence my choice at the garden centre (B&Q actually). I got those as they looked the best in their little pots. Strawberries produce a little fruit in the first summer, then give their best in years 2 and 3; after that they should be replaced for best results.
3. Sowed seeds indoors: 3 tomatoes Gardener's Delight, 3 courgettes De Nice a Fruit Rond, 1 patty pan squash and 1 butternut squash. Some would say that it's too late to sow tomatoes, and I was considering buying young plants; however, I decided against it. I already had the seed packet, and they may still catch up with the earlier sowings due to starting in (relatively) warm and sunny weather.
4. Sowed some Night Scented Stocks, a hardy annual, straight into the border but also in a pot (seen next to the strawberries). I've never grown them before, but they are supposed to be highly scented in the evenings, so a pot on the patio will help us appreciate them better.
5. Added some compost to the Jerusalem artichoke pods. The plant seem to be flourishing, and as they should reach 2m in height when fully grown, they need a stable anchor. I'm not sure if they are also stem rooting.
Sunday, 25 April 2010
It's taking shape! :))
We spent most of the weekend planting and sowing. When I say planting, I mean my big strong man digging holes, and me filling them... It's suddenly so much easier to garden than on one's own!
The middle-of-the-grass border now has the witch hazel Jelena, golden sedge, helleborus Silvermoon, poppy Princes Victoria Louise, Japanese acer palmatum dissectum, rose Gertrude Jekyll, iris pallida variegata, pink anemone and furry salvia argentea:
Next to the fence we have buddleja Lochinch, echinacea purpurea, Mexican orange blossom and clematis Ville de Lyon:
Left side of the garage border has the foxgloves Giant Spotted, ajuga Braunhertz, hosta Fire and Ice, lady's mantle, rose Ferdinand Pichard and a pink geranium:
Finally, right hand side of the garage border shows the sweet bay, clematis Multi Blue, peony Sarah Bernhardt, rose Zephirine Drouhin, euonymus Harlequin, heuchera Rave On (for real!) and lavender:
Here are the ex-litter boxes which have now all been converted to planters. The one on the left has just been sown with leafy salad crops (clockwise from top left corner: mixed lettuce, rocket, pea shoots, spinach), the middle one is filled with purchased herbs, and the right hand one is the radish and kohlrabi box started about a month ago.
And here is our first harvest from it:
The middle-of-the-grass border now has the witch hazel Jelena, golden sedge, helleborus Silvermoon, poppy Princes Victoria Louise, Japanese acer palmatum dissectum, rose Gertrude Jekyll, iris pallida variegata, pink anemone and furry salvia argentea:
Next to the fence we have buddleja Lochinch, echinacea purpurea, Mexican orange blossom and clematis Ville de Lyon:
Left side of the garage border has the foxgloves Giant Spotted, ajuga Braunhertz, hosta Fire and Ice, lady's mantle, rose Ferdinand Pichard and a pink geranium:
Finally, right hand side of the garage border shows the sweet bay, clematis Multi Blue, peony Sarah Bernhardt, rose Zephirine Drouhin, euonymus Harlequin, heuchera Rave On (for real!) and lavender:
Here are the ex-litter boxes which have now all been converted to planters. The one on the left has just been sown with leafy salad crops (clockwise from top left corner: mixed lettuce, rocket, pea shoots, spinach), the middle one is filled with purchased herbs, and the right hand one is the radish and kohlrabi box started about a month ago.
And here is our first harvest from it:
Monday, 5 April 2010
Easter Weekend
And it has been a busy one this year! In addition to colouring Easter eggs in onion skins, singing in the church choir and feasting with our big family, we did quite a few things in the garden.
As the roses I ordered from the David Austin website had arrived, I planted the three of them and the witch hazel on Friday. The soil in the garden is extremely sticky, with that much clay we could be throwing pots! It was very hard to dig, and I'm happy and grateful that my wonderful SO did the digging today! (He would have done it on Friday, but I didn't ask him to as he was putting up some IKEA furniture for the dining room.)
Today, we added some topsoil on the area where the borders are going to be, planted 3 lavenders, 3 foxgloves, 2 clematis(es?) and a bay tree. By the time we finished all of that (including putting up trellises and removing some gravel from the ground) it was 8 pm and too dark to take pictures. I will put them up as soon as I take some, although at the moment it still looks like bare, muddy soil with some twigs sticking out...
Oh, and Phil also made a trestle-leg garden table which currently holds the radish/kohlrabi planter, and a new one I made today with some special offer herbs from B&Q: 2 lemon thymes, 2 thymes, 1 sage, 1 cream variegated sage, 1 parsley and a lovely, sweet smelling marjoram.
And now, just for record keeping, I will list all the varieties planted this weekend (casual reader, stop reading now! ;))
Rosa 'Gertrude Jekyll'
Rosa 'Zephirine Drouhin'
Rosa 'Ferdinand Pilchard'
Hamamelis 'Jelena'
Clematis 'Multi Blue' (needs light pruning in early spring)
Clematis 'Ville de Lyon' (hard prune to 12" in early spring)
Digitalis 'Giant Spotted'
Laurus Nobilis (Sweet bay)
Lavender
and various herbs.
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