My gardening view this month is definitely full of flowers. In fact, several things are having their best season for many years.
Shrubs – those that survived the harsh winter – seem to be better than usual. It’s been suggested that this is due to the wood ripening well in last summer’s heat. If so, the current hot weather bodes well for next year, providing I can get them through the drought.
One that is full of flower is the kolkwitzia, one of the first things I planted in the garden.
It’s easy to see why it’s commonly known as the beauty bush. It will need a good prune when the flowers fade as it’s starting to encroach too far into the border.
Another of the early additions to the garden is the deutzia – name long lost. It rarely flowers well and, as it’s a pretty nondescript shrub for most of the year, I had considered taking it out. It obviously heard the threat! This year, it’s covered in double white flowers.
I love philadelphus and have four different varieties in the garden. This is one of the best as the limey-yellow leaves look great for many months. It’s been smothered in flowers and is filling the garden with scent.
The vegetable garden is full of the fragrance of sweet peas. As in previous years, I’m trialling many new varieties and these, along with some from previous years, make a colourful addition to the veg beds.
I was so glad to see that this had self-sown as I never got around to sowing any this year. Ammi majus is such a lovely flower and really good for cutting.
I’d like to take credit for this colour combination but the Sweet Williams are another plant ‘gift’, self-sown from some that were grown for cutting in a nearby bed.
This border was planted up a couple of years ago under the pleached hornbeam hedge and it’s filling out nicely. I’ve deliberately limited the range of plants – mauve geranium, Stachys byzantina, Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’, nepeta, Alchemilla mollis and white Centranthus ruber. I’ve added some Dutch iris for earlier colour and think I may plant crocus or snowdrops for late winter flowers. The Sweet Williams have added more pink but I think it works.
I don’t grow many roses – they struggle on my sandy soil – but the few I have are now in full flower. Red is a colour I rarely use and I would normally never plant a rose that isn’t scented. However, I wanted red to set against the golden hop and ‘Dublin Bay’ was just the right shade.
This rose is a triumph because it had to be moved to make way for building work. It not only survived, it’s flourishing and is full of flower.
Of course, the real excitement this year is having a second and much bigger greenhouse. A raised bed has been put in down one side – a bit of an experiment to see how it fares. The rest has had weed-suppressing membrane put down as the greenhouse has gone on an area that’s rife with bindweed.
I may have another raised bed put in down the other side but for this year, I’ve got pots there.
One of the early successes has been this mizuna, or Japanese mustard – I was given the seeds by Niwaki.
I’m also trialling an automatic watering system that I was given by Autopot – there will be more on this later in the season.
So far, my gardening view is good with the first harvest of broad beans, masses of sweet peas, lilies opening daily – and no sign of lily beetle this year – and lots of salad leaves. However, the water butts were empty until the weekend’s rain and are even now only partly full. If only we could arrange for it to rain every night!
Enjoyed this? You can read about my gardening view in other seasons here.
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