Month: April 2014

Oh how I love thee. I can sit and stare at these beauties all day. I got the 2 bulbs when I was in Amsterdam in February. Magnificent. My boy loves it too (a tad too much!). The flowers are bigger than his head!

Can’t wait for the other bulb to open up. 

John ran out of space so he got two pallets some old ties and some plastic and made this .its been funny sort of weather today,to hot to close greenhouses but to windy to open them the answer was to put up some wind brake in the doorway,worked a treat.The potatoes are just showing through,the cuckoo was in the garden today wish i had got a picture of him.

I sowed seed of lapageria rosea a couple of months ago and had given up on them. I decided i would throw them out at the weekend but never got around to it . Luckly i did’nt when i looked at them again today one had germanated.I guess i better give the rest of them some more time.

Another tiny rhodo that I have here opened today. I did label it when I planted it but it has faded. R. impeditum?

My plan is to spend all weekend in the garden here.Rain is to return but their is always a way out,with no thanks to Mother Nature this time.

Plenty off seedlings need moving on as i can almost hear them roar for freedom to their own pots.

In the veg garden the legumes, brassica and root families are doing well.I hope to harden off some of the veg trays ready for exit to outdoors.

Looked through todays post section earlier and found in the bunch,The Irish Garden for May.Delighted i was.

This is the last of the daffs here in the garden, ye must be all glad at this stage. I am missing two one name escapes me and the other is pheasants eye. Maybe when i dug up the pots last year i must have misplaced 2 because no sign of them. I have a album up now of all the daffs/narcissus i have had this year. Enjoy! 😀

It’s no wonder the full name of this is P. red bobin. It was looking fantastic in the sunshine over the last few days.

I would really love to spend some time in the garden planting up purchasess, presents and swaps from yesterday. But sadly work beckons.

When I do get around to planting them I need to be careful as some of the plants are for passing on to others, so I better not get ‘trowel happy’ too much.

Have a good day whatever your up to, enjoy.

Today we will start weeding through the pond bed, don`t expect to find to many weeds this bed looks after its self now ,a hand full of fertilizer around the tulips and daffs as they die back should do the trick.such a nice day John will be cutting lawns today and I will put all the pots and hanging baskets out side for the day still think its to early for them out at night.Ill just have the coffee and be on my way.

The flower arranging ‘competition’  but some Tulips broken in yesterdays gales. But they are an interesting colour, love them but too heavy to last.

I bought what I think is my last Hosta yesterday.

I have some bigger varieties os Hostas in the borders around the garden. I was half looking out for one more small growing Hosta over the last while.

I spotted H. Wagtail at the Alpine show yesterday. It ticked all the boxes, a small growing form, blue/green leaves and likes been in a pot. 

So my display here on this chair is complete, I just need to wrap some copper wire around the four legs to keep the slugs and snails at bay and all should be well with this little display.

I noticed this rose to day and April is still here.

This is beginning to flower for me now, they are a fantastic plant due to a long flowering season. i have 6 different varieties, im a huge fan of these.

i have a list of small niggling jobs that i just cant seem to get finished well today i did get most of them done. ye know the ones that dont take long and just drive you mad until you get them done well i just have two more to do. one is sowing my spuds for once and for all and my onions. hubby will give the potato bed one more dig over tomorrow and i can get them in the ground before they grow in the bags. 

i picked up these lovely pots yesturday in lidl i now have my banana plants and tree ferns planted in them.

another one i admire, this gets very little sun as you cann see its in the shade and the sun in the background, it runs 20 feet along the top of the wall and over the side enterence gate, i planted it in memory of a wonderful lady who had one, and i have never seen better than hers, she was an avid gardener.

After the alpine show Rachel,Kristina and myself visitegd Claires garden

Claires camellias are really something special and her Echiums are towering towards the sky .Claire like myself love Barn haven primroses and she has some wonderful shades in her garden

Thank you for having us round Claire

Three years i have had this and its the first year i get to see it as the wind always destroyed it before

Need to get my seeds sown!  Salad seeds sown outside in raised bed a few days ago now germinated. The bed is netted to stop the cats using it as a toilet. 

My garden is made up of those plants which seem to thrive anywhere – pulmonarias and hardy geraniums can grow and thrive next to anything.  One hardy geranium that started off as a seedling or small plant can spread at least 6′ or 2 metres wide.

The front avenue is about 70′ long and and the major part of that contains hardy geraniums and pulmonarias, which are just coming into flower. The pink cherry tree was nearly destroyed about 4 years ago with a teleporter, when we had new chimneys built.  I have camellias here, as well as dwarf rhododendrons, escallonia, holly, hellebores, ornamental pear, climbing roses, iris, and other plants as well.

I would just like to say a big thank you to my uncomplaining companion for the day.

Tina had a really long day, arriving at my house, after more than an hour’s drive. So when I got home about 7:30pm, Poor Tina still had a long journey ahead of her.

But I am reminded of her and the great day we had when I see this fabulous aruicula. Tina grew this from Barnhaven seed and it is even prettier than this photo suggests, with a two-toned effect on the leaves.

Compare this to the last photos I uploaded of auriculas that I bought and it is just as good, if not prettier.

So, thank you, Tina 🙂

A couple of weeks ago when I finally got over my denial (of eternal hate of japanese anemones) I decided to tackle to front garden bed where they reside. Did a lot of general weeding too in the process and thankfully I wasn’t that quick with my weeder tool because I discovered this astrantia Sunningdale Variegated in the process. 

About 4 years ago lots of summer perennials live(d) in this bed but through neglect and powdery mildew–I did that novice thing of planting everything too close together–I lost most of my plants. Or so I thought. So now I’ve put on a little marker because I have the knack of trampling over plants or get overzealous with my tools. 

If anyone read my previous journal about peonies I said I used to have 4 but I thought I lost one to slugs. NOT! Again, the gardening deities must have loved me because when I was clearing up a crazy (and I mean crazy) patch of weedy grass with my shears I found that peony! I did however decapitated a few shoots in the process but 4 weeks on I see new ‘eyes’ coming out. Yippie!

Frans Shuttlecock fern reminded me of this …which is starting to come out now I do not know the name …but am sure someone will know ……………..

The azalea has started to bloom. This is the easiest plant in my whole garden. We have lived in this house for nearly 10 years, I have never touched it and every year it has given a lovely show.

I met this for the first time a few days ago where a friend was growing it in a pot. She had about 5 big blooms. I thought it was fab and could not believe my luck when she produced another pot with two big buds about to open and gave it to me!! So home to identify it.  It reminds me of an Agapanthus in some ways. I gather from my friend and a posting on another site that it may not flower every year , anybody got any experience?

I acknowledge the Mediterranean gardener for the photo I copied from their site. There was not sign of copyright so hope it is ok.

Steve broke part of one of my geraniums last year while he thought I wasn’t looking!! He stuck the broken stem into some compost and hoped for the best. He said nothing to me. But I have been watching it since then.

Today, I was potting up different things and noticed that not only had the stem taken, but it is now just about to flower. Hope I haven’t let myself in for a bit of competition now. LOL

Hazel gave me some cute little violas a few weeks ago that seeds all around her garden. Today I was dead-heading them, ashamed to say they haven’t been planted yet. But I noticed crocus foliage, and her very-much-loved celandine in the same pot. Nice one, Hazel. 🙂

When I arrived at the Alpine Show the other day I headed straight for the members plants sale area. Needless to say Rachel was there ahead of me 😉  She commented on the fact that there was a Bomarea there at a good price, Rachel explained the plant to me and I knew then what it was.

I took the pot in hand and walked around the display several times. I bought the plant when I noticed one of the ladies selling plants was keeping a very close eye on me.

There was something niggeling me about the plant since I brought it home.

This evening I removed a few Lunaria plants to make space for other plants that were coming up beside the Lunaria. One plant caught my eye, flower buds and starting to form on it and all.

I have started to place plant name label at a 3 o’clock position low in the soil so I can fine them easily.

I found the label, wiped the soil off it and read, Bomarea edulis…………….. ;(

Looks like a slightly different plant to the one I bought,

but you just have to laugh at yourself LOL