Six on Saturday 14. 05. 2022

Posted on May 14, 2022 by Pauline

Another week gone by, more weeds have been pulled, more plants planted and a lot of rain came on Wednesday so I had a rest from watering! Everything is growing at an alarming rate, I just wish I could keep up with it all!

My six for this week are as follows…..

No 1

The rockery is changing, narcissus and the first flowering shrubs are now having a rest, handing over to the next wave. In this view a new little Deutzia is now flowering and behind is one of the new dwarf Japanese azaleas. Filling in lots of gaps with a little pink flower is Claytonia sibirica which seeds everywhere and needs editing every year.

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A mixed bag for May.

Posted on May 11, 2022 by Pauline

We are having some very welcome rain today after another dry spell, the plants and I are very grateful, I won’t have to get the watering can out for a couple of days , thank goodness, my back will appreciate it! Looking through photos I took the other day, I thought I could do a post about them now and just hope that another 6 jump out at me for my Six on Saturday.

When walking round the lawn, I found that the Mahonia Charity was dropping all its lovely seedpods, nothing seems to be eating them which is a shame. The two colours, jade and blue go so well together, I’m sure they would make a lovely meal for someone or something!

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Six on Saturday 7.5.22

Posted on May 7, 2022 by Pauline

A week gone of May already, a sunny, dry week so that lots of gardening has been done, one day of gentle rain so lots of weeds have been pulled out and I now think I need a rest! There is colour everywhere from the rhododendrons and azaleas, lots of blossom and bulbs for late spring. My six for this Saturday are as follows.

No 1 Wisteria

My wisteria gets better year on year considering that for about 20 yrs I thought it was dead! I’m having to decide if I want it to drape along the front of the garage just under the guttering, must make up my mind before it is time to prune it back! It would look lovely but would it interfere with the door coming up and over?

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Battling the Bog

Posted on May 4, 2022 by Pauline

Not a battle really, more a minor skirmish. I have just finished getting the rockery sorted and then went on to weed the back border between the garden and the woodland. I then thought that the next area to flower en masse for the next few months will be the bog garden at the right side of the circular lawn,  no time like the present, so I got on with it and made a start. I’ve done the easy bit, pulling out lots of big weeds and how satisfying it is to slide out huge plants of dock from the permantly wet soil!

This is the drier end of the bog where there is very much a contrast with the foliage of hostas, astilbes, and ferns.

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Six on Saturday 30. 4. 22

Posted on April 30, 2022 by Pauline

Another sunny week has passed but with bitterly cold winds until yesterday when there was hardly any breeze at all, such a change, but still no rain. Hopefully we will have some rain tomorrow so I might get a rest from the watering can! Lots more flowers are opening, so my six are as follows.

no 1  Narcissus poeticus var recurvus

N. poeticus recurvus used to be called Old Pheasant Eye and I can see why it got its name! This is my last narcissus to flower.

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Time for Molly

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Pauline

My “go to plant” at the moment is Peony mlokosewitchii which is by the front drive. For quite some time she has been in tight bud, then all of a sudden when we had a warm, sunny day, she opened, and now she is the first plant that I check on when I get up in the morning.

Such a lovely delicate yellow, the same colour as all the prinroses at its feet.

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Six on Saturday 23.04.2022

Posted on April 23, 2022 by Pauline

Another week has passed, another week of sunshine with one or two showers, but not enough showers to keep plants happy that I have just planted, so its out with the watering can once more. Lots more plants are starting to flower so my six for this week are as follows……..

No 1 Anemone nemerosa Vestal

Always my last wood anemone to flower, the double Anemone nemorosa Vestal is now taking over from its single cousins. These are spreading around quite a lot, but down into the path in the woodland where they will be trodden on, more moving needed when flowering is over.

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Rockery progress report.

Posted on April 20, 2022 by Pauline

The rockery is starting to look as I imagined it would when I first thought about replanting it a few years ago when large shrubs were removed. It has taken time for new little shrubs to settle in and start to grow and flower. There are a few things that will need moving and changing, I never can get it totally right the first time round when I redo a border!

The Japanese Azalea, which was here when we moved here 30 odd years ago, is commanding attention at the moment. It is such a bright colour you can’t miss it, but for the past few years it had needed a bit of pruning as it was starting to flop everywhere. The scree in front which is the only place in the garden which has good drainage, has had some new plants added, but I must find more that will flower later in the year and of course leave space for little bulbs to be added in the autumn.

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Six on Saturday 16.04.22

Posted on April 16, 2022 by Pauline

Over the last week temperatures have been gradually rising until yesterday, when suddenly they shot up and  we were into summer with the temperatures rising higher than ever. Yesterday started off with thick fog and mist and it is the same this morning, I wonder if we will have the sunshine and high temperatures of yesterday. Flowers are bursting out everywhere, it is a question of which ones to choose, but here are the six I have chosen for this week.

No 1 Acer Osakazuki

Acer Osakazuki is looking stunning at the moment with fresh green leaves bursting out with their contrasting red flower buds, the whole tree is looking very pretty.

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Better for you than a stick of rock.

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Pauline

Tiny tulip Peppermint Stick is just the colour of a stick of rock, the same pink outside with white inside. Coming from the north west and living on the coast, shops selling rock were plentiful, but unlike rock, T. Peppermint Stick has no calories and doesn’t damage your teeth!

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