All posts by Jackie

Furry rhizomes of Davallia canariensis (hare's foot fern)

Houseplants in November 2024.

house plants, Uncategorized

It has been a bit wet and windy and loads of fireworks going off (despite the ban in this area) but now things are starting to turn colder and sunnier.  We did manage to get the harling fixed on the patio walls and a few other patches here and there.  The harler also put some extra cement at the top of my ramp as the ramp itself had sunk an inch or so from the flat slabs at the top.  I now don’t have to bunny-hop over the edge of the slabs with tools or plants on my knee.

new harling on the patio wall
New harling on the patio wall.

A lot of leaves have fallen now but there are still some falling into the pond so I have to keep on top of that.  There are a few flowers out still but I will be concentrating on house plants just now.  I have had to move some of the more delicate ones from the cold conservatory so I now have plants in almost every room.  There are still loads of plants in the conservatory that can handle the cold and I try to keep it above 5 °C.

Back in June I chopped the head off the aeonium ‘Voodoo’ to see if I could get the head to root and the cuttings to root and branch.  There was mixed success: the head did root but some of the new leaves were a very strange shape, but these have now fallen off and it is looking good. The larger of the cuttings rooted and started branching, the smaller cutting just rotted, and the bit that already had roots that the head came from has done nothing.  I have been spraying the stem where the buds should branch from but nothing so far.

Succulent aeonium voodoo large leaves with the cutting bellow with small branches forming
Aeonium ‘Voodoo’ rooted head plus rooted stem with tiny branches.
Succulent Aeonium 'Voodoo' cutting with branches forming.
Aeonium ‘Voodoo’ cutting with branches.

The crocus are now coming up, just slightly ahead of the ones outside on the patio.  In the background is the pot with the Oxalis palmifrons which I am glad to say are coming on well.  Although I am sure they were in flower this time last year.

Tiny tips of crocus bulbs just showing through the topping of moss in a pot inside ac fancy cup and saucer.
Crocus popping up.

On the lefthand side of the conservatory is a collection of plants.  Beaucarnea recurvata (ponytail plant or elephant’s foot)  which really aught to be re-potted but I don’t have a big enough pot and I know it will be a real struggle to do so I haven’t done anything about it. Davallia canariensis (hare’s foot fern) which in hindsight is in the wrong kind of pot:  it is clay and I have to spray the plant regularly as the fern likes moisture but the the clay pot is now disintegrating.  I do love the hairy rhizomes of the fern and I have another one else where in the conservatory.  The only streptocarpus I have left is the small succulent leaved one called Streptocarpus saxorum and it still has loads of flowers.  I gave it quite a ‘hair cut’ a few months ago and it is looking better now.  The Selaginella Kraussiana is a  type of clubmoss and although it is looking ok just now I did take a few cuttings and potted one up in a small pot and and put the others in a bottle.  It was looking rather bedraggled before.  The mice have been having a good chew at the bottle cork!

Four plants in a corner of the conservatory.
Left corner of conservatory.
Furry rhizomes of Davallia canariensis (hare's foot fern)
Davallia canariensis furry rhizomes.
Selaginella Kraussiana clubmoss in a bottle.
Selaginella Kraussiana (clubmoss).

I still have sempervivums and a few echivera hybrids and cacti in the conservatory along with a couple of herbs and cuttings I am trying to root.  The cyclamen have buds ready to open.

A selection of plants on the conservatory table.
Left hand side of the conservatory table.
A collection of succulent sempervivums on a table.
  Sempervivums

There is also a large tree fern and a few other miscellaneous plants in the conservatory.

The sitting room isn’t all that warm but some plants don’t mind too much.  The Pilea peperomoides does well so I have taken a few cuttings to sell at the plants sale.  The Sansevieria trifasciata (snake plant) likes it there and I have another couple of cuttings of it elsewhere around the house. The Rhipsalideae gaertneri (Easter cactus) is still quite small but has a few new leaves on it. I have a large Crassula ovata here and a cutting in the craft room.  The other plant that does well in here is the Spathiphyllium (peace lily). There are a few of theses dotted around the house as they appear to do do well just about anywhere.

Pilea peperomioides green plant.
Pilea peperomioides
Sansevieria trifasciata and Rhipsalideae gaertneri plants.
Sansevieria trifasciata and Rhipsalideae gaertneri.
Spathiphyllum (peace lily) plant.
Spathiphyllum (peace lily).

The craft room doesn’t always have room for plants but I have squeezed a few in.

Pink flowered Schlumbergera (Christmas cactus).
Schlumbergera.

There is a pink flowered Schlumbergera (Christmas cactus) with a Sansevieria trifasciata cutting, Crassula ovata cutting, and a Chlorophytum comosum (spider plant) in the background.

In the room with very low light levels I have large dark green foliage plants that can deal with the light levels.  I like to keep the room fairly humid by spraying them every day.

Unknown palm, Dracaena fragrans 'Janet Craig' and variegated Monstera deliciosa plants.
Unknown palm, Dracaena fragrans ‘Janet Craig’ and variegated Monstera deliciosa.

The palms tend to take up a lot of space as the foliage ‘fountain’ out and droop down so I think they are better on a small table.  I adore my Dypsis lutescens (Areca palm) and I am eyeing up a few other types to add to my collection.

Dypsisi lutescens (Areca palm).
Dypsisi lutescens (Areca palm) on a small table).

The Areca palm has never flowered but the unknown palm, left to me by a friend who has sadly passed, has produced very strange looking flowers.  I think they are male but not quite  sure.

Unknown pal tiny flowers.
Flowers of the unknown palm.

The pinky/purple colour on the wall behind is the grow light for my air plants.  I have not managed to get them to flower but at least they have survived.  Maybe next year.  The Stephanotis doesn’t like the cold or draughts so I had to bring it in from the conservatory but it didn’t like it much and a lot of it’s leaves have gone pale, some have gone yellow and dropped., so I am hoping I can keep it alive until the spring when I can put it back in the warm sunny conservatory.  Orchids are not plants that I would ever buy for myself as I tend to kill them but I do have a couple kindly given to me which I have kept alive so far – a white one and a purple one which are in the dinning room.  Another plant just moved into the dinning room is the Amaryllis which was one bulb when I potted it up this year but I have two distinct sprouting areas each with 2 leaves.  I just left it so shall see what happens.  As I have loads of houseplants I am always afraid to get ill as they all have different watering and feeding requirements.  Some you have to spray/mist regularly and others that should not get water on their leaves and although it is great to have friends and a husband who can help out it would take forever to tell them which ones get what treatment.  It also takes a some time each day to check each plant and tend to their needs.  So long may I stay well enough to look after all my green pals.

 

 

Golden acer leaves up close showing the red veins and tips.

Autumn colours early October 2024

flowers, plants

Late September and the beginning of October signifies the start of the autumnal, foliage  colour changes that I adore.  The weather is chilly and damp with a few sporadic sunny spells.  This is when some of the greens of summer change into gorgeous russets, bright reds and oranges, deep purples and buttery yellows. Last month the enkianthus foliage went from green to bronzy purple, but this month they have gone bright red just before they fall.

Enkianthus foliage change from purple to bright red.
Enkianthus bright red foliage

The golden foliage of the Acer shirasawanum aureum take on red tinges especially if the leave are in the sunshine.  In autumn the develop red stems and veins before they go brown and fall.

Sunshine on the golden leaves of an acer. Leaves tinged with red.
Acer shirasawanum aureum in the sunshine.
Golden acer leaves up close showing the red veins and tips.
Acer shirasawanum aureum red veins, stems and tips.

Another tree/shrub that gets red stems is the viburnum and the darkish green leaves take on a purply colour.  It sporadically flowers all year round.

Red stems on Viburnum shrub.
Red stems and leaf colour of Viburnum X Bodnantense Dawn

The fuchsia is still flowering away and there are still a few flowers appearing on the honey suckle nearby.  Once the flowers go on the honeysuckle they develop bright red berries much loved by the birds.  The leaves on the honeysuckle in the raised bed are still green whereas the leaves on the honeysuckle on the patio have  taken on purple tones.  It looks good next to the purple flowered hellebore (the only one flowering at the moment) and the bright yellowy green of the Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ grass.

Small red and purple flowers on a fuchsia shrub.
The dainty red and purple flowers of the fuchsia growing across the pathway.
White honeysuckle flowers with pink tinges on the end of the buds.
White honeysuckle flowers.
A cluster of bright red honeysuckle berries.
Bright red honeysuckle berries next to  red unopen flowers of the fuchsia.
Honeysuckle purple leaves next to hellebore with purple flowers.
Honey suckle with purple leaves next to a hellebore with purple flowers.

Soon the purple leaves on this acer will change to a bright red red colour but for now it goes well with the purple of the sempervivum ‘chocolate kiss’

Purple sempervivum 'Chocolate kiss' in front of the purple leaved acer palmatum dissectum 'garnet'.
Sempervivum ‘chocolate kiss’ in front of Acer palmatum dissectum ‘garnet’

On the patio, in a half barrel, is a small cherry tree, Prunus Shirota Mount Fuji that has lovely green leaves during summer until they take on a peachy yellow colouration before turning bright orange just before drop.

Small cherry tree with peachy orange leaves in autumn.
Prunus Shirota Mount Fuji autumn colouration beginning.
Autumnal colours in cherry tree.
Prunus Shirota Mount Fuji foliage colours of orange, peach, yellow and green..
Cherry tree autumn colours darken just before the leaves fall.
The cherry tree foliage colours darken just before they fall.

The witch hazel (Hamamelis inter Diane) leaves also go from green through bright yellows and oranges and the bright reds.

Hamamelis inter Diane witch hazel bright orangey red autumn foliage.
Hamamelis inter Diane bright orangey red autumn foliage.

The persicarias are still flowering away, as are the  astrantias, gaura  and a few roses, even this little foxglove.  It may look a bit odd but it is kind of resting on it’s shoulder.

Purple/pink foxglove flowering in October.
Foxglove flowering in October.

As much as I am loving these autumnal colours I am already looking forward to the spring colours so I have been planting a few more bulbs.  There will be some in the garden, some on the patio and a few in the conservatory.   The recently revived indoor cyclamen have  lovely fresh foliage and I expect to see flowers fairly soon.

Autumnal bronze foliage of enkianthus with green berries.

End of August 2024 in the garden.

flowers, garden, plants, stumpery

Well it hasn’t been very warm this August and we have had quite a bit of rain.  There is even  more slug damage – the echinacea have all suffered.  I just have little spikes instead of leaves, and any leaves that did manage to grow got snail damage!  I caught the culprits in action so no question of who did what.  I did think that the hairy leaves might just put the critters off eating them – oh how wrong I was.  I tried them in the garden, then in pots on the patio, then in pots on the patio table.

There is still plenty of colour about, still in flower are:  roses, Japanese anemones, verbena, selinum wallichinum, nepeta, erigeron, fuchsia, persicaria, gaura, astrantia, cyclamen, agastache, viburnum, water lilies, and even some foxgloves are still flowering.  Going over now are the purple loosestrife, oregano and lavender.  There are little carpets of purple flowers of cyclamen in various places in the garden.

Large white flowerheads of selinum wallichinum.
Large white flowerheads of selinum wallichinum.
White flowers of persicaria alba.
Tall white persicaria.
Red flowers of persicaria.
Tall red persicaria.
Tall pike persicaria flowers.
Tall pink persicaria flowers.
White with pink coloured astrantia flowers in autumn.
Pretty astrantia flowers
Dainty white, butterfly-like flowers of the Gaura.
Dainty white, butterfly-like flowers of the Gaura.
carpet of purple cyclamen
Cyclamen flowers.
view of the garden from the patio end of August 2024.
From the patio, end of August 2024

As autumn approaches (rather quickly) there is colour in the berries of the rowan, holly, enkianthus and honeysuckle.  The foliage of the enkianthus is turning a lovely purply/bronze colour that looks great with the heuchera solar eclipse.

Autumnal bronze foliage of enkianthus with green berries.
Bronze coloured foliage of enkianthus and it’s green berries.
Bronze/purple centre with green edge of Heuchera solar eclipse foliage.
Heuchera solar eclipse bronze and lime green foliage.
Fern with purple ribs and purple tinged frond ends.
Fern with purple ribs and purple tinged frond ends.

The fern here has purple ribs and purple tinges on the frond ends that go well with the deep purple foliage of the heuchera next to it.  There are still young bronze coloured fronds popping up in some ferns in the stumpery.

Bronze coloured fronds of the rosy buckler fern.
Bronze coloured fronds of the rosy buckler fern.

It is almost time to plant the narcissi and crocus so I did a quick check on the stored ones and found that some of the narcissi had some mold on them so they had to be chucked.   The little oxalis palmifrons bulbs had very long shoots already and were becoming a bit soft so I chucked most of them out and planted the few best looking ones (ever hopeful).  The cactus in the conservatory had another gorgeous flower on it just for one day – the fragrance was fabulous!  Also in the conservatory I started to water the indoor cyclamen after their summer rest and the leaves are coming through now.  There is moss growing at the base of the tree fern in the conservatory and as I was spraying the fern I thought the droplets looked good on the moss sporophytes.

Water droplets on sporophytes of moss.
Sprayed water droplets on the sporophytes.

I have made a few decisions about the ground cover plants in the stumpery: the sweet woodruff is rather rampant and is covering up other plants so that will be coming out (perhaps I can leave some behind a large log and just keep it in check), the violets are getting every where so some of them will just get ripped out, the same goes for the bugle.  The lovely little creeping fern. Blechnum penna-marina, is becoming a bit of a thug and it’s rhizomes are intermingling with other plant roots  so I will keep some in a large pot.  It has got all tangled up in amongst the saxifrage and it has taken a while to untangle it all.

Small ground cover fern coming up through saxifrage.
Blechnum penna-marina coming up through the saxifrage.

The dogwood that has been struggling in the damp corner beside the ramp has been moved to the stumpery where it should have more space.  The large fern just kept flattening it where it was.  The jobs for the weekend are putting some Blanket Answer in the pond as for the fist time ever we have blanket weed.  Horrid stuff!  Plus the usual cutting back, dead-heading and keeping up with the weeding.  I suppose I ought to do some work in the front garden too.

garden view from the patio end of July 2024

Beginning of August 2024

flowers, slugs, snails, wildlife

We have had a mixed bag of weather over July – some rain, some sun and some overcast days but over all not too bad.  I have found more plants decimated by Spanish slugs; two artemesias in separate troughs with not a bit of greenery left, one nepeta and they are still having a go at a mint plant in a pot (they are not supposed to like these plants according to the internet).  I have put a clear plastic cloche over one artemesia to see if I can keep it alive at least.  Slugs have never gone for these in the past!  And talking about slugs (as I often do) I have been watching them by the pond and found them wandering around the water lily pads.  One Spanish slug stretched itself from a pad over the moss covered stone half submerging itself in the process.  A leopard slug spent the afternoon just lying around in a little puddle on a pad like it was at a spa.  On the patio I have found the Spanish slugs like to drink from the birdbath.  I haven’t found any other slug do that.

Spanish slug half submerged between water lily pad and moss covered stone
Slug going from lily pad to moss covered stone
leopard slug on water lily pad
Leopard slug on water lily pad
Spanish slug taking a drink from the bird's water bath.
Spanish slug having a drink from bird’s water dish.

We were so pleased when we got a large jar and did a spot of pond dipping and found a tiny eft (baby newt).  Great news so we know that we at least have a male and female about and that eggs were produced and hatched.

Eft (baby newt) in a jar when pond dipping.
Eft (baby newt)

On the wall of the raised bed I found a very pretty pinkish-brown snail. Probably a Cepaea nemoralis and they are plymorphic so you can see different colours of these.

Pinkish-brown snail
Pinkish-brown grove snail Cepaea nemoralis)

In the conservatory I came across a pretty little daisy miner fly, and a frog-hopper on the basil.  The fly had gorgeous green eyes.  My photos don’t do any of the creatures justice.

Small fly with green eyes and mottled wings
Daisy miner fly (Tripeta Zoe).
common frog hopper sitting on a basil plant stalk
Common frog-hopper

I have noticed this summer that there are not as many butterflies around.  I have spotted a few holy blues, meadow browns and orange tips but not many others.  Lots of small bumble bees around but fewer big bumble bees.  There are also fewer wasps and flies around.  Some of the plants are taking ages to get going and some are just not reaching their full potential.  Even the stephanotis in the conservatory hasn’t flowered yet – not even a bud so far.  The purple loose-strife by the pond edge is not looking quite as dense as it used to and the rogersia hasn’t flowered this year.  However there is still plenty floral colour about.  In flower now: hardy geraniums –  especially Rozanne, some roses, Japanese anemones just coming into flower now, heuchera, various persicarias, geums, golden spirea, fuchsia, some meadowsweet, oregano, erigeron, cyclamen, honey-suckle, purple loose-strife, pickerelweed, water lilies, astrantia, achilea, potentilla, lavender, woolly rock jasmine and gaura.

Hardy blue geranium Rozzane
Hardy geranium Rozzane
garden view from the patio end of July 2024
View from the patio

In the conservatory the only things in flower right now are the basil and a couple of sempervivums.  The sempervivums usually have clusters of flowers but this one has had them in a V shape.

sempervivum flowers forming a V shape
sempervivum flowers

Darlac swivel shears

Tools, wheelchair gardening tools

Recently I wanted to be able to cut back my hardy geraniums which I usually used my secateurs and scissors for.  This year I decided to get myself some shears that I could use single handedly as I don’t have core muscles and tend to fall over trying to use the heavier, doubled handed shears with both hands.  The Darlac swivel shears, as the name suggests, can rotate.  The small version’s blades can rotate 360° with 12 cutting angles.  I am right handed but tried using my left hand and found it just as good with my left hand.  They really worked cutting back my hardy geraniums in the raised bed.  For growth that was not the soft green growth I still had to use the secateurs as the blades just couldn’t handle it.  The long handled version’s   blades can not only rotate 360° but you can also adjust the angle of the cutting head so you can use it as edging shears for grass.  I managed to cut the hardy geraniums in the flower beds well enough but the stems were a bit too tough for them.  They are great for leafy growth and are light weight but they are not suitable for tougher growth.  The long ones have a small front support which I initially thought I wouldn’t make use off, but actually once I got the hang of it I found it quite useful.   So I a glad I bought them and I will also be able to edge the small bit of grass we have and cut back leafy vegetation with them but need to remember they are not sturdy enough for anything other than lightweight annual growth.  They both have a locking mechanisms to keep the blades together for safety.

small single handed light weight shears with long-handled version with swivel cutting head
Darlac swivel shears
pink generous gardener rose at the top of an arch

Beginning of July 2024

garden, plants, slugs

Finally the Generous Gardener rose is in full bloom over the arch at the back of the garden.  It looks great along side the dark foliage and the pink flower heads of the Sambucus nigra f. porphyrophylla ‘Eva’ (PBR.)  There is perfume everywhere from the various roses, honey suckles and philadelphus.  However, the philadelphus flowers are now going over and there are white petals all over the ground beneath it.

pale pink rose beside deep purple leaves and pink flower heads of sambucus nigra
Generous gardener with sambucus nigra
pretty white flowers all over the philadelpus

The astrantias are flowering their socks off but the slugs have decimated the foliage of the white one which is in the garden.  The pink and red astrantias are in copper pots that the slugs dislike so they have been spared. And speaking of damage: the hellebores are in a bit of a state, as are the brunnera Jack frost.  Slugs and snails are not meant to like astrantias, hellebores and brunneras but nobody told the ones in my garden! To be fair I think most of the damage to the brunneras has been caused by the wood pigeons tearing bits from the foliage.  They have been pecking away at the honey suckle too.

half eaten foliage of astrantia by slugs
Slug damaged astrantia foliage. (I took that photo a day or so ago and when I went out on slug patrol today there are NO leaves left and I found 6 slugs on it!)
damage caused by pigeons, slugs and snails on brunnera foliage
Damaged brunnera Jack frost
slug and snail damage to hellebores foliage
hellebore damage

And here are some of the culprits:

tub of Spanish slugs that cause damage in my garden
Tub of Spanish slugs

If I don’t do a slug patrol daily then these ones would grow to this kind of size or even bigger!

big Spanish slug on the palm of my hand
Big Spanish slug
big Spanish slug on the palm of my hand
Big Spanish slug

I have resorted to putting some copper mesh around some plants but I have found slug trails over that too so now I will have to make copper hats to cover some plants until they get a little higher and tougher.  I had no problem at all with slug damage on the Gypsophila paniculata ‘Compacta Plena’ but this year it just can’t get started without being chomped.

large clay pot with copper mesh around a plant that has been eaten by slugs, shows slug trails over the copper mesh
Copper mesh with slug trails on it.

The rhododendron and duetzia have gone over now but the sambucus, spireas, hardy geraniums, thalictrums, astrantia,  lavender, cirsium, verbascums, verbena, alchemilla, gaura, erigeron, fuchsia, geums, cowslips and roses have now taken over.  There are still a few foxgloves hanging on and one clematis; Clematis warszawski has a few flowers on.

pink generous gardener rose at the top of an arch
Generous gardener rose (excuse the barbed wire of the fence in the background)
pink mini patio rose climbing up a pole
Mini pink patio rose
damp corner of garden with astilbe, fern and alchemilla mollis
Damp corner
tall yellow thalictrum flowers
Tall Thalictrum flavium Glaucum yellow

It is back to being cold and wet today so we are still waiting for summer to appear.

the view from the patio end of June 2024
the garden from the patio at the end June 2024
pale pink flowers on a rhododendron

Beginning of June 2024

flowers, garden

After a couple of lovely sunny days the garden is becoming lush.  The weeds have shot up along with everything else.  The wet weather has been good for some plants like the candelabra primulas, the roses and the rhododendron.  I tried moving three of the primulas over from the pond overflow area to the damp corner by the ramp.  Only one survived, two were completely destroyed by slugs.  A bit like the  Achillea millefolium ‘Lilac Beauty’ I have been trying to establish near the pond last year.  The slugs got one so I potted up the surviving two and put one pot in a different area of the garden and the other pot on the patio table. The one in the garden  only just survived overnight whilst the one on the table is still great.    The patio table is becoming a nursery for  sick plants.  I have now put the damaged one on the patio to see how it does there.

achillea foliage looking good
Achillea millefolium ‘Lilac Beauty’ before the slugs
achillea foliage after slugs got it overnight
Achillea millefolium ‘Lilac Beauty’ overnight slug damage

Some primula get ravaged by slugs but some are spared and I don’t know why.  The white primula snowflake don’t get much damage at all and they spread freely but my primula apple blossom gets some damage but doesn’t spread freely.  The primula denticulata, veris  and vulgaris just get the odd nibble,  vialii have disappeared.

pink primula apple blossom
Primula Apple blossom

Another area which has loved the rain is the raised garden.  We pruned the viburnum and  syringia last year (and a bit the previous year) so sacrificed some flowers this year but they are looking better.  I might take out the Zepharin drouhin rose entirely as it is always a bit hit and miss there.  The beautiful acer is now swamping the blue hardy geranium so I may have to find a new spot in the garden for the geranium.

plants in the shady side of the raised bed
Shady side of the raised bed
pale pink flowers on a rhododendron
Rhododendron Gomer Waterer loving the rain

Along the back wall the pink hardy geranium is looking good next to the dark leaves and pink flowers of the Sambucus nigra f. porphyrophylla ‘Eva’ .  The Generous gardener rose growing  over the arch has been teasing us for a few weeks with all the lovely buds but yet to open.

Generous gardener buds over arch
Generous gardener buds yet to open
pink hardy geranium against the dark leaves of elder
Pink geranium beside the dark elder

In the pond the number of tadpoles appears to be depleted.  I thought maybe the newts had eaten them all but some folk have said that they may just have found better hiding places since there are more predators about.  I still haven’t found a good flat headed flowering plant to go beside the pond – they all just get eaten by the Spanish slugs.  The little iris versicolour Gerald Derby that hasn’t flowered for a couple of years has just started to flower again – yeah!  I had been thinking of pulling it out.  It isn’t all that showy but it is pretty and dainty.

blue iris versicolour Gerald Derby against a white wall and metal statue
blue iris versicolour Gerald Derby

In the conservatory my lithops are splitting.  Sometime lithops split into two and sometimes into four.  Mine are splitting into four new leaves.

lithops splitting getting 4 new leaves
Lithops splitting.
close up of lithop splitting getting 4 new leaves
Lithop splitting – 4 new leaves

I took the very scary decision to chop my aeonium.  I didn’t want it to get too tall as the head is very large and also they look better when viewed from above.   I really hope it survives the chop and I potted up bits of the stalk too so you never know, I may get a few if I am lucky.

aeonium voodoo succulent head chopped off
Aeonium Voodoo chopped

The furry Kalanchoe tomentosa ‘Dorothy Brown’ flowered this year but I kept waiting for the flowers to open up more before I took a photograph not realising that they didn’t open any wider so now I will have to wait till next year to get a photo of the furry flowers.

As I said in a previous post my Nepeta Junior walker drowned in the very wet autumn/winter/spring that we had so I ordered three new ones form Crocus.  They have never let me down before but this time they did.  They sent one lovely looking plant, one not so good, and one diabolical plant.  Who thought it was ok to package these and send them out? I complained and was offered either a refund or a replacement.  I asked for a replacement (big mistake).  The replacement plant didn’t have a single leaf.  To be fair – the rest of my order was ok (although they could have been in better condition).  I am now going to try and buy plants in person whenever  possible.  I do still have a few good nurseries mail order to buy from.

3 nepeta plants ordered together. 1 good, 1 ok and 1 very bad condition
Nepeta: the good, the bad, and the crap
nepeta replacement in very bad condition
Nepeta replacement plant!

Let’s end on a good note:  the bees and other pollinators are loving the rhododendron. the deutzia, saxifrages, chives, honey lilies and all of the hardy geraniums and primulas.  Soon the Generous gardener will erupt in beautiful flowers.  The other roses have started to bloom and smell gorgeous (although we didn’t get round to pruning this late winter so they look a bit more straggly than usual.  The sun has just come out.

Colourful plants in the stumpery mid May 2024.

Mid May 2024 Colour in the garden.

foliage, Uncategorized, wildlife

Hooray – the sun is finally shining and it is warm!  The plants (and weeds) are romping away.  There are lots of colourful flowers open now, the aquilegias with all their different pinks, purples and whites, and the foliage colours are just as amazing.  I do love the bronze foliage of some of the younger leaves especially some of the ferns and the rodgersia.

bronze foliage on Osmunda regalis 'Purpurascens' fern.
Osmunda regalis ‘Purpurascens’
Bronze leaves of Rodgersia podophylla
Rodgersia podophylla

There are different green and purples in some other ferns and browns in the ones with ‘hairy’ fronds.  I think the hairs are actually called scales although they don’t look like scales.

green and purple foliage of Athyrium otophorum var. okanum fern
Athyrium otophorum var. okanum
Green fronds of Asplenium scolopendrium 'Cristata'
Asplenium scolopendrium ‘Cristata’
Close croziers of Dryopteris crispa congesta fern.
Dryopteris crispa congesta
Bushy green croziers of Polystichum setiferum Cristato pinnulum fern.
Polystichum setiferum Cristato pinnulum
'Hairy' fronds of Polystichum polyblepharum fern.
Polystichum polyblepharum
Silvery and purple fronds of Athyrium niponicum 'silver falls' fern.
Athyrium niponicum ‘silver falls’

The tree heath Erica arborea is flowering it’s heart out and the bees love the tiny flowers the centre of which a purple.  It has come back very well after it got big chop in 2021. The rowan was covered in blossom last year but this year is very disappointing.  You can just about see a few clusters at the top of it in the left side of the next pic.

White and purple flowers of Erica arborea alongside the pink flowers if the Hebe Pink paradise.
Erica arborea and Hebe ‘Pink paradise’.
White flowers with purple centre of Erica arborea.
Erica arborea close up

The amazing purple (garnet) foliage  of the Acer palmatum ‘Dissectum Garnet’ is looking  gorgeous just now contrasting well with the bright greens around it.  Although it looks very purple, the closer you get to it you can see a green tinge to it.

Deep garnet foliage of the Acer palmatum 'Dissectum Garnet'
Acer palmatum ‘Dissectum Garnet’.

The stumpery has plenty of colour with the white primula Snowflake which has a pink tinge to it,  blue ajugas mixed in with white galium odoratus, purple honesty, pale blue forget-me-nots,  a few pulmonarias and the pale blue Veronica Gentionoides Blue streak and more dark purple foliage of the huecheras.  We have borrowed the dark foliage of next doors tree.  The lime green of the Acer shirasawanum aureum really shines.

Colourful plants in the stumpery mid May 2024.
The stumpery in mid May 2024.
Blue Ajuga reptans bugle mixed with white Galium odoratum in the stumpery.
Ajuga reptans mixed with Galium odoratum.

A few beasties that I found this month were a Rosemary beetle (Chrysolina Americana) which looks absolutely beautiful.  The RHS says just to live with them unless they become a problem.

Purple and green shiny Rosemary beetle (Chrysolina americana).
Rosemary beetle (Chrysolina Americana).

A rather lovely white-legged snake millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger).

White-legged snake millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger).
White-legged snake millipede (Tachypodoiulus niger).

We are always told that slugs and snails don’t like moving over sharp objects but I have found slugs and snails going up the very sharp prickles of my moss roses.  This slug doesn’t look bothered at all.  I have found the tell-tale slime trails all over a very prickly cactus in the conservatory before too.

Slug going up prickly moss rose stem.
Slug on the very prickly moss rose stem.

And lastly for now the heather beetle (Lochmaea suturalis).  Apparently it wasn’t just my garden they were swarming into but even on beaches elsewhere. It isn’t a great photo. They have been quite a problem in the moorlands so I am hoping they are not going to be a problem here too.

Heather beetle (Lochmaea suturalis).
Heather beetle (Lochmaea suturalis).

I have seen plenty orange tip butterflies and holly blues and a few speckled wood butterflies so far.  And the usual bees, wasps and flies are around, but so far, no more wasp nests in the raised bed.  Our next-door neighbour had a lovely garden visitor the other day.  Our gardens back onto a golf course where the is a small herd of deer, and one of them got through her broken gate.  On the one hand, I would love to have them visit our garden, but on the other hand, they may cause a lot of damage.  I have no idea what plants they would eat.  It is back to chilly weather and overcast skies now.  It was nice to see the sun while it lasted.

 

Burgon & Ball Japanese Razor Hoe.

Scraping tool.

Tools, wheelchair gardening tools

Scraping the weeds out from between the patio slabs has to be one of my least favourite gardening jobs.  I have to be bent double over my stomach putting my neck into an awkward angle in order to see what I am doing and getting my tool at just the correct angle.  I used to use a long handled scraping tool but it didn’t do a very good job.  My Burgon & Ball Japanese Razor Hoe is the best tool for the job.  It gets into the crevices and can scrape off moss and liverworts from the slab surface too.

Burgon & Ball Japanese Razor Hoe.
Burgon & Ball Japanese Razor Hoe.

Once the scraping is all done I can tidy up using an upright dustpan and brush set.  I position the dustpan bit into the space between my right foot rest and the right front castor so that I can sweep the rubbish into the dustpan easily without having to bend down.  Then I lift the dustpan up and empty it into a trug to go out.  The one I am using is from Lakeland (although I am using an old brush with it) and I like this one as is clicks into an upright position so I don’t have to hold onto it to keep it in place.

Upright dustpan.
Upright dustpan locked in position.
Upright dustpan and brush.
Upright dustpan and brush.
flower combinations in the stumpery

End of April 2024

flowers, plants, stumpery

Finally we have had a few nice days – still cold but not quite so wet.  The news was saying that we have the wettest 18 months till March this year since records began (maybe they just meant England but we have been very wet up here too).  I am still eagerly waiting for some signs of new growth from a few newly planted plants (last year) but so far it looks like they have died.   I had also taken quite a few Nepeta Junior Walker cuttings to sell at the Duddingston Kirk Garden Club sale but sadly they didn’t make it.  Some nepata in the stumpery also didn’t make it.  I found vine weevil grubs in one of the large pots on the patio that contained  some heuchera,  but at least I managed to take cuttings of the heuchera and saved them, I then fed the grubs to the birds.  I found one adult vine weevil in the conservatory but so far I haven’t found grubs in any of the plants in there, that may be because I put a top layer of gravel on the succulents so it couldn’t lay it’s eggs in the soil.  So, I have ordered vine weevil nematodes to treat the patio, conservatory and back garden.  I hate the blighters – apparently every adult is female and they can lay hundreds of eggs from April to September.  Just as well they can’t fly.   Trouble is, that to use the nematodes you need a soil temperature of above 5ºC and wet soil.  In Scotland we have to wait a while longer than England before the soil temperature is high enough for the nematodes to survive.  The temperature is ok now so I had better get on with it.

vine weevil grubs in a brown saucer
Vine weevil grubs

Most of the narcissi have gone over now except for the narcissi Pipit  Most of the tulips are over, as is the cherry tree, mahonia, spirea Bridal wreath, rosemary and  the epimediums.  Now taking over are the saxifrage mossy white and saxifrage andresii carpet purple along with the purple honesty, white wood anemones, bluey purple pulmonaria and yellow erythroniums in the stumpery.    The bright orange berberis is looking good just now and the ferns are all just beginning to unfurl their fronds.

flower combinations in the stumpery
Colour in the stumpery
saxifrage mossy white
Saxifrage mossy white
red coloured saxifrage plant
Saxifage andresii Carpet purple

There are loads of little splashes of purple all around the back garden from the Viola labradorica.  Not only does it have delightful little purple flowers but the leaves take on a purple tinge too.  They will self seed everywhere but I love them.  People do say that to make your garden feel more cohesive it is good to do repeat planting, either the same plant in various places around the garden or a similar colour repeated throughout.  I have done this with a few plants such as the viola, bugle, perrywinkle, hellebores, geraniums and aquilegias.  I was hoping to do the same thing with nepeta and erigeron but a few of the erigeron just died leaving empty spaces in some areas.  One of my spirea japonica white gold died too but the one right beside it is fine – I have no idea what happened there.

violet flowers of viola labradorica with purple tinged leaves
Viola labradorica

I am glad to hear that the weather will be getting a little warmer soon so I will be able to get in the garden a bit more, although the colder weather has maybe kept the number of slugs down as I haven’t seen that many – yet.