Six on Saturday - End of March 2025

The weather at the end of March continues cool, and yesterday it was quite windy , but with no frosts,  and bright days mostly is just right for the garden.  I am joining in with other gardeners over at Jim's, where we link in six observations from our gardens.

Today I shall be at Yeo Valley Gardens which is on the northern side of the Mendips, helping out at the HPS Spring Plant Fair, and taking a fair few potted up plants to sell in aid of our funds.

1. There may be lots of colour at the moment from the early spring flowers, however plant leaf colour is making a good show:

Here Persicaria Red Dragon with Sorbaria sorbifolia 'Sem' in the foreground made a good combination.

2. Where there are primulas and pollinators it isn't surprising that a little hybridisation should occur: within a short distance of the Primula White Wanda, which is at the bottom of the picture , a little seedling has come up with a creamier hue.  

Primula White Wanda in the foreground

3. Another Primula: 'Blue Horizon'' which like Primula Wanda is a juliae type, is having a particularly good season.

4. When a little celandine hitched a lift at the side another plant in a pot bought from the HPS, I thought I would keep it and see how it would grow: quite nice, and a double. It looks very similar to Ficaria verna 'Picton's Double' but the leaves are quite different, so who knows what is its name? 

5. There is nothing quite like the excitement of seeing a shrub growing in a garden, one I haven't seen before, and falling in love at first sight.  That is what happened when visiting Broadleigh Gardens last year. When I saw Gordon's Currant I knew it was one for me to try.  Within a week a little plant arrived in the post, and less than a year later, having made some satisfactory growth it is now in flower.

    

Close up the shape and colouring of the blossom is delightful.

Ribes x gordonianum, also known as Gordon's Currant

6. One of the plants I bought at the Bishop's Palace Rare Plant sale a couple of weeks ago was this rather fetching cross between P. juliae and P. elatior, named after its creator, David Valentine, in effect a P. elatior hybrid. Through finding out a little more about Primula David Valentine,  I learnt this week is that the Gold Lace Primulas are also P. elatior hybrids.

Primula David Valentine

Plants from friends this week: 

Omphalodes linifolia is a plant I very much admired, but had yet to grow in the garden, so I was delighted when my gardening friend Alison who has an English Flowers business for which she is growing many different plant brought a little plant for me when she visited for tea this week.  I was also very pleased that she was able to take several primulas and other plants to grow in her home garden.

Lovely white border Phlox from Maggie R, which was planted by the previous owners of her new home.