Six on Saturday 23 August 2019

For the past couple of weeks there has been a light but delicious fragrance of  cloves and nutmeg wafting around the garden, held in by the stone wall.  The source is a Dianthus with very shaggy light pink petals,  held on tall stems.  I had a plant given to me by Alison who grew it from seed.  It may well be Dianthus chinensis (1)Dancing Geisha?I shall have to ask.  It moves beautifully in any breeze, and I ought to have thought of its support earlier on in the year.

It flowered last year on shorter stems, and from the seed saved and sown straight away in the garden, I had several seedlings plants grow through the winter, two of which have been moved and are growing on nicely in the gravel garden.   As the gravel garden is in full light, I am hoping that they will be sturdier and will manage to stay upright without staking. It is worth growing these for the scent alone.  I shall try cutting some as in the garden they don't make me sneeze or my eyes run, so it will be tested indoors and form part of my In a Vase on Monday post.

At (2) Butterfly Painted Lady apt name to follow on from Geisha just cannot keep away from the Origanum laevigatum Herrenhausen.  This is the smaller patch growing on the edge of a border, growing on nicely from  a small division taken early this spring.

I love to look closely at what is emerging and deciding whether it is a plant to be removed, for example a weed, or (3) a seedling from a nearby plant...It is semiaquilegia ecalcarata which I bought early this year at a Hardy Plant Fair.    

There are maybe six small seedlings.  I understand that these are a short lived perennials, and it looks as if it is happy enough in its situation. 

The finely divided leaves form a neat clump, and even now when the flowers have died down, the plant is a great addition in the Conservatory Border.

Towards Acer corner, ps there is just one Acer Tree planted in the corner of the garden, not some great swath of specimen plantings.... Cyclamens emerging (4)Silver leaved C. hederifolium was unseen until Geranium Rozanne was cut back to reveal them. PS Fuchsia silver linings, just behind made a slow start this year.  My special cyclamen in pots are also flowering along the side alley in shade for most of the day.

Fuchsias are definitely good value and very easy to grow here...unless they don't grow and then I find another variety to try.  This year's new one here is  (5) Fuchsia Upright Delta's Sarah.   Bought at the Malvern Spring Show this year, in a small 9cm pot, it soon went out into the garden, and is doing really well. Of course it had to pinched and hey another three shrubs are now growing nicely, in pots!  With its white sepals and blue/violet corolla, it is lovely,  it is blue when out of the strong sunlight ie on the shady side, or when we had a few days of rain..so few this year sadly,  but I am not sure the yellow flowers of  Rudbekia goldstum in the background are quite right.

Another new plant...yes most of them are, since the garden was mostly planted up last autumn, but planted in previous gardens is (6)Anaphalis margaritacea...silver leaved with white papery flowers....

It looks like it is back to watering again since it is hot, sunny, and no rain forecast for the next ten days.  Tomorrow I am going to a Special Garden just north of Bath, where there will be loads of Special Plants to enjoy....Do take the opportunity of visiting the Pro(pagator) who leads this weekly theme, he has been waving the flag...the Spanish one and also points towards the progress of other plants grown from seed.