From The Garden - Six on Saturday - 21 February 2025

As usual I am joining in with Jim as he posts his garden ruminations. This regular post of mine covers six things from my garden. 

1.  This week arriving in the post was this little treasure.

Camellia Fairy Blush 

It is still in its pot, but not wanting the flowers to get bruised and damaged in the strong winds it is gracing the conservatory.  I am not sure whether our soil will suit it, although I have seen the odd camellia growing in front gardens, so it destined to be potted on with ericaceous compost after flowering, into in slightly larger pot. Hopefully over the next couple of years at least, I will be able to have it as a conservatory plant during the winter.  

 

I've been looking at testing kits and seen digital Ph testers that also test for moisture.  If anyone has experience of successfully using these I would be very pleased to hear from you. This would be quite useful in gauging the humidity in my large pots in the garden as well.

2. In the front garden, the very first variety of snowdrop I planted there was most probably one that I either brought with me from my last garden, which came fromHill Close Gardens in Warwick, or were bought on the first visit to Shepton Mallet Snowdrop fair when we first moved.  It is really happy in the hot front garden, increasing well.  A request for a name was generously suggested by Galanthophiles as being Galanthus 'x valentinei', which is a name given to all hybrids between nivalis and plicatus with one mark.  Looking this up I found that in nature its range is NW Turkey, which explains perhaps why it is thriving and increasing well, self seeding and germinating under the leaf litter. I have many other plants in that area which come from Mediterranean type climates as it is very sunny there.

Galanthus 'x Valentinei'

3. Another snowdrop which is doing very well in the back garden is Galanthus Sprite. The green scratches on the outside certainly make it easy to identify.

Galanthus Sprite

4. To bring more colour to this week's post, what better than the yellow hellebore which seems to be doing well though its nectaries have yet to turn the good golden colour they had previously, but they will do so as they have only just emerged.

5. Yesterday I went to the Snowdrop Festival at Shepton Mallet, and did not come back with any new snowdrops!  I can't say that I didn't come back without any plants!

I already have Primula Blue Horizon which is at the bottom of the picture, and previously our leader kindly gave me some back history for that: AGS Primula book lists 'Blue Horizon'as a julianae hybrid and describes it as a sport of 'Wanda' P.C. 1950. Therefore when I saw for sale Primula vulgaris 'Hall Barn Blue', I just had to get that so that I can do some comparisons.

Primula vulgaris 'Hall Barn Blue' in pot

6. Another Primula came home, and will give a lovely touch of yellow and hopefully will self seed, so I shall be leaving the flowers to set seed. This is the Oxslip, and I am looking forward to planting it out once it stops raining.

The start of the week was cold and dreary, and yesterday it was warm and wet and dreary...today I hope we are going to have some sun.

Diggory and Bertram Anderson In a Vase on Monday -

It is still cold and with poor light, it really makes one wish we were away somewhere warm and sunny, but then I would be missing the snowdrops.  It is so cold and dreary that the crocus and other spring flowers are keeping tight shut.  Bringing in the snowdrops at least allows one to enjoy watching them open. This week's vase is standing on the windowsill just by the kitchen sink.  Those who have grown Galanthus Diggory would recognise that one in the vase which is to the left and right with their outers curved round and under.  Central is Galanthus Bertram Anderson.  A few sprigs of Pittosporum Tom Thumb completes the arrangement.

A friend of mine has been poorly and called me to see if I could pop round just for a chat.   I know that like me, she had missed out on our group's visit to Yeo Valley, so I went round the garden quickly picking some snowdrops, and I was delighted that she noticed they were different.  As I picked them from here and there, I can't say what all their names are.  A quick picture below shows them tied up with a little bit of raffia together with some cyclamen hederifolium leaves.

I am linking into to Cathy's post as usual.
 

Early spring flowers In a Vase on Monday

 All morning it was gloomy, and I set off to walk to meet friends for Knit and Natter, and when I got back home, whilst I was boiling eggs for egg and cress sandwiches I went out to bit a few blooms.  There is no much in flower except for the cyclamen and snowdrops.

These cyclamen needed a dunking in a bowl of water as they were covered in little bits of soil formed when the heavy rain drops hit the soil. I also needed to find my smallest vase which needed me to climb up to rummage round the back of the top shelf in the cupboard when I store the vases.  

Cyclamen coum in a vase

They needed a little greenery, and these fern like leaves of Corydalis cheilanthifolia were just the right size and tone of green.  The seeds of both these plants have been spread by ants, with this corydalis now growing in cracks in the stone wall.

Just behind in another vase are several of the blooms from Galanthus Diggory which also needed a wash.  The heavy rain sodden blooms were almost touching the ground, no doubt the remaining ones in the garden will stand back up once we have a little drier weather. These snowdrops are easy to identify as they mature the petals stretch, then draw up the lower part of their seersucker petals giving a balloon shape. 

I've just finished reading Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt.  Some time. probably around two years ago,  Mr S explained to our grand-daughter the antics that an Octopus got at Plymouth Marine Laboratory where he went to survey as part of his work.  We had not realised that she had taken it all in, so we were completely delighted to receive the book unexpectedly.  She had found it in a charity shop read it, and then posted it to 'Grampy'.  Mr S loved it, and having read it too, I can repeat this.

Another book, which I came across on a 'Charity Book Shelf' as I was depositing books a few weeks ago, was How to Read a Tree by Tristan Gooley.  I love trees and I couldn't have picked a better read. 

Every Monday these posts link into Cathy's post and from there, there are further links to other vases.  Why not join us?

Six on Saturday - 8 February 2025

 Without a frost but with day time temperatures struggling to rise above 4C, it really feels cold in the garden.  Things have hardly moved since last week, but it is amazing how just a small patch is able to yield six for this Saturday's rendezvous chez Jim.  You are very welcome to join, and guidance is over on Jim's post this week which features some of his signature plants which are Camelias. 

1. Crocus chrysanthus 'Advance' may be in advance but only two have opened, and the others are keeping tight shut and probably won't advance until it is warmer.  I'm not blaming anyone for keeping out of this cold damp weather. This picture was taken early in the week, and today it is shut tight.

 Crocus chrysanthus 'Advance'

2. I was clearing out along the shady border and was delighted to find that this soft shield fern, most probably  Polystichum setiferum ‘Plumosum Densum’ has decided it was time since the conditions were just right to do a little increasing. They are well anchored into the humus rich soil, and I shall probably allow them to grow in situ for another season before separating them, unless Jim advises otherwise. The reason I cut it back so drastically, is to make room for the soon to be emerging new foliage, though from these new plants it seems as if I had missed out a year.

Polystichum setiferum ‘Plumosum Densum’

3.  Our mid week visit to Elworthy Cottage in the beautiful rolling west Somerset Brendon Hills was a great opportunity to admire snowdrops.  I am even in the lucky position to be able to offer next year two of my snowdrops that are doing very well for a swap with Jenny.  Just as I believe it is etiquette to take a gift when visiting a friend for lunch, so I believe it is good etiquette to buy a plant when visiting a garden with a nursery.  I really couldn't justify the price for the newly launched special Elworthy Pearl, but on the way out my eye was caught by a snowdrop with an unusual form, which will make is reasonably easy to identify in the garden should the label get lost, or even fade as I have been finding this year with several of the snowdrops.  It is so cold that to get the snowdrop to open, I brought it into the kitchen to take a picture of it.

Galanthus Ballard's No Notch

It has broad grey grey leaves and unusually the inner segments don't have a notch, and the straight but slightly curled edge has a clear green heart.  I read that it does best in well drained soil, so will think carefully where it will go.

4. The small yellow coloured but not rare snowdrop is not easy to photograph, non the less I am happy to say that it has survived another year.   Galanthus nivalis Sandersii , simply put is the yellow form of the common snowdrop. This is an untouched up photography with the yellow on top form this year.

Galanthus nivalis Sandersii

5. Over in Gooseberry Corner, where two gooseberry bushes lurk, along with some blackcurrants and rhubarb, the criss cross and overlong branches called out to be cut back on the day before green bin collection.  I removed for the first time since planting a couple of the oldest stems right back to the ground and also shortened as per the books the side shoots, some of which were placed in the front garden hopefully to deter the neighbourhood cats from their usual tracks.

Gooseberry bushes waiting to be pruned.

6. The small plant stall outside a cottage in Dunster. was nicely set out and looking through what they had for sale, spent the whole of my £10 note on 3 pots of Baby Moon daffs and a couple of pots of crocus marked striped and purple.  Narcissi don't seem to last beyond a season, but I was happy to get these and will just enjoy their lovely small yellow flowers in due course. 

Just as a bonus here is a view of a Snowdrop Valley to which we had a long walk, cold, muddy and hard walk at Wheddon Cross.  A very long slow late lunch was later enjoyed in the Lutterell Arms by a warm log fire.  We stayed at The Great House with the best of breakfasts, a lovely old house with great hosts.

Snowdrop Valley near Wheddon Cross

Six on Saturday - 1 February 2025

When I took these pictures yesterday I was thinking January, but today is the first day of February.  It felt that 'February fill dyke'* came a month early, but at least it did not rain yesterday, though we had had heavy rain again but overnight.  I'm joining in this weekly report on Six things from the garden, led by our chief Jim.

1. As well as snowdrops I love other early winter flowering plants, and this Eranthis  hyemalis is the first off the blocks.  Opening and hopefully attracting the Queen Bumblebee that I saw flying across the garden from the upstairs window. If I had been in the garden I would have not only seen her but heard her.

Eranthis hyemalis

2. In the same Conservatory bed are some early crocus still covered in raindrops but trying really hard to open.  They are gradually increasing, and I ought to add 'move some bulbs to the sunnier position' on my to do list. I read that six weeks after flowering is the time, maybe as the leaves die down. If you have any other views, please leave them in the comments box below.

Crocus sieberi Firefly

3. I do like little flowers and this is another one of my smaller snowdrops: Galanthus Margaret Billington with the two more rounded drops having four outer petals.  We are going to visit Elworthy Cottage for one of their open days, where I bought this snowdrop a couple of years ago, where the snowdrops are scattered around the sloping garden.  Nearby is a private valley full of snowdrops open during February. 

Galanthus rizehensis 'Margaret Billington'

 

4.  Another easily recognised snowdrop at the opposite end of this bed is Galanthus Diggory. This is just as they start to puff out their petals and the seersuckering is starting to develop.

Galanthus Diggory

5. The roses were starting to show signs of shooting, and therefore I decided it was time to get the pruning done. I usually get this done around Valentine's Day, but the whole garden seems to be in advance.  I shall wait to feed and mulch until the start of March.

6.  I love unusual bits and pieces and when walking past a house with some pieces of wood, some charred dumped outside on the pavement, I didn't just see this as an inconvenience but an opportunity to bring an attractive piece home.   It was so burnt I thought of it as a decorative piece of 'charcoal type' piece of wood, and used it to pose as a black background near small plants which it did very effectively.  Year ago I had seen an arrangement of charred trees in a landscaped setting on the shore of Lake Windermere. 

It can't have been completely dead and consumed by fire as for the last couple of years it has been sprouting the fruiting bodies of a fungi. A question on British Mycological Society Facebook identified it and it is a type of Turkey Tail: Trametes or Stereum species

Let us hope that a few days of dryish weather will allow a little more time gardening, or at least tidying up.