If you go over to Jim's you will find several of us, and you too could join in, who mark six things from our garden on a Saturday. Let's start the the list!
1. Last autumn I bought a few bulbs from Pottertons and was going to plant the Tulipa Sylvestris out in the garden this spring when I could see where to position them, so had planted the bulbs in November in 10cm pots. However I ended up planting them a few weeks back in a pot as a table display. Nice effect wouldn't you say but at some time I shall have to release them in the garden where hopefully they will naturalise. One of these is not Tulipa Sylvestris but I think it is T. Turkestanica which I have growing in the front garden.
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| Tulipa Sylvestris |
When I have posted this I'm going out to wipe the Sahara dust off the garden furniture.
2. This year I took a chance on growing the Tropaeolum tricolor right through the winter outdoors without protection. A few years back I was lucky enough to visit the now closed nursery Avon Bulbs, they said they grew their outdoors all year round outside their polytunnels. I put all the tubers into one pot this season, but being outside as opposed to in the conservatory, they have plied themselves around the stems and have made a tangle near the top, which is impossible to untangle without breaking their brittle stems.
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| Tropaeolum tricolor |
3. Corydalis Beth Evans seems to have taken to this garden and I now have several good clumps including this one in the shady border, as well as several elsewhere including spots in the conservatory bed and other sunnier spots.
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| Corydalis Beth Evans |
4. I love violas and violets and these seed very happily and sometimes need weeding out. However wherever possible I leave them till I can appraise their flowers. More and more I am enjoying watching out for how seedlings from all the plants emerge and choose ones with good constitutions and not worrying that they are not 'named varieites'. I have Viola odorata Kim and also Viola 'Baronne Alice de Rothschild' but I am now getting seedlings even within their own patches that are somewhat different from the parent. Here in the middle of the gravel garden not far from the washing line hole, is this charming new violet seedling with flowers quite large for the size of plant and larger than others I mentioned earlier. I'll grow this on for another year to see how it performs in a more mature form. It holds its flowers nicely above the foliage but this may just be the growing conditions, the full sun and the baking conditions.
5. Primula 'Petticoat' a lovely double old variety has thankfully come through the dry summer and is starting to flower'.
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| Primula Petticoat |
6. Primula: 'Blue Horizon'' which like Primula Wanda is a juliae type is just starting to flower and in a couple of weeks will be full stride. Nearby I have the very similar Primula vulgaris 'Hall Barn Blue' which I bought and planted last year but this has yet to flower.
The Robins are nesting, I've spotted butterflies and a slowworm who was sunning itself. With lots of ladybirds stirring, I feel that the garden is awakening. After a couple of dry sunnier days todays it has reverted to being overcast with a slight mizzle.
