Colour comes to the gardens at last!
Thursday, July 2, 2015
The best and longest lasting colour has been
around the Paddock Pond with candelabra primulas still flowering
strongly supprted by a succession of iris, daylilies, hostas and
mimulus
Weather
We had started to wonder by the end of the third week of
the month whether we were ever going to see an end to the
very unstable weather patterns we had experienced since late April.
Well into June there had been an almost persistent northerly
breeze , cold nights and often dull days There were some brighter,
warmer interludes however, and some invaluable rain just when we
needed it because the breeze had substantially dried out the
borders. The omens for the month weren't good as there was a
tremendous gale on 1st which shredded new leaves all over the
gardens and snapped a couple of branches on the large beech tree
near the nursery, necessitatting the viist of Sam the tree surgeon
to make them safe as they were well out of my range with the pole
saw. At last towards the end of the 3rd week the weather started to
settle down, the nights got warmer and the plants responded. The
max during the month was 28C on 30th, with 6 other days over 21C.
The min was 2C on 4th and 8th with 10 other night below . And then
on 30th the heatwave started - summer at last!
Garden update
Vegetables have been very slow and those which were sown early
(carrots in particular) have been overtaken by later sowings which
is often the case. Runner beans and courgettes have needed fleece
protection and even the earliest sown peas on 21 April are showing
yellow foliage as the result of the cold winds and low night time
temperatures. There has however been good success with brassicas
even though there is evidence of clubroot returning in spite of the
copious liming that I did last autumn. Early cabbage Hispi and
Greyhound have however cropped well and early under the protection
of fleece, with the first cabbage cut on 8 June.
The 2 rows of carrots in the middle of this picture were
18 days before those in the following picture
Note the vigour and health of these which will be
ready for harvest in about 3 weeks
As always radish was the first to crop on 2nd and shortly
afterwards lettuce followed, Can - Can a reallly good "cut and come
again" type the leaf of which looks like an endive and is the
staple of many salad leaves pillow packs in the supermarkets.
Following on we have a wide range of mixed leaves, "Little Gem",
"Lollo Rosso and "Iceberg2"
Staying with salad crops I have come unstuck this year with my
all time favourite tomato "Rosada" from Thompson & Morgan. Not
being able to buy it anywhere I resorted to the web and found some
on offer from Sri Lanka, which is where many of the seeds supplied
to seed companies in the UK come from. I wasn't too concerned and
sowed the seed in the usual way but it seemd to take ages to
germinate even on the hot bench and when it did start to grow away
was very short and reluctant to send put a leader as indertiminate
types do. I have now concluded it is a mini bush type, so no Rosada
this year and no boasting at Christmas of picking fresh tomatoes
from the 17th truss!. I am left with standard types Gourmet and
Alicante, both fine tastiing tomatoes, Alicante a last
minute garden centre purchase much to my chagrin! The first time
for many years I have not grown from seed all our own tomatoes.
Potatoes have looked good from a late planting on 15 April , 9
varieties in all, and many are now in flower. First to crop
was Exquisa, a well named salad potato and very early, just 75 days
to harvest on 27 June. That unmistakeable fresh, firm taste and one
of the eagerly awaited highlights of our gardening year. We just
have to hope that with hot humid weather forecast for early July
the dreaded blight keeps away.
In the flower borders the slow season has suited some plants
better than others especially shade and moisture lovers, Hostas
continue to impress and this month I refreshed the front borders at
the front of the house with newer cultivars. Being in sun for a
third of the day it may be too much for some of them so I am using
this as a trial and if any aren't happy I will replace them.
The "Pictorial Meadows" wildflower seed mix has grown on
strongly after a very rapid germination and should flower during
July which we are looking forward to,
Some good martagon lilies in various shades of white, red,
purple and orange are flowering in more shady areas and
having been establish for a good few years are bulking up well. I
am delighted that after last years stellar performance, we will
have some cardiodrinum giganteum flowering again this year. Only 3
plants but just to have that wonderful scent and the impact they
create will be a special treat. There are numerous other forms of
lily in most borders and as is typical with them they are in growth
and bud for many weeks before they finally flower at their
appointed times. I am always asked by visitors if we suffer from
the dreaded lily beetle and I have all fingers crossed when I say
this, we have been very lucky so far; one of the benefits I suppose
of living in a cooler and wetter part of the country,that and
perhaps the fact that I never buy in liliy plants. only growing
them from seed or bulbs.
A white martagon
This superb red martagon came in an unlabelled pot as
"martagon lily! Lucky me. It is growing in 60% shade border unde a
large apple tree
And the next generation of cardiocrinum just about to
break 2 days ago. The buds have since opened. I love the darker
stem which wasn't a feature of any of those which flowered last
year
My hopes of missing the dreaded henerocallis gall midge were not
fulfilled. As they come into bud the mid season types are full of
distorted buds, The late season ones are usually too late for the
gall mid midge and are largely unaffected fingers crossed!
Every bud on the large plant has been infected by the
gall midge. This plant has always been the worst affected in
the gardens so it wll be removed and the space freed up for a
number of shade loving contenders to repace it
And further up the same border is "Moonlight
Masquerade"
And in the Red Border is this seed grown example of an
unusual form of day lily. The flower is wider than the span of my
hand. Note the surrounding slim buds to follow with no trace of
gall midge.
Finally this is the time I add tender perennials such as salvias
to the borders and a wide variety of hardy annuals whcih continue
the flower well into autumn. Particularly useful are rudbeckias,
cleomes, zinnias and nicotianas. I am planning to to prepare
a new talk on annuals which I have grown for many years and
are such under rated stars that should be much more widely
grown
What's looking good?
When I first came to Cilgwyn Lodge there were in excess of
200 roses in the gardens in formal rose beds. They were a mixture
of HT and floribundas cultivars that were popular at the time
and many still are. Over the years they began to fade away as
blackspot, poor pruning techniques on my part, and a difficult
climate took their toll. and I was glad to get rid of them. I
replaced them in the early 80's with shrub roses in a dedicated bed
underplanted with hardy geraniums, alliums and digitalis. For years
they were the only roses we had in the gardens. As fashions changed
and with my developing mixed borders I then started adding roses to
raise the colour pallette, height and scent. With a few exceptions
they were shrub roses old and new.
The Koi Pond Border which contains 43 roses all in
bloom but the bright sunshine dulled the impact that they are
making to this border which is much admired by
visitors
As others who have adopted this style will have discovered the
roses were healthier, more attractive (none of those "bare legs!")
and I learnt the benefit of feeding roses in March and June with
Rose fertiser in addiion to well rotted manure, Pruning is now a
simple hair cut with a hedge trimmer to aboout half the original
size and it works brilliiantly. I also discovered that the best
place to grow them in the gardens here is in the Koi Pond Border,
in full sun and very stony well drained soil. Result is that I love
our roses all 43 of them in harmony with other sun lovers
lavenders. nepeta, sedums, dieramas and hardy and tender salvias to
name just a few, all in a pastel colour scheme. They are having a
particularly good year
"Gertrude Jekyll" one of David Austins best
introductions with good clear colour and large prolifically
produced flowers.
And from Delbard in France is "La Rose de Petit Prince"
in an amazing shade of lilac. And look at the size of the bloom
against my hand
Awarded the Rose of the Year some time ago "Rhapsody in Blue" is
indeed a deserved winner and is much bluer than the pic suggests.
Light purple is perhaps a better description but that doesn't have
the same catchy name!
Often given the name cobra lilies, the true name is
arisaemas, have been grown here in excess of 10 years
since our friend Tony introduced us to them, Stlil relatively
unknown to many of our visitors they have done well for us in part
shade. Some can be very challenging but there is a hard core of
about 10 which we find reliable, long lived and totally
hardy.
In the shade border alongside the conservatory is
arisaema ciliatum liubiense, one of the easiest to grow in my
experience. It is at least 7 years old and over 3 feet tall. By the
way the fabulous blue hosta is "Bressingham
Blue"
It is said of gardening that the more you learn about it, the
more you realise how much there is still to learn and
in truth there are times when I feel like an absolute
beginner! Latin names and plant families are however something that
I am keen on, but I reguarly come upon gaps in my knowledge. Only
last week when researching the Latin names of common wiildflowers,
I came across the family Caryophyllacea when reading about Red
Campion and Ragged Robin. It was quite an embarassment to realise
that it is a large family of 93 genus and over 16,000 species, many
totally unknown to me The best known genus are pinks and
carnations, lychnis which includes Ragged Robin I mentioned
earlier, and silene which includes Red Campion.Go to www.the plantlist.org for
more info about this fascinating family
A lovely dianthus we have had for many years in the rock
garden. Label and name long gone! but I remember it was suggested
in the plant label that this is how dianthus would have looked in
Elizabethan times
The ever popular dwarf dianthus deltoides which flowers
over a long season
And this little beauty came to me as "Domino" from
Derry Watkins Special Plants nursery some years ago but I believe
the name has been changed
Grown from seed from the Hardy Plant Seed Exchange this
spring I was excited when I saw these large orange flower.
Lycnis cognata comes from the far east and reaches a height to
about 2 feet. A bit straggly in growth but really different and I
will be hoping for seed from these plants later in the
year.
The white form of the ever popular lychnis coronaria for
a sunny spot; nice but the straight coronaria with its deep magenta
flowers and silver foliage cannot be beaten for impact
And this is silene armaria, new to me this year from
seeds given to us by friends Liz and Paul, fellow NGS garden
openers. There is quite a network of us now in West Wales and we
are always swopping seeds and plants between us.
Silene armaria is European in origin for a well drained
situation and will also do well in dry shade. It is a perennial
which grows to about 2' 6" wih glaucous leaves and sprays of
intense pink flowers from June until autumn. A real
winner.
Other good silene to look out for ar s.schafta and s. fimbriata
with white deeply incised petals
A few pics of some more major contribritors to the garden
in June
Aruncus dioius as always makes a major statement
in the House Garden with huge spikes of cream flowers to
6'
A charming combination in the shade of the large beech
tree is this dryopteris namegate with an orchid which appeared in
the gardens about 6 years ago. I have never been able to find
the name but Katherine, a former Nature Conservation Officer
National Trust, who visited the Gardens recently suggested it was a
hybrid between 2 native British orchids dactylorhiza and the common
spotted orchid. A natural cross which was collaborated by Joy and
Martin owners of Winllan the Coronation Meadow mentioned further on
in this news item
Simple but naturalistic planting in the Paddock Garden
are the blues and yellows of geranium "Orion" and anthemis
tinctoria "Sauce Hollandaise" I really like this
Wildlife and countryside
The dull weather limited the amount of butterflies seen on the
wing, but some damsel flies put in appearances from time to time
over the Paddock Pond. Very few tadpoles found when clearing out
the pond recently but plenty of newts and dragonfly larvae. Whilst
doing this 2 redkites swooped low over the pond with me in
the water and many fiish sunning themseleves in the sunshine. They
soon dispersed and so did I! It is the closest I have ever been to
a Kite and are they big birds!
Farmers have been busy with grass harvest mostly silage as we
haven't had setlled enough weather to make hay. The councils have
been slow to cut the verges this year thank goodness as they look
absolutely superb, clear beneficiaries of the cool spring.
But to see widlflowers at their best you need to visit a hay
meadow in June which suddenly have become all the rage. Little
tresures are being unearthed all the time and recently in
Carmarthenshire a new group has been set up to increase interest
and awareness in these priceless wild flower refuges. For more info
go to www.carmarthenshiremeadows.com
Visits and visitors
We had a lovely day on 6 June at the inaugral Toby Buckland
Garden Festival at Bowood Hose in Wiltshire. In good weather it was
a relaxed and enjoyable day with a wide range of stalls laid out
informally in the the grounds at the front of the house which was a
perfect backdrop. In contrast to many of the big shows nowadays, it
was a reasonably priced event with a more intimate feel and smaller
businesses represented on most of the stalls. Food and drink was
the best we have ever encountered at Garden Festivals. Most of all
it was fun as I hope the pics below will confirm
Our NGS garden opening season began on 1st June and soon
afterwards we had our first visitors - a charming couple from
Holland who spoke the most perfect English. Since then we have had
a small parties of visitors, several of whom had been to the
gardens before - it is always nice when people come back often with
family or friends. We also had one group from a number of
gardening clubs in West Wales, many of whom we know from giving
talks to their clubs. Early in July we have several pre-booked
visits and other commitments but if you would like to arrange
a visit later in the month please get in touch.
The entrance to the Paddock Gardens on the last day of
the month. As I said earlier still not much colour but I will
publish a pic in each News Item for the next few months to show how
the borders change in this time
We managed to find time to visit some gardens opening for
charity during June. A village opening for the benefit of the
church roof in Skenfrith a lovley village on the upper river Monnow
north of Monmouth. A private garden in Kidwelly opening for
Motor Neurone Disease Association. Jan the owner lost her husband
Dave to this debilitating illness last year and has worked
tirelessly this year to raise £2,600 by opening her garden. And
finally for the NGS the Coronation Meadows in Ceredigion referred
to above.
The entrance to Jan's lovely garden which has been
therapy to help her through the hard times after she lost Dave, She
is an excellent gardener in all aspects and also tends an allotment
and raises many of her own plants.
Jan is so well known in Kidwelly that even the
Town Mayor paid her an official visit. Moira never wastes a photo
opportunity!
The Coronation Meadows at Winllan, near Talsarn,
Ceredigion open for the NGS in May and June
A view of the meadows with 6 species of wild orchid and
many hybrids. The meadows are species rich.
Returning home we called in to see friends Robert
and Barry near Myddfai, who have a meadow and lovely gardens
that they are openiing for the NGS for the first time in
2016. It was approaching twilight when I took these 2 pics
and without any enhancements with Photoshop, these show the
meadows as they appeared to the naked eye. Robert is my"Lawn's
Guru" and the meadow is introducing him to the beauty and variety
of native grasses
On 5 July with our plant sales, we are supporting a charity
event at the home of friends Anne and Philip Large who are opening
their 23 acres of gardens, woodland and meadows for The Roy Castle
Lung Cancer Founadation. The event is fittingly called Jane's Open
Garden Party. Jane is a friend of Anne and Philip who was diagnosed
with with lung cancer at the age of 41 and she is determined to
raise as much as she can for the charity. The event takes place at
Glan - yr Afon, Pumpsaint SA19 8DJ from 1 - 6pm on Sunday 5 July.
Apart from ourselves amd 2 other nurseries there will also be live
music, a huge raffle, secondhand bookstall, basket weaving
demonstration and of course the obligatory teas, coffee and cakes
withour which no garden visit is complete. The suggested entry
donation is £4. Please do try and support this major gardening
event in a glorious part of north Carmarthenshire and whilst you
are there why not have a drink or a meal in the the local pub, the
Dolaucothi Arms or visit the nearby Roman Gold Mines owned by the
National Trust.
Having opened our garden for the NGS for 16 years we are in no
doubt of the benefits to charities of garden opening. In this time
we have raised over £30.000 and to have done so gives us a great
sense of pride, but we have also had the fulfillment of giving
pleasure to the many people who have visited us and they in turn
have rewarded us with their kind comments, generous donations and
help and assistance , all freely given especially when we used to
have published Open Days. The NGS is a a large national charity
which last year generated donations totalling £2.5 million to its
supported charites. There are however many others raiising
money for charity at a more local level, all of which will have
experienced the same generosity and kindness of people - it
is always said that gardeners are the nicest people you can meet
and I would wholly endorse this. Gardening brings so many things at
different levels, but for me optimism, hope, love, gentleness,
kindness honesty and continuity are at its core, old fashioned
values perhaps but in an increasingly dangerous and troubled world
what a refuge to have and sustain us each day.
Happy gardening!