June in fantasy land!
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
I am running out of superlatives as each month seems to get
better and better. The best June here since 2006 with many warm
sunny days and mild nights stimulating tremendous growth.
Only 2 years ago I was forced to compare June with November
as it was so cold, dull and wet. This year however, the
season is at least 2 weeks ahead of where we usually are.
The Paddock Garden looking across the Koi Pond Border at
the end of June
The Red Border in early June with papaver orientale
"Beauty of Livereme" the sole contributor!
The Red Border in late June - red everywhere except for
that sneaky papaver somniferum lilac self sown poppy, and the
dieramas in the distance!
There were some real highlights especially the flowering of 7
cardiocrinum giganteum in the Paddock Garden, and the earliest ever
flowering of roses, the first coming in the last week of May. The
visitor season has started in earnest, one of the reasons for the
delay in publishing this News Item for which I apologise.
This magnificent stand of 5 plants of
cardiocrinum, all 6 feet tall and dripping with
perfume.
Weather
24 consecutive days above 20C starting on the 6th, max 25C on
19th when we had a group garden visit which was nice. Night time
temperatures generally above average but with the wind direction
mostly from the north west there were some occasional cold nights
with a min of 6c on the 1st. Barometer pressure steady at just
above 30" meaning very few windy days. Perhaps because of the
residual moisture left in the ground following the wet winter most
borders did not need watering untli the 3rd week of the month but
after that the sprinklers were needed particularly in the vegetable
garden.
Garden update
Mostly pictures under this heading as there is so much to
report. The abiding impression has been of early flowering
and delicious scents from so many sources, wherever you are in the
gardens, which has delighted many visitors - and us!.
In my view the best philadelphus, "Belle Etoile"
great perfume, lovely pink centred flowers and compact
form.
A range of vegetables has come to harvest none better than the
brassicas: Hispi cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower and the
first ball headed cabbage Primo2. Root crops and potatoes are
slower than usual because of late sowing and it is the first time
for many years that we haven't harvested any potatoes in June. Peas
have germinated well (under 10 days in the last of the 5 rows) but
there the good news story ends. Mice and rabbits have done
their best to destroy the pea crop either digging up the swelling
seeds in the case of mice and the rabbits shearing off the new
growth in their own version of "the Chelsea Chop"
Planting out the last of the brassicas, winter cabbage
and purple sprouting in late June
I struggle to grow good cauliflowers as many gardeners
do, so you need all the help you can get, Soil conditions, good
feeding, keeping them growing strongly and choice of varieties are
important, and this year I hit the jackpot, 14 perfectly formed
heads from a variety called "Serac" by D.T. Brown, far superior
than any other early summer variety I have ever grown. Seed sown in
gentle heat on 17 January on a day of howling gales! (9cm pot for
comparison)
Herbaceous perennials which are the mainstays of all our borders
look well and the main flush is now close to the "July spectacular"
as the early flowering forms are caught up by the later ones, phlox
and monardas especially. Daylilies (hemerocallis) however are
having a terrible time, many of their flowers being devastated by
the dreaded gall midge, a pest for which there is no cure.
A wide view of as much of the Paddock Garden as I could
fit into the picture!
The dreaded gall midge - all flowers on this head of a
daylily have been infected by the grubs which totally destroy the
bud before the flower can open. It is essential to reduce infection
next year that all the infected buds are removed and definitely not
composted.
There are other pests too revelling in the warm weather, lupin
aphids and more difficult to manage, capsid bugs which affect
especially dahlias, fuchsias, hydrangeas and brugmansias.
Capsid bug on brugmansia leaves - you rarely see them
but they do untold damage and usually wreck the flowers too unless
controlled by sprays.
Tender perennials have been bedded out to augment those which
came through the winter: Salvia "Hot Lips", salvia involucrata and
salvia microphylla "Cerro Potosi" which is already a sizeble plant
with intense flowers ( see the pic - I don't know what to call the
colour but it is much darker than the picture suggests!)
Salvia microphylla "Cerro Potosi"
The walk to the Monet seat alongside the garden boundary
with salvia "Hot Lips" in the bottom right hand
corner.
Plenty of weeds still but the drier weather has seen them slow
down at last
What's looking good?
A difficult choice because there are so many contenders, but I
have settled on the ones pictured below which are the best of the
very best.
Papaver orientale "Beauty of Liveremere" 5 stands of
which in the Red Border set the garden ablaze in early
June
Lupins galore, all sown from seed last year and what
impact at up to 4 feet tall and scented too!
Iris of all kinds have done well including those
that like moist conditions such as iris versicolor in the
foreground and iris ensata, the Japanese water iris in the
background
Delphiniums take over as lupins begin to fade in the
Picket Fence Cottage Garden
Unobtrusive and in truth rather dull for the rest of the
summer except for a couple of weeks in June when aruncus
dioicus has the most fabulous spikes of flower to 6 feet tall with
an impact perhaps matched only by pampas grass
We have had some fabulous lilies, true martagons in the
white form in various parts of the Gardens, and some really tall,
choice crosses with other species lilies, some to 6 feet tall. This
one is lilium "Claude Shride"
And this one is lilium "Orange Marmalade"
This beautiful early flowering Turks head form is lilium
lankongense 5 feet tall an wonderfully scented
Not a true lily of course but who could not fail to be
charmed by the many water lilies in the Paddock Pond in shades of
white, yellow, red and pink - they just warmth and
sunshine.
Flowering of summer shrubs has been amazing this one is
kolkwitzia amabilis, the so called beauty bush with a profusion of
flowers throughout June. In the same family as honeysuckle but only
gently perfumed
Deutzias look very ordinary, twiggy shrubs when not in
flower but in June they are major contributors to flowering shrubs
in shades of white or pink and some are doubles. This one is a
large flowered form called "Magicien"
I am delighted with the way the hydrangeas both
macrophyllas and serratas have flowered - plants are twice the size
than normal and the flowering is exceptional. It is so often the
case that these forms are devastated by late frosts which delays or
prevents flowering. This one is a curiosity the parentage of which
cannot be classified. Known simply as h."Preziosa" It is terrific
and shows considerable variation depending on where it is planted.
The PH of the soil in the Gardens is about 6.5 which would normally
suggest blue flowers but as you will see that is not always the
case!
This one is in full sun;the leaves are almost black and
the flowers are a kaleidescope of lilac, white and
lilac/white
te
This one is in 75% shade, the leaves are green, the
flowers pink and the form is lacecap!
And this one is in part shade and a hybrid between the 2
extremes of light and shade
In 2001 I purchased one of the fabulous blue forms of h.
macrophylla "Generale Vicomtesse de Vibraye" from Portmeirion in
North Wales which boasts some of the bluest hydrangeas you will
ever see. I have waited ever since for it (and many of its
offspring from cuttings) to flower like this here and we have been
rewarded at last! Patience is a virtue for all gardeners and gives
the greatest satisfaction.
Roses - another magnificient June flowering. A gallery
of some of the best forms.
This delicate cultivar is "Jacqueline du Pre" named for
the cellist of that name who died tragically young and is generally
recognised as one of the finest ever.
This David Austin favourite is "Graham Thomas" named for
the prominent rosarian and gardens and one time advisor to The
National Trust
Another David Austin introduction "Kew Gardens" is a
cluster flowered form rather different from the old rose forms
which dominate the David Austin range, It is never without a good
flush and is one of the best repeat roses. Simple charming flower
heads but only lightly scented (well you can'have
everything!!)
The French too know a thing or two about roses but
they are not necessarily suited to our wetter climate in west Wales
- gardeners never give up! so I keep trying them and this year -
success! This is "La Rose du Petit Prince" and yes it is they do
have this fabulous lilac coloured, exceptionally large
flowers
Clematis are exceptional - they can be very tempremental
here and flower poorly in some years, As some are over 20 years old
you begin to wonder if they are past their bast when BANG! they
show you there is still life in the old dogs yet. It is a difficult
choice but theses are a few of my persoal favourites at present
with many more still to come.
This one is "Blue Angel"
And this one "Hyde Hall"
And one I simply adore is this cross between a c.
viticella and c. crispa. It is c."Betty Corning" with exquisite
slightly scented flowers that look anything like the traditional
view of a clematis.
The mystery of the boy and the giants can now be revealed. I
love tall perennials that you can look up to, and there are plenty
of them in the gardens. This year however they are supercharged
after the rain of the winter and a the perfect growing conditions
since early spring.
Here I am looking up to the heavens at peucedanum
verticilare an umbellifer that takes 4 years to flower then dies!
but sets masses of seed for the next generation. I am 6 foot tall
to give you an idea of the height of the plant.
Achillea grandiflora at the front entrance to the
Gardens makes a great statement but is a "flopy Joe" and needs
careful staking before it swamps its neighbours
The gunnera manicata over 20 years old has gone scarily
crazy this year with 6 feet leaves - it looks like I am about to be
consumed by it. As it has been around since the dinosaurs that is a
distinct possibility!!
For all the undoubted claims of the many plants
featured in this mammouth News Item none comes near the one
featured in the next few pics. Nothing has given me greater
horticultural satisfaction in all my gardening life than growing 12
plants from seed sown in 2008. Here I am looking up in wonder at
the beauty I helped to create just before the buds opened in the
third week of the month
All this from this elegant seed pod (yes this was the
original one) and the paper like seeds not as big as a 5 pence
piece.
The flower spikes begin to unfurl
And the flowering climax. Believe me the scent is like
nothing else heavy, itense, complex and utterly beguiling - it gave
me shivers down the spine every time I smelt it!
Wildlife and countryside
The fine weather resulted in a very early harvest with more hay
being made this year. Many of the lambs have gone to market giving
therir long suffering mothers a chance to recover before the whole
process starts again in the autumn but the fields are
quieter!
My fears expressed last month that there may be some ash dieback
disease in our area seem justified when 2 trees, one in the
garden and one just outside, are showing clear evidence of the
disease with sparse leaf cover anThd dieback at the end of many
branches. I will be monitoring what happens to them during the
summer.
The ash tree between the 2 alders showing very sparse
leaf cover and clear evidence of die back at the tips. This scene
is repeated all along the A40 corridor eastwards.
A Southern Marsh orchid given to me by a gardening
acquaintance from seed of plants that just materialised in her
garden
And this beauty, the common spotted orchid, at 2 feet
tall just appeared in the Gardens some years ago and gets bigger
and bigger, Seedlings are now beginning to appear in the immediate
vicinity - isn't a gift of nature the most wonderful
thing?
There are plenty of dragon and damsel flies over the Paddock
Pond on sunny days and many of the frog tadpoles have now left the
water and small as they are, can be found all over the Gardens
-amazing strength and determination.
Birds have star "billing". There are simply masses of young
birds in the gardens and surrounding countryside, whole family
groups of blackbirds, tits of various kinds, wagtails, wrens,
robins, redstarts (at last) regularly being seen, the young robins
in their brown plumage flecked with gold when seen close up as I
chase them out of the fruitcage after raiding the excellent crop of
blueberries!
A redstart in the fruit cage - what a job to take a
picture as they are such busy birds they are very difficult to
photograph at maximum zoom range. Lovely red tail markings which
give the bird its name, stort being an old word for
"tail"
What might be the reason for this explosion in the number of
small birds? My suggestion is that there is plenty of food
available as the result of the warm weather, but also far less
magpies than in previous years, they being a serious predator of
eggs and fledgings in the nest
There are large flocks of corvids (the crow family) and in
particular ravens which have had some serious aerial battles, as
one pair takes on another, in territorial disputes over the
fields surrounding Cilgwyn Lodge.
Once again , after the grass harvest, the large seagulls I
first observed last month were back again, probably on closer
inspection more likely to be herring gulls than black backed gulls.
They are certainly an unusual sighting here, and somewhat bizzare
when seen mixing with traditional inland birds like buzzards and
red kites.
Visits and visitors
The beginning of our opening season for the National Gardens
Scheme has been very successful with 4 Groups (including one from
Holland) and numerous other visits in smaller numbers, everyone of
which has been in fine weather. They all get the same welcome
and it is so much more pleasant and rewarding for
everyone than having to share the gardens with 400 other people on
a public open day, which is the main reason we no longer have
one.
This is a group last week from Narberth U3A Gardening
Group
We have also managed to find the time to go garden visiting
ourselves to get more inspiration and just to have a break! At the
end of the month I was honoured to be asked to judge Llanwrtyd
Wells in Bloom competition.
In early June there was Rare Plant Fair at High Glanau Manor
near Monmouth a beautiful Arts and Crafts House and Garden in a
hilltop setting with far reaching views of beautiful
countryside
A trip to the coast to visit a Penrallt Nursery/
Garden Centre tucked away down the lanes of north Pembrokeshire
near the village of Moylgrove is worth travelling a long way for.
One of the best privately owned garden centres we have ever been
to. On the way there was this view of Cardigan Island, just off the
coast, in a shimmering haze of blue on a glorious summer day. It
was perhaps a a scene like this that prompted Sir Johm Betjeman to
pen the line in one of his fine poems ".. where sky
and sea and Cornwall meet"
5 visits are booked for July which will continue to keep us busy
and raise funds for the NGS
Happy gardening and do find time to "Smell the Roses" and see
some more gardens
