May 2010- sometimes like Spring, sometimes like Winter!!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Weather Report
At last in May things got moving and the narcissus finally
finished after an extended flowering period; only the the late
poeticus hung on, and the hellebores have started to set seed. The
vegetables grew away under their blankets of horticultural fleece
and with 3 nights of frost in the 3rd week of May (to minus 4C)
they were glad of it, particularly the potatoes. Scarcely any rain
in May, it has been incredibly dry with some brown patches
appearing already on the surrounding hills. Watering regularly the
vegetables and newly planted areas.
Garden Update
All the worst of the winter was forgotten in the final week of
the month with some unusually high temperatures for this part of
Wales and plenty of sunshine. The growth has been incredible.
Shrubs have flowered profusely particularly the magnolias and
currently the various forms of viburnum and cornus around the
gardens are covered with blossom. Best of all are the native
hawthorns - you cannot see any green leaves for all the flowers and
it is good to see so many wild and hive bees taking advantage of
the bounty. Some nice honey to come I hope!
It has been a busy time in the garden and the nursery as we
start to repair the ravages of winter and to fill the many gaps in
the herbaceous borders and elsewhere. It is gratifying to see some
signs of life in shrubs we thought we had lost, and even today some
growth at the base of a large arbutus unedo suggests that all may
not be lost. It was always going to make sense to be patient this
year and it looks like that patience may be rewarded.
We have gone mad with sowing and propagating this year and sowed
over 350 varieties of seed so our visitors this year will be
assured of a wide and interesting choice of plants for sale. My
American hemerocallis seed is growing on well; I had 18 packets of
seed from the American Hemerocallis Society in January and 12 of
them germinated. They are all new crosses so it will be interesting
to see the results in the next year or two.
What looks good at the moment
Some star plants of the moment are a magnificient range of
aquilegias in all colours and shapes including from a batch of A.
chrysantha seeds, a lovely peachy red with long spurs - a very
unusual colour and one I have not previously seen. The meconopsis
from Lingholm Hybrids seed supplied by Plant World Seeds of
Newton Abbot in Devon are flowering really well and there is
nothing to beat the intensity of the colour or size of the blooms.
They come easily from seed provided it is taken fresh in late July
and sown straight away. Two years from seed to flowering plant is
not bad for one of such exquisite beauty. Some of the Lingholm
Hybrid strain can be reliably perennial and I hope that mine bulk
up to flower in even more profusion next year. Continuing the poppy
theme the orientals have just started flowering especially Beauty
Of Livermere, a tall and true deep red which appears to have bulked
up well in spite of the winter. This is true for many of the old
border stalwarts:delphiniums, hardy geraniums, violas, phlox and
campanulas in particular. Our dear old friends that have stood the
test of time. However some tender things have surprised us. Dahlias
overwintered in the garden are appearing as are salvia patens,
lobelia tupa and impatiens tinctoria. That they have survived is
possibly due to the the fact that although the winter was seriously
cold it was very dry and they are all planted in very sharply
drained soils
Wildlife
On the wildlife front the pied flycatchers raised their brood
and its lovely to see them in the garden. No redstarts as yet and
they are becoming scarce, having once been very common summer
visitors here. The kingfishers are being seen again on the river as
are the dippers. The warm weather has brought on the damselflies
and a few dragonflies, and best of all the blue demoissels, the
colour of midnight blue that prefer running water and just
occasionally stray away from the river to show themselves magically
on the Paddock Pond. Birdsong all day long, sunshine, warmth and
lovely flowers to lift the spirits after a long and difficult
winter.
Visitors
Our visitor season starts in earnest in June. We have already
had successful visits from Trecastle Ladies Guild and Hilliers
Gardening Club, with more visits in June booked for Saga Holidays,
Garden Tours of Holland, Furnace Garden Club and Carmarthen Garden
Club. Such great fun and lovely people with monies raised for the
National Gardens Scheme. If you would like to visit the Gardens
either with a group or individually please get in touch to see what
we can arrange. It would be lovely to share the gardens with you.
All the cakes baked by Moira, inspiring but restful gardens, plants
for sale and glorious countryside. What more could be asked in
these troubled times?