Mid Month News - there's a novelty!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
NEWS UPDATE
Well here's a novelty: a mid-month News Item - and pics. too!!
What is happening? My guru Ed has sorted me out and after a lot of
reloading and updating seems to have solved the problem so I am
posting pics from April and May.
After the weather we have had in June, oh! to be in April again.
I joked at the time it might be our summer but amidst all the wind,
rain and cold temperatures of June (1C on last Saturday night!) we
still carry on gardening and entertaining the first of our visitors
with 6 groups already having visited the gardens. Mostly the
weather was OK but last Saturday with a big party from Garden Tours
Holland in the gardens we had thunder, lightning and hailstones for
a time. Were they daunted - not a bit. Lovely people the Dutch and
we had a very kind e-mail from the tour guide when they got home
saying how much they had enjoyed their visit.
More on the visits at the end of the month by which time we will
have had 12 groups and already raised a substantial amount of money
for the National Gardens Scheme with still nearly 3 months to go.
If we get some magic sunshine - remember that? there are lots of
flowers about to break. I will cover this too in my usual format in
my June news item.
NOW TO THE PICS
Buttercups!
There are plenty of buttercup family members in the garden
(family ranunculaceae) and this pic records some of those in flower
in mid April. From left to right they are aquilegias, anemones and
buttercups (3 rows) and hellebores and clematis
Blue Poppies
The blue meconopsis from Lingholm Hybrids seed were
wonderful in April (4 weeks earlier than usual)and are proving to
be reliably perennial with good clumps building up and more planted
this spring. Sadly too early for our visitors. They have loved the
damp conditions of the last month.
Tall bearded iris
Bearded iris in May flowered better than ever with huge drifts
in a lovely shade of blue. All from a couple of plants from Cayeaux
Iris bought in the plant fair at Chateau de Courson near Paris in
1999. A really sophisticated scent of vanilla and "je ne sais
quoi".
Arisaemas
Here's something different from our friend Tony of
www.shadyplants.com He is a major grower of aroids and the one
below is ariseama consanguineum. Commonly called the cobra lily
they enjoy conditions similar to our native arums and we now have
at least 15 species dotted all over the shadier parts of the
garden. Interesting flowers, architectural long lasting foliage and
many with marbled stems, and in the case of consanguineum, red
seedpods which last well into winter. Tony was very pleased to know
that most came through the severe weather last winter proving their
hardiness in the right spot in the garden.
Oriental Poppies
In yer face, deep red, tall, gorgeous papaver orientale "Beauty
of Livermere" 4 feet of sumptuousness (is that a word?) for a brief
few weeks in May. Also growing this year "Royal Wedding" a really
good white for flowering hopefully next year. Hardy as they are in
the ground they don't like being overwintered in pots so I will be
looking after those that I don't plant out this winter
Isoplexus sceptrum
Looks a bit like a pineapple but it is a member of what
used to be called the foxglove family. Isoplexus sceptrum comes
from the Canary Islands. Tender which is why it stays in the
polytunnel, it is the first time I have flowered one since I
acquired it in 2003. I donated the mother plant which never
flowered to National Botanic Garden of Wales and took this cutting
which flowered within 2 years. That's plants for you! It is really
beautiful and my favourite plant of the year so far
Aquilegia chrysantha
A lovely North American yellow spurred aquilegia. Late flowering
- it is still in flower now, it makes a good 3 feet plus and
generally comes true from seed unlike most aquilegias.
Clematis koreana "Blue Eclipse"
Back to the ranunculaceae for this lovely clematis hybrid from
the species koreana called "Blue Eclipse". Not difficult to see
where the name came from. It isn't that floriferous like the early
large flowered group but has really choice flowers on a 10 foot
plant with more to come in late summer
Hope you have enjoyed being brought up to date with some of the
star plants over the last few months and will update you with the
June stars and all the other news in a couple of weeks.