Magazine style - all inclusive

[LouisFerdinand]

@alp, I especially like the huge size of the peony blooms.

 

[alp]

DrCase: Some of your lovely flowers look so funky that I don't even know what they are! The first one and the short hairy ones are rather intriguing. Lordy! Cosmos Sulphureous is already flowering. I saw in a video that they are supposed to be a soil improver and I bought 300 seeds. They are still in seedling stage.


This year has been disastrous - very cold and last night we had 11c and I had to ignore little emperor's health warning - that if we didn't turn on central heating, he would catch a cold again. We both wrapped up like Michelin stars!

@LouisFerdinand - It's a very compact flower. Sarah Bernhardt which is now smothered with buds boasts even bigger blooms, not so compact as this one though.

Lavender Flaming Purple! Like several energetic ballerinas!

My trusted perennial cistus

This is such a murky, muddy bearded iris. I need to do such a lot of wedding.

 

[Zenj]

A little bit of warmth today and sunshine hope it lasts ,just starting to flower

 

[alp]

Exquisite, Zenj! Really like the grooves in the tongue! So different and much more interesting than my slipper orchids.

Very little rain yesterday. When it did rain at about 4pm, it was little and quick. Very disappointing. Because of how cold it has been, some of my flowers look distinctly on the small size.

And I thought I was clever to go for taking cuttings of the £8.99 salvias, only to find that there were not enough materials for me to take. I could only take 3 out of one plant. Very disappointed. It is as if they had been used for cuttings before they were delivered. Also, the pot might have been big, but half of the compost had been added to 2 pots before delivery and the bottom half fell out when I planted them. The plants weren't so well established.

Watched Australian Gardening 12 2020 and learned that chooks like chick weeds and I quickly weeded them and the gift bearer and beneficiary were both very happy, together with the land cress, lemon balm, thyme, lavender, and salvia leaves I had left behind after taking cuttings.

Cirsium Atropurpureum

Season of the oriental poppy

Camellia has its last song!

Judas Tree flower Cercis siliquastrum

Have a nice day!

 

[alp]

The only dry day of the week! And it's bright, though not warm. Hope you guys keep warm.

Didn't do much yesterday, wasn't feeling too bright until I had to divide my cirsiums. I divided Cirsium Atropurpureum and Trevor's Blue Wonder. I had the feeling that they were both Atropurpureum. They looked exactly the same and I couldn't detect any blue hint!

Bought a cirsium frosted magic from another well known retailer for £8.99 and there were only 3 leaves right at the base. What's in a name? £$Y! ! Another less well-known nursery business sold me a dead salvia upright in a huge pot and was very aggressive asking us to return all the plants (friend and me clubbed together as the postage was £10!) the moment we complained. Any way, I said I would give it another month and of course nothing happened. The seller phoned my friend and explained that her plants also died, but there were tiny seedlings growing around the area. I got my refund. Online shopping could be so disappointing.

Look at the temperatures and I feel underwhelmed, just like the taste of my tea!

Shades of Blue Lupin from last year from seeds

The evening sunshine really brought out the velvety sheen of this common iris

Last year I had so much fun photographing this Cornus Kousa rubra. This year's cold really has stunned and mishappened its flower!

There is only this tiny lantern to capture my imagination!

Honey bell

All the parrot series tulips are late

A delightful Thalictrum aquilegiifolium Alba

Tonight's going to be windy! Bolt down your plants and pots!

 

[Perki]

Its raining again well it started about 11 am and forecast to rain until tomorrow evening oh the joy .

Change internet provider and it was delayed, I've been able to look in on my phone but its not the best of signals round here for any network I have to lean on the windowsill , not ideal typing long paragraphs out on the phone either.

The garden looking lush green with all the rain we've been having , still lacking colour but for some geum borsii which are looking very good, jsut looking out the window I can see some buds on my Meconopsis .

Might be popping to the garden centre later or tomorrow for more compost and basket plants and other plants for other people .

 

[Zenj]

Yep raining here too just managed to cut the back lawn, and pull a few plants out of the pond which was taking over.Garden still seems well behind.

 

[alp]

buds on my Meconopsis

Oh, please! Don't rub it in! I keep wondering how much money I have spent on compost, even reduced! I will go up to Costa religiously and get all their coffee to make compost and make use it in between my raised beds. It's surely is a roaring trade!

Garden still seems well behind.

Yes! And the flowers small, deformed, and eaten by SS.

The biggest peony

Anyone know what allium this is please? Very big plant and flower and the florets are darker

Cornus Wolf Eyes

Astrantia Gill Richardson

Josephine

Must have bought this last year. Spectacular fuchsia colour in the shade

Didn't know I had moved to the seaside! The winds are making waves and buffeting leaves - big time! Well, at least, it's sunny and bright-ish!

 

[alp]

It's still raining, but there wasn't a lot of rainfall, but a lot of winds, winds which could blow your door open and make working in the garden impossible.

First day in this week, I felt a bit better, after taking 2 more paracetamols. Could be the air pressure. Direct sow some radishes Diana.

Gardening Australia is very good. Full of exotic flowers. Watch GW now. Have a nice day! No more rain and gale for all of you. DrCase must have more clement weather than us!

Felt very deflated when I saw Beechgrove man coming out with strong plants to plants in this allotment. I haven't even started!

A year in Kew was very good: those white lotus like waterlilies were out of this world. Pure, pristine white which was blinding like snow and yet an understated elegance and serenity! I bought some waterlily seeds, but with these temperatures, no prospect of their germination. We went to Wakehurst several times, but was annoyed that we had to pay parking, only place in NT which requires you to pay for parking. Never realised that it was such a huge place and I hope next time we go there, we can see some prairie plants. Also watched Carol Klein's gardening.

Dahlias from Zenj's neighbour arrived 2 days ago. After the experience with a famous nursery, this made a very sweet change. The plants were quite tall and I was happy to see them so well packed. Horticulture online selling has changed. Nowadays, people are selling tiny seedlings with just developed roots for £1.49 to £2.50. Often these plug plants struggle as their stems are barely firm enough to stand up properly and must be potted on indoors to grow for another month or even 2. Then, there are big name sellers who send up big 2L with the roots half the height of the pot and you get charged £8.99. I also paid £8.99 for a 3-leaf cirsium frost magic from a BIG seller, which now has 4 leaves and no buds. Haddon Halls struck a good balance. They have now all been planted. Hopefully, I can get some seeds, with this weather, nobody can tell.

Can't wait for Wednesday to come!

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Yes, that was a lot of wind. Time to see what damage was done today, not too bad I think. I shall start getting my first runners out today if I can, they will appreciate the wet.

 

[Zenj]

Morning all. Cold wet and breezy ,cold overnight let’s hope it’s a long season when the weather finally improves no gardening today far too wet ,have a good weekend all.

 

[alp]

Just finished watching GW. Not a lot of damages here, Olive; but the winds were terrifying. Going to the allotment and hope the SSs have spared my plants.

Yes, Zenj - we are DUED a proper summer or spring for that matter. I saw the yellow blobs in weather reports swirling around you and Perki and I felt so sorry for your resrictions. At least, we don't have water butts in your vocabulary! I have now added 2 more to the list.

 

[Perki]

Been a busy day. Planted out around 50 plants for one of my clients it takes forever there the garden full of tarmac / stone I have to use a mattock to dig the planting holes , its a good job I am well fed and watered

Back home and I had my own plants to plant out the hoard of plants are forever growing so they need dwindling . Moved some Agastache Black adder to partner up with some phlox and rosa Lady of shallot . Dug out some thalia daffs and moved the Helenium M Beauty into that space to clump the heleniiums together. Planted out 3 Agastache Blue Fortune near the Helenium M beauty and also added 3 Anemone Ruffled swan in front of them . Planted out another 3 agastache crazy fortune ( very nice foliage ). Also planted out an Aster Jenny - dutch Iris and my 3 lavender Niko ( or phenomenal ) to make a small hedge in the front garden , Niko is supposedly a superior plant to the older variety's with larger flowers stronger stems and can flower more than once.

Chopped a chuck off one of the Eupatorium which was encroaching on other plants, I've potted a struggling Heuchera up and move the sedum touch teak into its place . And a bit of weeding while I've been out and about.

Decided I am going to summerseat GC tomorrow to pick up a Euphorbia tasminan tiger which I think I saw there , and to see if my hellebores are in the sale section yet .

 

[alp]

Very bright morning, but rather cold. The much anticipated rain never materialised. After tomorrow, there will be very little liquid silver and I will have jitters!

4c???!! No wonder I have the urge to turn on the heating again!

Perki: You did a lot! I have also been interested in Lavenders and bought an English one for £1.99 and then saw it was reduced to £1 yesterday. Very annoyed. Any way, I started to see reduced and clearance stuff in Enfield, which had been much anticipated. I bought a Cornus Kousa Cherokee Chief? I think as it has red flowers. I was amazed to see there wasn't ONE flower in amongst the 10 plus trees marked down from £50 to £10!

Another wonderful thing is that I finally got a comfrey plant for £8. Echinacea Sombrero Tres Amigoes, Lemon Yellow, Salsa and one orange one £4 each. They were £3.60 before! Greedy Glebe!

Glad that I planted out the abutilons so that they could free range; sad that they are now cold and battered!

Thalictrum Aquilegifolium Album

Ivory Gueen

Mount Everest

Strange thing is that I thought these alliums are sterile; but suddenly, I have now about 8 goblets greeting me!

Need to go to the allotment again and go shopping after that. Have a nice day!

 

[Perki]

Well I got to the GC popped into B&M and lidl and mowed the lawn before the rain arrived about half an hour ago . They didn't have any of the Euphorbia T tiger left annoyingly and the sale rack was chock a block but not really anything of interest, I did hear the staff mention putting some other plants into the sale section but got fed up of waiting around so I left empty handed again . Had a quick look in lidl at their plants and b&m just picked up some liquid seaweed .