Tag Archives: ferns

Autumn Garden…

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As we go into Autumn, flowers are in short supply, but some of the roses are still producing a few blooms, including this one, which is Rosa ‘Judi Dench’…

At the base of the fruit trees, nasturtiums are still going well, perhaps because they germinated late; the early seedlings having been nibbled off by hungry rabbits…

Asters (Symphyotrichum) have seeded themselves all over the garden – I had no idea they would be so prolific! While the main plants have gone over now, some of the seedlings are in full bloom…

The quality of the new plants is variable. Some have flowers that are somewhat small; very similar to a very vigorous aster that was in the garden before we arrived (and which I subsequently split up and re-set). Others are closer to the bigger bloomed varieties we’ve added subsequently. One seedling has white, rather than lavender/blue flowers.

Another enthusiastic self-seeder is the ubiquitous Verbena bonariensis, and there are plenty still in flower…

Marigolds would be everywhere, but were also demolished by the rabbits. Some that made it through in the vegetable plot are still doing well…

In the first year we sowed some Phacelia as a green manure. The flowers were so pretty, and so loved by pollinators, that we decided not to hoe the young plants back into the soil. They too self-seed every year. They flower over a long period…

The flower spikes of Gaura (now Oenothera) lindheimeri ‘Whirling Butterflies’ keep going over a very long season, and float above everything else, creating quite a dreamy effect. It does need to be kept in hand, or else it will take over the garden…

‘Royal Bumble’, a woody salvia, surprisingly came through last year’s cruel winter, and has been amazing again this year, blooming from mid-summer into autumn. And it looks good with a backdrop of Cotinus coggygria (I think this one is ‘Royal Purple’)…

Geranium ‘Eureka’ has a few flowers left, alongside Achillea ptarmica ‘The Bride’, which we grew from seed in spring…

Anemone x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’ is another late flowerer. It’s just coming to an end now. It looks great in a shaded position, as here…

Colour, of course, doesn’t have to come from flowers. I put in an Artemisia ‘Powys Castle’ earlier this year, and its silvery foliage looks great against the dark leaves of the Cotinus…

Fruits typically give us clusters of reds and oranges that intensify the orange glow of any low sunshine we’re lucky to get at this time of year. This summer I realised there was no need to dead-head the roses that flower only once (I can be a bit slow sometimes!) and consequentially, we’ve got rose hips. These are on the climber ‘Constance Spry’ (named for the famous flower arranger)…

And of course there’s the obvious colour from turning leaves; here in Rhus typhinus…

This Euonymus alatus ‘Red Cascade’ is in its first year, so still quite small. The leaves turned a deep red, but I wasn’t quick enough with the camera – they’ve almost all fallen already…

The Cornus behind the pond (C. sibirica ‘Alba’ and C. sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’) are looking good as the leaves begin to change colour…

The falling leaves will reveal brightly coloured stems in red and orange, which will add interest throughout the winter.

Interesting how different trees and shrubs come into leaf, and shed their leaves, at different times. Last autumn I also put in a Liquidambar (L. styracyflua ‘Slender silhouette’), a columnar tree with great autumn colour. I was disappointed that it was one of the last trees to come into leaf in spring, but conversely, it’s leaves are yet to turn.

Elsewhere, the ferns are looking good now. This is Polystichum polyblepharum (Japanese Lace fern)…

Who would have thought it, but we’ve still got courgettes..!

In the greenhouse, the peppers and chillies were something of a disappointment, but there are some peppers still to be harvested…

Streptocarpus (or ‘Streps’ as they’re referred to) are generally used as houseplants, but I know from previous experience they like it outside over summer. This one was on its last legs, until we put it outside. I’ve moved it to the greenhouse now…

Things are changing fast in the garden now, as it turns darker, colder, and wetter, and one by one the deciduous plants start to shed their leaves. But don’t think it’s all over until the spring. Once the leaves are down, the garden will enter another phase; less flamboyant, but still with lots of interesting things happening.

Text & images © Graham Wright 2023

Plant Mis-selling

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In January, I bought two packs of Aconitum napellus ‘Album’ from a well known on-line plant nursery. There were three bare-rooted plants in each pack. They were for our green and white themed, shady border near to the house (‘Album’ being botanical Latin for white). Aconitum (or, Monkshood) are generally blue, but ‘Album’ is the white form.

As they were small, I potted them up and grew them on (initially in the greenhouse), planting them out once the frosts had stopped. They grew well, and began to form flower spikes. But it became clear fairly on they weren’t going to be white. The flowers are fully out now…

Oh dear! I’ve contacted the supplier, who were very good, and are processing a full refund, as they don’t have any replacements they can give me. And I can use these blue Aconitums elsewhere in the garden. So now I just need to source some white ones from somewhere. That, or find an alternative (white foxgloves could be an option).

Below is the border in early May, with the white ‘Purissima’ tulips and ‘Thalia’ daffodils still in flower. Okay, I know there are some blue flowers, which doesn’t fit the colour scheme, but rules are made to be broken! The flowers are pale blue, but the leaves of the Brunnera at least are white…

The planting is only just establishing. Two Pyracantha’s, a Viburnum x burkwoodii, and a Chimonanthus (yellow flowers, but in winter, when little else is out) will eventually hide the fence. Along the front edge, on the house side of the semi-raised pond, is a low hedge of Sarcococca, grown from cuttings taken from a single plant. The small white flowers are produced in the winter, and are very fragrant (which is why I put them by the house).

As you can see, the paths have been set out, but need to be levelled and paved. To save money, I’m doing the landscaping work myself, little by little when I can find the time which, at the moment, isn’t often. It’s a work in progress.

The perennial planting includes four ferns – Polystichum polyblepharum.

I’ve been disappointed how much they’ve suffered. The new croziers have been wiped out twice so far this year – once by the cold, and once by the hot sunny weather we had early on (the bed is not as shaded as it will be once the wall shrubs have established).

There six Bergenia ‘Bressingham White’, which flowered well (with, as you would expect, white flowers).

There are two Anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’. At the moment they’re all foliage – the white flowers will appear later on. This is another plant which didn’t turn out as I expected, thanks to nursery mis-labelling.

Three Actaea (A. simplex ‘Brunette’) have lovely dark foliage that will stand out against the green shades of the other plants, and fragrant white flower spikes (which are quite late to flower).

Brunnera ‘Alchemy Silver’ has large, striking, silvery heart-shaped leaves. The flowers are pale blue, small, and similar to forget-me-nots. The blue doesn’t fit in with the white theme, but they appear in early spring, so I think that can be forgiven.

The planting looks sparse now, but in time it should expand and mesh together. I chose plants that flower at different times so that there will be flowers for most of the year. Contrasting colours, textures and leaf shapes make for a bed full of interest.

text & images © graham wright 2023

Spring moves on…

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The weather hasn’t been conducive to growing this spring – a prolonged drought, late frosts, followed by heavy rain, with temperatures continuing to be disappointingly low for the time of year. But in my garden as much as elsewhere, the plants are getting on with it regardless. One of two new apple trees, this blossom is on Worcester Pearmain. Blossom on the other (James Grieve) is all but over…

I planted two purple hazels (Corylus maximus ‘Purpurea’) as focal points in the main bed. The dark leaves make a great contrast with the various shades of green, and particularly with the variegated plants, such as the grass Phalaris arundinacea ‘Feesey’ (known as ‘Gardeners’ garters’).My hazels are still only just over 2 feet tall, but they are going into their second season now, so should hopefully start to put on some growth. Both are fully in leaf now…

I put in lots more bulbs last year. Various tulip varieties have done their thing and are ‘going over’ now, but the alliums (Allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation’, and Allium christophii) are just coming out…

I put some of these into the miniature wildflower meadow in the front garden too. A bit cheeky, as they aren’t wild flowers (not in the UK at least), but I thought they would add some sparkle. A few have expired – some of the soil there is more builders sand than soil – but most have survived. I’ll post pictures next time (the meadow is beginning to look good).

Another plant used to add early colour is wallflower (Erisymum). They’re biennials,as opposed to annuals, which means they grow foliage one year, sit out the winter, and then flower early the next year…

I think of them as slow annuals – they don’t have time to grow into a mature plant and produce flowers in one year, so they have to struggle across two. And boy do they struggle. The plants come ‘bare-rooted’, and in my experience are never in great shape, which doesn’t help them to establish. You can grow them from seed, and while I’ve never found the time or been sufficiently organised to do this, I suspect it would give a much better result. Pretty and colourful as they undoubtedly are, they create problems. In theory, they do their thing, then you rip them out in time for the perennials (as well as any annuals you want to put in) to take over. In reality, the wallflowers go on for long enough to get in the way. Plus, some of the plants don’t stop at all, and even survive into the following year. Great, but they tend to look a bit scruffy, a bit ‘leggy’. You need to be ruthless, and pull them out as soon as you need the space, even if they’re still looking good. But for a plant lover (and an environmentalist) it can be difficult to do.

What you’re looking at above is a beech tree, even if it is small as yet. It’s Fagus sylvatica ‘Dawyck Purple’. Closer to the house, and in the same bed, is the green version (Fagus sylvatica ‘Dawyck’!) These will eventually make very tall trees, but with a narrow profile. A mature beech would eventually take up most of the garden. With the Dawyck varieties (there’s a ‘gold’ variety too) you can have more than one and yet still have a garden. I do love a beech tree.

This magnolia was here when we arrived. I’m not sure of the variety. I thinned it out last year, because it was very congested. Sadly the flowers get hit by late frosts every year. This is a cold, exposed area, but I’m hoping that in years to come it may be more protected by the plants around it, as they increase in size…

The broom next to it is spectacular, but to me, the colours clash. It’s also in the way of what on my garden design is a grass path, so it will have to go. The roots on broom appear to go straight down, so getting enough out to transplant it isn’t feasible. Fortunately there is another large specimen by the pergola. That one is a lighter, more subtle yellow, and is much more fragrant.

The ‘landscaping’ is continuing slowly due to other commitments (like work!), so you may notice random piles of brick or rubble, or covered heaps of lifted turves. Forget-me-nots have settled in to this little semi-wild area. I’ll let them set seed and then sprinkle them around the garden to add to next year’s supply of plants-for-free…

With all the rain we’ve been having, the wildlife pond has finally filled up. I had to make some minor adjustments to the edge levels so that it over-flows into the bog garden at the front. The water is still beautifully clear, and I have to put my hands up and admit to not knowing why. It cleared after I put some bunches of rosemary into the water, but I tried the same trick with the holding pond for the fish, and it didn’t work. I’m not complaining though…

The garden is slowly coming together, and many of the plants that have been languishing in pots for too long are now in the borders. But some are still waiting. The new shady border at the back of the house is yet to be dug. That will have to wait until the builders have finally finished and gone (which is way overdue!) Among the plants that will go in that border are these ferns, Polystichum polyblepharum. I potted them on so they could bulk up prior to planting. They too have suffered with the weather, but they’re coming on now…

The weather shows no sign of warming up just yet. But from the forecast, it looks as though we could just have seen the last of the frosts. The garden is really beginning to grow. I’ve got seedlings of annuals, perennials and veg coming on, including more tomato and chilli plants than you can shake a stick at. And I’ve booked a trip, in mid-June, to visit the new RHS Bridgewater garden in Salford, the prospect of which fills me with excitement. Expect a review on this blog in due course…

text & images © graham wright 2021