Early May Highlights

The garden is growing rapidly now, with something new to see every day. Most of the trees and shrubs are well on the way to being in leaf, and the warmer temperatures of the last few days are really pushing things on. Around the pond, the camassias have put on a better show than I was expecting. They’re quite dainty looking plants – the ones I’ve grown before were more robust, with thick, strappy leaves. It could be that these are a different variety, or it may be because the soil we have here is thin and sandy…

These photos were taken around a week ago, and already the flower spikes are nearly finished – they don’t last for long! In just a few days they’ll have been replaced by the iris sibirica. There are a few out already, and the rest will follow soon.

These came with me from my last garden (or at least, a clump did). And those were a division from a lovely customer in Penarth. They are incredibly successful, bulking up quickly, and able to be divided within just one or two years. There are now numerous clumps around the pond, and some that have been planted elsewhere too. They don’t flower for ever so long, but the faded flower spikes continue to look good all year.

The tree peony had half a dozen blooms this year. A few years ago it nearly died, and I suspect what we have now has grown up from the rootstock to replace the grafted plant. But it’s still impressive…

After a slow start, the hostas are coming good. This is ‘Patriot’…

And this, ‘Halcyon’…

I split two of the large ferns that were here when we came and spread the offsets through the shadier spots in the garden, and they’re doing well so far…

The two Fagus sylvatic ‘Dawyck’ trees that I planted (one green, the other purple) are out, and beginning to gain some presence. This is the purple one, with the Viburnum plicatum Mariesii in full bloom behind and to the left, and a white rhododendron on the right…

We’ve got the first Allium hollandicum (‘Purple sensation) out (the rest are close behind)…

The chives are out too, and the first Eschscholzia flower…

This solitary kaffir lily (Used to be Schizostylis, now Hesperantha – thanks botanists!) seems to have got confused – it’s compatriots won’t be flowering until late summer…

And the first of the large butterflies has made an appearance. This, I believe, is a peacock…

There are other things happening, but I don’t want to overload you. Lets just say that the daily wander around the garden is a joy at this time of year (especially now the weather has warmed up).

text & images © graham wright 2024

Tulips

Like many people, we planted tulips in containers (last November) to make a show in spring. While ours survived the wet winter without any problems, the wind and the storms have been more of a challenge. Our pots have been in and out of the greenhouse to protect them from wind and rain damage (and then in and out of the garage, when we realised the warmth and light of the glasshouse was bringing them on too quickly!)

We limited ourselves to three varieties; fifteen of each – Queen of Night (Purple), Princes Irene (Orange) and Spring Green (cream/green).

There is a problem! As you can see in the next picture, only three of the Spring Green turned out to be Spring Green. The other twelve are a frilly yellow number – not really ‘us’!

We bought them mail order from a certain well known nursery with the initials S.R. (a little clue for you). This is not the first time we’ve bought tulips and been given the wrong cultivar (though that was from a different supplier). And then there were the white aconitums that turned out to be blue (a different supplier again). I think this must be a common problem, as on Gardeners’ World last week Monty Don was showing off a whole bed of vibrant magenta tulips that he had expected to be a much softer tone. So much for planning. To re-work an old joke;

‘How do you make a plant supplier laugh? Give them your garden plan.’

Despite the unexpected colour, the bulbs were good quality, and of a size to give a big flower in their first season. It’s generally recognised they will produce smaller flowers in subsequent years (some people – wasteful souls – throw their bulbs away and start afresh each year). Less extravagant folk (I’ve got that in common with Monty) will plant their tulips in the garden once the show is over, in the hope they may naturalise – the flowers may be smaller, but they still make a good show.

Tulips we put in the garden seem to have declined since last year – probably due to the wet winter. Ballerina seems to have held up well…

Others varieties, such as Prinses Irene, Queen of Night, and Negrita seem to have largely gone, but for a few isolated survivors…

The same is true for the white variety Purity. As for Pieter de Le Leur; last year it was fine, but this year the plants and flowers were so attacked by an unidentified critter, they were unrecognisable.

Daffodils too have suffered. Tete a Tete, and the regular tall, yellow trumpeted varieties were as good as ever. But there aren’t many Narcissus ‘Thalia’ left. These few are in the white (except for the invading myosotis, of course) bed by the house…

Talking of forget-me-nots, the garden is awash with them at the moment. If I’d had the time, I would have edited the self-sown seedlings out a little more. On the other hand, they do look good – very romantic…

Another self-seeder that has really taken off this year – a biennial – is honesty (Lunaria)…

Things in the garden are moving at pace now, with something new to see every day. The Chocolate vine (Akebia quinata) is flowering on the pergola. Unfortunately our resident wood pigeons have taken a fancy to the new leaves, shoots and flowers, so the plants hang down well, where they are out of reach, but are looking a bit bald on top (I know how they feel!)

And thanks to the (relatively) mild winter and lack of hard frosts, this year the three Pieris are showing undamaged (so far) bright red/pink new leaves.

It shouldn’t be long now before the first of the roses are flowering (if they survive the current strong winds ravaging the garden as I type). I can’t wait.

text and photos © Graham Wright

Late Winter Highlights…

The weather hasn’t been conducive to gardening, but there are plenty of signs of life in the garden now. While some narcissi don’t flower until much later, these early ones have been out for more than a week now…

There are crocuses (croci?) coming up all over the garden, including these yellow ones around one of the apples trees…

And these Crocus tommasinianus, which we planted in the lawn. I’m hoping they will eventually form large swathes, but so far, they’ve been sparse, and rather fragile…

There were hellebores in the garden when we arrived. I’ve moved them around as I implemented my design. As yet they aren’t exactly thriving (I need to bulk up the organic material in the thin, sandy soil) but they are providing some flowers…

Cherry Prunus x. subhirtella ‘Autumnalis rosea’ can produce flowers at any time through the autumn and winter, and it’s really full of blossom now. Not the most blousy of cherry’s, but worth it for the out-of-season blossom. The dark cloud behind shows it up well…

I planted a low hedge of the evergreen Sarcoccoca, another winter flowering shrub, close to the house for the rich, sweet fragrance that now greets us every time we venture outside the back door…

And close by a Viburnum x. Burkwoodii, which will in time make a large shrub, is preparing to open clusters of small white flowers. This too has a lovely, strong fragrance. It’s semi-evergreen, meaning it holds on to some of it’s dark green, glossy leaves – how many depends upon how harsh the winter is…

Snowdrops are all over the garden – they do seem to like the soil, and are bulking up well. Here, in a raised bed beneath a mature silver birch tree…

…and in our little ‘woodland garden’ outside the kitchen window, where rhododendron buds are swelling, and delicate Pieris flowers are almost out (the staked tree is a Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Slender silhouette’ which is now in it’s second year)…

Pundits will tell you snowdrops prefer shade, and soil that doesn’t dry out, but for us they are also flourishing in full sun, at the base of a fence, in a narrow bed of dry sandy soil. Never make assumptions about what will grow where!

Also in the woodland area there is a skimmia which, like the rhododendrons, I moved from elsewhere in the garden. The move doesn’t seem to have done it any harm…

Dried heads of Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’, in another shady spot, are persisting well into winter, and looking good in the low light…

And a young Acer griseum (paperbark maple) is already displaying the peeling bark that the plant is known for. As yet, it’s only around a metre high, but it’s been in the ground for around three years, so I’m hopeful it will take off this year. As well as the attractive and unusual bark, Acer griseum is also one of the best trees for autumn colour…

Spring bulbs are pushing through the soil now. For the second year running we’ve bought more allium bulbs for the garden, and followed the advice of Monty Don, of Gardeners’ World fame. He suggested planting them in pots, to be put out in the garden once things have started to grow. The advantage is you avoid the danger (when planting bulbs into the ground during the dormant season) of digging up other bulbs. It’s also easier to ascertain the best positions to fit what’s there already. Here they are, in pots, ready to go into the beds soon (these are Allium Christophii)…

And last year we put new tulip bulbs into decorative pots. For now, they’re still in a sheltered position near the back door, but soon we will move them out into sunny positions on patios…

There was a cold snap towards the end of last year, but overall the winter has (so far) been rather mild; if wet and windy. There may be another burst of icy weather to come yet, but it feels as though the worst of the winter is over, and momentum is gathering for spring. We’ve even been feeding the goldfish!

Text & photos © graham wright 2024

Early flowers

The weather may still feel cold to me but, encouraged by the occasional day of sunshine, many of the plants are breaking into growth and into bloom. In the mini orchard, the plum tree is first off the mark, and full of blossom, which bodes well for a better crop than last year’s three plums (and one of those was rotten!)

The damson isn’t very far behind (so perhaps we’ll get some damsons this year), and the buds are about to burst on both of the apples, and both of the pears. It could be a good year for blossom.

In this exposed, rural location in North Shropshire, Pieris are a martyr to late frosts. But despite the cold winter, during which they sustained some damage, in terms of the new growth, it’s so far, so good…

The dainty white flowers are reminiscent of lily-of-the-valley, and the new shoots range from pink to bright red (and then brown, if caught by the frost). Here’s a random daffodil peeping through the evergreen canopy…

We’re well furnished for narcissus, of many varieties. Some precede our time. Others, like this clump of N. ‘Thalia’, were planted by us; spending their first year displayed in pots, and then being planted out into the beds to naturalise…

This Viburnum x burkwoodii is ahead of most shrubs, but then it is classed as semi-evergreen, which means it hangs on to some or all of its leaves, depending on how harsh the winter is. The new leaves are a lovely fresh, vibrant green. The flower clusters are pretty, but their main attribute (which I’m sorry I can’t share with you) is the beautiful scent they produce…

I’ve never been a fan of Skimmia, perhaps because so often when you see them in gardens they’re leggy and sparse, with yellowing leaves. But I have to admit this specimen, moved from the centre of the garden into our little woodland, is looking good…

Another plant I’ve taken a long time to come around to is Bergenia (elephants Ears). You need to regularly cut off the dead and dying leaves, or they look scrappy. You’ll often find them harbouring large colonies of snails (curiously though, these don’t seem to adversely affect the plants). And I’m not such a fan of the magenta-flowered varieties. But they are one of the few truly evergreen perennials. They’re one of the best ground cover plants too, doing a great job in suppressing weeds. The large, fleshy leaves are actually quite attractive – almost tropical. They’re evergreen (as previously stated) and yet the leaves also show autumn tints. And the flowers arrive at a time when few other perennials are in bloom.

This is one of the few white-flowered varieties, B. ‘Bressingham White’ (the clue’s in the name!) Seen from our kitchen window, I have to admit these are the perfect, pretty spring flowers.

Of all the perennials, these Ligularia (the evocatively named L. dentata ‘Midnight Lady’) are well advanced…

They like lots of moisture, so should be at home in the bog garden by the pond. I extended the pond liner into this area, punctured it with a fork, put a layer of slate chippings over it, and then put the topsoil back in. Even this wasn’t enough last summer, in 36 degrees and prolonged drought. Let’s hope for a better growing season this year (ideally nice and warm, but without the drought and extreme temperatures). I plan to tidy them up and cut out last years flowering spikes this weekend.

Naturalised tulips are beginning to bloom now too. This is ‘Purissima’…

I don’t much like the colour of these primulas, but they were in the garden already, and I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away…

We do have a few of the native yellow ones too. The rabbits got in and ate all the flowers, but so far my efforts to bolster the fencing have kept them out, and the primulas have pushed out new blooms.

One downside of rabbit-proof fencing is that it also excludes hedgehogs from the garden, which is a great shame. I want to encourage endangered wildlife, including hedgehogs. But I’m not prepared to sit back and watch the garden I’m lovingly creating be wrecked by rabbits (however cute they may be – and believe me, the two baby rabbits we watched playing in our woodland were unbelievably cute).

The last thing I want to share with you is this amazing little alpine plant, which has been flowering pretty much right through the winter, with the help of some occasional dead-heading. I have to admit when it comes to alpines, there are big gaps in my knowledge, so I can’t tell you what it is. Just when you might have thought it was exhausted, it doubles its efforts. Its been joined, in a happy accident, by a little patch of aubretia (not sure where that came from!)…

text & images © graham wright 2023

Signs of spring

It’s now officially spring, and though you wouldn’t know it from the weather, new growth is breaking out across the garden, mostly in the form of spring bulbs. There are still some snowdrops around, but they’re fading fast. Various types of crocuses are out now (though the Crocus tomasinianus in the lawn have been and gone).

We’ve got various clumps of the small, early, tete-a-tete daffodils; most of which were in the garden before we arrived . Most have been relocated as we’ve been implementing the new design.

I rescued a number of dark-flowered hellebores from the back of overgrown beds, and reset them as under-planting to hydrangeas and a paperbark maple…

Elsewhere, this is what we refer to as our woodland – a small patch of ground in the shade of the house and the chicken enclosure, beneath an unusually aged lilac tree. It’s where we amalgamated many of the rhododendrons that were scattered around the garden when we arrived, along with a few pieris. Our soil is neutral rather than acidic; sandy, and not exactly humus-rich, so it’s perhaps rather surprising that ericaceous plants seem to do so well in this area.

One large section of the lilac died last year, and I suspect the rest of the plant won’t be far behind it. We dug out huge quantities of the ‘bootlaces’ (technically rhizamorphs) of honey fungus that flourished in this area, around a decaying tree stump, but inevitably we couldn’t get them all. We have the most common form of honey fungus (Armillaria gallica) which is very good at finishing off trees and shrubs that are weak, or coming to the end of their life. So I’ve planted a replacement in the space that has opened up: a Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Slender silhouette’. This is a columnar tree, so it gives height without taking up too much space. It has glossy lobed leaves which turn the most amazing colours in autumn. Some sources claim it’s resistant to honey fungus (although the RHS says it’s susceptible!)

Many of our new trees, including the fruit trees in the orchard (it’s an orchard if you’ve got five trees, and we’ve got six, even if they are small) are budding. This is a plum. Last year it produced only three plums. If the buds are anything to go by, it should be a better harvest this year…

The roses are shooting too. They are mostly young plants, but I’m hoping they really come into their own this year…

And this tree peony is well ahead of most woody plants in the garden…

The plants are ready for the growing season to start in earnest, and I can’t wait. All we need now is for the weather to get the message!

text & images © Graham Wright

Spring moves on…

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

Another Spring Drought…

For the past few years I’ve written about a prolonged drought at spring – a time when you wouldn’t necessarily expect it. I wondered whether it was just in the Vale of Glamorgan, where I was living until last December. But now I’m in Shropshire, and this year’s drought is like nothing I can remember. Grass is going brown. The 250 litre water butt we installed a few months ago has long since been emptied. And the pond is becoming little more than a muddy puddle…

The alpine flowers look pretty reflected in the water, even if the surface is a bit messy. We inherited the pond, the bridge and an artificial hill with an imitation mountain stream waterfall. Not really our style, but I have to admit that at this time of year the alpine flowers look wonderful…

The darker blue flowers are Lithodora ‘Heavenly Blue’, but beyond that, and the heathers, I’m not sure – alpines are not plants I’ve ever taken much interest in. I suspect there are some alpine phlox in there. They don’t seem to mind the dry weather.

We haven’t had any significant rain for many weeks. Added to that, it’s been mostly sunny, and there’s been a strong, desiccating wind (my OED says ‘desiccative’, but WordPress isn’t so fussy). Not the greatest conditions in which to be creating a new garden. I’ve been moving turf around to set out the beds and the grassy areas, but struggling to stop them drying up altogether. Watering has been a major job, particularly as most of the plants we brought with us are still in pots.

I’m ashamed to say I’ve lost a few, including a small cutting of a fig, some phlox (the border type, rather than alpine varieties), and a yellow bottlebrush/wattle called Melaleuca squarrosa, which was one of a few grown from seed brought back from Australia). The one we planted in our last garden was around seven feet tall by the time we left, but we don’t have any left now. Maybe that’s an excuse to go and buy some more seeds, if ever we’re allowed to travel again.

The plants we bought from Burncoose nursery are all in now, and seem to be hanging on, with regular watering. The buds of the two upright beech trees are swelling and elongating, and I’m looking forward to them opening. The six fruit trees in our mini orchard have been in for longer and are also doing okay. This is Malus (apple!) ‘James Grieve’…

In the raised bed at the end (which will eventually be moved later on in the implementation of my garden plan) we’ve already harvested some of the rhubarb, and the reset strawberry plants are beginning to flower among the rubble…

I’ve been cavalier in moving rhododendrons that were in the way, but they’re coming out now, and I have to admit they are impressive. I may try harder to accommodate them under, and among the structural trees and shrubs in the design. The rich red will really shine out from the understorey. I’m almost excited to see what colours some of the others will be. I hope they survive, though some will need to be moved again, once they’ve finished flowering, and our thin soil is going to need some significant bulking up with organic material if they are to really thrive.

I was initially delighted to discover we had soil that is so easy to work. But in the last few weeks, with the continuing dry, sunny, windy conditions, I’ve seen just how thin it is. The tractors working in the field have raised dust storms, and as I clear more areas of grass and weeds I’ve taken to covering the exposed soil, for fear it will all blow away. It really is a bit like the mid-west here. All we need is some tumble weed. On the plus side, I am looking forward to growing a range of different plants from those I’ve been used to. Echinacea, for instance, and heleniums, which typically didn’t last the winter in the heavy clay of our last garden. Broom seems to do very well here – we have three large plants in the garden, and they are all full of flower, giving off a distinctive, heady aroma. Who needs Chanel?

And the magnolia is finally in full flower. I’m not sure of the variety. Despite having plenty of flowers, it’s something of a disappointment. Magnolia flowers can be damaged by frost; normally it’s the ones that flower early that suffer most. Despite flowering late, many of the flowers on our magnolia are frost damaged, with brown, rotten patches. Those flowers that aren’t affected look good though.

Here’s the full picture…

Actually, it doesn’t look to bad from a distance. It needs some structural pruning to improve the shape. The stems are crossing and congested. There’s another job waiting to be done. I’ll let it finish flowering first.

text & images © graham wright

Is it autumn already?

With leaves changing colour all around us there’s no chance of pretending autumn isn’t on its way. All we can do is to embrace the season and enjoy the show. What’s your favourite plant for autumn colour?

Parthenossisus cinquefolia (Virginia Creeper) is early to colour up.

It’s been an unusual growing year. It began with an apparently very early spring, which turned out not to be spring at all; just a mild spell in winter. The cold and the snow that followed was harsher than anyone would have expected and the winter, far from ending early, dragged on.
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Australian Beauties

Spring is here, even in spite of the rain, the cold and the snow. But the terrible weather we’ve had recently isn’t conducive to thinking about what needs to be done in the garden,  so maybe it’s a good time to share a few images of the flora from my recent visit to Australia. Apologies for the patchy use of Latin names!

Staghorn Fern in Brisbane’s Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens – You can often see these epiphytic ferns growing in the wild (and sometimes in cities, too)

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If Trees Could Talk…

We’re not long into September, and I’d like to think it’s still summer, if only just. But it seems that many of the trees think otherwise. I can’t help feeling a little antagonistic towards them. It’s as if they’re trying to deprive me of what little summer is left; as if they somehow know there isn’t any more good weather to come, so they might as well get on with the autumn business of dropping their leaves. I have an instinctive sense that trees are wise, but in this case it may be less about being in touch with the rhythm of the seasons, and more about giving up regardless. If trees could talk, they’d be saying ‘we’ve had enough!’

My Quince Tree (Cydonia oblonga ‘Vranja’) has suffered a lot this year. In spring, its freshly emerged leaves were ripped to shreds by strong winds. Likewise its second growth. It’s lived through prolonged drought, excessive rain, vastly fluctuating temperatures, and now a long period of dull, humid weather. And now it’s losing its leaves at an alarming rate. Continue reading