Chris's Weblog – City Chickens

My diary from 2006

Ranunculus Asiaticus Aviv Mixed

April 30, 2024 Garden , , ,

Persian Buttercup Corms

Fifteen of these strange looking claws. Completely new to me this year. I have admired them but never grown them myself. Instructions say I have to soak them 3 to 12 hours before planting in multi purpose compost. They can be put directly into the garden but I know that my soil can be cold and I don’t want to risk it so it will be another pot.

Ranunculus are a member of the Buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Now, I know that a Buttercup plant needs plenty of space but I’m not sure how much space each claw will need. Over to Google.

Ranunculus corms are planted 9″apart at a depth of 2″ to 3″ Plant corms with the claws pointing down. Thank you Google.

30th April pm – I’ve planted the first five Ranunculus tonight. I put the pot beside the little bench by the cherry tree. I’ve run out of pots and compost now. I have ten left plus twenty Anemone corms still to plant. I also have seedlings still coming on that will need potting on. 5th May – New pots and compost has arrived and the corms and claws are all planted.

Ranunculus means little frog in Latin. Rana meaning frog and unculus meaning little. 

Mirabilis Jalapa – Four o clocks

April 30, 2024 Garden , ,

I grew these plants from seed way back in 2017 and again in 2018. I got two large plants the first year and three the second year but I didn’t over winter them properly and so lost them all. This year I have a head start as I have received five roots from Farmer Gracy. I have soaked them and they are now ready to put into the garden. Four of them have tiny new buds showing. I have two previous lengthy posts on my blog so I won’t write too much about them here.

I have found a really big pot that used to contain lilies and i have put all five roots in there. These plants are perennial and should come back year after year. How I managed to lose mine I just don’t know. They flower prolifically all summer and into Autumn. The flowers open at four o clock and stay open all night filling the garden with their scent. The insects love them and so did I. I’m looking forward to having then again in the garden. I remember the seeds too. Amazing black shiny seeds that you can collect and grow more plants.

Mirabilis forms an over wintering tuber which gets bigger each year and can be resurrected in spring for an earlier and much longer season of bloom. Maybe that’s what I did wrong. Perhaps they should be overwintered inside. An attractive plant with dark green leaves reminiscent of busy lizzies. Blooms are red, yellow and orange and sometimes a combination of all on one flower. An unusual plant and a welcome sight in the garden.

Tellima Grandiflora – fringe cups

April 30, 2024 Garden ,

Tellima grandiflora is a compact perennial forming a tidy clump of bluntly lobed, rounded leaves, with erect racemes to 75cm tall of small, cream, sometimes fragrant flowers in late spring and early summer; flowers often fade to light red. This plant is used for ground cover and is a hardy perennial.

I bought this plant last year from Asda and potted it up to grow on. However, I never saw any evidence of a flower and thought they were gone. As often happens with gardening I was walking to the compost bin and looking down saw this beautiful flower rising up surrounded by forget me nots. I now have a good sturdy root of this lovely plant and know that it will multiply and join the London Pride at the edges of the pond. Perfect!

Plantain Lily – Hosta Blue Mouse Ears

April 30, 2024 Garden ,

Well, mice seem to be popping up all over the place this year. My next three Hosta bare roots are called Blue Mouse Ears. They are a miniature Hosta so I plan to put all three into one pot. I can always divide them over the years.

Blue Mouse Ears is a miniature, clump forming, slow growing Hosta that produces a foliage mound growing to 6″ high and spreading to about a foot wide. It has thick, blue green leaves. It is most suitable for a position in dappled shade. There are, apparently, quite a few different hybrids in the category of mouse and I assume Farmer Gracy are selling their own version. I can’t wait to see how it turns out. Strangely both Deb and I have purchased Hostas from Farmer Gracy this year but where I have gone for miniatures she has bought T Rex and Jurrasic Park, definitely not small.

Once again this bare root has many healthy roots and is already bursting with buds. They have been soaking overnight and I am now deciding on the most appropriate pot to put them in. They’re in a pot!! Not their permanent home but suitable for growing on. Fingers crossed.

Plantain Lily – Hosta First Blush

April 30, 2024 Garden ,

I am very excited to get this Hosta. It is Called First Blush because the first leaves to emerge in Spring have red stems and leaf veins. The spider like root looks amazingly healthy with a lovely green shoot already showing. Always quality from Farmer Gracy. I bought two varieties but only one root of this one. I think they could be the very first Hostas that I have purchased myself although I do have a few scattered about the garden in pots and in the ground. All of them have probably been given to me by different people over the years. It is always uplifting to see the spears emerging from the ground in early spring.

They are a good species to have in the garden as they are tough and return bigger and better every year. An added bonus this year is the fact that our slug hunting frog population is quite high as people do complain of their hostas being desecrated by slugs.

Hosta is a genus of plants commonly known as hostas, plantain lilies and occasionally by the Japanese name giboshi. Hostas are widely cultivated as shade tolerant foliage plants. The genus is currently placed in the family Asparagaceae and is native to northeast Asia. Wikipedia

Gypsophilia Paniculata Bristol Fairy

April 29, 2024 Garden , ,

I am trying again with Gyp. A favourite of mine and a reminder of my moms garden when I was a child. I have grown from a root and raised from seed before but it seems that nothing lasts forever so my garden is at present bereft of Baby’s Breath.

Gracy says:
“Gypsophila ‘Bristol Fairy’ is a double flowered version of Baby’s Breath that will flourish in your garden provided you ensure she gets full sun, well-drained, alkaline soil and is watered well during the flowering season.”

I potted this bare root up last night and have moved to a sheltered spot in the garden this morning. (30th April 2024) I was running out of space in my small computer room. After reading the following quote I think I may start grinding the egg shells up and feeding them to Gyp. You need to bake them in the oven first then grind them finely in a pestle and mortar. I used to do this to mix with the chicken food when I had lots of chickens. Only two old girls left now in the eglu so I got out of the habit.

The genus name Gypsophila is derived from the Greek words gypsos meaning gypsum and philios meaning love, a nod to the plant’s preference for high calcium soil. quote from Gracy.

Phlox Paniculata Sweet Summer Snow

April 29, 2024 Garden , , , ,

Phlox paniculata, Sweet Summer Snow is a hardy perennial, that will be happy in sun or semi-shade and almost any soil. This is a short stemmed variety which will do well in a pot. Bees and butterflies will find the flowers irresistible. So I am assured by Farmer Gracy. Phlox in this form is completely new to me. I do have a couple of old creeping phlox but have never had the shrubby paniculata type.

After a short soak in water I am planting this into quite a small pot to grow on a llittle before I decide what size of pot it needs.

Update 7th May 2024 – For ten years or more I have had a very large blue ceramic pot, bought by Adam and Kirstie, by my kitchen door. It has housed many different plants over the years This year I decided that it needed emptying and new compost put in. I did the job this morning and when it was finished decided to put this Phlox in as a centre piece. I am still going to leave the new plant in the small pot to grow more roots and put that pot into the large one. When it is more established I can remove the small pot and plant directly into the blue one.

Dierama Pulcherrimum – Angel’s fishing rod

April 29, 2024 Garden , , ,

Sitting on my desk is a lovely terracotta pot containing a bare root of Dierama. A few years ago Debbie gave me a root of this elusive plant which I put at the front of the pond. So far no sign of any angels, fishing or otherwise. Try, try, try again. Part of my Farmer Gracy parcel was this very dead looking root which I intend to nurture to life. At present it is in intensive care position where I can look out for any sign of life. I have soaked it in water and given it a dusting of root grow before I potted it up into multi purpose compost. I am hoping this will be the start of a wonderful friendship as I would love to see these flowers casting their graceful stems out over the pond.

Dierama is a grass like evergreen perennial which multiplies by forming corm but also drops seeds. It is supposed to be cold tolerant and hardy. It will take two to three years to establish so I wonder if my original ones are still out there or have they been pulled up by someone thinking they were weeds.

Geum Apricot Pearl

April 29, 2024 Garden , ,

Geum Apricot Pearl from the Censation Series is a mound forming perennial. It is evergreen, with leaves that are toothed and softly hairy. In late spring and early summer slender stems carry pale apricot flowers. The blooms are sterile and do not need to be dead headed. I shall try for dividing after a couple of years if the plant and I are still going strong.

I do love Geum. My old faithful Mrs Bradshaw never lets me down but i do spend a lot of time dead heading to keep it going. Its a beautiful deep red flower and grows to about four feet tall. It is still in it’s original pot which is a big one but I always wonder whether I should get it out and refresh the compost. However, I am looking forward to seeing the flowers on this new one. If I remember correctly Mrs Bradshaw took a couple of years to get established.

Alstromeria Fabiana Colorita (Dwarf Peruvian Lily)

April 29, 2024 Garden , ,

The next root to get a soak in a bowl of water is the Alstromeria Fabiana. It already has two healthy shoots. My plan originally was to get all this delivery sorted in one day but a flare up of a regular visitor of mine, Diverticulitis, stopped me in my tracks. I started feeling ill yesterday afternoon and as my morning had already been very busy taking Jobie to play football and then coming home to feed everyone I’m afraid I spent a lot of yesterday afternoon alternating between the toilet and bed rather than playing in the dirt.

I usually feel pretty worn out the day following a flare up but I was determined to get a couple of the plants potted up. The Lupins that had been soaking are now tucked up in their pots and indoors for now whilst the Aquilegia I potted up yesterday has been moved to a sheltered spot in the garden.

Alstromeria or Peruvian Lily, is a tough plant but the flowers are delicate I had some growing on the allotment back in the day. This particular variety is new to me though and is said to be more compact and low growing with multiple flower heads. I am looking forward to seeing the colour of the flowers. They look a striking creamy yellow with red markings on the website image so we shall see. I have chosen a smaller terracotta pot for this root but I am hopeful of dividing the plant at the end of the season. If it is like the ones I grew at the allotment it will self seed itself around the garden too.