Chris's Weblog – City Chickens

My diary from 2006

D Day – Delivery from Farmer Gracy 28th April 2024

April 28, 2024 Garden , , , ,

Aquilegia vulgaris Pink Petticoats (Columbine)

First of the perennials to be potted up are the three Aquilegia Pink Petticoats. I’ve put them in a large pot, all three together. First mistake I made was not reading the helpful leaflets before I started which advised me to soak all the roots in water for 3 – 6 hours before planting. My first uneducated attempt was to put crumpled up newspaper at the bottom of the pot then a deep layer of compost from my own compost bin, a sprinkle of root grow, mycorrhizal fungi, followed by the roots and finally topping up with shop bought multi purpose compost. I added water at the end. All three roots looked very healthy and are all showing new green growth, well yellow at the moment after their long journey from the Netherlands in a dark cardboard box. Update 29th April – I have moved the Aquilegia pot outside in a sheltered position so I hope they will thrive there.

Lupinus Mosaic Mix (Lupins)

Seven healthy looking roots resembling aliens are now sitting in a bowl of water. All have new growth showing. This is a bonus as I was expecting five roots and was planning to put them into one pot. “I may need a bigger pot” I shall probably put three in to one pot and four in another. This will be their home for their first year and then I can think again when I’ve seen how they grow. I love Lupins. I think if I was a flower I would probably be a Lupin. They are reliable, old fashioned and useful plants which deserve space in every garden. Update 29th April – The Lupin roots are now in two large pots.

Lupin Mosaic

“Lupin Mosaic Mix comprises of a blend of high quality hardy perennial lupins, often referred to as lupines. They will thrive in a variety of climates and of course they will come back year after year. They will grow best in a light soil in full sun. The plants will flower longer if you deadhead them regularly. At the end of the growing season cut down all the old flowering stems.” Quote from Farmer Gracy

Amaranth Red Army – Amaranthus Cruentus

April 27, 2024 Garden , , , ,

Herbs and Spices – 6 – Amaranth

April 27th 2024 – I have sown seeds of this interesting herb just for its decorative properties. It provides lovely colourful foliage and interesting pendulous flowers and seeds. Every part of the plant is edible apparently and I believe the young leaves are used commercially in bags of mixed salad leaves or as the very trendy microgreens. I have scattered a few of the fine delicate seeds on to a pot of seed compost, covered with polythene and placed in the porch which can get warmish when the suns out so I am hopeful of germination in a couple of weeks. Update 8th May – these seedlings are up after 12 days

The young leaves will look pretty but the plant itself can grow very tall so I shall pot on the young plants with a view to planting them in the garden. Who knows I may even get to taste them in a salad.

Also known as Pigweed, the Amaranth has very striking, long lasting red flowers. The intense cherry red foliage has a delicate pea-like flavour.  The plants are frost-tender but can grow vigorously in the summer, forming a sprig of leaves for salad or garnish which can be used as a substitute for spinach.

RHS

Sowing Seeds April 24th 2024

April 24, 2024 Garden , , , , ,

Larkspur Hyacinth (Delphinium)

Delphinium are a favourite in cottage gardens. Both perennial and annual varieties are available. The common name is larkspur. They are happiest in full sun and may need staking as they grow very tall. I have never done this however and have never had a spire snap off. They prefer a rich soil which doesn’t dry out or become waterlogged.

This morning I have sown seeds of Larkspur Hyacinth both indoors in modules and outside. This variety is an annual so I shall need to bear in mind to let one late spire go to seed to collect for next year. Hyacinth is a mixture of pink, white and red if I remember correctly. The seeds I have are old now and so I’m just going for it and crossing my fingers for some success. I used to have a beautiful deep blue variety in my red white and blue pot but I fear they are long gone. I purchased these seeds a few years ago from Country Garden www.countrygardenuk.com A brilliant seed company with a wealth of information about happy gardening and amazing flower photography.

Young plants are available out there and these can be planted out in Spring after the risk of frost has passed.

Once established and in full flower cut back faded flower spikes to small flowering side shoots to encourage a second flush of flowers. In autumn cut down all growth to ground level after it has died back.

Divide overcrowded plants every 3 to 4 years as new growth begins in spring, lifting the plants and dividing them into smaller clumps.

Balsam Dwarf Bush Mixed

These are seeds that I have had success with before. They were purchased from Seekay Horticultural Supplies in 2017. Yes. They are old. I have sown them in a plastic container with drainage holes and hey presto over a dozen seedlings have popped through. I am very pleased as I remember the plants being quite substantial although they are called dwarf. I shall grow them on now and by the summer hopefully have a good show of flowers.

Balsam Dwarf Mix

Borage – Star Flower

I’ve had less success with the old Borage seeds but if I can grow on the four seedlings that have popped through I shall get four enormous plants and be able to collect seeds at the end of the growing season. I love Borage. It has a wonderful blue colour and is a magnet to bees and other pollenating insects. Commonly called Star Flower it is useful to vegetable growers and our allotment is where I first grew this strong attractive plant. Update 29th April – Two healthy seedlings potted on today.

Narcissus Thalia

April 22, 2024 Garden , ,

This is the first year that my white daffs haven’t shown up so I am planning to replace them. When I planted them I imagined them doubling up every year and I thought they would make me happy year after year. Unfortunately this hasn’t happened. A couple of beautiful white , triple headed daffodils but no doubling up and this year nothing. The joys of gardening.

A Triandrous type of daffodil Thalia has been a favourite of mine for years. Narcissus Thalia has highly fragrant pure white blooms appearing from March to April. Great for naturalising and perfectly happy in a container. Pollinators love them. Once open they become pure white and can grow to 40cm tall. Thalia prefers a spot which benefits from well drained soil. A hardy, bulbous perennial which should form a spreading clump. So I was assured when I researched them.

Triandrus Daffodils have more than one blossom per stem. The blossoms droop slightly and the petals are slightly swept back. They are smaller than English Daffodils and are highly scented. Thalia is one of this group but on doing a bit of research I have found a few in the same category and may include some of them in my purchase.

Arisarum Proboscideum – Mouse Plant

April 20, 2024 Garden , ,

Mouse Plant

I Saw A Mouse

I was recently doing an assessment of what was coming up in the garden when I spotted a large clump of beautiful fresh green leaves the shape of which I remembered as a tiny plant that Laura brought back once and we were convinced had died off. She called them mouses ears. On further investigation I parted the leaves and saw purple mice. I have researched this surprising plant, a new one to me, to find that it is called Arisarum Proboscideum and is commonly called Mousetail Plant, so she was close.

Apparently the Mousetail Plant grows on hardy rhizomes and has shiny evergreen leaves. It gets its name from the long tail on the purple flower which is shaped like a mouse. Originally from Europe the plant is now quite common in the UK.

Spring 2024 New Beginnings

April 18, 2024 Garden

Its April 18th 2024 and the last time I posted was April 2022 . The Pandemic of Covid-19 has been largely forgotten by those who survived without losing family or friends. However the virus still hovers around us and is indeed still killing people. The world at large seems to want to carry on and trust that they won’t be touched by it. The majority of us are vaccinated now and hope that our immune system will be able to cope if we are infected.

My family and myself have been very fortunate and are still here to enjoy the Spring.

It is now eight years since I lost my youngest son to MND and the grief is still overwhelming. However, I do have two other sons, my three grandchildren and my partner and am fortunate to still have my brother and sister alive and healthy. I have always found comfort in the house and garden and though I have reasonable health myself I do find it harder to keep on top of things.

I am trying to count my blessings and although the garden is in a wild state and very green with plants, I have, with the encouragement of my sons, ordered a collection of new bare root perennials from Farmer Gracy, a company that I have used before a few years ago and trust to deliver healthy plants.

New Plants

I began by taking a walk around the garden and assessing what had survived. I remembered that quite a few of the perennials hadn’t shown up last year so decided to do a search online to find a few of my favourite plants. I found to my dismay that they were quite expensive. Previously I have grown from seed but that takes time and I want quick results so decided to go for bare roots. not as cheap as seeds but not as expensive as a ready grown potted plant.

Last year we did a tidy up and threw out a lot of our pots and seed trays that were in constant use when we had the allotment but had grown redundant as we were reduced to just our garden, not to mention that I am now creeping towards eighty and just don’t have the stamina that I used to. My garden now is for sitting in and pottering as befits my age. My own father died of a heart attack whilst working in his garden and I have no intention of carrying on that particular family tradition. The focus then is to make the garden a space to enjoy.

My order for Farmer Gracy, https://www.farmergracy.co.uk/ was, I felt, an indulgence and I was hesitant to send it for a while. However, send it I did, and it includes some old favourites and a couple of plants new to me. I chose Lupin, Aquilegia, Geum, Phlox, Ranunculus, Gyp and a few more. I am now buying compost and pots and looking forward to the delivery. The image above is Aquilegia Pink Petticoat and although I already have a few varieties of this very giving plant, this is a new one to me..

Update 27th April. I’ve had an email to say that the plants are on their way from the Netherlands so here’s hoping that they arrive in good condition.

Lunaria – Honesty – Hardy Biennual

April 23, 2022 Garden , , , ,

Its April 23rd 2022 and I have sown seeds of purple Honesty. I used to have purple and white growing in the garden but they seem to have disappeared so another sowing was in order. They should take about 20 days to germinate. They are quite old seeds so as they are biannual I have sown more than I normally would incase of failures. They are quite tough plants though so I am hopeful of getting flowers from May/June in 2023. Once again I made the mistake in thinking that these plants would self seed and proliferate around the garden. I really need to concentrate on building up the soil.

Since Adam was poorly and consequently passed away I have let the garden go a bit so need to get some quality into the soil. I have two compost bins that need emptying so that should have been put all over the borders before the start of the growing season. It’s difficult to do when things start to grow because I don’t want to bury new seedlings. I will do what I can little by little and hope that I live long enough to see the results of my labour.

Another attempt at growing climbers from seed 2022

April 12, 2022 Garden , , ,

I have just sown four each of Ipomoea Pennata Red; Ipomoea Pearly Gates (white) and Thunbergia Alata Mix. I tried these climbers last year with no success so try try again. I have put them in a root trainer affair which is green and open to the light but sealed to keep in the moisture. They are sitting on the window ledge in as much light as I have available so fingers crossed. From what I can remember germination could take 20 to 30 days so about a month. Its 12th April 2022 today so well into May when the soil should be warming up. Update – 18th April 2022 – two shoots already. Update – 21st April 2022 – six shoots now. These root trainers are good.

I love climbers and as our garden is quite small they allow us to use the fence and various arches to give us more flowers at eye level as well as in the ground and in our myriad of pots.

Thinking about sowing these seeds today has made me take stock of what climbers we have already. We have a basic Ivy that has been with us for years as a dividing screen between our garden and next door. I have a climbing Hydrangea alongside it that is also very old and well established. Clematis have come and gone over the years but the ones that come to mind that are still with us are Montana, Apple Blossom; Hagley Hybrid; Mrs Bateman; Princess Kate; Guernsey Cream and a couple of deep red and purple ones that I’ve forgotten the names of, Warsaw something I think one of them is. I have a Russian Vine that I have had to cut back excessively this year as although it s flowers are beautiful it has taken over a part of the side garden and climbed up into the plum trees so urgent secateur work was required.

I have an old Jasmine that could do with removing too. Tidying up work desperately needed I think. Ours is an old garden and as it is small I can’t let things go.

Warsaw Nike I think
Princess Kate
jasmine
Climbing Rose Shropshire Lad

You can’t have enough climbers can you.

Update 27th April 2024 – Ipomoea Pearly Gates – A Half Hardy Perennial = Still a few seeds left so here I go again trying to raise this climber. A couple of years ago I got two seedling to grow to about a foot high only to die on me before they reached maturity. No root trainers this time they too are long gone so just a small tray of moist seed compost covered in polythene and sat on my computer box. Fingers crossed.

Mirabalis Japala – collected seeds – 2022 – The four ‘o’ clock plant

March 28, 2022 Garden , , , ,

Today, 28th March 2022, I have sown 14 seeds that I collected the last time I grew these plants. Apparently that was 2018!!!! I wish that I had looked at my old posts first as I had already sown them only to read that I shouldn’t have excluded light as in nature they drop to the ground and germinate in the light.

They are on the windowsill here in my office so the pot has lots of light but I did put a sprinkle of compost over them and put them in a polythene bag. Roll on 40 days which is how long they took to germinate the last time I gave them a try. Update 23rd April 2022 – 8 seedlings already through after only 27 days. Looking good.

“Mirabilis is a genus of plants in the family Nyctaginaceae known as the four-o’clocks or umbrellaworts. The best known species may be Mirabilis jalapa, the plant most commonly called four o’clock. There are several dozen species in the genus, of herbaceous plants, mostly found in the Americas.” Wiki

I have done a search online for Mirabilis and found a picture of the dormant root of this plant. It was a hefty looking root and I fear that maybe I threw mine away in the winter not remembering what was in the pot. Lesson learned I hope. Label the pot and don’t throw any dead looking root into the compost bin. The roots or tubers I think look very much like Dahlia tubers.

Mirabilis flower
Mirabilis Seed

Alchemilla Mollis – Irish Silk – Lady’s Mantle

March 28, 2022 Garden , , , , , ,

I bought seeds of this Alchemilla Mollis, commonly known as Lady’s Mantle and today, 25th March, I have scattered them around my very established Erysimum Bowles Mauve. The perennial wallflower had gone quite woody but the head of it is covered in purple flowers for most of the season. I thought that this plant might be a good companion and form a clump around the base. We shall see. That’s the excitement of gardening. You never know what might work.

The variety is Irish Silk but the plant is originally a native of southern Europe. Its chartreuse yellow flowers grow above a mound of large leaved fresh green foliage. This deciduous perennial has gained the RHS award of garden merit. Apparently these plants are said to become invasive as they self seed. They will be challenged in my garden as no matter how much i care for it it often kills off my favourite plants. They propagate by forming large rhizomes so they sound as though once established they should survive. However, I have only sown seeds and seed to rhizome will take a year or two I bet.

Alchemilla – perennial ground cover plant.