Chris's Weblog – City Chickens

My diary from 2006

Tag Archive: flowers

Chris's Weblog - City Chickens > flowers

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.

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

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.

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.