Tag Archive: Tips

Delphinium Magic Fountain and Pacific Giant

Chris January 23, 2017 Garden Delphinium, flowers, Tips

Today, 23rd January, I have potted on the Delphinium Magic Fountain seedlings that have been overwintering on the window ledge. Five out of the six survived and I am hopeful that they will grow on until I can get them into the garden after the last frost. I can’t wait to see what colour they are. 29th April – I have lost the Magic Fountain to frost. I shall replace them on Sunday with a plant from the garden centre. I shall endeavour to find the same variety as they look lovely. Well, I popped to get some brassica seedlings this afternoon and spotted a Delphinium Magic Fountain White just sitting there waiting for me. It’s now sitting on my desk where it will be nurtured until all risk of frost is gone.

Delphinium Magic Fountain is a lovely delphinium with a smaller more compact stature than some of the taller delphiniums. It is ideal for where space is at a premium, grows to a height of around 90cm. Because of its short stature and healthy thick stems, it does not require staking. It produces sturdy flower spikes throughout the summer. Blooming from June to September it is attractive to bees and is a wonderful cut flower.

Delphinium Pacific Giant. A distinguished delphinium producing strong spikes of semi-double blooms in a dreamy blend of pink, lilac, purple, violet-blue, sky-blue and white. Delphinium Pacific Giants are excellent for cutting and add structure and presence to the back of cottage garden perennial borders.

The Pacific Giant were potted on at the same time as the Magic Fountain but two of these have survived the frost. The lesson here is that out of twelve seedling I only have two strong plants so I put them out to soon. They were very cheap though so I suppose you get what you pay for. Delphiniums are self seeding so I look forward to collecting my own seed eventually.

Delphinium Cultorum Magic Fountain White – bought today from Webbs of Wollaston for £2.00.

Sunflower Giant Yellow Single

Chris January 21, 2017 Garden flowers, germination, propagation, seeds, Seekay, sunflower, Tips

I have received 300 Sunflower seeds from Seekay at a cost of 99p. I have washed eleven containers, recycled plastic pint beer glasses, I plan to put holes for drainage and fill with sandy compost to sow the Sunflower seeds. Having done a bit of reading it seems that March is the earliest time to sow. Although most advice says sow where they are to grow this would be difficult as the garden is in the process of being rearranged this year. Sunflowers grow a long tap root which prefers not to be disturbed, however, the seedlings are targeted by slugs so it may be safer growing on in pots until stronger.

This morning. 26th January, I have started a sunflower seed germination experiment. I have removed the husk from three seeds and put the seeds in wet kitchen towel, I have included one intact seed and then put all inside a plastic box. I have also sown one seed intact into a pot of compost and put the pot into a polythene bag.. They will be kept warm and observed. Update – 28th January – In just two days all of the seeds in my kitchen towel have germinated, the ones with the husk peeled off and the one left intact exactly the same. The one put into compost isn’t showing yet but I am hopeful that the root has emerged the same.

Cleome Spinosa – American Spider Flower 2017

Chris January 18, 2017 Garden, Photos by Glenn and Laura Cleome, flowers, germination, Higgledy, history, propagation, seeds, Seekay, Tips

Cleome Violet Queen will be the next seeds to go into some damp compost. These half hardy annuals were £1.99 for 200 from Higgledy who recommend sowing between January and March indoors. Best sown on the surface of moist compost and can take up to four weeks to germinate. I shall sow just twenty of them tomorrow 19th January. It seems that these plants can grow as high as six feet so I shall have to be careful where I put them. Eye catching and strongly scented, the deep violet flowers and palm like leaves of this beautiful plant will add a tropical look to the late summer garden. so say the people at Crocus.com. Twenty tiny seedling are now fighting for survival on the window ledge. Germination was great at 100% and took only ten days!. Let’s see if I can get them through to flowering.

Cleome spinosa Violet Queen is a sumptuous purple, which looks good with almost anything, particularly good with verbenas, dahlias and sunflowers. Cleomes are an elegant, very long lasting annual, flowering longer than all the other half-hardies. Sow early. The only downside to Cleomes are their thorns. Information from the Sarah Raven site.

I have bought new seeds from Seekay of two other colours of this beautiful flower. On doing a bit of research I see that I can sow these directly in the ground now, May/June so I am looking forward to doing just that. The two new varieties are Helen Campbell, White and Rose Queen, a subtle pink.

Despite it’s recent revival in popularity Cleome hassleriana ‘Rose Queen’ is actually an heirloom flower having been grown in gardens since 1817. A beautiful variety with deep, rose-pink flowers that fade to light pink. The large, open, airy flowers have a strong scent and bloom throughout the summer until frosts. Eye-catching spidery flowers and palm-like leaves add a tropical look to the late summer garden. Cleome are very easy to grow are generally free of pests and considered drought tolerant. Despite that fact they grow their best in moist but well drained soil and full sunlight. The spidery flowers make attractive cut flowers and the seed heads can be dried and added to bouquets. Frost and cold winds are lethal to this elegant South American annual. If you wish to start them early in the year do so under glass and only plant out after the danger of frosts has passed. Sow indoors in April or outdoors May to June. Cleome like good light levels and germinate quickly if sown quite late. Start them in April or early May. If planted too early the seeds will not germinate and may rot. Sow indoors 4 to 6 weeks before last frost, or sow directly where they are to flower after all danger of frost has passed.

Cleome is a genus of annual flowering plants with 170 species. Cleomaceae are a small family of flowering plants in the order Brassicales comprising about 300 species in 10 genera. Cleome are native to southern South America. This heirloom flower has been grown in gardens since 1817. The genus name Cleome is derived from an ancient name of a mustard like plant, in reference to its seed pods. The species hassleriana is named after Emile Hassler 1864-1937 a Swiss botanist and plant collector. The synonym Spinacia is taken from the Latin spina, meaning a prickle or thorn. Because of their unique flower clusters, these blossoms got the nickname spider flower. Although most flowers have a multitude of meanings cleome one. An old-fashioned expression that asks the recipient to elope or run away with the giver.

The white Cleome Spinosa Helen Campbell looks good in large drifts on its own or intermingled with white cosmos Purity. It’s 16th May and a warm rainy day so I am about to go and sow seeds of both in the white border. The advice is to put seeds on the surface of the soil as they need light to germinate.

Carnations

Chris January 6, 2017 Garden, Photos by Glenn and Laura carnations, flowers, propagation, seeds, Tips

Just before Christmas my friend Tallulah gave me a lovely bunch of flowers and the Carnations still look fresh today. I bought myself some yellow ones from Lidl on Sunday. It’s been a long time since I bought myself any flowers. I was very pleased to see that three of the stems had shoots still attached and I have taken them off to try and root them. 20 days and tiny hair like roots are beginning to grow.

Friday 20th January 2017 – Carnation Hardy Border Mix – seeds have been sown on moist compost in a container with drainage holes and enclosed in a polythene bag to retain moisture and heat. Seeds from Seekay 300 for 99p. Update ten out of twenty seedlings showing after six days.

Choose a container with drainage holes in it filling the container within an inch or two from the top with potting soil. Sprinkle the seeds across the top of the soil and cover them lightly. Water until the soil is moist and then wrap the container in a clear plastic bag to create a greenhouse effect. The beginnings of your carnation garden plants should poke through the soil in two to three days. Move the seedlings to their own pots once they have two to three leaves and transplant them outdoors once they reach a height of 4 to 5 inches and your area is free of frost risk.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/dianthus/growing-carnations.htm

Christmas Rose – Helleborus Niger

Chris November 7, 2016 Garden, Motor Neurone Disease, Winter Adam, family, flowers, Hellebore, Lidl, Tips

On Thursday this week I shall be going to the local Lidl store to buy some of these beautiful plants. At six for £7.99 I shall be a happy lady. I have kept back some tête-à-tête so I shall pot them up together. This will be another reminder of Adam as this combination of plants grew along under his bedroom window at the house on the hill. When they were at their best I would take him a photo and the twins would often just pick them as toddlers do and take them in to him. I asked for White Hellebore to be included in Adams funeral flowers and they looked lovely.

Christmas roses have a deep growing root system so the roots should be planted downward rather than spread out below the soil surface and the crown of the plant should be an inch below the soil surface. Apply a layer of mulch around the plant. Every spring remove old, tattered foliage and feed the plants with a balanced water soluble fertiliser. Commonly known as hellebores the Eurasian genus Helleborus consists of approximately 20 species of herbaceous or evergreen perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, within which it gave its name to the tribe of Helleboreae. The scientific name Helleborus derives from the Greek.

Update November 2017 – These plants, Helleborus Niger, have paid me back over and over since I bought them as they flowered from November to May. They retain their interest throughout the year. Now its November again and once again their snow white flowers are peeping through to brighten up the Winter days. They are tough little plants with delicate flowers. I have two large containers full of them and one plant in the side garden. I love them and may invest in some coloured varieties this year. As we are expecting some very cold weather I have mulched around them with some compost and sprinkled in a little growmore.

Black Eyed Susan – Rudbeckia

Chris November 6, 2016 Family, Garden, Winter family, flowers, Rudbeckia, Tips

Another welcome gift from my daughter-in-law Deb. Three large healthy roots of this lovely hardy perennial. Deb is a gardener with her own successful company www.daisy-chain-gardens.co.uk. Thank you Deb.

Charming, daisy-like flowers with prominent, cone-shaped, blackish-brown centres appear in abundance from August to October. This beautiful ‘black-eyed Susan’ is an excellent choice for the middle of a late summer border and it associates particularly well with ornamental grasses. It is a particularly free-flowering variety, that is best planted in bold drifts in a sunny or partially shady site that doesn’t dry out over summer. Information and picture from crocus.com.

Snake in the Grass – Fritillaria Meleagris

Chris November 2, 2016 Garden bulbs, flowers, Fritillaria, T&M, Tips, verse,

Fritillaria meleagris – Add plenty of well rotted manure or garden compost to the soil prior to planting to improve soil. Plant snakes head fritillary bulbs at a depth of 4″ and 4″ apart. The bulbs are fragile so always handle them with care. Planting them on their sides will help to avoid water collecting in their hollow crowns and prevent the bulbs from rotting. Divide from August to September. Information and picture from thompson-morgan.com

I have tried to grow these lovely things before without any success. I now have fifty bulbs and have to decide where to plant them. Some plants men say that the flower is deadly poisonous. It has many common names as well as snakehead it is called lepers lily.

Grigson, in his Englishman’s Flora, calls the Fritillaria meleagris snaky, deadly beauties, but there is little written evidence of harm.

On sunless days in winter, we shall know
By whom the silver gossamer is spun,
Who paints the diapered fritillaries,
On what wide wings from shivering pine to pine the eagle flies.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Chionodoxa – Glory of the Snow

Chris November 2, 2016 Garden, Spring bulbs, flowers, thompson-morgan.com, Tips

Chionodoxa bulbs are new to me and were part of a collection of Spring bulbs I bought from www.thompson-morgan.com . I am planting them in a large pot for now but maybe next year when we remake the rockery and pond I can use them there too.

One of the first bulbs to flower in the spring, Glory of the Snow, creates a carpet of colour, naturalising well beneath trees and shrubs. These flowers also make a hardy and low-maintenance addition to rock gardens and spring patio pots where they’ll return year after year. Height: 6″ Picture and information from www.thompson-morgan.com

Erysimum – Wallflower Persian Carpet

Chris November 1, 2016 Garden biennial, Erysimum, flowers, Tips, Wallflowers, woolmans

Last week I received the bare root Wallflowers that I ordered from Woolmans. The instructions said plant out into the garden as soon as possible. There were eleven sturdy plants and as the weather was mild I set to and popped them in here and there. There was no indication of colour of the individual plants so if they survive the winter the eventual colour will be a surprise. Advice is to pinch out the growing tip after planting which I haven’t done as yet.

Supplied as bare roots, these are large, mature plants ‘in the green’ which will quickly establish once planted. Our wallflowers are field-grown in the UK and are lifted, hand graded, packed and despatched all within a 48 hour period to ensure the quality of our plants. Grow in any well-drained soil in full sun. Fully hardy, biennial. Woolman.

Oriental Lilies – Lilieaceae

Chris October 25, 2016 Garden bulbs, flowers, lilies, T&M, Tips

Oriental lilies prefer a moist, free draining, neutral to acid soil that is rich in organic matter. Prior to planting, add plenty of well rotted manure or garden compost to the soil to give your lilies the best start. When growing lilies in containers, use a loam based compost such as John Innes No.2. Lily bulbs should be planted at a depth of approximately 3 times their own height and 15cm (6″) apart. Planting deeply helps to protect the bulb during particularly hot periods. Choose a sheltered, sunny position where lilies will grow with their heads in the sun and their roots in the shade. Information and photograph from T&M where I bought the bulbs.

I am ready and waiting for them to arrive which I’m told will be late November. I shall put them into two large black, square planters. Well the Lilies arrived this morning November 7th. Unfortunately I have run out of compost. I have ordered some more so another wait now until it arrives. The Lilies are sitting in the fridge for now. Friday 11th November. All the lilies are in now. I divided them up between two large pots, keeping one back to put directly into the garden in the white border.

Oriental Lilies range from 2′ – 6′ and their very large flowers emit a strong fragrance when they bloom in the later part of summer. Their flowers, often freckled or lined, tend to lift outwards or to the sky, as though soaking up the sun they enjoy so much. Blooms are usually wide open, with recurved petals. Not always the easiest lilies to grow, their large fragrant flowers make it worth the effort. Oriental Lilies grow best in full sun in rich, slightly acidic, and well-drained soil; like lots of water during the growth period and some mulch to keep their roots cool. Smaller varieties of the Oriental Lily do well in containers, and all make superb cut flowers. 13th March – The lilies are a foot high already and I plan to mulch with ericaceous compost tomorrow and move them out away from the wall and into a sunnier part of the garden. I am looking forward to finding out what colours I have.

My diary from 2006