Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
Here's a few things that you can be getting on with today in the garden ...

1. Tidy up  - If you've got some Heucheras in your garden and they are looking a little worse for wear after the recent months then now is the time to give them a little tidy up! Remove any dead or damaged foliage along with any faded flower stems that are still on the plant.

Heucheras aren't the only plants needing a little tidy up, if you've got any Penstemons growing now is the time to cut the old stems down to the fresh shoots at the bottom. The reason we don't do this after flowering is so that the old stems can help protect the shoots from severe frost in bad weather.

Potted Heuchera

2. Veggies - The soil is starting to warm up so if you'd like to get some veggies sown such as Carrots, Beetroot, Salad Crops, Radishes and Spring Onion then now is the time to get started!

3. Extra Plants - If you go into Garden Centres at this time you should see some pots of Sempervivums for sale, quite a few of them will have more than 1 rosette and each of these can give you an extra plant! I found a pack of 6 for £10 earlier in the week and I've managed to get 30 plants from these 6 pots! All you need to do is remove each rosette and pot on into some gritty compost.

 

 

4. Climbing Plants - Climbing plants such as Clematis and Honeysuckle will be putting on new growth quickly and will need tying in to their supports as soon as possible. 

5. Faded Flowers - Deadhead the faded flowers from Azaleas, Rhododendrons and Camellias but be careful not to damage the newly developing leaves. 

6. Weeds - It's one of the least enjoyable jobs for some people but it is one of the most important! Dig out as many weeds possible now and they will be much more controllable throughout the rest of the year. They soon multiply so it's best to get on top of them!

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

A Brief Pause in the Rain ...

Good Morning!

Today I thought I would share some photo's that I managed to take yesterday afternoon when the rain stopped briefly. As much as I enjoy taking photographs of plants there's something about those photo's with raindrops still on the petals that I love that little bit more ...

This little group of plants is currently sat next to my conservatory door. 

The three plants shown work well with each other as they all have the colour purple in common. The purple foliage of the Heuchera and the Primrose bring out the purple tones in the foliage of the Leucothoe.

The next pairing wasn't planned but I think it works really well together. 

The white of the 'Thalia' Daffodils and the pink of the Azalea Japonica 'Hino Crimson' provide a great contrast.

There's also been a slight change in the layout of the back garden. As you know the property I am in is currently rented so I am unable to make any dramatic changes, resulting in a large part of it being patio'd. Across this wall we originally kept the rather unsightly waste bins but I have now moved them elsewhere and positioned these pots here instead with the patio table just out of shot. A much preferable sight to sit next to in the warmer weather.

The only thing now is that I need to add giving the fence a new lick of paint to my to do list!

A close up of the feature pot in the centre, Ribes sanguineum

Erythronium Pagoda

Whilst over in the conservatory some of the Auriculas are in flower and the Echeveria Lilacina is producing it's flower shoots.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
It's time again for my Weekly Garden Checklist, let's get started!

1.Poppies- Once Poppies have finished flowering, if you don't like how they look and would rather not have the seed spread around the garden, then you can cut them back to the ground. This will encourage fresh foliage so that you will still have ground cover. However I like to keep the seed heads intact as it's adds some interest to my garden.

2. Delphiniums - Along with Poppies you can also dead head Delphiniums and Foxgloves once they have finished flowering. For example with the white Delphinium below the middle spike will finish fist, so I will cut that out to allow the plant to focus it's energy on the two smaller spikes either side. Once these are over I will cut the who plant back down to the ground, this will encourage another flush of flowers later in the year.

3. Acid Loving Plants- Plants such as Rhodoendrons, Azaleas and Camelia's would benefit from a feed and a good soak right now, specially with all this warm weather we've been having. All I do is mix some Liquid Feed specially for these plants in a watering can with Rainwater, then give the plants a water. 

4. Apples- If you have Apple Trees, Pears or Plums and they are starting to set fruit then it's a good idea to decrease the number of fruit in each crop to two or three to increase the size and quality of the fruit. Unfortunately my Apple Trees did not flower & fruit this year but this can happen if they are only young plants. 

5. Baskets & Pots - Lastly don't forget to keep up with the Weekly feeds for Hanging Baskets and Pots. A solution of Liquid Seaweed or Tomato Feed encourages more blooms and tops up the soil with nutrients which can be lost when watering.

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist & Blooms ...

Good Morning!

Happy Weekend to you all, I am back with some things you can be getting on with in the garden this weekend ...

1. Daffodils & Tulips - The blooms are slowly starting to go over in my garden so once this happens to you it's a good idea to pick the faded flowers off. Do this by simply nipping off this flower head and this will help focus  all the plants energy back into the bulb instead of setting seed ... along with looking much tidier!

2. Delphiniums - The fresh young shoots should be putting on good growth so now is the perfect time to stake them before it's too late.

3. Sowing Seeds - This is the prime time to be getting on with your seed sowing, so don't delay much longer if you haven't started already.

4. Primroses - Once Primroses have finished flowering, why not divide them up giving yourself more plants? I will be doing this and then potting them up, which will give me extra plants for next year.

5. Summer Bulbs - Now is also the time to get bulbs such as Lillies & Gladioli planted in time for the Summer!

Finally I thought I'd leave you with a few snaps of what is looking good in my garden right now.

The Euphorbia's are looking striking with their contrast of Red & Lime in their pots ...

The Pink Wallflowers I sowed last year are starting to come into bloom...

My dark foliaged Primroses are blooming ...

Cowslips and Daffodils are looking cheery, I really like these dainty Daffs, they look much more delicate to the usual larger varieties ...

My Outdoor stand of Alpines and Primula's is providing a colourful display ...

The Azalea next to the back door has also come into flower this week with some striking pink blooms ...

And finally more of my Auricula's are starting to flower, I can't wait to see what colours the remaining 40 odd will produce!

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Frosted Flowers ...

Good Morning!

We've had a few frosty mornings where I live over the past fortnight and even though it's not ideal for us Gardeners, plants can look magical with a touch of frost!

Here's a few snaps that I have taken, I hope you like them.

The Rose 'Princess Alexandra of Kent' was still in bloom at Christmas and the frost gave the edges of the petals a sparkly outline.

The white Polyanthus are my favourite's when they've been frosted, the leaves also take on a magical look.

The buds on the Primroses also catch your eye.

The Cyclamen Coum, Hellebore, Heuchera and Azalea have all been given a frosty outline ...

Finally the one bloom on my 'Passion' Dianthus was given a sparkly transformation too.

Thanks for popping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

A Few Changes ...

Good Morning!

Today's post is a little update on how things are looking and have changed around the garden. As you remember we saw our first Sweet Pea of 2014 last week and this week we were greeted by another in this beautiful painted petal design!

The Hanging Baskets that I planted up a few weeks ago are filling out and were hung out last week. Some are further on than others and here's a look at three of them.

I only bought one of these Surfinia 'Melissa' but I took cuttings from it and used the plants they produced in two other baskets. I also took another cutting this week which I am planning on using in a pot, I love the fresh pale green of the petals.

I sowed some Diascia seeds which were free with a magazine a month or so ago and after finding this teeny pot when sorting through my pots yesterday I planted it up with one of the seedlings.

The Orange Tree has come out of the conservatory for the Summer and has taken up residence is the most sheltered part on my patio I could find alongside another wigwam of Sweet Pea's.

The pot's of shrubs on the patio steps are coming along nicely and provide some all year round interest.

The 'Tickled Pink' Apple Tree has some baby apples emerging.

Finally I gave the shady spot between our conservatory and next doors a bit of a re-jig. There's an annoying gap between the fence and window that you can't really do anything with,  I blocked it off with some staging on an angle, filled it with some pots and then placed my Acer and Azalea in-front of it along with some more planted pots of bedding.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX