The lupins which did so gloriously in May are finished, and have been found by the whole neighbourhood’s snail community - it’s obvious to see how much they enjoyed them! Thankfully though the plants were able to set seed before their demise, so hopefully next year I’ll be able to grow more lupins from those.
This month it’s been about roses, with much dead heading and some new roses too. At the start of the month it was this peachy-yellowy beauty that took centre stage; positioned just outside the gate, every time we came in or out there seemed to be another head of flowers, which was perfectly fine by me.
The never ending weeding of the gravel continued, but it did throw up a surprise with this tiny poppy flower. There’s been a few others since, but none have made quite the impact that this first one did.
When I said it was a month of roses, there were also new roses. This Gertrude Jekyll arrived for my birthday, a present from MOH - isn’t it gorgeous? As you know we had one of these in our previous garden and had to leave it there, that one he’d bought me as a wedding anniversary present and so it was a lovely surprise to receive this one unexpectedly.
The weather was good enough to start some proper gardening and as well as the rose to pot up - I’m not sure where I want it yet - there were some plants to plant out. The hellebore which we brought from my FIL’s garden was ripe for potting out, it wasn’t until I got it out of the pot that I realised just how much. It hadn’t done much this winter, and the amount of roots to soil might have contributed to that. It’s not just along from the pale green hellebore in our border which had done so well, let’s hope this one takes the hint.
Only two of my sunflowers survived on their own while we were away in May, but they have gone from strength to strength and to help them further I decided to pot those out too. Usually you wait until they’re about 30cm high, and these were still a bit off that, but thankfully they’ve done well and there’s still the two of them. And they are so much bigger, almost reaching the top of the boundary wall to date, and I’m sure they’ve more to grow yet.
I’ve also had my first peony flower. I potted two of our peonies to bring with us, and they have managed well - they haven’t quite thrived but each of them have produced a single bloom, which is way more than I expected. They are likely to have a little longer in their pot, as our new garden plans are starting to form but will take a while longer to implement.
Among the other plants I’ve finally planted out are these wallflowers - these are the Chelsea Jacket type and have multicoloured pastel flowers. The planter is one we brought with us, and which had edged our greenhouse in the old garden. I was pleased though to discover it’s made for this spot on the corner of the garage, nestling in among the oak upright and just along from the garden tap.
The rosemary bush which suffered last summer and then recovered again is still alive and well still alive is probably as good a description for it. It’s a fighter that’s for sure, and to reward its effort this is another plant that’s been potted out, this one’s in our external borders in a much more sheltered spot. So if it was the wind it objected too, it should do ok where it is now.
Ah yes, then another rose arrived.
I’d spotted this new rose in a magazine, it’s named after the National Trust’s Mottisfont in Hampshire which is famous for its roses. It’s a great place to visit too - we’ve only been a couple of times, but I love it there.
So then there were two new roses.
MOH could hardly say no don’t get this lovely magenta Mottisfont rose as I’ve ordered one for your birthday, could he? But what a happy result - though I did have to scramble around a bit to find two pots large enough for each of these. Thankfully the obliging ox eye daisies made way and were happy enough to take up life in a new pot, so happy in fact they’re still flowering.
Our pink jasmine, which also travelled from our previous garden also flowered. It’s not in its most favourable spot, and I know that, but I am appreciating it doing its best.
As well as roses, there’s been the lavender. And that has been glorious.
We have at least six large bushes which took many hours to prune at the end of last summer, but in the sun they are so worth it, and I know in a month of two I’ll be changing my mind again! Though it’s a great way marker to say to people ‘our house is the one with the lavender’ as it’s quite obvious which it is!
We have a lot of dark leafed and purple plants - some that were here, and others which we brought with us - one of the most striking is this hebe, which again really enjoys the sunshine (but then again don’t we all).
I brought some hardy succulents back from Gardeners’ World Live this year - the first time we’ve brought plants at the show, and I couldn’t resist some of the redder leaved varieties as well as the bright, fresh greens. I’m hoping that these are as promiscuous as my aloe vera plants…
On a trip to the garden centre for lunch, I left with two small tomato plants. They’ve a while to go yet, but hopefully we’ll be eating our own home grown tomatoes this summer - it seems so strange that I haven’t grown anything for a good couple of years, mostly because we’ve been moving house.
The Mottisfont rose flowered, and it’s another beauty…
At the other end of the garden the little crab apple tree continues to do its thing - it’s plumped out so much these last few months with each of the branches looking laden with fruits again. This year I will make use of them, whether it’s jam or jelly, or even a wreath. Well, that’s the plan anyway!