What Jobs Are We Doing in the Garden Today... MK3.. 2013

Planting some plants I bought from Coltswold Garden Flowers

 

Watering, watering and you guessed it more watering.
Oh and potted up another 55 wall flowers. Only another tray of about 100 or so and 50 pansies to go
The first cucumbers are nearly ready for picking!
Toms are coming on nicely too

 

Finally I've had to use the sprinkler to water the garden!!


Booger - just remembered that I'm on a water meter since the move!

Tell us more..........................

 

1:40am and you've guessed it, just got in from watering the garden!

 

A Cornus controversa variegata which is very small, but has vigorous growth on it; I've potted that so I can hopefully bring it on faster for a year, maybe two, before planting out. Always wanted one of them but I expect its 10 - 20 years before I have the full Wedding Cake effect?



Some plants for the Red border: Crocosmia Hellfire which looks to be a very "hot" red

and Hemerocallis American Revolution

doesn't exactly look "red" in that picture does it? :(

and I'm trying Kniphofia Nancys Red which looks, in the pictures, to be properly Red top-to-bottom and not have the yellow bits at the bottom ... fingers crossed!


At each end of the bed, next to the terminating hedge, I'm going to try some Rheum palmatum - not sure if it will be too dry for them though. I went for Bowles Crimson

and Red Herald

Be interesting to see how well they hold the redness of the leaf in Summer - they are in full sun.

I have quite a few Sambucus Black Lace and Black Beauty scattered through the bed - I think the dark leaf contrasts nicely with the Hot Red flowers in the bed - so I though I would try a couple of different ones: Black Tower:

and Thundercloud (Bob @ CGF has LOADS of Sambucus varieties, or course )

We have other dark leaves plants in the Hot border - e.g. Dahlia Bishop of L - and I got a couple of interesting Actaea simplex varieties Black Negligee:

and Hillside Black Beauty:

I think they are going to look rather startling! and Euphorbia Blackbird:


For the Blue garden I got some Iris - Harriette Halloway:

and Jane Phillips:

and an Agapanthus Black Pantha:


For the Exotic I got a couple of Persicaria : amplexicaulis Blackfield:

and virginiana var. filiformis - I've fallen in love with the filiformis already, I think the leaves look at least as impressive, maybe more so, than Red Dragon. That's one's first for the propagating bench!


And I couldn't resist a variegated Hydrangea macrophylla quadricolor for the Hydrangea garden


And because I could I bought a Solanum rantonnetii variegatum. I guess that is going to be a pot / conservatory plant

 

Cripes Kristen! You must be Bobs new best friend after that lot!!!!

 

What a splendid garden this will be in a few years time Kristen.... You really have chosen "la Crème" of all species and I love every one of them.
Jenny namaste

 

It's a cooler, overcast day today so more ideal for spending time out doing stuff. I've got a couple of very small potted roses that I've finally found a place for, so they'll be put into their new home now they've stopped flowering. Also up the stepladders to dead-head the climbing roses before they shed petals everywhere... I'm picking up some more bedding plants as I've got a couple of small tubs attached to the outhouse wall which need brightening up. After that. we'll see, as I've got a ViPR class in half an hour at the gym, and I've not been for 2 weeks. It may then be an afternoon relaxing in the garden!

 

I doubt it as I only bought one of each ... so he probably thinks I'm setting up in propagation-competition Hopefully I can propagate some extras for me in time for next year's planting out. Going to have to extend the mist bench already!!!

I've got another long list of plants I was going to get from Plantify, but I think Beeches (local nursery that Sal introduced me to) have a lot of them, and although Plantify are amongst the cheapest I have found online Beeches are close to half that price ... need to collect though (although they do have Mail Order during the winter planting season)

 

Kristen, I like the Cornus and the Hydrangea (not usually keen), is it a lace cap please?

 

A lot of people I know say they are not keen on Hydrangeas, and when I show them the varieties I am growing I think they are surprised at how different they are to what they think of as Hydrangeas

The supplier's site says:

"Green, pink and white lacecap flowers (to die for) Jul-Oct, green, grey-green and cream leaves with occasional yellow corners" - those yellow-margins are rather eye catching, close up, and unusual I think. "To die for" indeed!
http://www.cgf.net/plantdetails.aspx?id=1101

and my two preferred Hydrangea specialists say:

"Beautiful plant in flower or out, with four colours in its leaves: white/grey-green/pale green/light yellow. The flowers are palest pink or blue according to the pH of your soil. Much smaller than most H. macrophylla due to its variegation - <1m maximum."
https://sites.google.com/site/millcottageplants/millcottageplants2

"Deciduous shrub with variegated leaves in dark and pale green, yellow and cream, and lacecap flower-heads, pale pink, bluer on acid soils. Does well in sun or shade if kept moist and well-fed; dead-head and prune to fat buds in spring."
http://www.loder-plants.co.uk/product/10040.html

 

Thanks Kristen, that's another one on my shopping list for later in the year.

 

When its got a bit more size I'll be taking some cuttings ... let me know if you haven't got one by this time next year perhaps?

 

Thanks for the offer, it's kind of you.