Thursdays favourite plant

Late on parade again.

This weeks favourite plant is courtesy of my naughty puppy under gardener. One sunny day last spring when he was but a wee little bundle of fluff I was on the phone to my mum chatting away,after a few minutes I realised Alfie wasn't sat sleeping on the sofa

This was him then, you'd think butter wouldn't melt

I put my head round the kitchen door to see him destroying a willow tripod thingy (made by my fair hands)I rushed out to yell at the little tyke and saw the horror and devestion one small pup with small Sharp teeth had done. The little ratbag had chewed through a clematis right down the base. Needless to say it never flowered last year and I was not a happy bunny.

However that little monkey actually did me and the clematis a favour, as this year its flowering its socks off from the ground right up to the dizzying heights of my climbing rose.

Clematis 'Ruby Glow'

There are two more clematis in the garden that are making my heart sing right now (as well as two montanas but these are at the top of the garden on the fence being nibbled by some cheeky young bullocks in the field, buts that's another story).

I have no idea what this one is, I picked it up at the end of march as a pot with a half dead looking twig at the village hardware store for 50p.

And the beautiful Guernsey Cream

Which I also picked up at the plant graveyard section of a local nursery. Everyone has space somewhere in their garden for a clematis. I've planted about 4 or 5 where ruby glow is, all beautifully tangled around the bare bottom of my old climbing rose. Remember to always plant them deeper than they are in the pot, you want to bury the first set of shoots. This will encourage great roots and will cut down the risk of the plant getting clematis wilt Clematis like their roots in the shade and their heads in the sun so cover the area where the roots are with a thick mulch or some piled up stones. One more thing some clematis flowers are prone to fading in bright full sun like the pink and white candy striped 'Nelly Moser' Plant them somewhere on the shadier side to keep the colours truer. One more thing clematis flowers aren't actually petals but modified sepals.


Jess x

P.S Since Monday I've been trying to compose a post about my day out last week but blogger has been acting up and taking ages to upload photos (one took so long that I was able to make a cup of tea, open a packet of biscuits make a phone call, then drink my tea and it still wasn't uploaded yet), so I gave up. However I think I've figured out what its problem is. So I'll try again later. Right now I need to shout and wave my arms about at the young bullocks

Thursdays favourite plant

This ones a cracker

Pulmonaria Lungwort or blue cowslip.


Image via flickr (and its a gorgeous photostream)

If you're looking for a beautiful early spring perennial, that's adored by big fat bumblebees looking for a yummy treat after a long cold winter, then I absolutely recommend Pulmonaria. A woodland edge native of mainland Europe its perfect for shady gardens or growing under trees or hedges. Its a really low maintenance plant, fairly low growing, and self seeding. Its fully hardy, disease resistant although it can be prone to powdery mildew in dry hot areas but this is easily dealt with by removing the dying leaves in autumn and disposing of them (never compost) and slugs have no interest in it neither do rabbits or deer. It will grow on all soils and is particularly happy on heavy clay soils.
There are many different varieties with different flower colour such as redstart (red flowered) and sissinghurst white (white flowered funnily enough) It also has lovely foliage which give it it's common name of lungwort (more on that later), There's a gorgeous one with metallic silver leaves which I've been hunting for for ages.

They produce masses and masses of flowers from the end of January (only if its mild) through to the end of April. I find a bit of deadheading helps prolong them.
One of the things I love most about the flowers is how they change colour, starting pink in bud opening to bright blue and fading to purple.

The reason Pulmonaria has the common name of lungwort is to do with the mottling on the leaves. Centuries ago doctors/herbalists saw features in plants that bore resemblance to Human body parts and aliments. These plants were then used to treat aliments and conditions. This philosophy became the doctrine of signitures. So lungwort resembling diseased lungs was used to treat pulmonary disorders. The Botanical name even represents this (I have an almost nerdish love of Latin names and their meanings and descriptions but I shan't bore you with that). Another good example of this is with the flower eyebright Lungwort was used during the bubonic plague to try and cure the black death.
Like most medicinal herbs it has a host of folkloric stories like being the herb of the virgin Mary with the spots on the leaves representing her tears and the changing of the flower colour the colour of crying eyes, and being able to ward of and reveal witch's. But nearly all plants in medieval times could do that except the ones that were used by witch's (I also have a nerdish love of plant history and folklore).

Jess xx

P.S how flipping fast do baby chicks grow, they are all sprouting wing feathers and leaping about like nobodies business, will get some photos up soon.

Thursdays favourite plant

Rosemary(Rosmarinus officinalis)

This is one herb I could never be without. If I was only allowed one herb no scratch that if i was only allowed one herb there would be a mutiny and I'd find a way of sneaking more in.
So Rosemary, I find the scent of rosemary so comforting and warm, there was always a huge bush of it in my mums old garden and I used to lie on the grass hidden by it reading Watership down and Narnia, so the smell reminds me of home. Its supposed to grow in the gardens where the women wears the trousers or if your rosemary grows rampant your daughters will never marry (not true well not in my case anyway) or something (I'll have to dig out my book on old wives tales) Its also considered a lucky plant to grow by your garden gate. Its also supposed to be really good for you drunk as a tea but as much I love the smell of it I've never fancied Drinking it.

I use Rosemary more in autumn and winter cooking, roast potatoes, stews, tomato pasta sauces, pumpkin soup etc. Its a very robust flavour that lends itself better towards the colder months than summer. Saying that though I keep a jar of sugar with a sprig of rosemary in the larder for baking, and I make a mean rosemary and honey cake with the little flowers sprinkled over the icing, that I only ever bake in summer. Just remember a little bit goes a long way.

Rosemary couldn't be easier to grow, just remember being a Mediterranean plant it needs really really good drainage. If you grow them in pots you want about 50/50 mix of compost and grit/sand. If it looks far to sandy then its about right. If you have it in the ground dig in plenty of sand/grit to the planting hole. If your soil is heavy and holds moisture or clay than I'd play it safe and grow them in pots. They can grow quite huge in the ground if they're happy. Ohh and never ever over water them.

There is more info here

One last thing watch out for Rosemary beetle. Why do all the nasty bugs look so pretty with the exception of beautiful beneficial ladybirds or the evil Vine weevil that looks quite harmless and dull.

Thursdays favourite plant

Lilies

What could be more beautiful than a lily?








I have no idea what the first two are called as I bought the bulbs last autumn and forgot to label them but the third one is an Asiatic lily called black pearl. I have a thing for dark plants (that I'll take about at a later date) and a thing for pirates so that one really appealed to me. Black pearl hasn't really got any fragrance worth talking about but the other two smell heavenly. I grow lilies in pots on my courtyard, my kitchen door opens out to them and the smell drifts into the house (I can smell them right now mmmmmm). I'm still waiting on a couple more plants to flower a huge white one and a delicate pink one.

Lilies are really easy to grow they just need good drainage and if you plant them in autumn some frost protection. They should come back year after year and you can propagate more by carefully digging up the bulbs and replanting all the little baby bulbs you'll find around the edge of the mother bulb. You might have to wait a few years for the babies to fatten up enough to flower but they will be worth the wait.
Also watch out for the evil lily beetle that will eat the leaves and prevent flowering.

Thursdays favourite plant

Dahlia

In the past I've never been to fussy about having dahlias but the last 2 years I've fallen head over heels for them. Now I must admit last years efforts were a bit rubbish. I didn't stake them, they got slug and earwig damage and the tubers/plants I picked weren't as good looking as the pictures on the packets. But that's one of the things I love most about gardening, there is always something to learn.
So this year I bought 1 tuber Black Narcissi (and a stack of lilies).

So I've learnt that if you plant them in march in a container of compost somewhere warm like a greenhouse or shed they will come up quicker and stronger, and you can take stem cutting to increase you stock (I didn't get round to that).
Plant them out when the frost are safely behind you, and don't forget to stake them with some twigs or canes. I managed to keep the slugs away but as you can see an earwig has had a little nibble. I remember my grandad (who used to grow them on the edge of his allotment) using a plant pot stuffed with straw stuck up on a cane to catch the earwigs. They'd hide in there during the day and could be easily dispatched with.

The next thing is what to do during the winter. You can either wait for the frosts to blacken off the stems. Then dig them up hang the rootstock upside down to let any moisture drain away, then store them somewhere frost free and warm (spare room, shed, kitchen cupboard!!!) in a pot of damp sand or old compost, till next spring. Or you can leave them in the ground but give them a really thick mulch to protect the from frost. If you live in the south I'd say leaving them in the ground would be fine but if you live further up north I'd dig them up.

Next year I'll grow a lot more for cut flowers and plant them around the edges of my veg patch (if I have room).

Thursdays favourite plant

Choosing just 1 plant is proving to be difficult so at times I might be indulgent and have a few.
So I have a bit of a woodland feel here today.

First up I have the gorgeous English bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta)



I'm really lucky to live near woods that are absolutely carpeted with bluebells in the spring, to me they epitomise an english spring. I don't think I need to say how lovely they are. Obviously they are protected by law in the wild but you can buy seed and nursery grown bulbs here and here
One thing with bluebells is to watch out for the Spanish ones (Hyacinthoides hispanica). These invaders cross pollinate with the natives and take over. It's quite easy to tell the difference the spanish bluebell is larger with a straight stem, bigger paler flowers, and no scent.

Solomon seal (polygonatum x hybridum)



I adore these plants, they're so graceful with their aching stems and green tipped white bells dangling under the leaves. It related to lily-of-the-valley and grows in woodlands (another native wood lander). There are a few different varieties of these(the "multiflorum" being the native)such as a variegated one and a bronze one that I saw at the chelsea flower show last year called "bethberg" that I'd love but have never been able to find. The name Solomon seal comes from notion that if you slice the rhizomes (thick root stock) you can see shapes and markings that resemble Hebrew script.
Polygonatums are really easy to grow but watch out for Solomon seal sawfly.These little swines will strip the leaves bare if they can, I pick the caterpillars of as soon as I see them and feed them to the chickens.

Bleeding hearts / dutchmens breeches (Dicentra spectabilis)



These babies originate from china and like a bit of shade and nice rich soil. They have such pretty heart shaped flowers, I love the pink ones but there's also a white variety as well.

All three of these plants look really good all planted together, and as a bonus they all like the same conditions.


One last thing don't forget to keep feeding the birds, It used to be said that birds only needed feeding in the winter months when food is scarce, but with all the rushing around they're doing catching bugs and flys for the babies, having a nice fat ball to grab a quick snack from will keep their energy up, but don't put whole peanuts out in case they try to feed them to the little ones, it'll make them choke.

jess x