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).

Roses

Rose's are one of my all time favorite plants. They are so beautiful and romantic I think everyone should have one in their garden.
There are many different types ranging from huge rambling climbers to miniature ground covering to the more unusual species types. I must admit I'm a bit particular about the types I like I'm not really a fan of the large flowered Hybrid tea roses. I love the old fashioned scented varieties commonly known as the English rose's or David Austin these have been specially bred to have the old world charm and beauty with modern hardiness, longer flowering and a better degree of disease resistance. They are also (mostly) wonderfully fragrant.

One of my favorites is jubilee celebration



I mean come on just look at that flower.
This one has a delicious scent like strawberries, honey and tea. Yesterday I made some rose petal jam, with petals from this baby and it tastes heavenly.

When I moved in to my cottage I inherited 3 roses in the garden, a unruly white climber that had nothing much to climb up a pink rugosa and a weeping standard. Now I've never really been keen on standard rose's they're a bit old fashioned (not in a cool vintage way) and quite twee, certainly not something I'd of ever thought of buying but I'm so in love with mine


This one's called "Felicite Perpetue" but I affectionately call her flick. I love her little pom pom flowers

I also have a thing for the more unusual rose's like this one and if I had more room I'd love one of these and one of these but unless I do away with the chickens (which will never happen) I'll just have to make do with the 12 I have crammed in the garden.
Here's some more.

This is Rosa glauca,


This is William Lobb


This was supposed to be this obviously its not (bought as a bareroot plant in the winter)but I like it. Although I have a horrible feeling it might be something like a Kiftsgate If it is will just grow and grow. Hmmm maybe I should investigate that one

Thursdays favourite plant (on a friday)

Ok so a day late but here we go;



This little cutie is Viola sororia "Freckles"

Isn't she pretty,

This is a spring flowering perennial violet and it's almost finished flowering in my garden, I love violets and when I saw this one a few years ago I just had to have it, I choose the plant with the most seedlings around the edge of the pot (serious self seeder) and was able to raise loads more of them to plant around the garden.

I love polka dots and spots and they look extra cute on flowers.
I've got my eye on another viola at the moment is Viola odorata sulphurea
But I'm not sure if I have any space!!!!

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

cherry blossom

Ok so it's been in flower for a week or two now, but isn't is pretty. (it's just starting to gently rain blossom confetti whenever the wind blows)