Theses posts are just for me – a record of the garden month by month: what’s working and what isn’t and how it changes over the year. If you land here by accident, welcome. Feel free to walk on the grass.
Ch-ch-ch-ch- ch-changes
Dug out (large) stump of the choysia killed in January’s snow. Planted the surviving dahlia tuber at the beginning of the month, which survived initial slug attack and by the end of the month had put on good growth.
Advice from RHS for my nandina domestica dilemma (see hmmms for April): This is possibly due to apical dominance, where the upper most shoot produces hormones that repress the growth of lower ones … Cut back the main shoot now by a half or two thirds. This should encourage bushy growth from lower down. Bear in mind, these plants are fairly slow growing, so it may take a while before the plant fills out. Took out the leading shoot mid-month, let’s see if it makes a difference.
Kill or cure pruning of the lilac which produced long, whippy stems this year which bent over before flowering, hiding the flowers and obscuring everything at the end of the garden. Have cut back hard and will try to keep it trimmed so next year’s growth is less unruly.
New stuff:
- Six strawberries planted experimentally in a lined sieve.
- 8 Peacock orchid bulbs planted in the edge of the bed n front of the photinia. Bulbs quite elderly not sure they’re still viable.
- Patch of last year’s (maybe year before that’s?) honesty seeds in a little grid between the bay tree and the echinops.
- Six delphiniums in small groups along the West facing bed, 2 by the rose and four in the centre west-facing bed. Two annihilated by slugs, three surviving, one put into a pot to recuperate before being planted out when it’s strong enough to cope.
- Cosmos seeds planted in the centre patch of the main bed.
- five gladioli bulbs planted around the cordyline but they feel very soft and dead – stored too long?
- Marigold seeds in little box on top of the pier and the yellow pot that hangs on the drainpipe. Some planted into the bed by the shasta daisies – the slugs will love ’em.
- Towards the end of the month scattered Verbena seeds, Black Swan poppies and blue ball cornflowers in the back border; Black Swan poppies, escholzia and Nigella in the side beds around the cordyline and between the dogwood and the bay. Cornflowers and zinnias in the patch next to the honesty and the echinops. Stuck in some very randomly placed sunflowers along the West facing wall without any stakes.
- Sage, thyme, rosemary and oregano planted in pots.
Successes
It’s May, it’s impossible for the garden not to be luscious, and it looks fabulous. The only real frustration is not being able to capture its magnificence in photos. Pretty much everything has romped away, especially the weeds. Am trying to be relaxed about what the RHS are now calling ‘hero plants’, which means the lawn is 80% dandelions, ragwort and green alkanet, while the borders are full of purple dead nettle, lesser celandine, Kenilworth ivy and herb Robert (I know these names because I am photographing everything and running it through Picture This like a horticultural scene of crime officer).
Corner near the maple looks great – aquilegia, loosestrife, heuchera and alchemilla looking good, further along, the euphorbia is brilliant green and the day lilies and clumps of heleniums (transplanted in the autumn from the opposite bed) are doing well. The alliums have been brilliant all month and the woodruff and creeping jenny are covering the bed around the photinia (and threaten to engulf the ornamental grasses).
Clematis has survived its emergency transplant away from the ivy and is growing (slowly) up the pyracantha. Honeysuckle also growing (slowly) up through the ceanothus.
Corydalis is rapidly colonising the walls and steps around the patio.
Patch of Japanese anemones under the photinia is suddenly huge and spreading left and right. It will need to be divided in the autumn.
Hmmms
A few cosmos seedlings have come up but not much other seed success (though possibly not enough time for them to have done much yet). Something – foxes/cats/very large squirrels? – has been digging holes in the west-facing bed which will disturb the seeds – I may go back and top up supplies.
Cut black-spot affected leaves off the rose – not much rose left.
I curse my perennial foe, the slug.
Weather
Despite solid rain through April there’s been almost no rain in May and the soil already looks dry and dusty. Weather has been better, with a few really nice days but still cool and very windy.
Sole Trader PR 