June is busting out

Ch ch ch ch changes

• Took the salvia out of the big pot on the patio and planed it in the west facing bed by the guelder rose. Will disturb the seeds scattered there, but there’s been so much digging by foxes  recently they’re probably toast anyway.
• Planted up the big green pot to brighten up the corner by the tool store.
• Planted out the chocolate mint from a pot where it had grown pot- bound and looked doomed, into the ground behind the hebe. Not sure if I care if it spreads there – welcome ground cover if it survives!
• Planted 2 salvia blue angel in bed with the guelder rose. Moved the little yellow foxglove to under the bay – think it needs more shade.
• Lots of shoots coming from low on the trunk of the cordyline, will leave and see what happens.
• Delphiniums strong enough to go back into garden. Planted three in bed between the dogwood and the lilac. They look healthy enough but not putting on much growth.

Successes

• Might have been wrong about the bulbs I put in last month. There are shoots from the gladioli and the peacock orchids – not as many as I planted, but better than I was expecting.
• Mid-month cut the allliums – seed heads drying brilliantly in the house.
• Feverfew looks fantastic along east facing side.  Heuchera still flowering in east facing bed by end of the month.
• Transplanted helenium and day lilies have lots of buds on them. Cosmos and marigold seedling coming along. Achillea looking great – is taller than echinops, is that usual? Lots of buds on the shasta daisies and wildflowers in the lawn. Mowed the lawn once this month when the cloud of dandelions starting going to seed and it shows there’s now no grass at all at that end of the “lawn”.
• Nandina putting on lots of new growth after its pruning.

 Hmms

• Pictures from other years show the acanthus in full flower by the end of this month, but there’s no sign of that yet.
• RHS advice is that the photinia may have fireblight. Tree surgeon called for advice says that’s unlikely, it’s happened too quickly – tree might just be dead because of the weather conditions in the last year. No idea whether to get rid or hope it will regenerate if cut back.
• Creeping Jenny has been scorched by the heat and looks very sad. Verbascum over, have flowered but have been disappointing – lack of height and longevity. Burncoose stuff from the big order in the spring has been patchy: skimmia, viburnum, honey berry have done well, fox gloves and verbascum disappointing, Alchemilla and hydrangea OK but nothing spectacular.
• Fuchsia being eaten by something, Thought it was leaf cutter bees – cute – but now not cute at all, plant looking very ragged

 Weather

No rain at all until mid month then 3 days of rain in the last two weeks. Has been hot – temperatures up to 30 but the month is ending with high winds and temperatures round 18. No wonder the photinia has had enough.