February Favourite's

Good Morning!

Today's post is all about what has pleased me the most in my garden this month and it's a clear winner ... the flowering Iris reticulata in my Greenhouse!

Briefly describing these are early flowering bulbous perennials with narrow leaves alongside erect stems that hold the flowers. The flowering time can start in late Winter, Spring and early Summer. Iris reticulata reach up to 15cm high with a light fragrance, they are happy in a sunny position and will cope on most soils as long as it is well drained. 

Please note that these are deciduous which means that they will die back then reappear when they start back into growth the following year.

The varieties that I currently have growing are ...

 Iris reticulata 'Alida'

Iris reticulata 'Natascha'

Iris reticulata

I always enjoy having a few pots of these in Greenhouse as they bring some welcome pops of colour at this time of year, especially on those grey dreary days! After flowering I will plant them out into the borders of the garden adding extra interest there along with freeing up the pots for something else.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Purchases from Harrogate Spring Flower Show ...

Good Afternoon!

I had hoped to share this post a day or so earlier than this but due to one thing or another I haven't had the chance until now.

On Thursday I was lucky enough to visit the Harrogate Spring Flower Show, this was my first plant show as up here in the Yorkshire area there isn't that many. Today I thought I'd share with you my purchases and I surprisingly didn't buy as much as I'd thought I would ... in my next post I will share some photo's of other plants that caught my eye.

I managed to resist a few plants but these were my weakness ... AURICULAS!

The first 4 Auriculas were purchased from Drointon Nurseries which are actually located in Ripon, North Yorkshire. This isn't too far away from myself so maybe a visit to one of their open days will be on my to do list in the future!

 'Baggage' Striped Auricula

'Lord Saye-en-Sele' Striped Auricula

'Dovedale' Grey Edged Show Auricula

'Tay Tiger' Striped Auricula

I thought I was being rather well restrained just getting those 4 Auriculas, but then we came across another stall showing Auriculas and this time some doubles caught my eye! 

I purposely chose the plant with the most flower buds instead of open flowers on the following plant to prolong the flowering period for myself. As soon as it is in full bloom I will share a picture with you, trust me it is worth the wait as the petals have some lovely dusky tones! These two were purchased from W&S Lockyer.

'Nymph' Double Auricula

'Gwen Baker' Double Auricula

The blooms are a lovely yellow green shade.

Finally I also picked up this little Iris, the petals come in dusky shades of blue and brown which catch your eye right away. This was purchased from Bean Place Nursery.

Here's a snap of some in flower on a plant stand so you can see what can be expected ...

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy what is left of the weekend!

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

A Touch of Frost ...

Good Morning!

Last week during the frosty weather I went around the garden and took a few snaps of the some of the plants which looked particularly decorative with a dusting of frost.

As you can see from my selection it was the plants with the darker coloured foliage I found most attractive ...

Two different varieties of Heuchera

A dark foliaged Primrose that has also had an unwelcome nibble

Pittosporum 'Tom Thumb'

Clematis 'Winter Beauty'

and meanwhile over in the Greenhouse which is thankfully frost - free the Iris 'George'' 

I shared with you a week or so ago has been blooming away and has now also opened a second bloom. However the Iris is actually a deep purple and not blue as this photo depicts! 

Thanks for stopping by, I will be back with the Garden Checklist this weekend!

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

New Year Blooms ...

Good Morning!

I hope you have all enjoyed the Christmas  / New Year Break, it's flown by!
Today I thought I would share a few pics of what is currently in flower in my garden, what with all the mild weather we've had this Winter certain plants are flowering earlier than usual ... or simply haven't stopped! 

Why not take a look around your own garden and see what you can spot.

The White Speckled Hellebore I bought last year from a local garden centre is almost in full flower, a few weeks ahead than it should be.

Whereas my Hellebore 'Pink Beauty' planted in the ground is still forming buds.

Although it's not technically in flower, the brightness of the foliage of my 'Leucothoe Fontanesiana Makijaz' always catches my eye when I walk past it, especially when it's just been raining!

My Alstroemeria Inca 'Ice Koice' hasn't stopped flowering although this is the only stem with flower buds left than I can see.

I took two cuttings from my Hebe 'Pearl of Paradise' the year before last which have grown into good size plants. The one that is still remaining in a pot has started to flower this week.

Flowers have also appeared on the Viburnum 'Tinus' which is right for this time of year, the following photograph is from the plant in the back garden with just a few flowers, it was also attacked by Viburnum Beetle in the Summer. However the one planted in the border at the front of the house, albeit a bit smaller is covered in flowers!

The Euphorbia in the GH border has an early flower spike whilst the one in a pot hasn't any but looks equally impressive when it's glistening with rain.

The Winter flowering Clematis 'Winter Beauty' growing against the shed is in it's first year of flower. I've been watching the flower buds grow over the past month or so and one of them finally bloomed yesterday!

My Purple Penstemon hasn't stopped flowering since last Summer.

Nor has the Climbing Rose 'Hiedelberg'

... and finally the Iris 'George' that I have under cover in the Greenhouse is showing signs of colour!

Thanks for stopping by!

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!

I thought I would start a Weekly post with little tips on things that you could be doing this week in your garden. Kind of like a Garden Checklist! We shall see how it goes for a few weeks and please feel free to give me any feedback, good or bad, so I can try to make it more helpful to you.

1. Cut Back Delphiniums - If your Delphiniums are going over after blooming for the past few weeks (e.g. withering up & falling over and flowers turning brown) then it is time to cut them back. Cut the flower stalk right down to the ground to help the plant reserve it's energy and you never know, you might be one of those lucky people who get a second flush of blooms later in the year! 

If there are some flowering side shoots that are still looking good and you can't bear to put them in the compost bin then do what I do and pop them in a vase, you can then appreciate them for a little longer.

2. Deadhead Iris's - Iris blooms don't last very long so once they are finished the best thing to do is to cut them down. The petals turn brown which isn't the nicest thing to look at so just like above, cut the flower stalks down to the base. 

3. Water Hanging Baskets & Pots - Now the weather is getting hotter it's essential not to let your baskets and pots dry out. Trust me it only takes forgetting to do it for a day or two and before you know it they're a dried out flattened mess! Check them every evening and give them a good soaking and if the weather is really hot check them on a morning too! If however you do forget simply dunk them in a water butt and leave to soak on the floor for a couple of hours to try and revive them.

4. Start Sowing Winter Bedding - I know it may feel like a long way off but now is the time to start sowing your Winter Bedding or ordering it before it sells out.

To start off with I have already ordered some Bellis - Pomponette & Trailing Viola's along with sowing some Wallflower - Aurora Seeds. To do this simply sow them in a seed tray, cover with a light sprinkling of compost and then place somewhere outside but not in direct sunlight to germinate.

5. Spray Roses - If you haven't done so already this time of year is when you should be spraying your Roses. I use 'Rose Clear' every 6 weeks which helps control diseases and aphids. Make sure you read the instructions before use, this is the only chemical I use in my garden, we can't all be perfect! lol

I hope you have found this Checklist helpful!
Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Meanwhile In The Garden ...

Good Morning!

Finally it is the weekend again and I wanted to share some photo's with you that I took earlier in the week. Now the weather has warmed up everything seems to be crying out for a photograph!

First up is the Orange Tree that I am currently looking after for my parents. I sowed it from seed when I was a child and they have kept it ever since, although it has never fruited, nor had a change of compost ... until now lol After re-potting into some fresh compost you can see that the tree is putting on lots of new leaf growth and since taking this photo I have moved it outside.

On Monday I pulled out some of the staging in the GH to make space and lined it up against the outside to display some plants and harden off the baskets.

On the same day I planted up a pot with a mix of Dianthus, Zinnia and Petunia's.

My Pelargonium 'Blanche Roche' has developed a lovely flower head.

The Pelargonium 'Bergpalais' has also started to bloom that I brought home a couple of weeks ago.

Pelargonium 'Tomcat' provides that flash of vibrant colour.

This week I also had my first proper harvest of the Radishes and Spring Onion that I sowed in the Raised Bed!

Finally I shall leave you with one of the Iris's I have in a larger pot that hadn't flowered until this week, I love the pale blue of this one.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your weekends!

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

A Little Bit Of Sunshine ...

Good Morning!

A little bit of sunshine goes a long way and judging from the past few days the plants have lapped it up! Although as you are reading this the weather has turned back to rain but atleast it gives everything a good water! 

Let's start off with the Patio table next to the Veg bed where I have arranged a selection of Nemesia & Diascia in the centre as a focal point.

We have also had our first harvest from the Veg Bed which is one of the Radishes! The Spring Onions don't look too far off either so hopefully we will have a few things to harvest this weekend.

The veg bed now has some netting over it (added since taking this photo) to help stop the birds pecking at the lettuce and the Alliums are still providing a great border.

Against the veg bed you can see the 'Abutilon' and the Iris's have finally flowered!

Last weekend I tidied up one side of the lawn by extending the beds a bit more which will be planted up with Annuals to fill the gaps. You can see the Geum's and Aquilega's are bursting with colour!

In the Greenhouse my Pelargoniums are starting to show their blooms ...

The 'Black Cherry' Petunia has also started coming into flower and I love the deep richness of the red.

Finally the Clematis at the front of the house we planted last year is still only very small but one of it's buds flowered this week and the 'Bee's Jubilee' is definitely the bee's knees!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a great weekend!

HAPPY GROWING!
XXX