A Bit of Everything ...

Good Morning!

Today's post is a mix of everything from a selection of photo's taken in the past week. They're all photo's of things that are looking good at the moment. To start off with one of the Roses I planted into pots in Winter has shared some of it's first blooms! Unfortunately I don't know what any of the varieties are as they were a mixed lot. However the one that is currently flowering looks like it could well be 'Wendy Cussons' and it has such a sweet perfume.

I also spotted another Rose that was starting to bloom yesterday, and upon the petals fully opening I was able to identify it as 'Rhapsody in Blue'.

The Nasturtiums are doing well and flowering in a lush red shade.

There has been yet more additions after a weekend trip out and as you all know I am unable to go to a GC and not come back with anything!

I couldn't resist this Rhododendron 'Dreamland' that had been reduced and seeing I had this pot and some Ericaceous Compost already I couldn't resist buying it.

The Cornflowers in the garden are starting to flower and I love how vibrant the shade of blue is.

The Brocolli plants in the Raised Bed are doing well and as you can see the Lettuce's are ready to harvest which will be replaced with a row of Marigolds. You can't see but next to the Lettuce's is a row of Chard then Radishes & more Lettuce seedlings.

In the Greenhouse you can see that the Gherkin plant is doing well too, with lot's of flowers and baby Gherkins appearing!

The Cucamelon seedlings are starting to get bigger now and I sowed another batch of Veggies for the Raised Bed yesterday too.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Light & Shade ...

Good Morning!

Today's post is a quick way to help you choose which plants go where in the garden. As you know plants can be very particular about where they do and don't like to go e.g. full sun, part shade, full shade ...

The best way to determine which part of your garden is best for each particular plant is to watch where the sun lands at certain times of the day. That way you can see where gets the most light and shade. You can do this by taking photo's at certain intervals like I have or simply sit back on a comfy chair and watch the day go by around you!

9am

As you can see the garden is pretty much covered in shade except for the far end where the GH is.

11am 

The light has improved but as you can see the sun has only reached the box ball where the lawn begins so far. Although the border near the shed on the left receives a fair bit of sun.

1pm

The garden is now covered in full sunlight with slight shade under the neighbour's tree in the left border.

4pm

Shade has now crept fully in on the left side border.

7pm

Just like in the morning the garden is pretty much covered in shade once again apart from where the GH is.

By doing this it has helped me understand about where certain things will thrive better. As you can tell my garden gets quite a lot of shade in the left border so that has a few shade tolerant plants, such as Hellebores & Astrantia's planted in it. It has also helped me spot that the far end of the garden gets a lot of sun which is great for my Tomatoes in the GH and sun loving plants!

I hope this little tip has encouraged you to try this yourselves and who knows it may even help you figure out your planting schemes!

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Cuttings ...

Good Morning!

Do you remember the Fuschia cuttings that I took a few weeks ago? Well it was time to pot them on yet again this week and as you can see they have developed a good root system.

Fuchsia 'Mrs Popple'

It's also a good time to take some cuttings from your shrubs now. 

I decided to take some Box and Hebe 'Pearl of Paradise' cuttings. Speaking of which the Hebe is in full flower in the garden and brightens up the shady place that it is in wonderfully!

Just like with Fuschia cuttings make sure you cut beneath a leaf joint and use healthy new growth that isn't flowering. Trim back the lower leafs from the cutting.

Dip the cutting into some Rooting Powder...

Place the cutting into some compost & vermiculite which has been watered and keep in a warm place, but out of direct sunlight. Fingers crossed in the next few weeks we shall have some more plants!

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Instant Summer Colour Part 2 ...

Good Morning!

I'm back as promised with the rest of my purchases from last week. Here's a close-up look at what they were. First is this lovely Summer flowering Clematis called 'Prince Charles'.

I planted the Clematis against a fence to add some colour and height. I will also be pairing it with an Evergreen climber once I have decided on what I want!

When digging the planting hole for Clematis you need to make sure the hole is really deep. I also added some Fish, Blood & Bone to the planting hole.

The Clematis needs to be 3 inches or more below the surface when planting.

Fill the planting hole back up with compost and soil and always make sure you give Clematis a good soak when planting. I use a full watering can as they need to be well watered in!

Finish the planting off by providing a structure for the Clematis to climb up. Don't worry if it's unsightly as once the climber has become established you won't be able to see it.

The second plant was a Geranium 'New Dimension' which I have planted in the same border, this will gradually spread and give ground cover but until then you can see from the previous photo I have added some leftover bedding Petunia's to fill the space.

You can see that the foliage matches the Heuchera on the left that I planted last year.

One of the other Annuals in the border are 'Nigella' plants and with their soft blue's and creams they work really well with the new additions.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Instant Summer Colour ...

Good Morning!

Today's post is a quick one to do with adding instant summer colour! Over the weekend I bought a few additions including these lovely frost proof pots which I seem to be building a collection of!

As you can see this photo includes a Clematis and Geranium which I will have more information on later in the week ...

Back to the instant colour which is what I wanted to add to one of the slightly shady spots in the garden. I teamed the new white pot with these pastel double begonais. These work great in both light and shady conditions and give a great impact.

With larger containers I tend to add polystyrene pieces to the bottom of the pots which not only aids drainage but also cuts down the amount of compost that you need to use.

Once the pot was filled with compost and slow release plant food I added the Begonias. I know it doesn't look much now but once the plants have become more established it will make a great feature.

I also couldn't resist this smaller pot and Cape Daisy which can't help but catch your eye.

I added these pots to the other 3 I have of the same make (this time in red) in the shady corner. Incase your interested the larger pots are holding Agapanthus plants and the smaller one is a Dianthus.

The eagle eyes of you may have noticed in a previous pot that I have another white pot by this make which is currently holding an Azalea in another corner.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY CRAFTING!

XXX

Under Glass ...

Good Morning!

There's still a few things in the Greenhouse so today I thought I would share with you exactly what they are!

Yes there is in fact still some seedlings in there, not many though. Just a few Calendula, Diascia & Coleus waiting to be planted up into pots when they're a bit bigger. The Cucamelon seeds have also germinated.

There are some 'Sweet Sultans' seedlings which will be be planted in pots where the Alliums around the Raised Bed currently are. Of course they won't be as tall but at 60cm with powdery puff blooms they will still make a nice feature.

I also have a few Marigolds which will be dotted around the Greenhouse and in the Raised Bed to help deter pests. Along with this tub of Nasturtiums which is trailing down some staging next to my TomTato's.

Of which you can see are coming along nicely here.

The other Tomato plants are coming on well too. Sungold are still ahead needing regular pinching out of the side shoots along with the Alicante & Golden Sunrise. The plants are showing lots of flowers which is a good sign!

 Note - You only need to pinch out side shoots on cordon Tomatoes.

One of the Sungold plants is even showing some fruits so it's time to start giving that plant a feed!

TIP - Start feeding your Tomato plants regularly once the first set of fruits are showing.

The Cucumber - Gherkin & Red Pepper plants are coming along nicely although even though I have Marigolds and Yellow sticky Traps hung up they seem to attracting whitefly. Spraying a soap solution is another way I am trying to deter them with.

Finally I have a shelf of Fuchsia cuttings with potted Marigolds surrounding them along with an Orchid, an Amaryllis bulb and a potted Calendula.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX