Thursday 7 June 2012

Mid to Late May and Early June

Sunshine and showers in extreme variation. But the garden's been looking really lovely.
The primulas have been a bit quiet this year. but the Francisca (above) which is unusual because the flowers are almost the same colour as the leaves, has lasted  through most of May and is still going, easily the longest lasting primrose family member I know. I really ought to move it to somewhere where it can be seen a bit better. But now that June is kicking off, the Bulleyanas are starting to pitch in with their party colours and patterns now in early June:
The early part of May brought the potentillas into blossom: the yellow one is Potentilla fruticosa 'Elizabeth', and the white one is Potentilla fruticosa 'Abbotswood'. Neither have any discernible scent, but the flowers are plentiful and last all summer. In between these two, I planted  Potentilla fruticosa 'Marian Red Robin' but it's like a mini version of the others, with much smaller leaves and far smaller overall size; it comes into leaf later and it's nowhere near flowering yet. As usual, we here at Daddy Green don't know why...

The lupins are a key part of the front border as they fill up masses of space with their huge flowers and dramatic leaves, because they are as reliable as can be, and because they keep going relentlessly through most of the summer, as long as you cut off the spent flowers once they've finished to make room for new ones. Ours were all grown from two sets of seeds, so as with the foxgloves, they only come in pink and purple - I'm working on that by growing some others for next year - but this year and the end of last they've been plagued by greenfly, which cover them so completely in parts that all you can see is insects. 
Anyway, the first trumpeting flowers began to colour up in the third week of May (below), and were off and running by a week later (lower pictures).


I mustn't forget the aquilegias (aka Columbine - my Mum called them Granny Bonnets) which I don't have any specific details for as I didn't buy any of them, just moved them around and planted their own seeds (they are incredibly easy to grow). This means again, bizarrely, that the options are mostly pink and purple, although the fancy one at the bottom is probably 'Nora Barlow' according to my researches.

Looking on the internet, there are lots more varieties, and I may try growing some, because they span the time from spring bulbs to other perennials coming into flower very well. These pictures were taken on 2nd June when they'd been out for a while and now - 7th June - they've all but gone. 

My early experiences of Hostas were that slugs and snails ate them greedily to bits. Full stop. But last year I inherited a couple and decided to pull them apart to make more; these grew a little but not much last summer, but this year they've come into their own and surprised me by producing some nice light purple flowers (is purple the colour of May and June?). The Korma has also grown magnificently all through the year and is now several feet in each direction and coming into flower. It also smells like curry whenever you rub your hand against the foliage, which is cool. 


And the solitary Snapdragon that sits besides two banks of Monkshood has flowered quickly before they get a chance to overshadow it. Great colours this (much more my flavour than the pinks and purples) but I've not yet managed to grow more from the seeds, sadly.
Finally, a less than spectacular but nice addition to the garden, the Vinca (major), aka Periwinkle. With leaves a bit like Ivy, it trails around as looks a bit messy, and then pulls a hosta-flower coloured (yes, pale purple) flower out of the bag at the end of May. A very functional flower, like a modern architect's idea of petals, but it is very reliable, and the leaves are evergreen, which is always good for the garden in the cold, dark months. 













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