Rain Please

Published on by Catherine

Heavy rain is forecast for this weekend and although I’ve enjoyed the abundant sunshine recently, the garden has quickly become like a wasteland. I can’t believe I’m complaining from this rainy country about having no rain for a couple of weeks. Frosty mornings, blue skies and loads of sunshine – how can anyone possibly be grumbling about that! The garden soil is like concrete and digging holes to get plants in has been a tough job. The garden hose isn’t enough to give the soil the depth of water it needs.

There is very little growing in the garden, plant growth is way behind and they’re clearly suffering, so I hope that this weekend’s rain works its magic and green shoots will finally produce spring flowers and allow summer-flowering perennials to start growing. Six on Saturday this week has been a challenge, but here’s what has caught my attention this week.

Pansy Frizzle Sizzle Yellow Blue Swirl. Only two pansies survived whatever attacked the rest of my newly potted-on Viola and Pansy young plants that I bought last August. They lasted only two weeks, on a table in the garden, out of harm’s way – but something got to them. The two survivors were taken into the safety of the greenhouse, and now have started flowering. Two pansies won’t make a display though and replacements are needed! Read that as a garden centre visit is needed! I love the colours of the first pansy, but not so much, the second.

  • The colours are appealing…
  • …But not so much on this one

Nepeta grandiflora ‘Summer Magic’ and ‘Six Hills Giant’. The four Nepeta ‘Summer Magic’ and three Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’ will be planted as companion plants to the roses we planted recently. I’ve heard that cats love them, but the last thing I want to do is encourage neighbourhood cats into the garden. I’m collecting rose prunings to put on the soil around the plants in the hope it will keep them away.

  • Nepeta ‘Six Hills Magic’
  • Nepeta grandiflora ‘Summer Magic’

Brunnera ‘Mr. Morse’. Three of these tiny brunneras will be planted along the greenhouse border when they’ve gained some weight. It’s an area that snails seem to love, so I’ll have to try pots of Jim’s special slug extermination mix in this border.

Brunnera ‘Mr. Morse’

Rhubarb ‘Timperley Early’ & ‘Fulton’s Strawberry Surprise’. We’ve been enjoying Timperley Early for a few weeks now, picking the sweet, slender new stems. The photo doesn’t reflect the size, which is 1m sq – at the moment. It will grow much larger. Timperley Early was given to us by a friend about 28 years ago and has been divided often and passed on to others. Fulton’s Strawberry Surprise was bought last year, so we haven’t tasted it yet. Apparently, it has been ‘voted the best flavoured rhubarb in the RHS Wisley trials’ so I’m looking forward to a taste in May. Yum!

  • Rhubarb ‘Timperley Early’
  • Rhubarb ‘Fultons Strawberry Delight’

New growth, Lupin ‘Melody’ and Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’. Lupin ‘Melody’ was new last year and it’s good to see it growing so well this year. It’s a shorter lupin, suitable for growing in a pot. I dug out all the other lupins in the garden a few weeks ago, but to make up for that, I’ve sown seeds and 8 out of 12 little lupin seeds have germinated. I’ll follow up with a second sowing of a different variety. Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ has been lifted and is in a temporary pot, where it seems to be quite happy, but I need to decide where its permanent home is going to be.

  • Lupin ‘Melody’
  • Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’

Brunnera ‘Alexander’s Great’. For the past few years, this brunnera has been growing in a tall pot that allows the leaves to flow over the top. It’s moving house and will sit in a shorter, but larger, pot on the patio where it will get more light than the very shady spot that’s been its home.

  • Tiny flowers of the brunnera
  • Pink buds
  • Buds & flowers
  • Beautiful young leaves

That’s my Six on Saturday offering for this week. I’m heading out this morning to visit the hairdresser and taking my umbrella with me. No, I won’t be singing in the rain. 😁 I’ll just be happy to know that the garden will be getting watered.

If you want to join in with other Sixers, go to Jim’s website, Garden Ruminations and you will find out how to take part, or just enjoy seeing what magic other gardeners across the miles are working in their gardens.

Have a great weekend!

Catherine x

33 thoughts on “Rain Please”

    1. Aww, thank you, Fred. That’s really kind of you to say that. 😊 You’d probably be horrified to know how many shots I sometimes take before I find one that I’m happy with!

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  2. There are enough neighbourhood cats visiting our garden already so, much as I love nepeta, I won’t be growing it again. The brunnera is beautiful, such exquisite flowers.

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    1. It is of course, a great excuse/reason to go on a shopping trip, Rosie. 😄 It’s really the smaller violas that I want for flower pressing that I started doing last year. But I also want a decent display in pots at the front door.

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    1. I’m sure your rhubarb will be well worth waiting for. I had intended the pansies & violas would be in pots on my front steps too, but I hope to replace them before too long.

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  6. I’ve looked up Brunnera ‘Alexander’s Great’ and now I can imagine it growing in a pot and its foliage being a very good replacement for Hostas but without the worry of the slugs rampaging through the pot. The Rhubarb is superb, enjoy!

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    1. Brunnera ‘Alexander’s Great’ was kept in a tall pot (about 1m high), Noelle, so slugs didn’t get near it. But I also have B. ‘Jack Frost’ in a raised bed, and last year it made a great meal for slugs & snails along with the hosts in the same bed. 😐 I’ll lift ‘Jack Frost’ shortly and get it into a pot.

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  7. I’m getting concerned about the size of rhubarb plants! Is it possible to use large containers? Your photos are beautiful. I know, I am repeating myself! And how pretty is that Brunnera. Mine wa so badly eaten last year it took months to recover, it’s growing now but I’m not sure it is as unblemished as yours is. As for the rain. I’ve had enough now. More sunshine please!

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    1. Timperley Early is a very old plant, and has spread, Jude. It needs to be divided again.

      Fulton’s Strawberry Surprise is growing in a 20 litre plastic pot. Detail with the plant says it “grows to a height of 60cm, along with a spread of 120cm. It works well added to patio containers and borders”. It grow to that size for a while though and I think it should be fine in the pot for a few years. I bought it last year abound the same time as you bought your rhubarb.

      But if you’re regularly pulling the stalks, it will help keep the size down. The older, larger stalks have huge leaves (poisonous) and they take up a lot of space. Fortunately our neighbours like rhubarb and we pass it around – sometimes getting rhubarb muffins back in return! 😁

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      1. Oh, thanks for the advice. Mine are still very small, but I will check on them. I have some large containers so I think I’ll use those rather than the ground (I don’t have a lot of space). Any special compost?

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        1. I’ve seen some sites recommend that you use a soil-based compost + manure. But mine went into multi-purpose (I can’t remember if I added manure,) but It’s had a good mulch of manure this year.

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  8. Desperate for rain here too Catherine! We had some gentle stuff last night and the forecast is predicting heavy rain tonight 🤞 I hope that your weather forecast is correct. Pretty little pansy faces but who comes up with these dreadful names I wonder. My brunneras are only just showing colour. I must look ‘Alexander’ up – such an intense colour.

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    1. We had very heavy rain during the wee hours of Saturday morning and again last night, though it tailed off during the day and the sun appeared on both days. Now if it would just always rain at night and leave us with a good day, wouldn’t that be perfect! I hope you get your much-needed rain too, Anna. Overnight, preferably! 😂
      I’m looking forward to seeing B. Alexander’s Great grow to its full size, now that it’s been moved to a brighter location.

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    1. I have B. ‘Jack Frost’ and it’s just wakened from its winter’s sleep. Alexander’s Great is well ahead in the flower race. Hope you get the rain you need, Chloris. 

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  11. I hope you’ll get the needed rain. I understand how that works; my part of the Midwest U.S. generally has variable years. But when it’s super dry for a stretch, none of the plants are happy except for the succulents and drought-tolerant ones. All your plants look healthy and beautiful! The Violets are stunning, and the Rhubarb–wow! Mine is just starting to emerge from the soil. Happy Spring!

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    1. The rain did come, Beth – and it kindly fell overnight and watered the fields and gardens. The plants are looking better and the soil is workable. 😁 We don’t normally get prolonged dry spells the way you do, our country is well known as umbrella territory. That rhubarb is an early variety, I’m sure yours will be on the table before too long!

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  12. The Brunnera is beautiful Catherine, and your photos are wonderful! Isn’t the new lupin foliage pretty? And your rhubarb looks lovely. I am envious. I have planted about five plants in different locations since moving here and none of them have provided a single stem. Most have in fact now died and one usually appears with a few leaves to taunt me, but then hugs the ground. I give up! 😩 Hope you got/get the rain you need!

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    1. Thank you, Cathy. Some varieties of rhubarb grow well in pots – have you tried growing it in a large container instead of the ground? The rain has watered the garden well – with heaps more to come tomorrow. Can you get too much of a good thing… 🤔

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  13. Hi Catherine, apart from the summer of 76, I can’t imagine the UK being short of rain. The climate seems to be changing. All the blogs I ahve read today we have all said this year the grwoing season has started later this year than last.

    I have rhubarb envy. Rhubarb will not grow for me. gutted because it is not something that is sold in the shops and markets heare. there is nothing quite like a homemade rhubarb crumble and custard 🙂

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    1. Sorry – I missed your comment. 🙁 Have you tried growing rhubarb in a pot? You would only have to make sure that it’s kept well watered – all they need is come decent compost, a large container and plenty of water. My new plant is Fulton’s Strawberry Surprise, it’s in a pot and I’m looking forward to a taste this summer. 😁

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      1. Hi Catherine, yep I tried several times to grow in a pot. It grew for a while gave me a couple of stalks but then died off and refused to be revived. Someone said our summers were too hot?

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