Weird and Wonderful

Published on by Catherine

This week marked the end of most of the narcissi. Tête à Tête performed as reliably as it always does, but overall the narcissi have been a disappointment as flowering has been sporadic. Tête ‘Bouclé’ (that was so successful last year) offered flowers every so often but never enough to appreciate them as a whole. Tete ‘De Luxe’ behaved in the same way. Thalia produced very few stems (more below) and other unknown varieties were a bit sparse. I’m looking for reasons.

Our weather continues to be dismal with no end in sight, although I’m happy to report that Easter Monday was a great gardening day – I made the most of the sunshine and I had a ball! Thursday was dry, and bitterly cold in the morning but warm jackets and cosy accessories kept that east wind at bay. A little bit of gardening was tackled, a few photographs were taken and below you can see some of the plants that caught my eye this week.

Six on Saturday

Euphorbia amygdaloides ‘Purpurea’. Don’t you think this euphorbia has an almost alien appearance with its long ‘neck’ and yellow-green head? Or have I been watching too many sci-fi movies? The colours on this plant are exceptional, with muted green-purple leaves that morph perfectly into a rich, purple-red stem. The flowers will soon mature into the strong lime colour we’re familiar with in other euphorbias. It’s only a first-year plant and I’m sure it’s going to look great in a border when it thickens up over the next couple of years, but I still find it a little weird!

A little alien
From a seedling last October, the euphoria is now growing at quite a rate.

Aurora Orange Crown Imperial (Fritillaria imperialis ‘Aurora’) – I’m so pleased to see these Crown Imperial fritillarias starting to bloom. It’s my first time growing them, and if the flowers look half as good as they do in the ads, I’ll be over the moon. They’re still growing, and I really wanted them to bloom at the same time as some of the tulips, but I’m not sure if the timing will work out. Still, those big buds, sturdy stems, and stunning wavy leaves are a joy to behold – I reckon (and hope!) they’re going to be absolutely fantastic.

Fritillaria imperialis ‘Aurora’
The wavy leaves give a sense of movement to the plants

Muscari ‘Mountain Lady’. These resilient bulbs from last year have thrived in a pot with minimal care. The delicate white tips above the soft blue flowers are a lovely contrast to the rich blues of the other muscari in the garden borders.

Muscari ‘Mountain Lady’

Narcissus ‘Thalia’. I was surprised to discover Narcissus ‘Thalia’ growing in three different spots in one of the borders, even though I initially thought they had failed to return this year. Only one flower grows in each area, but I’ll mark their positions so I can plant a few more bulbs in autumn, then wait, in the hope of a better display next year.

‘Thalia’ a multi-headed trumpet daffodil

Myosotis (Forget-me-nots). Like many Spring plants, the little Forget-me-nots still have plenty of growing to do. They’re growing taller and covering the soil now, coming together and will soon form larger swathes of colour.

Forget-me-nots

Tulip praestans ‘Shogun’. I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for these little tulips to flower. It’s a gorgeous wee specimen with bright orange-tangerine flowers and as it’s perennial, it will be heading to one of the borders when it finishes flowering.

Tulip ‘Shogun’
Bright & Cheerful

As always, Six on Saturday is brought to us by Jim of Garden Ruminations. There you can meet other like-gardeners from across the world and have a peek at what what they’re growing.

Storm Kathleen is now upon us so I won’t be straying far from the house today. If the rain eases and the wind isn’t too scary, I might venture out and sow some seeds in the greenhouse. I have to admit, the heavy rain is getting tiresome. Have a lovely weekend, stay safe and stay happy!

Catherine 😊

PS: I’ll be away next weekend and won’t be posting on Six for Saturday, but hope to be able to catch up with all your news during the week.

28 thoughts on “Weird and Wonderful”

    1. Thank you, Helen. We have brilliant sunshine right now, and the tulips are opening – but the winds are scarily wild right now so there’s no hope of a photograph. I’ve had to give up sowing seeds in the greenhouse – I was getting worried that some of the glass was going to come in on me! Hope you’re having a good weekend.

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  3. Love your tulip Shogun, super colour and your muscari is unusual with its white top! I like your Euphorbia, I have one similar which seems to seed everywhere, hope yours is better behaved!

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    1. Thank you, Pauline, T. Shogun is a keeper. I’ll get these into the ground and order more for pots later in the year. Is there such a thing as a well-behaved euphorbia? 😁 It probably will self seed, just as the others do, but if you spot them early enough they’re easy to lift out. Sometimes!

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  5. Here it’s the tulips that are disappointing Catherine especially my pot of ‘Ballerina’ – far fewer than there should be 😭 To add insult to injury the flowers of six of them have been snapped off by some creature. Your ‘Shogun’ flowers glow and a tulip that is perennial is a bonus. The euphorbia looks like one that has appeared here by magic. Enjoy your weekend away.

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    1. Oh, that’s so disheartening, Anna. Ballerina is such a beautiful tulip (probably my No. 1 favourite!) I wonder what could have snapped the stems off. 🤔 I notice that a number of my tulip pots have big gaps and I know I planted evenly inside the pots – I wonder if some of the bulbs could have been munched on and damaged after planting?

      There’s no disturbance to the gravel top layer. But last night, Monty Don on Gardeners’ World mentioned slugs getting in through the bottom hole of the pot – that was something I’ve never thought about. Is that a possibility for your missing tulips?

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  7. I was interested to hear about your woes over Daffodils, it has been the same here. Not surprisingly I was looking at more Species tulips to add to my front garden, Shogun was on my list and after having seen yours, I have added two stars to that line. We shall miss you next week Catherine.

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    1. I wonder if it has been weather damage to the narcissi bulbs, Noelle? You’ve had a huge amount of rainfall too, haven’t you? I’ve googled but each search just brings up daffodil blindness and it’s not that as they are flowering. I suppose all we can do is try again next year and hope for the best!

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      1. I think we had a combination of factors: far too mild a winter, too much rain meaning not enough rain, too many slugs eating off the blooms. Perhaps Narcissus fly munching the bulbs the rest of the year, and yes I have seen evidence of this on occasion. My miniatures have really performed so poorly that I will definitely not be ‘investing’ in them again.

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  9. I’m sure I once bought a euphorbia purpurea, but it obviously didn’t survive. Your fritillaries are gorgeous, another one I’ve never had much success with. And Shogun is very pretty. Is that a species type? Not enough sun here for my tulips to look their best. It’s all rather dispiriting.

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    1. I’m desperately hoping that the fritillaries haven’t been snapped with the wind today. I could see from the window this evening that our rhubarb stems have been snapped off, and were blowing around!

      Yes, Shogun is a species tulip and I’m planning to add more of the various varieties to the borders for next spring. Here’s hoping we all get many days of sunshine soon to liven up our gardens (and us)! ☀️

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    1. Thank you, Barbara. Thalias are lovely and they stand up well to the wind and rain. But why I only have three growing is a mystery! 🤔

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    1. Thank you, Beth! Sorry for failing to reply! I can only think that this was my busy week just prior to going away for the weekend! I’ll have to be more diligent. 😐

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  13. Some beauties Catherine! I love Euphorbias and haven’t seen that one before. Isn’t it amazing how many different varieties there are! We currently have E. polychroma emerging. And that golden tulip is gorgeous – I have it too! Was it perhaps from Farmer Gracy’s? Mine is flowering now in The ‘Edge bed and I love it. I also grew a Fritillaria for the first time this year – just one orange one in a pot which has already finished flowering as it was in a warm sheltered spot. I wasn’t sure if I would like it enough to have in the garden, but it won me over, so a few may be planted in the garden in autumn. Hope you will share a picture of yours in full bloom. 😃

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    1. I completely missed this post, Cathy. Sorry. I had a busy week ahead and I slipped up. The tulip ‘Shogun’ came from Dutch Bulbs/Parkers Wholesale. I missed the Fritillaria at its best and by the time I saw it it was weather damaged. 😞

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