Spring Gems and Woes

Published on by Catherine

This year hasn’t been as successful for my spring bulbs as I had hoped.

Several small pots were knocked over, and the contents spilled out. A couple of others had the gravel topping and compost scooped out. I don’t think that’s the type of damage I can accuse the slugs and snails of carrying out.

The main suspect is the same grey squirrel that has eaten my rhododendron buds for the second year. This garden is possibly the best restaurant for local wildlife in our neighbourhood. But if I see that grey squirrel, I won’t be responsible for what I might be tempted to do.

But there’s another problem – not all bulbs planted in pots have appeared. In some cases, 50% are missing. The tops of the pots are undisturbed, and I’m left wondering if something else has been at work that has entered from beneath the pot. Perhaps covering the pots’ drainage holes with mesh might help? However, let’s get on with this week’s Six on Saturday.

Iris reticulata ‘Purple Hill’. This iris is darker than shown on marketing materials, but that’s not a problem, as I love its rich colour. You can see in the second photo just how dark it is when it’s viewed from above.

  • Iris reticulata ‘Purple Hill’
  • Viewed from above

Narcissus Tete a Tete. These tiny Narcissi in pots are just starting to open up – later than usual, but it’s good to see you, Tete a Tete.

Narcissus Tete a Tete

Hellebore ‘Harvington Double Yellow’ has been shown recently, but as it’s the best-looking specimen in the garden at the moment, it’s worth another showing. It’s growing in a pot on the patio that gets more light than those in the Hellebore border. I might have to rethink that border and fill it with plants that enjoy lower levels of shade. Ferns and hostas might work. No, on second thoughts, not hostas. I’m not providing another juicy meal for the slimy Gastropods. It means, of course, that the hellebores will have to endure another move – but they coped ok with the last upheaval. I’ll have my fingers crossed.

  • Hellebore ‘Harvington Double Yellow’
  • Showing a little frost damage

Pink double Hellebore. This is one of the hellebores in the shady border. It looks quite bright in this photo, though that was achieved with some over-exposure in-camera. This week’s frosts have damaged most of the hellebores’ flower tips and leaves. Even so, I do love the frilled layers of double hellebores.

Hellebore

Crocus ‘Flower Record’ and Snowdrop ‘Beluga’. On a visit to the garden centre a few weeks ago to get some horticultural grit, I bought a few pots of crocuses and snowdrops. Before ordering bulbs next autumn, I wanted to see how well these varieties would hold up against the weather. The crocuses have flopped now, but they held up well, and the snowdrops are still upright and looking presentable.

Crocus ‘Flower Record’ & Galanthus elwesii ‘Beluga’

Mixed bulbs. We’re now back to the introductory photo. From the left: I can’t quite remember if the snowdrop is ‘Beluga’ or ‘Polar Bear’, and it’s too dark outside on this Friday night to go out to look at the label. Next is Crocus vernus ‘Vanguard’. It doesn’t have the strength of colours I was expecting. I feel it’s a bit insipid, but it will find a spot in one of the borders, and perhaps it will look better if it returns next year. Only a few Iris reticulata ‘Harmony’ grew in each pot the bulbs were planted into. At the front is Iris reticulata ‘Purple Hill’, also missing a few flowers.

Mixed bulbs

It’s been a very cold week with strong winds, though we’ve been very busy in the garden most days. I’m not complaining – although it’s been bitterly cold, it’s also been sunny and dry all week.

Last Saturday was, by far, the best of days – the wind dropped, and it was warm enough for me to work without a jacket and warm enough for me to sit outside and enjoy my afternoon snack while planning what work still had to be done (it was a long list!) Just one day, but perhaps a preview of what’s to come as the weeks slide by.

This Saturday is to be different: calm, with sunny spells, though the ‘feels-like’ temperature will be just 6C. On the bright side, though, I have four lovely bare-root roses to plant! Now, that’s the joy of gardening!

That was my six for Six on Saturday, and if you want to see what others are doing in their gardens right now, pop over to Jim’s site at Garden Ruminations.

Enjoy your weekend!

Catherine x

36 thoughts on “Spring Gems and Woes”

    1. Thanks, Fred. There should have been more bulbs in bloom, but I think that all bulbs will go into heftier pots next time. Perhaps I need to make allowances for the squirrel – probably it was really hungry. 🤔

      Liked by 1 person

  2. That’s irksome regarding the squirrel and the toppled pots – and also rather mysterious regarding the no-shows from the undisturbed pots. I don’t think any of the new batch of Iris reticulata ‘Alida’ I planted in the autumn have come up – unless the online seller sent me two lots of ‘Clairetta’ my mistake. I must get hold of some ‘Purple Hill’ come the autumn – it’s a wonderful rich colour and wow to ‘Harvington Double Yellow’ – it really is a beauty.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. That’s a pity about your Iris reticulata ‘Alida’, Graeme. I also grew a few pots of Iris reticulata ‘Harmony’ that bloomed quite early – but the colour definitely wasn’t Harmony, it was a pale greyish colour. Quite odd. But others that grew a few weeks later were fine. I think we’re very trusting when we buy bulbs that they are what it says on the label. Too often these days, they’re not. I. ‘Purple Hill’ is worth adding to your garden.

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I too had a poor/patchy result with newly planted Alida bulbs, with poor timing from the ones that did flower. I like them to come up and do their thing all at the same time and not have half of the not showing at all!

      Liked by 2 people

    1. Thanks, Gill. Lunch break is almost over and I’ll be back out shortly, without the jacket. There’s no wind. It’s cold in the shade, but in the sun, it’s really pleasant and that’s where I’ll work, happily ignoring all jobs waiting to be tackled at the bottom of the garden. 😁

      Liked by 1 person

  4. I can’t choose a favourite this week, Catherine, because, as ever, the photographs are stunning.

    Although I love watching grey squirrels’ antics, they are undoubtedly pests. In the past I’ve found that wire mesh in the top of pots helps keep them at bay, I remove the mesh when the foliage comes through.

    I buy crushed cockle shells from the garden centre, I wonder if a layer of those in the bottom of the pots would help with the pests getting into the pots from below?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, Helen. I think I’ll have to try putting mesh on top of the pots – I’ll make a note in my diary for future planting into pots. Crushed cockle shells might work at the bottom too. I think it was on Gardeners’ World last year that there was a tip to add wire mesh to the bottom of the pots instead of crocks – I haven’t seen a follow up to that idea though.

      Like

  5. I do cover my post of Daffodils and Tulips with mesh to stop the squirrels, the other bulbs have to fend for themselves.

    Ooh exciting roses for the future, I’m quite into roses although I keep trying to propagate them with middling success. I did buy one from Home Bargains for it’s purple colour, we shall see how it does.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’ll have to order some mesh so that I have it next time it’s needed, Rosie. The four roses are in, but the soil was awful! Full of large stones and sand – probably builder’s rubble. It’s been hidden under the grass for all those years and now the large strip of grass we had to remove prior to planting has revealed it all. So it turned into a major excavation. Loads of compost and manure later, the roses are planted! I hope yo have success with your purple rose!

      Like

    1. That’s such a pity that you can’t find hellebores. I buy most of mine online and occasionally in a local garden centre. Do online stores not sell them in Portugal?

      Like

  7. Such lovely spring blooms, even if some went missing. I might have one or two crocus that came with the house, but would like more. My muscari have not yet emerged. I had some growing by the lilac that had such a deep rich color – not sure if it was luck of the draw or if soil influences color. I think with the special lilac food I used to try to get the old ones going again, the pH is probably on the basic side, but they were striking last year, brighter and deeper than the ones growing by the daffodils that provided the seed. I use a flat section of bunny fence to keep squirrels from digging where I have just planted seeds or seedlings.

    Like

    1. I have no muscari in bloom so far, though they well pretty well under way this time last year. Perhaps I should use some of that special lilac food around the muscari plants. 🤔 We only have one squirrel that visits (although, it could be different individuals!) but it’s more annoying that it eats all the buds of the one rhododendron in the garden. If it was a red squirrel I’d probably be delighted – but it’s a grey and that’s a different story.

      Like

  8. Your bowl of Iris Purple Hill has helped revive my interest in Iris, I had quite given up with the results of mine this year. I shall certainly try those this autumn.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’ll be buying more Iris reticulata ‘Purple Hill’ for autumn planting. I hope it looks as good next year too (but I hope all the bulbs will grow!).

      Like

        1. All my pots (including the tulips) were kept in the garage until mid-January. After that we had so much rain that I thought the bulbs might rot and I considered moving them back to the garage. But in the middle of winter and miserable weather I left them all. Perhaps they were too dry, for too long in the garage and too wet outside? I wish I knew the answers. 🤔

          Like

  9. Those are such beautiful photos. I have had some problems with Iris reticulate not all emerging. I do not know the cause. In your case, the hellebores and daffodils more than make up for it.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, Dock.

      I’m having trouble posting on your blog tonight. I’ve tried three times but the comment doesn’t appear. I wonder if they’ve gone into spam?

      Like

  11. I have just ordered some mesh to put at the bottom of pots to try and prevent the slugs from gaining access. They do seem to love to live under my pots! It’s a shame about the lack of flowers, but you do have some beauties. I really like Iris reticulata ‘Purple Hill’ and might try and get some of those this autumn. I cram all 20 or 25 bulbs into my bowls, but never really count how many actually come up. I didn’t spot Harmony among your pots, they are a really sumptuous blue and I like them too. But as you and Graeme have mentioned we don’t always get what we asked for in the bulb orders.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I will order mesh to cover the bottom of the pots too, and I quite like Helen’s idea of also adding a layer of crushed cockle shells that will help with drainage and stop anything tiny that might get in. It really sounds like overkill but to stop that rogue squirrel digging out the bulbs I might have to put mesh on top as well. I feel as though I’ll be building bulb-growing cages!

      My Iris reticulata ‘Harmony’ were odd shades of pale grey. Most didn’t grow, but those that did were purple and not blue. 😐

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Your pots look lovely Catherine. I have come to accept that some of the bulbs I plant will not show… is it the quality of the bulbs? the compost/soil? mice or slugs? weather?!!!!

    I really like that yellow Hellebore. It has been very cold and windy here too, so I haven’t investigated but I think my yellow one may be flowering by now too. Hope you get perfect weather for rose planting this week! 😃

    Liked by 1 person

    1. You’re right, Cathy. There could be so many reasons for the poor growth of spring bulbs. At least my Tulips all appear to be growing. The roses are in and it will be fingers crossed until summer arrives as the soil was dreadful, and poor husband had to dig out masses of large stones, sand and rubble that had been under the grass, that is now the widened border. We’ve added a lot of manure & compost and can only hope for the best now. Enjoy your seed-sowing! 😁

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Oh ‘Purple Hill’ is certainly stunning Catherine – they positively glistens. I love iris reticulata although their flowering period always seems so brief 😢 Good luck with solving the mystery of what’s happening to your pots. It’s always disappointing when they don’t turn out as we had pictured them.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. When I empty the pots I can take a look to see what condition the bulbs are in. Meantime, my brain is now moving forward to summer planting & sowing! 🌻

      Like

Comments are closed.