There’s been a lengthy debate taking place in my head for months about whether I should give dahlias a second chance. My 2023 dahlias were horribly disappointing. That failure could have been due to many factors, and I’m not sure it’s worth trying to analyse what went wrong. It happened, it’s over.
Before deciding to abandon them, I thought I’d look back over the past few years at dahlias that were more successful than recent efforts.
Continue reading “Dalia Decision Time”
Six on Saturday
New Year’s Day found me in the greenhouse potting on Erysimums, or wallflowers as otherwise known, that I bought last October as ‘jumbo’ seedlings. They’ve been sitting outside in 10cm pots since then, but by December, their roots were poking through the bottoms. I still hadn’t found a spot for them in the garden, so repotting them was at the top of my to-do list for the new year.
There are four plants each of ‘Fire King, ‘Ruby Gem’ and ‘Vulcan’. It didn’t take too long and I was pleased with my New Year’s Day achievement. With plenty of added drainage in the pots, they were shifted back outside before they got too comfy in the dry greenhouse.
Continue reading “New Year’s Day”
A long time ago, when we first started working on this garden, I went to our local nursery to buy a conifer. They were all the rage back then. I found one that caught my eye, and the elderly gentleman next to me glanced at the plant in my hands and said, “That plant grows very, very, slowly.” He pointed to a few others that he thought would be a better purchase. He was trying to tell me to put it back and choose a faster-growing plant. I knew he was being kind, and his knowledge of plants had to be much greater than mine. I knew nothing. But I was drawn to this tiny plant, so I thanked him, went to the till, paid and returned home to plant it.
Continue reading “Time”
Six on Saturday
It’s almost the end of 2023 – it seems to have arrived so quickly! For my final Six on Saturday of 2023, I have five topics and ten photos, and I know that’s a slight deviation from the normal requirements, but I hope our host, Jim won’t object!
Frosted Cotoneaster Horizontalis
The one plant in my garden that takes on the most Christmassy appearance is the Cotoneaster. Those bright red berries and tiny leaves coated in white wouldn’t look out of place as a decoration on top of a Christmas cake, but the frost would melt away as soon as it reached the kitchen, wouldn’t it! I’ll leave it where it is. 😁
Continue reading “Christmas Berries, Buds & First Snow”
Last month I headed into the garden determined to bring my wayward rose bushes under control before winter arrived. Many were out of control with long, floppy stems, waving around in the wind like they had a mind of their own. I was late in getting started with this job, it should have been dealt with weeks before but they still had to be tamed as winter damage to the stems could result in damage to the whole plant.
It was a chilly, but sunny morning, and the sun was in my eyes. Mostly I was looking downwards and I didn’t notice, until I lifted my head, that I was cutting off stems with gorgeous big, fat, rose hips. Oh dear.
Continue reading “Rose Hips”
Notes From My Garden 