In my little garden

Honey's picture
Submitted by Honey on Thu, 04/27/2006 - 9:49am.

Well, Spring seems to have finally sprung here in England, and I feel all gardeny again Big grin

Today my sweet peas arrived and I planted them all along the fence Smiling I adore sweet peas, they are my absolute favourite flower. I have them in the house all the time in the summer and give them to all my friends.

The forsythias (I have two, back and front) have finished blooming and I cut them back today. The ceonothus is budding - mine is very small yet, but my neighbour has a monster one which he is very kindly not pruning and a couple of feet of it is visible over my fence Smiling My pieris forest flame is looking gorgeous, it's one of my favourites with its red and green foliage and white flowers. I have scented stocks which I didn't pull up last year (lazy me) and they actually survived the winter, I just gave them a haircut a couple of weeks ago and they are looking lovely and smelling divine. The broom is budding up too. I am waiting for my white solanum to do something - it had been in a small pot since last year, it now has a home in the ground, but it's looking a bit depressed. What else? The forget me nots are blooming (I took some from my dear Auntie's garden after she died two years ago, and it's been growing in my garden ever since). There is love-in-a-mist coming up all over the place (I shook last year's seed pods around a bit). The grape hyacinths are looking sweet. My lavender is looking well, and has increased in size quite a bit (it was a small plant last year) and the campanula is enormous - might have to do something about that if it gets in the lavender's way. And my favourite thing this year - the clematis I planted THREE years ago which has grown and grown all along my fence but never flowered, until I was beginning to despair it ever would, is absolutely smothered in bud. When they open I will take a photo Smiling

New this year - this year I have planted a dwarf red rhododendron in a pot, a purple hydrangea (which is in the ground, but I think I may change my mind and put it in a pot too) and a red climbing jasmine.

I have also planted vinca major (periwinkle) underneath our privet hedge - the ground is dry and all knarled up with privet roots but I think vinca will cope with that. I want wallflowers there next year too, so they peep through the privet hedge to the street outside. I'm also planning everlasting peas growing over the hedge.

I have been given lots of seeds this year, by a retiring friend who used to work for a seed company. I am planning a cottage garden style, at least in part of the garden. I want to look for a climbing rose to grow by our front door. I'd like something that grows fairly fast, doesn't mind full sun and must be fragrant, with as long a flowering period as possible.

I love Spring Big grin

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Anhata's picture

Lovely!

Submitted by Anhata on Thu, 04/27/2006 - 10:34pm.

You must upload pics when you can. What a wonderful thing being given a whole bunch of seeds! A friend did the same for me this spring. You're garden sounds lovely.

What are fragrant stocks? I must know.

I've been enjoying the fruit trees blooming over here. The apples are now in full bloom, the plum, cherries, and pear are done.

Anhata
www.familynaturally.com
Your Family's General Store, Naturally

Kerri's picture

My early Spring bounce

Submitted by Kerri on Sun, 04/30/2006 - 2:05am.

has totally gone, and now the garden is just another thing on my to do list, which is awful really! Yours sounds lovely Honey, and the smell in your garden is going to be stunning all through the Summer by the sounds of it. I have a soft spot for sweet peas too, but I love most scented plants. I like the pieris too. I haven' been in this house a year yet so I'm still gettng plenty of surprises in the garden. I don't feel a huge urge (not a sustained one anyway) to do much because I know we'll be moving in a couple of years and this garden is a dreadful swamp. Can't even get the grass cut easily so that's a major chore we have to get round to before the end of the weekend.

Maybe Mum's garden will help me feel more enthusiastic about mine, although it's not so sunny today, quite grey with threats of rain later, so probably not.

Consolation - it's not realistic to start a major business venture and overhaul a garden in the same few months, so the garden's gotta give this year, mostly. I'll toss a few things out, trim some stuff, but a major overhaul isn't going to happen with this owner.

Kerri.

Honey's picture

stocks

Submitted by Honey on Wed, 05/03/2006 - 3:50am.

There are several types of stocks. The kind I was referring to above are virginian
http://www.butterflygarden.co.uk/butterflies/pages/gvw_c29n7.htm

I also love night scented stock
http://www.gardenandleisure.com/products/wsut122868.html

The plants are untidy but I don't mind that, and the scent in the evenings can't be beaten - I open my front door on summer evenings to a wall of scent Smiling I will definitely be planting some seeds this year.

I also usually buy some of these as plants. They also have a lovely scent. http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/us/en/product/6507/2

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