June | 2022 | Cardesque Garden

We have had so much sun and wind in the last few weeks that I have have to water the garden, patio and conservatory almost daily so it is nice to finally have some rain so I can get some other work done.

There are signs of mildew on the new variegated honeysuckle, perennial cornflower, meadowsweet, some aquilegias and some pulmonarias. The slug and snail problems are mainly on the red astrantia (although in many books they say astrantias are slug proof! – the white astrantia are fine however), the Jack frost brunnera at the back but not the ones at the front of the border, and the salvia Amistad and the baby’s breath. Most of the other plants are left alone or just slightly nibbled.

I now have to cut back all the irises in the garden as they are all over. None of the pond irises have flowered yet. I am still waiting for the dark leaved geranium to flower – it has taken 2 years to grow just a couple of inches wide so I am guessing it will take ages to spread.

Here is a selection of piccies taken over May and June.

Scoliopterix libatrix

Cepaea nemoralis

white iris unknown

right side of pond

right side of pond different angle

Nectaroscordum siculum

purple heuchera beside golden spirea and pink flowered hebe

Heuchera, hebe and spirea

Veronica filiformis on log

part of the garden in May 2022

Enkianthus campanulatus

Enkianthus campanulatus flowers

spreading geranium with pink/lilac flowers

Geranium pink/lilac unknown

Geranium wargrave pink

white geranium with pink centers in the raised bed

Geranium cantabrigiense biokvo

Geranium double lilac unknown

Geranium himalayense blue

Iris Jane Philips

Ligusticum scoticum

Foxgloves in the stumpery

White foxglove

Campanula garganica Blue diamond

Clematis warszawski Nike

Astilbe Fanal red in the stumpery

Astrantia major white

Primula sikkimensis

Zephirine Drouhin rose

Generous gardener rose

Munstead wood rose

selection of pots of flowers on the patio

Patio pots

Mouse ornament in trough

What’s NOT to love about ferns? I simply couldn’t imagine my garden without them. I have some in the stumpery, in the raised bed, in holes of the wall of the raised bed, in the shady border, in the the sunny border, in the middle bed, on the patio in pots, in the conservatory and some in the house. I can only remember the names of some of them, and some have just popped up in strange places. I will however have to take a few out that are going to be a nuisance. They have self-seeded (spores) in the crevice between the harling and the ramp, also some of the larger ones have popped up in-beside a smaller species in some of the holes in the wall. Some are just way too big for the space. Debs chopped a large chunk from the Osmunda regalis purpurea (starts off very purple before turning green) from beside the ramp so we re-located that chunk into a shady damp area of the stumpery where it is doing well. Some have popped up in with a large pot plant (Beaucarnea recurvata – the ponytail plant). As you can see, ferns come in many sizes, shapes and forms. Some are evergreen, some semi-evergreen and some are deciduous. Some are low growing whilst others are huge. Some are clump forming whilst others spread along the earth or a wall with rhizomes. There is a fern for any location in the garden. I have many more ferns in the garden – too many to photograph. A previous post from 2018 shows a few crosiers before they unfurl.