Category Archives: plants

Sunshine and ninja showers…

24/05/2019flowers, plants, raised bed, stumperyJackie Elwin

are more usual for April not May. However, it does make everything grow pretty fast. Keeping on top of the slug population by doing a morning and evening slug patrol has helped enormously, especially with the problem of the huge, so called Spanish slugs. They did get my Primula vialii so I have covered what is left of the plants with a 1/2 plastic bottle as a cloche so we shall see if they can still come through. The Aquilegias are fab at the moment, flowering away, but some of them keeled over in the ninja showers. I found bright orange aphids on the Mahonia out in the front garden, so hubby gave it a prune and that got rid of some of them. Aphids are everywhere just now and most of the time I jet them off with a water hose, or squish them as I check the plants (if I can reach them). The cactus in the conservatory have nice magenta flowers out now. I love the mahogany of the sempervivum , also in the conservatory. There are a few nice plant combinations that I have quickly taken a few snaps of (bit windy out there). Some I like for the flower colours together, and others have the same colours but different foliage forms. I have taken a few snaps of the raised bed from different angles as it is a kind of triangular shape. The Erica tree heath is covered in flowers, but just now it is a strange shape due to the pruning it had last year, so this year I won’t prune the spent flower heads off at all so that all of the branches will flower next year.

Selection of Aquilegias


Orange aphids on Mahonia leaf

Phlox and chives

Erigeron (and peony in background)

Cactus in flower

Sempervivum Reginald Malby

Raised bed end on

Raised bed curved side

Raised bed back end on

white Aquilegia and Primula snowflake

Stumpery (part of)

Veronica and Tierella

Osmunda regalis purpurascens

Rodgesrsia leaf

Rodgersia, fern and Polygonatom

Hebe and Heuchera

Erica tree heath (part of)

Still cold…

14/04/2019crow, flowers, foliage, plantsJackie Elwin

but the weather is supposed to warm up starting from Wednesday. I went into the garden this morning with great intentions of feeding and mulching the roses but I was just feeling too cold so I just took a few quick snaps. A couple I took a few days go when the sun came out. A few plants are going over now like the cherry and the pink corydalis. Even some of the hellebores are looking a bit ropey. Some of the narcissi are flowering away, like Cheerfulness, whilst others are not up yet, like Erlicheer and Pipit. Some of the brunnera and forget-me-nots are flowering but the brunnera ‘Jack frost’ is very nearly in flower, (the foliage look fabulous though). The cowslips are looking cheery but I had thought they would have self-seeded a bit but looks like I will have to divide it to get another clump.
My friendly crow followed me round the garden again so I blathered to him while he was pecking away at the old log.

Crow

Astilbe leaves

Brunnera ‘Jack frost’

Prunus Shirota Mount Fuji

Corydalis solida pink

Primula veris (cowslip)

Corylus avellana Contorta

Narcissus Cheerfulness

Still chilly out there…

17/03/2019birds, flowers, plantsJackie Elwin

yesterday saw snow, sleet and rain. Today, so far, a bit of sunshine and a chilly wind. Out in the front garden, the daffodils got a bit flattened by the snow and rain, but they have perked up again. The mahonia is looking a lot better this year, compared to the same time last year, and is flowering quite happily and smelly lovely. A brave hoverfly landed just as I was taking the photo. The tiny sulphur yellow flowers of the epimedium and looking good and so are the white vincas. I found loads of snails camped out behind the epimedium. There are a few little grape hyacinths coming through but not flowering yet. Out in the back garden the hellebores are all flowering (some better than others), some primula are flowering, pulmonaria is up and has started flowering, the snowdrops have all gone over, the iris reticulata haven’t flowered yet (although they were out this last year), a few pink corydalis are flowering, and a few chinadoxa too. It is a bit windy to get good crisp photos. The crow swooped down just above my head and landed next to me, and proceeded to follow me around the garden like the robins do. He didn’t mind me blathering to him either. The magpie was trying to get to the fatcake and not managing very well. Funny how we always think of them being black and white birds. I caught the blue colour of the wings but not the iridescent green of the tail. Still looking forward to some warmth of spring proper.

Daffodils and white vinca

Mahonia

Mahonia and brave hoverfly

Epimedium sulphureum flowers

Epimedeum sulphureum leaves

friendly crow

magpie, not just black and white

February colour continued…

21/02/2019ferns, flowers, plantsJackie Elwin

a few more plants have come into flower and the sun has been out on this lovely mild day. In the stumpery; I planted some wallflower last year by the garage wall, beside the apple trees, in amongst the cyclamen and crocus. The crocus are looking good but the cyclamen have not flowered this year yet. The Helleborus argutifolius are looking good (apart from the bird poo that is!). They are planted beneath a tree where the pigeons, crows and jackdaws often sit. The snow drops and golden Japanese rush help to brighten the shady area. Just last week I bought and planted 3 small cyclamen coum Ruby star and they are so pretty. Along from them, near the stump, is the primrose ( primula vulgaris) and a lovely creeping fern (polypodium vulgare). In the raised bed; I normally have to cut back the huge fern (Polystichum setiferum ‘cristato Pinnulum’) around this time of year but it is looking fabulous just now so I won’t touch it. On the patio; the tiny yellow iris (Katherine’s gold) are looking nice and bright and a few of the other Hellebores are flowering but pretty much look the same as last year so I won’t take more photos yet. There is still a chance of some bad weather and snow before the spring really gets going, but so far, so good.

Purple crocus

Helleborus argutifolius

Cyclamen coum ‘Ruby star’

Primula vulgare and Polypodium
vulgare ‘Bifido grandiceps’

Polystichum setiferum ‘cristato Pinnulum’

Iris ‘Katherine’s gold’ alpine

February colour…

04/02/2019flowers, plantsJackie Elwin

well there aren’t many plants that like to flower in this cold weather. The snowdrops are up but the buds haven’t quite opened yet. Other bulbs are poking through but will need a few more weeks to flower. Some of the hellebores are flowering whilst others are not. The best one so far is the white one in the woodland area (that I call my stumpery due to it having one stump). Also in that area is the witch hazel with it’s fiery orange flowers. I do however have more colour in the conservatory with the cyclamen and bulbs coming up. There is a lot of green in the garden with the ferns, grass, evergreen shrubs and ivy. Shame the cold hasn’t got rid of the greenfly.
I thought that I would try and get some of the fallen leaves out of the pond but only the top couple of centimetres are melted and the rest of it is frozen. Most of the leaves were frozen in so I am going to have to wait. Poor frogs and other pond dwelling creatures. In the past we had a pond heater on throughout the winter but something kept hauling it out leaving it dangling over the side and it would melt a hole in the pond liner. The pond liner is concreted in now so we have been trying to keep a small hole open in the ice. Doesn’t look like we managed to do that so any noxious gases will be accumulating under the ice. The last time that happened a few dead, bloated frogs rose to the surface once the pond ice had all thawed. Don’t worry I didn’t take photos.

white hellebore

Hamamelis inter Diane

conservatory bulbs

Brrrrrr it’s chilly out there!

29/10/2018frost, plantsJackie Elwin

So today is the first time the bird bath has frozen completely this winter, however, the pond is ok as it is situated lower than the bird bath. I still wouldn’t like to be a little bird bathing in the pond today though. As much as I detest being cold, I do love the patters that the frost makes on the different leaves. Hairy leaved plants pick up the frost sparkles on the tiny hairs, whereas the smoother leaves have frosted edges. Others can have frosty highlights on prominent veins. As a kid growing up without central heating and no double glazing, I adored the frost patterns on the inside of the windows in winter. This morning I braved the cold to get a few snaps of some frosty leaves. My hands were shaking a bit so they are a little out of focus.

Frozen bird bath

Frosty clematis Pixie

Frosty acer palmatum Garnet

Frosty hairy leaved thyme

Frosty tierella

Autumn is approaching…

03/09/2018ferns, flowers, plantsJackie Elwin

and things are gradually slowing down in the garden. When I first started the stumpery area, I filled in a lot of spaces with ferns (soft shield ferns I think) with the intention of replacing some of them later with different plants. Some of these ferns are huge now and are really outgrowing the space or hiding other plants, and not just in the stumpery. So, at the weekend, my husband dug out one of them from beside the ramp and replaced it with Persicaria amplex Blackfield – I love the colour of the flowers. I just hope it isn’t going to become a thug. I have another 5 or 6 of the same ferns so I will ask hubby to divide a couple of them so at least they will be smaller, and completely dig up the rest so I can buy some new plants for the spaces. He also dug out the Rosa rugosa which has been a big disappointment. It has been there for 3 years and only produced 3 roses! All the rest of the growth has been hight and suckers. I would really like another rose there but it is just too shady, unless I can persuade our next lot of neighbours to chop down their rather large shrubs and trees. I have acquired a bench to put in the dry shady area at the back of the garden but as not a lot will grow in deep dry shade so I will have to think about what else to put around the bench. The corner wall is in need of repair but again I will have to wait and speak to our new neighbours. The trouble with that is that the actual owners are planning on splitting that house and garden into two, but they haven’t actually started any work yet so I may have a heck of a long wait for that work to be done and the house sold.

At the Annual flower show last weekend my little Davallia canariensis Hare’s foot fern) won an award! Not only did it win first prize for the foliage plant section, but it got the Jones trophy for best exhibit in pot pants too. Dead chuffed. I am so glad I scrubbed the pot the night before and took off the not-quite-so-attractive fronds.

Ramp with overgrown fern to the right.

Ramp now with Persicaria amplex Blackfield

Davallia canariensis and Jones trophy

Duddingston Garden club Annual Flower Show …

24/08/2018flowers, plantsJackie Elwin

getting some plants ready to sell at the annual flower show. There are: tiarellas, chives, rosemary, lavender, ferns, fuschias, grasses, sempervivums and a couple of unknown things that just popped up in the garden. The weather isn’t looking that great though and some ninja showers on the way so it might put people off coming. Shame we had to get rid of the greenhouse due to the neighbours high trees and the golf course trees as I am having to do all my propagation in the conservatory and on the garden table. I keep having to move them to under the table outside when the heavy rains are due and bring them back out again once they have passed. I was going to put a couple of plants in the show myself but my Streptocarpus saxorum only has 3 flowers on it and my roses are either just gone over or just not quite open enough. I may put my little Hare’s foot fern into the foliage section.

Plants ready for the sale.

Cyclamen are stirring…

05/08/2018flowers, plantsJackie Elwin

into life already. Most of my garden cyclamen are flowering already and it is only the beginning of August. I can’t find any of my white ones but only the pink ones in flower. In the conservatory the small tubers are flowering but my huge ancient tuber is still totally dormant. I have potted it on and the soil was quite damp so I am hoping it is ok. As promised in January I measured the tuber and it is roughly 12.5cm at it’s widest and 10.5cm at it’s narrowest and it old and craggy looking. I plant it quite proud of the soil level with a moat around it so it doesn’t get water on the top. I bought some small ones last year they looked like a really dark burgundy colour, but this year they have come out red. Still attractive though.

Cyclamen seed pods

Cyclamen neapolitanum ?

indoor cyclamen tuber

Cycalmen that was meant to be dark burgundy.

I need more of…

17/07/2018plantsJackie Elwin

these Verbascums. I was promised (years ago now) that the the plants I bought would flower at the same time: Cirsium rivulare Atropurpureum, Papaverorientale ‘Patty’s plum’ and Verbascum chaxii album. But in fact, in my garden, the Cirsium come up first and flower for a good while, then the poppies and now the Verbascum. The poppies are over and have been chopped back as they were straggly and the Cirsium are going over and have only a few flowers left. The Verbascum is now looking a bit lonely. This year I will take root cuttings and hopefully get a few more and make a good clump. The Verbascum ‘Raspberry ripple’ is flowering a bit strangely this year. In previous years, the flowers at the base opened first the the gradually the others would open from base to the top. This year some are open at the base, some open half way up and some at the top. I do have a space to fill beside them so I would like to take root cuttings of these ones too.
We have had a couple of visitors at the base of the red rose Erotica under the bird feeder: brown rats. At first I saw a large rat on the tray feeder but now I have seen two young ones, bold as brass, getting the fallen seed and running behind the pond. I don’t need more of them!