Geum chiloense ‘Blazing Sunset’ (and Bee)
The Garden in June, 2021: Part One
Blogging is not only a wonderful way to learn from and share ideas with other bloggers, but it is also an excellent way of keeping a record of the garden at various times of year. I do write down what I have planted and where – I have a large album for that – but seeing how things work together in photos is even better. So here is a look at the garden in June. Today I will focus on the Vegetable Plot, the Oval Bed and the Butterfly Bed.
The Vegetable Plot is new this year and seems to be doing well so far. The zucchini and butternut got off to a slow start, and cucumbers had to be replanted after a very cold May, but they now seem to be doing better. The Kohlrabi will be much bigger than I thought, and runner beans have only just started sprouting. Some of my lettuce is being grazed (!) but on the whole salad leaves, chard, dill and the strawberries are also growing well.
(Click on any photo to enlarge as a slideshow)
The Butterfly Bed was planted in October 2018 and this is the first year where the Alchemilla, Geraniums, Salvia pratensis and Nepeta have competed with each other to see who can get the tallest! One of the Nepeta has already lost, and has flopped, the Salvia is over and can be cut back for a second flowering later, but the Alchemilla and the Geraniums are enormous!
I widened the back of the bed last autumn and it is already filling out. I like the tall upright Calamagrostis here. And the buddleia have recovered fully from the winter and are leafing out nicely.
In the centre you can see the very tall Knautia macedonia ‘Melton Pastels’ flowers. They spread by seed and seem to be taller than ever this year. The flowers vary from pale pink to a deep wine red.
I moved this tiny Clematis integrifolia ‘Baby Blue’ last year and it seems really happy on this corner now, with a bit of shade later in the day from the buddleia next to it.
Finally, the Oval Bed. This was planted in our hot dry Spring last year and has got established really well.
The Stipa tenuissima gives the structure, along with three obelisks planted with Clematis. The red one below is Nubia, and the purple one Arabella.
A bird bath will eventually be a feature in the green inner area of the oval. Below, the Centranthus ruber will hopefully attract moths, especially the Hummingbird Hawk Moth. This blue Veronica austriaca ‘Knallblau’ is such a fabulous deep shade of blue that I planted another one in the Moon Bed this year.
Some Allium Purple Rain are still flowering in this bed, while the first annual Cosmos (Daydream) are just opening.
A peony I planted here last spring has recently flowered for the first time and has reminded me why I chose it… Paeonia lactiflora ‘Dancing Butterfly’ is a delcate shade of pink quite unlike some of the photos on the internet, with a creamy pink-tinged centre.
I hope you enjoyed a look around my garden. Part Two coming soon will focus on the Moon Bed, Herb Bed, Sunshine Bed and the latest project; The ‘Edge. 😃
Thank you for reading!
In a Vase on Monday: Harebells
This Monday I am joining Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her lovely meme once again.
And it is a special vase today: not only is it my Man of Many Talents’ birthday, but the hare jug I used arrived unexpectedly on Saturday as a gift from my Mum! (And what’s more, we have finally got an electrician to set up the power for the doorbell and gate opener up at our gate. Tradesmen are like gold at the moment here!)
The gorgeous jug is filled with harebells (Campanula patula) and a few moon daisies from the wilder parts of the garden. Here it is a bit closer up.
My Mum sent a card with it that has wild flower seed incorporated into the paper. You just cover the whole card in compost and give it a good watering. 😃 I shall display it a bit longer before trying that though.
The grasses, some clover, sanguisorba and even a buttercup, sneaked in with the harebells too.
Hares galore are exploring our garden at the moment, and it is so lovely to see them. We watched this one the other evening as he ambled through the oval bed and nibbled at various plants before moving on. No serious damage as he found the grass tasted better! 😉
Here he is again, washing his face… how could I be angry about a few dianthus flowers when I see this!
A big thank you to my Mum, for the vase. And a Happy Birthday and big thanks to my Man of Many Talents too, who helped me with the marathon task of spreading mulch around the whole garden last week. I will show you the results very soon.
In the meantime, thanks for reading and have a great week.
Happy Gardening!
In a Vase on Monday: Plonked!
Every Monday Cathy at Rambling in the Garden invites fellow bloggers to join her by sharing a vase of flowers etc from our gardens. So here I am again, wondering what happened to last week. Time flies at this time of year!
I reused a few things from last week’s vase… the Allium was still looking lovely, the chives and a spiky Heuchera flower too. But the rest is new and a bit un-thought-out. But I like it!
The lupin in the middle is one of the many I now have that set themselves from a single plant added two years ago. Blue lupins grow at the roadsides here, usually accompanied by masses of yellow broom. Sadly a lot of the broom died in 2020 – the third drought year in a row. But there is hope as there are many smaller plants doing well. The lupins, however, seem completely unaffected by drought!
The Siberian Iris was so welcome… this is the first time it has flowered for me after being planted in the then new Butterfly Bed in October 2018.
A sprig of silvery Artemisia found its way into the vase too. I am constantly pulling this out! More Alchemilla, some Salvia and some Borage were also added.
Oh yes, and a white Polygonum flower was plonked in there too. A bit of a mishmash. But a pleasing one!
Do have a look at Cathy’s post and the other vases linked in to it.
And have a lovely week!
😎☀️🐝
From a Cool Spring to a Hot June
June has got off to a good start with temperatures in the upper 20s, blue skies and sunshine. And we were so ready for it after such a cool Spring.
Back in March a big freeze took many plants in the garden by surprise and all of my Buddleia froze right back. There are leaves coming at last, but the Butterfly Bed, where there are three central shrubs, still looks a little bereft.
Cool temperatures also extended the bulb season, with tulips up to the last few days, here with Alliums…
….and there are even some Narcissi still in flower… in June!
Narcissus ‘Baby Moon’
The rain we had all through April and May meant some of my perennials grew way beyond expectations. As you can see in one of the photos above, the Geraniums and Alchemilla are enormous compared with previous years! This does, at least, make up for the lack of Buddleia foliage.
This Geranium is currently my favourite (it changes regularly!). G. ibericum ‘Vital’. The colour is very intense and the veins on the petals very pretty. I also like the foliage.
Wind and rain and very cold nights (e.g. 1.6°C overnight on 31st May) have given the vegetable garden a difficult start. I am still waiting for the beans to sprout and the cucumbers died so have been replaced with one spare seedling and one bought plant. I believe it may have gone down to freezing point last week a little way away from the house. The only things doing well are the kohlrabi and the salad leaves… and the weeds of course.
But now the danger of frosts is over for a few months and I have all my summer pots planted up, all my annuals planted out and tomatoes in pots on the patio.
No time to sit and enjoy it yet though… this afternoon we collected a trailerful of mulch from the biomass yard to spread on the newest beds and around the vegetable bed. So you know how I will be spending my weekend! 😁
How was your Spring?
And are there signs of summer yet?
Have a great weekend and happy gardeneng!
