Wild and Weedy Wednesday: Saxifraga granulata

I am resuming my weekly posts about wild flowers and ‘weeds’ – ‘Wild and Weedy Wednesday’ – that I started last year. I thought I would run out of plants last summer, after several months of posts, but found I was making lists of flowers to include this year! Anyway, if anyone wishes to join in with me and look at some of the wild flowers (or are they weeds?!) growing in our gardens, please do!

Last summer we did not mow the vast majority of our meadows at all, and have thus already noticed a difference in the wildflowers we are seeing. Today’s flower is a good example – we don’t recall having seen it here at all in 2023; Saxifraga granulata, or meadow saxifrage.

The creamy white flowers with striking yellow stamens have been bobbing around in the wind for over a week now, standing out on their dark stems at a height of around 40 cm. The flowers are perhaps 2 cm in diameter and have a kind of ‘vintage’ look to them.

They are found on hillsides of sandy dry grassland, where the soil is poor in nutrients and slightly acidic. I am very happy this native plant has made its way to our plot, as it is on the red list of endangered plants in Bavaria.

I wonder if you have ever seen this flower? Do share if it seems familiar, as I have no idea how widespread or rare it actually is.

Have a great Wednesday!

 

Viburnum ‘Aurora’ and ?

About two weeks ago, while we were still enjoying a warm spell, my Viburnum carlesii ‘Aurora’ in the Oval Bed came into flower.

I love this shrub and have another one at the front gate. I also grew it very successfully in my old garden. It has a wonderful fragrance, pretty pale pink flowers and shiny leaves.

As you may notice on these photos there is a bud next to the flower, tightly closed. I thought this was odd and had already noticed the foliage of part of the shrub was slightly different. But, I am embarrassed to admit, I never really took much notice of it.

A few days ago the second lot of buds opened, and some ugly white flowers, with no scent, appeared. Now, I took a closer look! All of the thicker and more textured foliage – which was a similar shape to Aurora – and the white flowers were on a second stem at the base of the shrub. This is the first time this part of the shrub has flowered.

I looked online for clues, but found nothing. I then remembered that the other Aurora shrub I have here also had another alien stem growing at its base which I lopped early on last year. On checking it, lo and behold! That lopped stem is also sprouting new leaves that look unmistakably like the native wild Viburnum opulus that grows in our hedges here.

So, my conclusion is that the rootstock of this hybrid decided – for whatever reason – to shoot and try and take over! I did not consider that this could happen. Did I perhaps plant them too deep, as can happen with grafted fruit trees?

I have removed the offending part of the shrub now (great material for starting off my new compost beds) and Aurora has been given breathing space again. The whole Oval Bed looks so much better! I hope she will now put on new growth and form buds for next year.

This will not deter me from planting another ‘Aurora’ in my new bed, which will focus on scented plants. I will, however, be more vigilant from now on. (By the way, work is resuming on the new bed this week as our rain has stopped and the wind is drying the garden up nicely. 😃)

I wonder if any of you gardeners have experienced the same with cultivated shrubs? I would love to hear if this is common or if it only occurs on particular plants.

Have a great Sunday

and

Happy Gardening!

 

 

In a Vase on Monday: Tantrums and Geums

The tantrums in my title refer to the April weather, not me. Although, as you can see in the photo below, yesterday did almost push me to the brink of tantrum-throwing!

Fortunately the snow didn’t settle properly but it is still very cold.

You may be wondering what that pile of soil is, slap bang in the middle of my garden…. let me explain. In the middle of winter I had the brilliant idea of making a new bed… most likely the final one in the flower garden. It will be right in the middle of the garden, between the Moon Bed and The ‘Edge.

So all that green expanse in the photos above will be filled. There will be a seating area in the centre of it, and the bed will contain only (or almost only) scented plants.

So after a couple of weeks of dry weather, and temperatures in the mid twenties (Yes, Celsius!) my Man of Many Talents set to work peeling off the grass with the tractor…

And at the end of the day this is what remained, ready to be hauled off the following day.

But then it rained. And it rained and rained all of the following week. And then to crown it all, yesterday it snowed, hailed, sleeted and rained. So removing all that heavy soil/grass sods will have to wait until the ground hardens up a bit, or we will have tire tracks all over the garden! The next stage will be tilling over the area and spreading mulch. Then some plants can go in and the seating area will be constructed.

So I must try and remain calm, pot on all the new plants I had bought that are waiting to go in the ground, and be patient… The weather forecast is not brilliant…

Joining Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her In a Vase on Monday meme will certainly help distract me.

A few early Geum flowers which were braving the elements have been snipped and put in my Etsy vase, along with some of the lovely Spiraea ‘Magic Carpet’ and a few Pulsatilla seedheads.

The Geums do have labels, but the wind was so icy that I didn’t linger to read them! 😝

I do hope your weather is nicer than ours this week and your gardening plans for 2024 can move forward! In the meantime, do visit Cathy to see her pretty vase  today.

Happy gardening!

 

 

Silent Sunday: Buzz

Wild and Weedy Wednesday: Coltsfoot

Some of my readers may remember I did a series of posts last year on wild flowers/weeds growing in and around my garden. Well, the series will continue this year, as there are still so many plants that I want to post about and share!

Yesterday I spotted the first wild flower of the year: Coltsfoot, Tussilago farfara.

What a wonderful sight amid the winter debris and moss! This small flower measures about 3cm when fully open, and grows on long scaly stems which continue to grow taller with the flower already open. The large leaves will emerge later – the leaves are what gives the plant its name as they supposedly resemble a colt’s foot!

The ground has to be at least 5°C before this plant will flower, so it is always a lovely find as it signifies the end of winter. In the phenological calendar we are therefore now officially in ‘Early Spring’. Hooray!

Interestingly, a report has shown that Coltsfoot in Germany still flowers at approximately the same time each year and has not reacted to ‘global warming’ at all…

I find it here directly outside our garden gate on the edge of the woods, and on our lane through the woods up to the main road. It is an old medicinal plant used primarily for tea that is said to help with coughs and asthma. As with all herbal medicines though, it should be used with caution, as too much can damage the liver.

Another interesting and useful fact is that the large leaves are soft and hairy on the underside, like tissue paper, and are a hiker’s friend when caught short in the woods! 😉

Do you see Coltsfoot near you? And if so, when does it usually start flowering?

My Wild and Weedy Wednesday posts will probably be a little intermittent until spring gets a foothold, but I just had to share this little ray of sunshine!

😁

European Mistletoe

While looking around the garden for materials for a wreath recently, I picked up a large pine twig that I thought I could perhaps use, and found this….

Mistletoe is visible in the crowns of the pine trees in our woods…. right at the tops where nobody can reach or see it properly. And I had never seen how it actually attaches itself to the tree.
Well, now I can inspect it up close. What a revelation!

This mistletoe growing on the pine trees is Viscum album subsp. austriacum. It really does seem to be a part of its host tree, growing out of the wood of the pine and not simply attaching itself like ivy does.

I wonder if you have seen this before? Or perhaps with some other kind of parasitic plant?

I found it fascinating. Nature never ceases to amaze me.

In a Vase on Monday: New Year’s Wreath

Happy New Year everyone!

To celebrate the new year I finally made a wreath. I had wanted to make a traditional Christmas one last month, but the weather was not pleasant for gathering materials. So when the sun tried to break through the clouds yesterday, I seized the opportunity. I had already spotted some fresh willow shoots at the base of one of our trees that I could use as the structure.

I am a complete novice at wreath-making, and not very artsy crafty, but I managed to create something I could be happy with. So I am sharing it today for this Monday meme, although it clearly is NOT a vase! I am sure our host, Cathy, at Rambling in the Garden will not mind. 😉

I wrapped quite a bit of garden wire around the stems to keep them in place, and used some fallen pine twigs, some dried Anaphalis saved from the summer, a large dried Allium seedhead and a couple of poppy seedheads.

All the materials are from the garden, as pine branches often drop inside our fence-line from  the woods beyond. (We have even had a whole tree drop in one year too!) And the wreath is now hanging up at a window inside.

This was a pleasant way to end 2023, as garden time was zero in December – I was able to put this together in the fresh air on the patio.

So, wishing you all the very best for 2024, with lots of garden time, plenty of sunshine, and just the right amount of rain. 😉

A Happy and Peaceful New Year!