A lovely mild week shaping up after the bonus of soft rain in the weekend. What a difference rain makes to warm ground and to new spring growth, seeds I planted a couple of weeks back are up and romping away, as are the weeds. Once again I am pulling sticky, biddy-bid and chick weed before it makes seed to stop it spreading and every year there seems to be just as much as the year before!
That hard frost here last week wiped out a number of the annuals I had just planted, should have covered them!
After a late August pruning our roses have not started flowering yet but are looking healthy with fat buds. If greenfly or fungus are a problem on yours spray every 10 days with a spray that deals to both,( folia feed at the same time).
French and Italian lavenders have finished their first flowering now so cut off the spent flowers to encourage new buds and feed with liquid fertiliser or liquid manure. The French and the Italian lavenders are the ones with flowers like a bumble bee. English lavenders are not ready to flower just yet, all lavenders like lime.
Peony roses are stunning right now in bud and flower, it pays to put supports under them to hold up the heavy flowers and because they are growing so fast, I have tall wire supports shaped like a u that are pushed into the ground with the rounded top in place to let them flop over and stay in place. They need the water kept up. I have heaps of lovely fat buds ready to open on my larger bushes. I also have some crowns that were planted last season so have let only one flower develop to see what it is like and removed any others. I will cut the one blooming flower off before it makes seed pods. The clump will form much faster if you do not let it flower for the first two years.
Peony roses need full sun and do not like to be smothered by other plants.
Some hybrid clematis are looking beautiful right now, you have to be quick to train them where you want them to go because they grow so fast from now on. Direct them while the trailers are still soft, they too like a lot of feeding to take them to great heights, manure is great for them. Don't worry if you have one with no buds just yet they all have different flowering times, If you have just put one in this year, let it flower then cut it to the ground this will make it put up more shoots and you will have a much bushier and stronger climber and if you have one that looks dead with the ends wilting I am afraid it has the wilt and should be cut off at the ground. Don't remove it because I have known some to shoot away again the following year, climatic also like lime.
I have been filling the gaps in the flower garden with old fashioned cottage flowers like cosmos, love in the mist, salvia blue bidder and clary sage. These are all taller flowering annuals and put in close together they will hold each other up. The more plants I put in the less weeds will grow is the plan and all the plants I mentioned will be flowering at Christmas, and then for weeks after that.
Soft hedge growth is almost at an end, trimming to soon will result in having to trim again as new growth keeps growing. Soft hedge clippings a great on the compost.
Vegetables.
Veg is growing fast now, my board beans are all coming ready at once. I will need to pick them all to freeze so non are wasted then buildup the soil and plant peas where they were. Keep planting veg seeds and plants, a few at a time so you have the continuous thing happening,veg tends to bolt before used in warmer weather.
All berries are growing fast, benefiting from deep watering while plumping up.
An update on Scruff the dog, he bolted out the cat flap ( collarless) when the fireworks started here at Weston last Friday night, The word went out on Facebook resulting in many animal lovers looking out for him and thankfully was found late the next day hiding under a sheep dog kennel some distance away. It didn't take him long to get back into stride of pulling the hose in the opposite direction than me!
Our garden is open each day for visitors, some bring a picnic and some just like to wander, tables, seating and toilet available donation box on entry.
Cheers, Linda
email: linda.lsw@gmail.com
Lovely dark purple wisteria along side lavender English abutilon.
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