End of month Review for May

Is it really the end of May? My goosebumps tell me it's more like the end of March.The photos are all a bit last minute and had to be taken in the rain (again).

Everything has put on a spurt of growth and as you can see from the next photo it's all looking very lush. The sun shade is still out in the hope of a bit of sun. It's not very good at keeping the rain off....

We've been away for a few days working in someone else's garden (more of that in the next post) That was when the weather was warm and ideal for gardening. So our garden is now needing attention and it's wet and cold again.

But everything does keep on growing and I do sometimes wonder what would happen if I just left it? Would the weeds now threatening a mini takeover just disappear under the rampant new foliage of the astrantias and the opium poppies?

Weeding does become increasingly tortuous as the plants get bigger and precious seedlings get squashed by my big feet. So as soon as it dries out I'll be in amongst it again. In the meantime don't look too closely...

The tulips "Queen of the Night" are past their best but have bounced back after heavy rain and a shower of hail. The crambe cordifolia behind is one of three in the garden about to burst into sprays of tiny white flowers.

A dense every spreading of Centaurea montana (perennial cornflowers) are beginning to flower in a corner with some self seeded teasles and a Philadephus for company. I remember seeing this cornflower in a vivid patch of blue by the roadside in Orkney. It can be a bit of a thug but what a colour. I noticed on a recent trip to a garden centre  that there is a new magenta shade for sale as well as the blues, lavender and white shades.

There are two or three Cardiocrinum Giganteum (Himalayan Lily) that have put on a lot of growth recently. They still have several inches to put on before the enormous creamy lily flowers appear from the central bud.

 

This more open area is full of self seeded opium poppies in among the grasses, penstemons and the one lonely giant echium. The poppies desperately need thinning out and are on my "to do" list. But it is a hand weeding job...

Further up the garden, looking back to wards the house the miscathus grass and the buddleja "Black Knight" are looking lush and the flower buds have appeared on the phlomis. This is a moment of joy as there were no flowers on the phlomis last year.

The Ceonothus "Concha" is in full flower. I'm hoping it will bounce back after being weighed down by the recent heavy rain.

Through in the Kitchen garden the herb border is beginning to fill out.

French Tarragon and Rosemary plants had to be replaced and the new ones have been planted in pots. The box towards the right of the picture contains salad leaves.

There has been some growth in the vegetable beds but it still needs to warm up before courgettes and French beans can be planted out. So there are a few gaps....

But in the absence of abundant crops I'd like to draw your attention to the Broad beans which are a Heritage variety with beautiful red flowers.

Lets hope we get some more warm weather soon....

It's worth having a look at how the month of May has been in other gardens at The Patient Gardener's.

Two Alpine Gems

A this time of year two of my favourite alpines come into their own. It's easier to achieve the right growing conditions by planting them in a trough. They both need roughly the same growing conditions -  humus rich, well drained soil in a shady cool position. Our soil is  too alkaline and these diminututive plants would get swamped by their neighbours if planted in the border.

The first of the two to flower is Soldanella montana.  I first came across this delightful  plant in Jack Drake's famous alpine nursery at Inshriach in the Highlands.

The Soldana montana  a member of the Primula family is also known as the mountain snowbell . It is a native to the mountains of southern Europe.

It is a mound-forming perennial with toothed, bright green leaves that are violet beneath.It has pendent, bell-shaped, lavender/blue flowers with fringed petals bloom in spring.

Soldana  montana in a more natural habitat in Cluny Gardens

Sharing the trough and getting a bit too big for it's space is Cortusa matthioli pekinensis.

This clump-forming perennial is very closely related to the Primula. The decorative hairy leaves are deeply lobed. It has erect stems with groups of nodding, magenta flowers in late spring and summer.

 Two dainty alpines well worth growing in a trough.

Hosta munchies...

It was not a pretty sight. Almost over night my magnificent hosta in a pot (sieboldiana since you ask) has been munched and munched again.

This was how it looked yesterday morning...

Not a pretty site I'm sure you'll agree.
There had been some damage a couple of days before that I had noticed when we were sitting out enjoying the evening sun with a glass of wine...

And out of the corner of my eye I saw that the plant in the pot was looking slightly frayed round the edges and not it's usual majestic self with gently unfurling shafts of green leaves.

Some damage had already been done and I picked out several slimy offenders,11 in all. Thinking that was that I didn't look at the pot again until the next day. There was more damage and I picked out more snails hiding under the rim.

And there were more on the deck along with some slugs. The cool, damp area under the hellebore leaves was an ideal place for both snails and slugs. They were obviously having a well earned rest before coming back for more.

I still find it extraordinary that they went to the trouble to climb the pot and left other hostas in the borders alone....

Foliage Feast on GBFD

We've looked at what's in bloom this month and now it's time to see what foliage inspires. Christina is hosting Foliage Day at her site My Hesperides Garden.

This is the time of year that the foliage is at it's most lush, especially so after all the rain we've had.

Foliage on one plant contrasted with it's neighbour can make each plant appear more striking as with the Lovage (Levisticum officinale) and the feathery bronze Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

The tiny purple leaved Geranium "Tanya Rendell" echoes the shape of it's larger neighbour the Astrantia major.

There is also the contrast between the formality of the box ball and the naturalistic planting of the Gunnera manicata and the Soloman's Seal (polygonatum hybridum)

New foliage is often more brightly coloured than the older leaves on the same plant. The new growth on this epimedium is a marble pattern tinged with pink while the older growth in the background is a duller green.

The green of the Griselinia littoralis in the background is a perfect foil for the fiery young growth of the  Rhus Typhina.

The glossy pointed leaves of the Cardiocrinum giganteum form a large rosette around the emerging  flower bud.

It's at this time of year that the heucheras really come into their own.  We only have these four but I could become quite addicted to collecting them and filling the garden with large swathes of each colour.

Next to the humble mint which comes in so many varieties. We have only two in our garden. The hairy young leaves of apple mint which makes great tea.

And the pink edged Russian mint looks pretty but I have yet to find a use for it except with new potatoes.

The shape and colour of the Astelia blades adds drama and definition to a border. The backs of the pointed, spear-shaped leaves look as though they have been dusted with silver.

The large coarse leaves of the Crambe cordilfolia betray it 's origins as  part of the cabbage family. It does look dramatic in amongst the surrounding greenery and the ghostly white uprights of the Betula jaquemontii.

But perhaps my favourite of all at this time of year are the unfurling fronds of the shuttlecock ferns (Matteucia struthiopteris). 

The plants are slightly badly behaved and need cut back from time to time. At the moment they are starting to grow up between the deck but I wouldn't be without that vibrant green especially in the spring.

Why don't you pop over to Christina's at My Hesperides Garden for a foliage feast.

What did the Victorians do for us?

Well, quite a lot in terms of horticulture.The Victorians introduced many plants. Many of them examples of fine garden plants such as camellias, magnolias, Himalayan poppies and primulas.

Others Victorian introductions have proved to be alien invaders. At some point they have escaped from domestic situations to take over swathes of the countryside.

The most infamous is Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia Japonica). It was originally introduced as an ornamental plant by the Victorians but it has now widely naturalized and occurs across the UK as well as Europe, USA, Canada and New Zealand.

This herbaceous perennial which grows at an alarming rate of up to 10cm per day in any type of soil. It can form dense clumps of up to 3m (10ft) in height. 

Japanese Knotweed thrives on disturbance and spreads by natural means and by human activity. Very small fragments of rhizome (underground stems), as little as 0.7g - approximately the size of a fingernail - can produce fresh new plants. 

But it is below ground that the biggest problems occur,  as each stand creates a rhizome network that can extend to 3m in depth and 7m in all directions. This makes it a serious threat to construction where it can have devastating consequences damaging foundations, drains and other underground services. And it makes it impossible to dig out!

I noticed it most recently pushing up slabs in a driveway of a garden in Orkney. It has even made it to the Northern Isles!

Another Victorian introduction is this  attractive unassuming plant with the rather complicated flower. Looks can be deceptive.

This is common Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera).  P has always had a soft spot for the it after seeing it growing in a garden in the Highlands of Scotland.

Before I knew any better P convinced me that we should plant it in our garden in Orkney. I should have done some research....

Not long after this the late Elaine Bullard wrote an article in the local paper regaling us with not to plant balsam in our garden as it is a menace. Horrified I rushed out and removed before it could seed or take over the border. Even with it's ability to colonise an area I don't suppose it could spread that quickly....or could it?

Since then I have seen it flowering in Angus along the river banks in profusion.

Another alien lover of the riverbank is the Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum).

You can see why the Victorians were taken by this plant with it's large architectural leaves. Unfortunately the sap can cause severe skin inflammations. The plant can grow up to 5 metres in size and form a dense thicket that shades out other plants.

When the vegetation dies back in the winter it can leave the banks bare of vegetation.These are then liable to erosion or to recolonisation by seeds of Giant Hogweed washed downstream onto the bare ground. 

It grows in swathes along the banks of several rivers in Angus.

Rhododendron ponticum is the scourge of the west coast of Scotland. You can see why the Victorians loved it. The glossy green leaves act as a stunning backdrop for the showy pale purple flowers. 

It was introduced in the late 18th Century. It became especially popular on country estates in Victorian times, providing ornamental value, as well as cover for game birds. However, during the succeeding  years, it has spread and is now destroying native plants in many areas.

Ponticum can reproduce by seed or vegetatively. A mature plant can produce can produce millions of seeds. Its canopy shades out ground cover plants and tree seedlings.

Where conditions are favourable such as in the west coast of Scotland it takes over large tracts of land lowering its biodiversity.

There are now programmes to rid areas of this plant. With so many of these very successful species it is easier said than done. Herbicides and manual removal are the methods used.

The area then has to be monitored to prevent any seeds from germinating.

In the drier east coast Ponticum is not such a problem. This bush is growing in one of our local woods and had not got much bigger in the seven years that we have been walking there.

Another plant that I would add to the list is Snowberry (symphoricarpos albus) deciduous shrub, 1-3 m high. It spreads by suckers and forms large thickets in the woodlands and shrubberies, in which it has been planted for game cover. it has a very pretty pink flower. 

Do not be deceived! 

I was recently asked by a friend how to get rid of snowberry that was growing into an ever increasing thicket in her garden. Digging it out by hand or continually cutting it back and covering it with black plastic is the organic route.  I didn't really want to suggest Roundup...I think whatever course of action she took it would be a long haul.

When you wander round your garden centre, have you ever wondered how many recent plant introductions will turn out to be the invasive species of tomorrow? 

GBBD May 2012

It's time for another  Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens  Our garden in Montrose briefly bathed in a shaft of rare, watery sunshine. A large pot of "Queen of the Night" tulips in the foreground.Soon after this photograph was taken the sky darkened and there was a heavy shower of hail. The tulips looked a bit bent and bedraggled afterwards.

Another tulip blooming in a large pot of the walkway. This is called Van Eijk which is a glorious deep pink. (it is pinker than this in reality)

And just to show how different, here's a photograph of the pot of Van Eijk tulips with the pink camellia still flowering in the background.

In spite of the bad weather, the wet and blustery winds this is the time for the first show of flowers in the garden and also rampant new growth. The first pollinators are also about taking advantage of the early flowers.

A bee collects nectar from the tree peony.

The Chaenomeles or ornamental quince has produced an abundance of flowers over the past few weeks.

The architectural cirsiums hardly seem to have stopped flowering for the last 12 months

The star flower at this time of year has to be the mecanopsis. 
This one is called mecanopsis cookei. It's a dainty little plant with nodding pink tissue paper flowers. 
Carol Klein enthused about them last week on Gardeners World at the Malvern Spring Show.

 The electric blue of mecanopsis sheldonii about to burst forth...

 In all it's glory...

 Then this magical blue mecanopsis adds to the show.

It's a several shades of blue through to purple within the one flower and fine hairs on the stem.

The back of the shade border has a mass of arching Soloman's Seal.

The delicate bell like flowers of the semi-aquilegia. It's very similar to the common aquliegia but without the spurs.

This anemone was a new addition to the border last year and was given to me by a fellow gardener. So far I haven't got a name for it. Maybe somewhere out there recognizes it.

It grows to a height of about 5 inches with pale buttery yellow flowers flushed with pink on the back.

The double Blood root or Sanguinaria canadensis is a family favourite. The button like flowers are covered by the leaves until they gently unfurl and the flower opens reveal the perfect white petals. All the blooms have been a bit damaged by the weather this year.

You have to get down on your knees to find the Children's favourite, the Mouse Plant (Arisarum proboscideum)  You can see where it get's it's name. It's a bit of an introvert hiding it's flowers under the foliage

The flowers nestle close to the ground and have to be searched for under the leaves.

That's some of the flowers in the garden today.
Be sure to drop by Carol's at May Dreams Garden to find out what's blooming in other gardens this month