Six or Seven on Saturday: Striding Ahead

With a fairly high chance of thunder and rain this afternoon, I took the opportunity of making a quick decision on what to focus on for today’s Six on Saturday, the meme generously hosted by Jim of Garden Ruminations. However we pronounce their name, clematis are such versatile and good value plants , with varieties flowering throughout the year, and their climbing ability enabling us to stretch the boundaries of our gardens upwards.

It’s hard to tell whether it is just the natural scheme of things or if the last twelve month’s weather conditions have made a difference, but there are a number of things in the garden that have proved to be real good doers this year, starting with the lovely white larkspur above, L ‘White King’. Larkspur seed can be tricky to germinate, and I kept this seed in the freezer for at least a week before I sowed it. For some reason, the blue larkspur I sowed last September germinated really easily and gave me enough plants for the cutting beds as well as to add to the blue & white borders, but overwintering left them leggy and they only flowered a couple of weeks later than the white variety sown in February. Last year, larkspur seemed to flower for months, so hopefully that will be repeated.

Although I say it myself, the garden is looking pretty glorious at the moment and there is a lot of standing and staring being done; in the overall scheme of things, however, I have but a small part to play, as the roses, the clematis, the annuals, the dahlias and all the other plants in the garden go about their business more or less independently. Despite a floriferous fortnight or so and a massive thunderstorm last Sunday, the roses are still looking wonderful and should still be on top form next Sunday, when we open the garden for the NGS. Their impact is augmented by a gradual  injection of colour from the viticella clematis, which are just coming into bloom, as in the above picture where ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’ (lower left), ‘Crimson Glory’ (pergola) and ‘Rural England’ (a mass of pink froth in the apple trees) are boosted by Clematis ‘Margot Koster’ and ‘Madame Julia Correvon’.

Despite doing as many tasks as possible in advance of our first summer garden opening of the year tomorrow, there will always be things that can only be done nearer the time – and not just deadheading! There is furniture to be rearranged to create our pop-up café, signs to erect in the garden, cups and plates to be brought down from the loft and a whole host of other things. Having toiled since I first got up this morning, I didn’t realise till part way through the afternoon, towards the end of deadheading the roses yet again, just how tired I was (not helped by the steadily increasing temperature), so I permitted myself a break  and sat down on the shady bench behind the shed. This vantage point provides a pleasing panoramic view (partially shown above), taking in the gallery and (well-stuffed) main borders, the bronze heuchera bed, the clematis colonnade and the fringe of the woodland edge border.

It’s nice to be aware of the many changes and trends taking place in the world of gardening.

Gardeners are thoughtful and careful planners. What to plant next, where to plant, when to plant for succession and best to take full consideration of the weather. But they often neglect the pu

Like many places, we are much in need of rain, having not had anything other than a brief smattering for a month. The forecast suggests some places might have thundery storms in response to today’s temperatures in the high 20s, but I don’t think we will be amongst them. I have been regularly watering pots, cutting beds and anything newly planted out, along with the greenhouse and Coop, but only rain can provide the thorough soaking the whole garden needs. The borders, however, generally don’t give the impression of suffering, although I suspect growth has been stunted in some cases.

Ahead of the Curve Enviroden is a company that specialises in making well-designed garden buildings topped with curved living roofs. They can even gussie-up an existing shed and make it look a million dollars (for considerably less than a million).

Roses have been budding up since early this month, but resolutely refusing to open; sunshine and warmer days over this last week seemed to be the trigger they needed and one or two are now showing off their rosy glory, starting with R ‘Strawberry Hill’, above, increasingly one my favourites. More than likely, ‘Madame Alfred Carrière’ was the first, her blooms appearing way above my head and easily missed. There may be a hint of colour on buds of a handful of roses, but mostly they seem content to wait until they feel the time is right, like ‘Gertrude Jekyll, below, demonstrating the benefit of training stems horizontally to encourage more side shoots and therefore more blooms:

I’m already dropping the ball on weekly posts as we seem very busy, considering we are in lockdown.

Having a routine for your yard is essential to ensure it stays healthy and thriving. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just starting out, following a schedule can help you keep track of what needs to be done and when. Here’s a guide to a Monday to Sunday Garden Routine Guide for the Best Garden!