Monday, May 14, 2018

Goings-On in the Garden


I spent all day yesterday at home, so -- time for another garden update! The geraniums have appeared, looking great as usual.


Our first rose has also appeared -- a bright orange one. (Unfortunately, our first touches of black spot have also appeared, as you can see on that leaf to the right of the flower. It won't hurt the plants but it makes them look somewhat grim by the end of the summer. I could fight it with anti-fungal spray but I don't want to spray that stuff if I can help it.)


The Solomon's seal looks AMAZING this year!


Our lily-of-the-vally is also blooming. These plants have never done as well as Dave predicted -- I don't know why. They hold their own, but they're not spreading as he thought they would.


Although not strictly in the garden, our amaryllis finally, finally are blooming -- later than ever this year. The plants and flowers look really good. I did use the anti-fungal on them last year, as I've mentioned before, to eliminate red blotch, and I think it helped. (Since they're indoor potted plants and not out in the environment, it wasn't a danger to critters.)


That sage that was gnawed nearly to death by slugs has re-emerged, now that it's in a pot on the patio table.


My seedlings. See how floppy some of them are? I think I left them too long in seed trays where they weren't getting enough sun, and they got too leggy. I don't know whether they're going to self-correct or not. I've tried propping them up on toothpicks until they can strengthen but it's such fiddly work that I'm tempted to let nature take its course.

That pot on the right contains poppy seedlings, I think -- I should thin them out, but so far I've let nature take its course there too. I am just not good with seeds.


Our horseradish is a shadow of its former self. I weeded the violets from the pot to give it more light, and soon the daffodils will die back too. Maybe it will recover, or maybe it's time to pull all that stuff out of that pot and start fresh with something new. Ask again in October!

12 comments:

Linda Sue said...

I really miss the gardening programs on BBC, your garden fills the void! So lucky to have such a great garden ! I have a tomato plant...

Yorkshire Pudding said...

There's always tension in your garden. Slugs and squirrels and plant ailments etcetera. Just relax and enjoy it and let Nature take her course.

e said...

It is all good, Steve...Love all the colors.

Colette said...

I miss my Northern garden, so when I see pictures like this of all those wonderful plants it makes me happy.

Marty said...

Funny - your rose looks like a poppy at that angle, and your Solomon's Seal (which I'd never heard of before) looks very like bleeding heart.
Still waiting to see what we have in this new garden we've acquired, but I'm hoping that all the leaves springing up belong to lily of the valley.

Ms. Moon said...

I have NONE of those plants! Which is not surprising seeing as how you're in London and I'm in Lloyd. Well, I have an amaryllis but it's never done much at all. I'm thinking of digging everything in the kitchen bed up but the rose and bananas and planting all herbs there next year. We shall see.

Red said...

You make good use of this small space for gardening.

Anonymous said...

Love seeing what's bloomin' there. It's been gray and dull here for days. Our flowers are struggling, but we still have some hope.

Sharon said...

I LOVE lily-of-the-valley! Of course it can't grow here in such a hot and dry place. They remind me of my childhood when my mom had several plants that grew under a huge bush in our yard. I always loved their scent.

Catalyst said...

Those tiny blooms on the lily-of-the-valley are exquisite. And what's with all that broken pottery? We have several pots with mint, sweet basil, cherry tomato, flat Italian parsley, and Greek oregano. Quite a United Nations. We'll see how they all do.

jenny_o said...

I enjoyed your garden update! Your blooms are beautiful. I'm amazed (again) how you are so far ahead of us. Our bulbs are still the only thing blooming, and will be for another month or so.

The Bug said...

Lovely! Ms. Pinky is FINALLY blooming - her hussy cohort Ms. Rita has been blooming for several weeks now :)

We have some of those ferny looking things in our wildflower garden. No idea what they will be - it's all very exciting!