I had the same reaction to @purplerallim 's seed heads, so I immediately looked them up in flower, loved the color, made sure they were hardy in my zone, and purchased ten bulbs. This is why I love this forum; even though I mostly lurk and probably delete 95% of my posts before hitting the send button, it's still a wealth of knowledge and certainly broadens my planting horizons.
New England, USA
Metacomet soil with hints of Woodbridge and Pillsbury
Pleased to be if help @CrankyYankee I'm sure you will love next year's display, and probably expand on them again when you see them. That's what I did, and now have doubled the amount of them with good regrowth/reflower from both. I haven't dug up the bulbs as some people do, and even though I have heavy clay soil, and cold winters, they have survived well.
Hello , run the hedge trimmer over side Hawthorn hedge , cut back ground covering geraniums as they are creeping across the lawn , now that they have stopped flowering , as the bees love them
Finally run mower over lawns , garden bin full ready for collection tomorrow
Just dead heading calendulas and leucantheum. Nothing else to do so far. Picked first blackberries and last strawberries. Brought the chilli plants into the greenhouse. Too stormy to leave them out.
We transplanted out the next dwarf french beans after weeding out the area again. Removed branches from a bullace tree that has grown very big and overhanging our neighbours.
Did some cutting back of grasses in the orchard (6 feet tall).Then back in the kitchen and set up some blackcurrant wine and made some jam.
Yesterday was a day of recovery for me. Friends came on Wed. They arrived at 11.00am and left at 5.00pm. I was shattered. I am just not used to being with company and chatting for so long. I watered the tomatoes, "de-side shooted" them and tied some in to their canes, again. I am growing 3 varieties and it is interesting to see the differences in growth, vigour and fruiting of each one. Topped up the pond. Gave the mulberry bush a drink. It has fruit on but hardly worth mentioning. Just a few berries, mis-shapen, small but at least the plant is alive. Watched tennis. I have a large plant of Viburnum bonariensis growing virtually in fresh air on the edge of a path. A self sown seedling left to its own devices. I thought it would be stunted with sparse flowers but no. It is a splendid specimen, leaning over the path and 4ft tall. It is right outside a window so I am enjoying its colour before rooting it out to transplant. Still no rain.
@purplerallim that is long time interest. A few years ago, I planted some after finding the corms(I think it was) in a multi pack of autumn planting I had bought. I plonked them in a pot in the shade and I only found a few leaves developing and gave up. Would you say yours get more than 3 hours of sunlight a day generally? I think my soil was poor too.
Sorry to witness the demise of the forum. 😥😥😥😡😡😡I am Spartacus
@clematisdorset I have bought mine from a commercial grower who grows for councils/displays and such, Boston Bulbs, so they are large enough to flower straight away. Sounds as if yours were still too young to flower. Mine are in a sloping bed between two trees, a field Maple and a Plum, but as they flower before either get into leaf they get sun at times during the day, but not all day. Some others are near my Apple Tree, and hardly get any sun, and have flowered fine, so I think dappled shade is their preference. As for soil the first ones are in clay with tree roots to contend with, and the ones near the apple are in my bulb bed, looser soil but still in competition, so I don't think they need rich soil, just not wet. Hope this helps @clematisdorset 😁
I didn't do much. I sat by the pond and watched for a while. The oxygenating plants are almost crawling out of the water but I will wait until later in the year before removing and thinning it out. The pygmy waterlilies are just opening, tiny doubles, lovely. Lots of tadpoles and damsel flies. Quite a few butterflies and zoozy critters flying around and coming for a drink. I saw the weed and reeds moving so that meant fish were moving around below the surface, even though I couldn't see them. A calming peaceful interlude in my day.
@purplerallim thank you, yes very helpful of you. You are right, mine were too young I think. The area of your garden you mention sounds like what I have, in terms of sun and shade and deciduous trees. Mine were in a mixed box from Waitrose (not seen them since). I am re-jigging some of my borders, so will have a think about whether I could try again with growing them. I like muscari too and to me, they share a similar dinky pixie look.
Sorry to witness the demise of the forum. 😥😥😥😡😡😡I am Spartacus
Posts
I'm sure you will love next year's display, and probably expand on them again when you see them. That's what I did, and now have doubled the amount of them with good regrowth/reflower from both. I haven't dug up the bulbs as some people do, and even though I have heavy clay soil, and cold winters, they have survived well.
geraniums as they are creeping across the lawn , now that they have stopped flowering , as the bees love them
Finally run mower over lawns , garden bin full ready for collection tomorrow
I ♥ my garden.
I watered the tomatoes, "de-side shooted" them and tied some in to their canes, again. I am growing 3 varieties and it is interesting to see the differences in growth, vigour and fruiting of each one.
Topped up the pond.
Gave the mulberry bush a drink. It has fruit on but hardly worth mentioning. Just a few berries, mis-shapen, small but at least the plant is alive.
Watched tennis.
I have a large plant of Viburnum bonariensis growing virtually in fresh air on the edge of a path. A self sown seedling left to its own devices. I thought it would be stunted with sparse flowers but no. It is a splendid specimen, leaning over the path and 4ft tall. It is right outside a window so I am enjoying its colour before rooting it out to transplant.
Still no rain.
I have bought mine from a commercial grower who grows for councils/displays and such, Boston Bulbs, so they are large enough to flower straight away. Sounds as if yours were still too young to flower. Mine are in a sloping bed between two trees, a field Maple and a Plum, but as they flower before either get into leaf they get sun at times during the day, but not all day. Some others are near my Apple Tree, and hardly get any sun, and have flowered fine, so I think dappled shade is their preference. As for soil the first ones are in clay with tree roots to contend with, and the ones near the apple are in my bulb bed, looser soil but still in competition, so I don't think they need rich soil, just not wet. Hope this helps @clematisdorset 😁
The oxygenating plants are almost crawling out of the water but I will wait until later in the year before removing and thinning it out. The pygmy waterlilies are just opening, tiny doubles, lovely. Lots of tadpoles and damsel flies. Quite a few butterflies and zoozy critters flying around and coming for a drink.
I saw the weed and reeds moving so that meant fish were moving around below the surface, even though I couldn't see them.
A calming peaceful interlude in my day.