@TheGreenMan Love your white Dicentra. Like you I don't always keep up with this thread, it is the best one on the forum, so must take a look more often.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
It's the first time in 7 years having the garden that I'm happy with my old bed. Most of the time, plants died, the bed was half empty and the other half looked very sad. Having clay soil only, it was a learning curve and took some improvements to get what I have now.
I had bought this Dicentra in 2018 after seeing it in another front garden. I remembered that I had taken pictures of it at a garden centre many years ago, while living in Maidenhead and didn't imagine that I ever could get a real garden. It was tiny in 2018 and didn't last long in the following two years, until I cut the main stem down in 2021 after it broke. Last year, it grew as big as never before. That might be coincidence, or it really took the plant 4 years before it got to the stage where it's now.
The Geraniums in the back of both images were grown from seeds last year. They are huge now, just in their element.
The red and the white Astrantia start with a first flower. They are as high as the Geranium. Last year, the display was marvellous for the first time in their 4th year.
The Achillea Moonshine shows flowerheads and has already first visitors.
We have a rose by the fence that I had cut back hard this February. It
grows marvellously, but had a lot of greenflies, which suddenly were
gone over the weekend. Two days ago, I came down into the garden at 5 in
the evening. Little birds (Tit, Sparrows and Finches) landed on the
fence and down to the rose. One of the finches flew into the rose, gave
it a heavy shake, the greenflies came down to the soil and all other
birds picked up the flies. This was great to see.
I do hope that there is something that likes black aphids.
Posts
@TheGreenMan Love your white Dicentra. Like you I don't always keep up with this thread, it is the best one on the forum, so must take a look more often.
I got a two bare roots from Wilko last year. Both are doing really well this year.
I ♥ my garden.
All the other roses are a couple of weeks behind
I had bought this Dicentra in 2018 after seeing it in another front garden. I remembered that I had taken pictures of it at a garden centre many years ago, while living in Maidenhead and didn't imagine that I ever could get a real garden. It was tiny in 2018 and didn't last long in the following two years, until I cut the main stem down in 2021 after it broke. Last year, it grew as big as never before. That might be coincidence, or it really took the plant 4 years before it got to the stage where it's now.
The Geraniums in the back of both images were grown from seeds last year. They are huge now, just in their element.
The red and the white Astrantia start with a first flower. They are as high as the Geranium. Last year, the display was marvellous for the first time in their 4th year.
The Achillea Moonshine shows flowerheads and has already first visitors.
We have a rose by the fence that I had cut back hard this February. It grows marvellously, but had a lot of greenflies, which suddenly were gone over the weekend. Two days ago, I came down into the garden at 5 in the evening. Little birds (Tit, Sparrows and Finches) landed on the fence and down to the rose. One of the finches flew into the rose, gave it a heavy shake, the greenflies came down to the soil and all other birds picked up the flies. This was great to see.
I do hope that there is something that likes black aphids.
I ♥ my garden.