Celebrate the Jubilee with flowers

At the beginning of June the nation will be celebrating Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. I can think of no better way of celebrating than with flowers.

We’re celebrating the Jubilee here with an Open Day at the nursery on Friday, June 10th. Come and see us between 10am and 3.30pm. The lupins will be in full bloom and there will be lots of plants for you to buy.

Flower festivals

Up and down the country there will be flower festivals to mark the Jubilee. There’s one near here and I have the porch to decorate.

Good colour scheme

I’m quite lucky with the colour scheme. We have been told we can use any colours associated with the Queen for inspiration, I could go with silver and purple to complement the Platinum Jubilee bunting I have bought. Or, red, white and blue would reflect the national flag. If I don’t fancy those I could choose any of Her Majesty’s gorgeous colourful outfits for inspiration.

I think I will aim for a little bit of everything.

Lupins are the best

The best flowers for the festival are definitely lupins. For purple I can choose between Blacksmith, King Canute and Shirley Anne. Silver is more difficult but I could always pop a Cashmere Cream in the mix.

Red, white and blue is easy. Red Rum and Tequila Flame for the reds. Snow Queen and Polar Princess for the whites. And Persian Slipper for the blues.

I liked the bright yellow outfit the Queen was wearing for her trip on the Elizabeth Line. Desert Sun is the perfect match.

Need other flowers too

However tempting I can’t just use lupins. I will be turning to Geranium Orion for purple. Deschampsia caespitosa Golden Dew for silver.

Phlox divaricata Chattahoochee has bright blue flowers with a red centre. Imperata cylindrica Rubra will provide more red and give some structure to my display. There will be blue from the salvias, especially Cacaliifolia and Black and Blue.

Hopefully with all these at my disposal I will be able to make a suitable arrangement.

Thank you for the rain

The recent rain has been welcome. Everything was getting very thirsty. The rain has encouraged many plants to bloom including geums.

Geum Poco is a riot of golden yellow flowers.

Gardening tips – Cut back the foliage of flowering bulbs if it has completely died down. Plant summer bedding, including astrantia for colourful displays through to autumn. Keep tender seedlings and young plants watered. Keep an eye out for #colour #lupins #flowers #plants ##dierama #phlox #geum #salvias #geraniums

Don’t be fooled

Don’t be fooled by Easter’s warm weather. My neighbour was. She planted out all sorts of tender flowers. Sadly, they have been hit by the colder temperatures and most of them have died. Here we have had late frosts. I try to stick with the old rule ‘ne’er cast a clout til May is out’. I’m usually itching to plant out at the beginning of April but I bide my time.

Salvia Caradonna – one of the few hardy Salvias

Garden centre are full of colourful annuals

Garden centres and nurseries might be full of colourful annuals. But they will still need protecting for a couple of weeks yet.

If you have a greenhouse or a cold frame you can put your more tender plants in there. My greenhouse is full of young seedlings. I have lupins, geraniums and dieramas. They are all growing nicely and I will plant them out soon. I have grown some lupins from seed

Glorious year for blossom

The garden is springing back into life. It has been a glorious year for blossom. The apples, cherries and plums have put on a magnificent display. It was a different tale for the magnolias though. They were hit by the frosts and their gorgeous blooms all turned brown.

Showy clematis

Clematis are putting on a good show. Amethyst Beauty lives up to its name. It has light purple flowers which often change to a deeper purple as they mature. It looks as if it is a multi-coloured flowering clematis which adds interest to the garden.

Clematis Armandi is one of my favourites. It is covered in highly scented creamy-white flowers. The bees love it too.

Another fragrant white flower is Phlox May Breeze. If you want a more colourful phlox try Chattahoochee. It has bright blue flowers with a red eye.

Preparation, preparation, preparation

I spent Easter getting my garden ready for planting. My vegetable patch had been invaded by moss. A sure sign that it is waterlogged and the soil is compacted. I’ve taken all the moss out by hand but this autumn I need to dig lots more compost into the patch. I might invest in some sand and grit to aid the drainage too. If you want good results you need to prepare properly.

Gunnera manicata – a great moisture lover

We could do with some rain

It has been lovely out in the garden. Warm weather although the wind has been cold. But, we could do with some rain. We have had a very dry winter and spring.

First wild ducklings

For the first time in the 30 years I have been here a wild mallard successfully hatched eight ducklings on my pond. They were so cute. Unfortunately I wasn’t the only one to think so. Magpies decided they made a tasty snack. By day two we were down to five. By day three there was just one following Mum around. Now they have all gone. There is a chance she might lay a second clutch. I hope she does.

Gardening tips Dead head spring bulbs once they have stopped flowering but do not cut back their leaves. Harden off tender plants. Water seedlings daily. Once the danger of frost is over transplant vegetables and flowers from the cold frame or greenhouse into their final spots in the garden.

#warm #flowers #lupins #geranium #dierama #clematis #phlox #planting #dry #seed

Month: May 2022

Platinum Jubilee flowers