Storm Eunice was a force to be reckoned with

Well, Storm Eunice definitely made her presence felt.

The day had hardly begun before she ripped one of our polytunnels. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see the damage she caused.

All our hard work destroyed in seconds by Mother Nature. However, no-one was hurt. Plants might have been decimated but they can be regrown.

Falling trees

My neighbour lost seven trees. Luckily, they all fell into her garden and field and didn’t block the road. As her husband observed it is much easier to chop them up when they have already been felled by the wind.

Garden is perking up

Thankfully Storm Eunice has blown herself out and the garden is beginning to perk up. The grass is growing. Birds are active and spring is on its way.

Spring bulbs are in full bloom

Spring bulbs are in full bloom. I have a completely new patch of crocuses under an ash tree. I didn’t plant them and I have no idea how they got there. The snowdrops were late to the party but they’re here now. I love their delicate white and green heads. Nature’s milkmaids.

Narcissus are out. I adore the early varieties which have such a sweet scent.

Cyclamen is also blooming. Cheery deep pinks and reds. Such a welcome sight.

Plan for summer

It is time to plan your summer planning. With the right research you can have colour right though until late autumn. Our catalogue is a good place to start.

I’m going to plant geums for some early summer colour. Top of my list is Scarlet Tempest. They are both delicious reds and guaranteed to cheer up my garden.

If you are keen on more red flowers consider planning Clematis Avante Guarde. It has double red flowers with unusual pale pink centres.

I will also plant Hemerocallis Frans Hals. It has deep apricot yellow flowers which should bloom from July to September.

Scillas will give me some lovely blue blooms in June. As will Thalictrum Black Stockings which has wonderful, fluffy lavender blue flowers.

Another blue flower to consider is Agapanthus Big Blue. It has striking large white and blue blooms.

For purples take a look at Dierama Blackberry Bells. The flowers are a deep, purple maroon.

If that’s too much colour

If all this colour is too much I recommend Dierama Guinevere. It has rare lovely white flowers with a delicate pink tinge.

Of course, no garden would be complete without lupins. Manhattan Lights, Masterpiece and Red Rum will all give some lovely summer colour.

No shows in 2022

We are giving the shows a miss this year. It was a hard decision to take because I do like meeting customers face to face. But they take a lot of organisation and planning and after the last two years we felt we needed a rest.

Gardening tips  

If you didn’t clean your greenhouse last autumn do it now ready for this year’s planting. Start watering plants which have been dormant in the greenhouse over winter, to stimulate new growth.  Watch out for tips of new plants emerging when you are weeding. Try to avoid walking on saturated lawns.

#gardens #bulbs #spring #cyclamen #lupins #narcissus #summer #flowers #plants #trees #catalogue #geum #clematis #hemerocallis #scilla #thalictrum #agapanthus #dierama

First time greenhouse owner

My neighbour has bought her first greenhouse. She’s 64 and has waited a long time for her mock Victorian glass room with its finials and luscious creamy finish. It has been worth the wait. It is a really lovely greenhouse. I’m helping her fill it.

Time to sow seeds

She’s never had the luxury of sowing seeds in January before so we are having lots of fun trying things out.

So far, we have sown gaura, and salvias.

Gauras are bee magnets

We have also sown two varieties of gaura. The Bride is a gorgeous white whilst Belleza is a rich cerise pink. Both are bee magnets.

We’ve stuck with blue with the Black and Blue salvia too.

Collect your own seeds

I’ve also given my neighbour some sweet pea plants which I planted from seed collected last summer. They had a real growth spurt during the warm sunny weather a few weeks ago and I thought they might burn themselves out. Luckily the recent frosts have slowed them down. One of the joys of growing flowers from seeds you have collected is you are never quite sure what you are going to get when they bloom. It is very exciting, and I can’t wait to see what comes up.

Nearly time for lupins

In a couple of weeks we will be sowing lupins from seed. Lupins don’t come true from seed so we have a mixed packet which should give us a nice variety of colours. If you want a particular colour or variety such as Red Rum or Manhattan Lights you need to buy plants.

Signs of spring

There are signs of spring all over the garden. Daffodil tips are poking through the grass and borders. One optimistic camellia already has a solitary gorgeous deep pink flower and the rest of the buds are fattening up.

Out on the vegetable patch I am still harvesting sprouts and parsnips. But I am already looking forward to summer pickings. My garlic and onions are in. So far the birds have only pulled out a couple of the onions. I check them every morning to see what damage has been done. It is still too early to put most other vegetables in the ground. But, my potatoes are chitting. It won’t be long before spring is well and truly here.

Gardening tips  

Sow garlic and onions for late summer harvesting; start sowing summer annual seeds under glass; clean greenhouse windows; use our catalogue to plan purchases for next summer; don’t walk on frosty grass or you will damage it.

#spring #sunny #warm #daffodils #winter #colour #gaura #salvias #lupins