Garden Update - End of April, 2011

[endlessrarities]

I'm glad to be home, because everything's going great guns in the garden.  And we're in the middle of a dry spell, so I'm running around like a mad thing, watering everything in sight.

I went to a garden centre today, and bought 18 small patio & container plants - fuschia, nemesia, bacopa and verbena.  These will complement my existing plants, which mainly consist of petunia, surfinia and the like, plus the odd geranium, nicely.  So I'm all set to put together this year's pots and containers, with seven begonia already potted up (NB:  I said this last year, and I'll say it again.  If you've never stuck your nose into a nemesia before, try it.  The perfume is exquisite.).  Once everything's hardened off properly, the work on transforming the patio can begin in earnest.

I didn't get around to photographing the blue cammasia this year, which is a shame.  But there's always this year.  I had to post some photos of this year's tulip crop, though, as it might not be as good next year:-

The tree paeony has flowered at last, and it's lovely!  A brilliant cerise colour:-
 

Not bad for a fiver on special offer from Thomson & Morgan... 

The second tree paeony is also in bud, and I'm hoping it's a different colour.  But since it also came from T & M on special offer (though in a different year), chances are it's the same.  Anyway, I just had to post it!!

Here's the general view of the back garden, which is still - as ever - a work in progress:-
 

 

As for the petunia I've been growing on...  They're the best ones ever, I think!!  Putting the capilliary matting under the peat pots on the tray and having a constant supply of water available to the plantlets seems to have made them come on a treat.

 

Comments

[gylfinir.livejournal.com]

Beautiful! My garden has also transformed in the last week: irises are flowering, peonies are in bud, and the lupins are spurting - it's a lovely time of year.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

I love lupins, but I've never succeeded in keeping them alive. The slugs love them even more than I do and they never make it through the damp mild (!) Scottish winters.

On second thoughts, maybe I should try again in case the dry sharp cold spells help them out.

[gylfinir.livejournal.com]

Have you tried putting sharp stones / gravel around them? I've got mine right next to some hostas, and whilst there's always some damage, it's not too bad...

My eeeevils are vine weevils. I found my strawberry plants writhing with the little beggars the other day... blech.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

I find that works for a little while, but after a while the rain causes the soil to mix in with the stones, and it's back to square one. Pubs work, but not against snails. And it's possible that the lupin-munchers weren't the snails and slugs at all, but the local mice, for which I have no answer.

My begonias do get vine weevilled, but once they get established they tend to be able to survive the predation. But it's always a race to get the begonias uplifted and indoors before the weevils get too big and hungry!!

[gghost.livejournal.com]

How lovely! Our garden is bursting with springtime life, too. In fact, our first rose opened this week.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

It'll be a wee while before our roses do anything...

[clairehawthorn.livejournal.com]

I absolutely love the colour of those purple tulips, they look amazing against the fence. In fact your garden is looking as lovely as ever.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

The back garden looks better than the front one just now - the front garden's in a bit of a quiet period.

[bellakara.livejournal.com]

Your flowers are looking great - however, I honestly thought I'd commented here already. Perhaps in some parallel universe. However, your garden is looking lovely.