Mar 28th 2005 - Spring Planning
The Cornus plants I put in last week are coming into leaf already, with Cornus stolonifera ‘Flaviramea’ (the green stemmed one) showing tiny flower buds at the top of each stem. Red stemmed C. alba 'Elegantissima' is currently buddless, but showing promise as far as leafing out goes.
"The patio side of the plants faces south, which means we can have some shady plants on the north side"
I haven't been able to decide on which shrubs or perennials to grow under and around these new plants and, for this year, will start off seeds for flowering annuals. Having this row of shrubs in place gives another aspect as far as light and shade go. The patio side of the plants faces south, which means we can have some shady plants on the north side. For starters, some white Nicotiana sylvestris will shine out of the lower light, as will dark pinky-red Astrantia major 'Rubra' and dusky purple Geranium phaeum.
On the other side we can have brighter flowers. In line with my liking for brightness, I'd like to mix French Lavender - Lavandula stoechas 'Papillon' - or Lavandula augustifolia 'Hidcote' with something orange and/or yellow.
Dimorphotheca aurantiaca 'Star of the Veldt' is a lovely African daisy, up to 30cm in height, in shades from cream to rich orange. Or there is the Californian poppy, Eschscholtzia californica, an open poppy-like flower also in rich oranges and yellows.
Both will attract beneficial insects and will fill out well. At a lower level, we could go for something very simple to fill in with, such as honey scented Lobularia maritima (Sweet Alyssum). They will provide interest while we decide what to do next.
"What is it about Busy Lizzies? I hate them..."
What I absolutely won't do is to have any Impatiens anywhere in this garden, ever. What is it about Busy Lizzies? I hate them, hated them the first time I ever saw them. So many times I've stared at them and wondered what it actually is that makes them so downright unpleasant for me.
Is it those soft, almost watery-looking stems? The sugary colours? The shape of the flower - are the petals too rounded? No fault by itself is wrong, it's the whole that I dislike. They've always seemed like just a convenient filler to me, but little more than that. There's no personality there.
Maybe gardeners shouldn't have such strong dislikes about plants, but every year I see so many of the wretched things in front gardens and I want to shout 'Why?!' Their equally distasteful relation, Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera), is taking over an area of woodland near here. Every summer that part of the woods fills with the noxious scent, a scent so strong I feel my nostrils trying to close, like a camel's in a sand storm.
Okay, I know, I know. They're cheap and easy to grow, they provide nectar and pollen for bees, they're colourful. But it isn't enough - they're still wrong and I simply cannot foresee a day when I drop to my knees to gaze in wonder at a Busy Lizzie. And I shan't be convinced otherwise.
"The plant is low growing so the flowers are not so easy to see but it's worth a muddy knee to see the tiny delicate blooms."
Early last year I put in an Epimedium pinnatum subsp. colchicum and it has just flowered for the first time. It has sprays of small bright yellow, cup-shaped flowers with four sepals which are bent back from the flower centre and four small inner petals. These are held above heart-shaped leaves on a slender dark green stem and look a little like miniature daffodils. The plant is low growing so the flowers are not so easy to see but it's worth a muddy knee to see the tiny delicate blooms.
Epimedium pinnatum subsp. colchicum
During a propagation exercise at college last year we had some scraps of this plant left over and I brought them home to pot up. They've putt up new shoots and are ready to go into some light shade where they will light up the shadows for a time.
"Tadpoles are so good at hiding that you can easily think there are none in the pond at all"
The tadpoles, now 11 days old, are starting to wriggle and jerk about in their cases. Soon they'll free and we can admire them swimming about for a few days before they find hiding places amongst the stones and plants and disappear from view. Tadpoles are so good at hiding that you can easily think there are none in the pond at all. The adult frogs are nowhere to be seen and I've been told that they may be somewhere in the garden, or have moved on, now that the task of reproducing is done. Karl scratched out holes under the fence to enable them to get to adjoining gardens so it's possible they've made use of them.
If all goes well, in a couple of months we'll be fretting over froglet whereabouts every time we get the mower out. All the grass and edges will need checking for the tiny creatures and the lawn will take three times longer to cut than it does earlier in the year. Coming across baby frogs when you're not expecting it is a wonderful experience. The one below was all of 1.5cm long and completely perfect.
© Copyright Miranda Hodgson 2005