Brrr! It’s freezing once more. Think of me sat watching my son play cricket this afternoon. I’ll be the one in gloves, coat and a blanket.
First photo goes to a plant that Fred (I think it was Fred) inspired me to try; Butch, my ginger plant. Back on February 8th I planted a ginger root and waited and waited and waited (while keeping it moist under a plastic bag). Then quite recently a green shoot appeared and now it’s growing at a speedy rate. When will I know when to harvest it?
Photo two is some Alium, they are a funny plant, they throw out lots of foliage for a long time ahead of the flowers. Most of the under-gardeners here don’t like them, but when they do flower, they are quite pretty.
Third photo goes to the first flowers on this Weigela. Last year it flowered profusely. It also grows well and it is tempting to prune it hard each year, but I have found that it needs a year of free growth for it to flower the following Spring.
Next is a pot of Lobularia. These were five plug plants bought from Sarah Raven last year, they survived the winter and look to be growing once more. They kept some of the flowers all through the winter. I love the honey fragrance that they give off.
A bit of fun with my sunflower kids. A couple of weeks ago I mentioned the #SunflowerChallenge2022. Last week I planted some of my tallest sunflowers out as they were looking peaky. It was a gamble with the forecast and I have them wrapped at night with a fleece, but they have greened up. The fence that they will grow up was boring, so I got out some paints to give the plants some growing inspiration.
Final photo is of the flourishing rock roses, only the white ones are out at the moment, I have pink ones ready to burst into bloom soon. Perhaps like me they are waiting for the sun to return.
Thank you for joining me for this #SixOnSaturday post. I hope that you enjoyed it. If you would like to know more about this hashtag, read founder Mr Propagator’s post here also find him on Twitter here.
Happy gardening
Rosie
Links:
- Yesterday Pádraig wrote a poem to celebrate his garden for National Poetry Day.
- Mr Propagator’s post for April 30th
- Check out the Honesty from Graeme’s garden.
- Fred’s posts are always interesting.
- Check out Chris’ Ontario garden here.
- Should Pádraig worry that he missed out on Twitter?
- More updates from Waddesdon Manor on Louise’s post.
- Granny’s lovely Clematis.
- There all sorts flowering in Jim’s garden.
- Check out David’s Peony Tulip.
All these photos are gorgeous. I love the Weigela
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Thank you Wendy.
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I love what you did for the sunflowers!
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Thank you. I’m no artist, but a few splashes of paint and it looks okay.
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Very effective, Rosie… and you never know, it might help! 🌼🌼🌼
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That’s a lovely idea to paint the sunflowers.
My favourite from your selection this week is the lobularia. Do the flowers arrive before the foliage? Looks that way in photo.
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Most of those flowers are left from last year. I managed to take some cuttings and the foliage really comes first.
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I’m sure the sunflowers will feel very encouraged by your artwork, Rosie. And I am also curious about the ginger… Thanks for sharing your garden with us!
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Thank you Olga.
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You have such beautiful plants 🙂 Thank you for sharing this.
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You’re welcome.
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The rock rose is beautiful. I have a culinary ginger that has not yet sent out a shoot. The root is visible and when needed I just cut off a piece. It adds such delightful flavor to food.
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Perhaps I shall try that, thanks Doc.
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My husband surreptitiously planted some sunflowers in a field belonging to our HOA in which we are not allowed to plant or walk (go figure). Right now the field is covered in buttercups – an annual and lovely event!
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Fingers crossed they grow secretly.
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I love the sunflower fence – a great idea. I’ve just come to the same conclusion regarding Weigela. I pruned it hard back last autumn as it was getting a little large for the space and there are very few flowers this spring. That rose rose is a stunner. I have a red one that has just started flowering.
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I shall let the Weigela grow this year, but may have to do a drastic prune next year.
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I had to look up your lobularia as it isn’t a familiar name to me, I see that it is the Latin name for Sweet alyssum which I do know. It grows all year round in Cornwall and I still haven’t bought any for my garden! Always nice when a plant overwinters well.
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Good to know that it is quite hardy.
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I am trying ginger as well. Mine is not up yet! Oh, well, wait some more. Good luck with the sunflowers, they look very promising. Is your Lobularia Sweet Alyssum?
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I didn’t know it as Sweet Alyssum until Jude looked it up and let me know. That’s the great thing about the SOS posts, you get to learn things.
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I had some here this winter, I love the scent, too.
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In theory you should be able to cut out all the flowered wood from Weigela as soon as it finishes flowering, then get new growth during the rest of the year which will flower next spring. They need to be well nourished, vigorous plants for it to work well.
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Thanks Jim, perhaps I need to feed them up a bit.
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Love your sunflowers, I’m sure yours will be inspired to climb to the tallest one!
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Thank you.
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I love your sunflowers 🌻. Your cistus is superb!
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Thank you.
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