GARDENER'S WORD

The other day I treated myself to some shop-bought cut flowers and for a change they weren't roses, or dianthus (pinks), or freesias. No, I spotted something I had never seen before: Eustoma Grandiflorum, also known as Lisianthus, or Prairie Gentian. They belong to the Gentianae family.  On the wrapper they were called Lisianthus which I think a far lovelier name than Eustoma which, unfortunately, reminds me of a medical term best not thought about.  There were two colours available but I preferred the lilac to the pink.  A white one was also hiding among the ones I bought.  The petals are large and delicate, and the flowers have a lovely golden centre with large stamens.  They are also pleasantly fragrant.  They have lasted a few days already and still look good. Lisianthus, or Prairie Gentian (Eustoma Grandiflorum)  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eustoma  Lisianthus, or Prairie Gentian (Eustoma Grandiflorum) I co...

The wish to transplant two Japanese maples, or Japanese acers, from pot to border has been preying on my mind all summer long and I have been waiting for the perfect day to do it.  The perfect day is when the weather is not too cold, the soil not to dry nor too wet, and when I feel physically up to it.   Having a balance problem makes it difficult enough but I'm not kidding when I say that I can only put a fork about 1", 2.5cm, into the ground under my lawn. The borders aren't much better and year by year I have dug away, little by little, until you wouldn't know that right underneath the surface of my garden is enough rock to build a garage.  Digging, for me, is a killer.     Japanese acer shirasawanum 'Jordan' The maples I refer to are Japanese maple Acer palmatum 'Phoenix' , and Japanese acer shirasawanum 'Jordan' which are still small, have been growing in small pots, and I can dig a hole deep enough in that rocky are...

I visited East Riddlesden Hall in West Yorkshire yesterday and just outside of the toilets is a large tree and, at the base of the trunk is a large fungi which was very worthy of having its photograph here.  Meripilus giganteus also known as Giant Polypore I'm not an expert on fungi, or trees, or gardening for that matter, but I think it is the Meripilus giganteus.  If you know different, please let me know.  It's a beauty of a fungus, isnt it? Meripilus giganteus also known as Giant Polypore Meripilus giganteus also known as Giant Polypore at base of tree, East Riddlesden Hall, West Yorkshire Cyclamen at base of tree, East Riddlesden Hall, West Yorkshire

Before I bought a miniature James Grieve apple tree for my garden, I had never even heard of that particular type of apple.  Why?  Well, it seems that James Grieve apples are easily bruised and that is probably the reason we, or I, never see them on supermarket shelves.  Now, I wouldn't know if they are easily bruised because I pick them one at a time off my little tree and eat each one straight away.  This year my young tree has provided me with over 20 apples and today I picked the last one.  Now I just have to wait patiently until next year for, hopefully, an even better crop.  James Grieve apple This year I had to use canes to support my miniature apple tree's branches as the weight of the fruit was in danger of snapping them.  The tree really is only small.  It is about 4ft high, that's all.  James Grieve miniature apple tree  As you can see, the apple is perfect.  Not one has been unfit to eat, bruised, or wit...

The other day I was mooching around the RHS garden centre at Harlow Carr and I couldn't help but notice a stunning dahlia called Tahiti Sunrise.  Fabulous pink (which went perfectly with my nail varnish!) and a soft-yellow at the base of the petals.  I had to take a photo, see below, and it has not been digitally altered in any way whatsoever.  Although I don't grow dahlias any more (too much faffing around overwintering them), I still admire their spectacular and varied flower displays and envy those who can have borders filled with them without losing them to freezing temperatures during winter months.  Dahlia 'Tahiti Sunrise' If you get confused about the difference between dahlia dead heads and flower buds , at this internal link you can see the difference quite clearly. I used to grow a lovely dahlia called Fascination but, after years or growing from the same tuber, I went and forgot to protect it one year and it is now, sadly, deceased.  It...

It's been a while since I last posted but summer can be a quiet and lazy time for me in the garden—just mowing the lawn, dead heading flowers like those on the buddleias and roses, stuff like that.  However, this morning I mowed the lawn, then edged it and cut around the paving stones with my long-handled shears.  Yesterday, I was having a chat with the neighbour and I noticed that thriving nicely in her rather bedraggled lawn was a solitary bright orange flower amid several other little plants which had not yet flowered.  Jealously, I had to know what they were but she had no idea.  She said that they had sown themselves and that down the road, in other neighbouring gardens, there were lots of them right now.  So I Googled to find out what it was.  I'm not so jealous now.  The flower is Hieracium aurantiacum also known as Orange Hawkweed which is considered to be an invasive plant and a noxious one at that, i.e. harmful to the...