GARDENER'S WORD

Last year (2019) I planted Lathyrus vernus (spring pea) 'Rainbow' and I'd forgotten all about it until it popped up again this year. It has been somewhat swamped by the Italian parsley which I planted into the border last year and expected to die, but which has survived our rather wet and mild winter. Lathyrus vernus 'Rainbow' is a delightful and delicate-looking plant to have and it's not picky about where you can grow it.  Lathyrus vernus (spring pea) 'Rainbow' April 2020 Apparently the flowers are good for cutting but I think I'll leave them right there in the garden. Although you cannot see from the photograph, it also produces flowers which are just pink! It's quite quirky really. 

Slowly but surely my small collection of Japanese maples are growing and they are putting on a lovely show right now.    Acer palmatum 'Katsura'   is doing the best, even though it had serious signs of die-back last year and I had to cut off one branch. What with dieback and the dastardly vine weevil attacking the roots of various plants, particularly those left in containers, no one can tell me that gardening is easy. I lost a beautiful acer, Acer palmatum 'Orange Dream' to that insect.  Acer palmatum 'Katsura' Then there is the one called Jordan, which has potential for being quite spectacular when it gets bigger. I had to move it last year because it was getting wind-burn and I am hoping that it might fair better in its new spot which is only a little distance away from its original place but I suspect it will be less vulnerable. Time will tell. Japanese acer shirasawanum 'Jordan' Another one,  Acer palmatum 'Phoenix', is showy ...

After a week or so of sunshine we now have some welcome rain. I'm hoping that it will brighten up again very soon because here in the UK we are still in a state of Covid-19 lock down and I like to get out into the garden. I took some photos yesterday of my plants and one that is particularly wonderful right now is the Exochorda macrantha 'The Bride'. Exochorda macrantha 'The Bride' aka Pearl Bush I bought it on a whim; a must have but, when I have looked at images of the mature shrub online, it can get much bigger than I would hope for. I would say it has doubled its size in a year and for now I am keeping it under control in the same pot.  It's a little dazzler though. The trouble is, its branches are longer than the depth of the pot so I am having to elevate it by standing the pot on an upturned pot. Exochorda macrantha 'The Bride' aka Pearl Bush (end April 2020) Exochorda macrantha 'The Bride' aka Pearl Bush (3 May 2019) Exocho...

Although the Covid-19 coronavirus lock down continues in the UK, as well as in other countries, I am still able to get out into my garden. It's the end of the Easter weekend and we have been blessed with sunshine and some warmth, although it is a little cooler today than it has been. Still sunny though. Yesterday I transplanted (pricked out) the Tumbling Tom tomato seeds into their individual containers and there are 18 plants in all. Hopefully, they will do well and I shall have a good crop of tomatoes. It's really all down to the weather. Tumbling Tom tomato seedlings Tumbling Tom tomato seedlings after 'pricking out'.  Tumbling Toms - 2015 Also the sunflowers seedlings, Oranges & Lemons, are coming along nicely and although they seemed somewhat leggy and wobbly at first, the stems are toughening up.  Sunflower seedlings & houseplants getting some sunshine outside.

Last year a beautiful fern of mine,  Dryopteris filix-mas Euxinensis , was so large that it looked ridiculous where it was. It is an upright type of fern, grew to several feet high, and hid the wonderful arching ferns behind it. Sad as it is, it has to go. So, yesterday I tried to dig it up. Who would have thought that a fern could have roots like an oak tree! Perhaps that's using hyperbole, but I dug and dug and couldn't get it out. I tried chopping at it - it was hard as rock - and I tried levering it out of the ground and thought the spade and fork handles were going to snap. It's still there. Half in half out. There it will have to stay for a while as, today, as I stepped through the kitchen door into the garden, my back went into a protest—so perhaps another day. I may keep a piece of it so that it can thrive elsewhere.  Dryopteris filix-mas Euxinensis roots Dryopteris filix-mas Euxinensis roots Dryopteris filix-mas Euxinensis roots Ferns make a ga...