GBBD December 2013

 December has been chilly with thick frost and fog in the mornings. But somehow the China roses have taken this as their signal to bloom as never before. Mutabilis is famous for year-long flowering but Sanguinea and Hermosa have also been exceptionally generous.

 Event he Teucrium Fruticans has gone on blooming right into winter this year, the deep blue of 'Azureum' being especially welcome.

 And the oak trees are gradually turning to golden and dropping their leaves into the pond.

Happy Garden Bloggers Bloom Day to all gardeners especially to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting the meme.
Y

Winter sun

December and a few days of chilly but bright sunny weather gets me out into the garden busy planting those shrubs and bulbs that really ought to have gone in ages ago. And a new ornament for the garden - a rather large but sophisticated terracotta pot, seen here with the China roses in full bloom and berries of Pyracantha. 
Y

GBBD June 2013 (late again ....)

The China roses continue to bloom - some now, others earlier, some already on a second flush. Cecil Brunner really comes into its own now.

The dry garden is a blaze of hot colour, partly thanks to wild poppies I have allowed to set seed but largely a mixture of Achillea: Paprika, Terracotta and a yellow one on short stems with nice silver foliage (? Flowers of Suphur?). Also a red form of Gaura. The addition of Nepeta, Verbena venosa and Salvia barrelieri calms the fervid intensity. I am trying Salvia 'Alan Chickering' for the first time and very much admire the spires of spikey flowers but worry that it will been seen off in the winter cold. But I have finally managed to get an Eryngium to grow and flower - must do more next year.

 
 

 Belated greetings for Bloom Day.
Y

Reflections on Paul's Himalayan Musk

This rampant rambler blooms for a short time but what other plant can give a display like this? The rose has climbed up over the roof to the chimney and down the other side! Y

Rosa Banksiae

Yes, I know that Rosa Banksiae Lutea is terribly common here and that it has little fragrance, but what a display and so early in the season. Just as abundant is R Banksiae Normalis which has single white flowers and the scent is almost overpowering. Another form which I find very useful for covering large areas is R Banksiae Purezza, which has large double flowers but not much scent. I am also trying to grow R Banksiae Lutescens which has single Yellow flowers and strong perfume but is rather sensitive to the cold, or at least it seems to be here whilst still a small plant. All of them deserve garden space. Y

GBBD October 2012

Well October is here already and the weather is still warm, mostly mid 20s, but the occasional day of rain has transformed the garden. Not only has green foliage recovered but now the roses are blooming again. The Chinas are especially free flowering but I think almost every rose bush is showing some blooms.

The Perovskia is still in bloom - such a faithful plant, bringing us flowers right since June.

Meanwhile I have been trimming back the cistus, phlomis and teuchriums before winter and generally tidy up; I am waiting for the temperature to drop a bit more before I start to plant new plants and bulbs.

Thank you to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting this Bloom Day.

Y

Roses already

Roses are blooming already. I expect to see the Banksiae very early - this year I have Purezza in flower for the first time as well as the udsual Lutea - but also the Chinas are covered in blooms: Mutabilis, Cramoisie Superieure, Old Blush, Pompon de Paris, Louis IV, Sanguinea. With any luck they will tough out the drought and keep blooimg through to autumn.

Y

I don't want to go to Chelsea ....

when I have a flower show of my own right here.

Y

PS You have to be of a certain age to recognise the Elvis Costello song in the title!

Rose garden at Spoleto

An outing with the Giardino Romano garden club to a specialist plant collector's rose garden near Spoleto. Prof Luciano Arcangeli has hundreds of roses, antique, modern and rare, arranged formally on pergolas next to the house and informally on the slopes running down through his olive grove. He knows the name and habits of every rose even the obscure ones he has tracked down in Hindu temples in India or in the mountains of Nepal. Interestingly he observes that the first roses that David Austin produced seem to do alright here in Umbria but the more recent ones do not.

Favourite roses I have noted down to plant next autumn (yes, planning next year already!) include Conrad F Meyer; Crepuscule; Alistair Stella Grey and Celine Forrestier. Watch this space!

Y

Early Chinese rose rally

The roses are starting to bloom especially early this year - which is strange as all the agricultural crops (vines, olives etc) are at least two weeks late. But Chinas already in flower are Beauty of Rosemaur, Comptesse du Cayla (new this year), Cramoisie Supérieur, Louis XIV, Mutabilis, Old Blush Clg, Pom pom du Paris, Queen Mab, Sanguinea, Viridis. Of these, the star performer to date is Pom Pom du Paris which is a huge shrub covered with cheerful pink pompoms. An early surprise but let's hope they stay blooming for a while. And there are at least another 5 varieties yet to come into flower.
Y