Spring Flowers 2013

[Jasmine]

Thank you for the noms ladies.
I seem to be spending time trying to convince myself to do less of this, that and the other...and I don't really need that...but my will power is hopeless
I have tried some other tulip combinations this year and some I'd repeat but others I won't - this one always works!

[Auricula]

It certainly does, and it's in a Posh Pot  

[Jasmine]

Not as posh as yours

[Tig]

That is a gorgeous combination Jas, well worth repeating, it looks stunning.

Great to see your garden coming to life torontotrini, should be a marvelous display come summer with all that enrichment you've put into the borders

If you've never taken time to sniff an auricula then next time you see some try it out. Not all seem to be perfumed but some are gorgeous, took these out for an airing this morning and got a couple of pics

Dales Red



I think this could be Alice Haysom, but I'm not certain



and the Black Jacks

[Auricula]

I'm not usually keen on the doubles, but that one is lovely :)Certainly the same colouring as Alice Haysom, but several are similar

[Tig]

Thanks Auricula - I thought that Alice Haysom was the nearest in petal shape, size and colouring - I don't know how anyone can tell some of them apart though

[Jasmine]

They'll be folk who can tell them apart like there are folk that can sort white snowdrops with green markings into named varieties!

[Ladygardener]

They're very beautiful Tig The detail on this is smashing and it really deserves

[torontotrini]

Lovely pics Tig. I've always like auriculas but never had much luck in getting them to do well for; don't know why. Do you know if they're OK with clay soil? That's what I've got here, but I work a fair amount of compost into my beds and borders on a fairly regular basis.

[Tig]

I'm not an expert torontotrini, it is only my second season growing them and I'm keeping them in pots rather than planting them out. As I understand it, there are four different types - Show, Alpine, Double and Border. I have a mixture I think They don't like being waterlogged so you may need to dig some grit into the clay before planting, they also don't like a lot of heat, so somewhere shady is better than full sun. They can withstand cold as long as they are in well drained soil, keeping them in pots in an unheated growhouse means I can leave them fairly dry during the winter months. They don't want too rich soil either, and a light feed with liquid tomato food in February and one in March should be enough to kickstart them into flower I'm told.

[Geranium]

They are lovely, Tig, but I don't really want to get into another species...so I shall just admire yours.

I've had a problem, as yet unresolved. In the lowest part of the garden, it was obviously under water for longer, and a lot of silt was left behind. There's no sign of the edge to the bed that used to be there. I am puzzling how to deal with it with no grass there either. Never mind - the Pimpinella didn't mind being submerged!

 

My Solanum 'Glasnevin' is coming into bloom. I think it's possibly my favourite climber.



Have I shown you the Rubus? I transplanted it earlier this year and it seems happy in its new position.

[torontotrini]

Thanks Tig. I only have one left from the ones I've tried, and to be honest, I don't know what kind it is. I lost the tags a long time ago. I'll try to tinker with it a bit, but I may have to start afresh with a couple new ones - if I can find an appropriate space for them.

[Rosefriend]

May 12, 2013 18:49:38 GMT Ladygardener said:

They're very beautiful Tig The detail on this is smashing and it really deserves

Love the contrast in this pic... Tig



RF

[Jilly]

 Lovely pic Tig, I do like Auriculas, especially the silver leaved ones.

[Auricula]

I have over 40 Show Auriculas in my alpine house. They are coming to the end of their flowering for this year as they are only small plants as yet and only had one flower each. I keep them in the alpine house, in clay pots, plunged into a sandbed and topped with grit. On the CFS show today, Mr Lockyear said his are kept north facing, so my NW facing alpine house is really a tad too sunny for them even with the shade netting I have. I absolutely love them and am looking forward to them giving bigger and better shows as the years go by.
I do have a few border ones outside in the beds but it's much easier to see and admire the flowers when they are raised

[Tig]

Thank you all very much for the noms. I thought they might be too much faff and bother for me, but so far they seem fairly easy to look after.

A friend leaves hers outside all summer, and just puts them under cover for the winter months. I'm not sure what I'll do in the long term, but it is lovely to unzip the growhouse at the moment, their perfume wafts out at me Must take a piccie of the one I got from the plant sale, it's very pretty, but had no name - I might have to google first to see if I can find it.

[Tig]

Here's my latest arrival, and I think it could be Gwen (or not, one site had an alpine one called Gwen which looked very similar, but on another site it looks nothing like it :

[Geranium]

That's a lovely colour, Tig.

My little Lupinus chamissonis   has flowered - I thought it flowered later, but I was really pleased to see the flowers yesterday, and there seem to be lots of buds.

[Jasmine]

I think tulips look even better after they've been flowering for a while...

Havran, Couleur Cardinal and Princess Irene.



This combination has definitely improved, or maybe it's just that the sun is shining!
Black Parrot and Menton Exotic.

[Jasmine]

Sorry, PB seems to think the first pic looks better on its side!

[Ladygardener]

They're like Jewels Jasmine and I do agree, as they get a little older they seem to deepen in colour as well. These are the very last of mine and started off creamy white and then developed their stripes.

[Geranium]

They're pretty - do you know their name, LG?  (Sorry the notification thingy won't work!)

[Jasmine]

Pretty tulips Ladygardener - they remind me of peppermint rock!  Thank you for your kind comment too - a bit of sunshine goes a long way doesn't it?
Aren't your geums doing well!

[Ladygardener]

Thanks Geranium and Jasmine they were a mixed batch of Lilly Tulips and did'nt have a name, they all opened according to their colours more or less and these are just the last ones. I know what you mean about the peppermint rock, when they were open in the sunshine the other day I was asked if they were lillies.
I'm delighted with my Geum now they've all really settled in Jasmine .

[Jasmine]

I'd be happy to have one of every geum going Ladygardener and Jilly has given me a plan on her Mum's garden thread!

[Ladygardener]

Yes they're wonderful with the Aquilegia are'nt they Jasmine.

[Jasmine]

Yes, they are Ladygardener, and I just happen to have some blue aquilegia waiting for a home!

[Ladygardener]

Oh happy days indeed Jasmine .

[torontotrini]

Well Spring has been unfolding as is more or less expected it should on this side of the big pound, so here how it has gone for my garden. generally quite good in my own unbiased eyes Quite a few pics here, and of course, not all taken on the same day. A few disappointments as per usual, but overall things have come along quite well so far and I must say I'm happy as far as how my early blooming shrubs have come along.



Serviceberry. New, and I'm looking forward to some nice berries later in the season for the birds and some nice fall colour.



Rhodendron "Aglow"







Azalea "Mother's Day"



Azalea "forgotten name". It has more of a pink shade to it than shows in the pic. with along with a light fragrance.



Azalea "Lemon Lights"











Two nice viburnums; blooms aren't particularly great, but they go into great berries for the birds in late summer and nice fall colour.



Nice viburnum; nice fragrance and fall colour, but no berries.



Rhododendron "Wojnar's Purple" Bit of a success story here. I got this one at an end of season clear out sale last season and it didn't look in particularly good shape so I didn't know how it would do through the winter; but it came through and gave me a few blooms this spring and looking OK. It's more of a "burgundy/purple" colour than a true purple. Very nice.





Euphorbia "Bonfire"



Azalea "Northern High Lights". Has a nice light fragrance.








Alium.





Rhododendron "Forgot Its Name"





Columbine. This variety seems to be more vigorous than the other colours. It's been coming up all over the garden this spring.



Semi False Spirea. Nice spring foliage colour and xpecting nice white blooms later in the season.



Heucherella



Columbine. Not as vigorous as the white but a good soldier.



Columbine again. Two in one here, actually. Bought it as one though, so bit of a bonus.



Dwarf Korean Lilac. Lovely fragrance.

[torontotrini]

Deutzia " Chardonnay Pearls"