Planting up the Hay Racks for Winter Interest

Hi everyone,
I'm well behind with posting my YouTube videos here on the blog. If you follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram then you know that my father has been very unwell, so we've been making a lot of hospital visits to see him.

In this video I'm planting up the hay rack baskets that sit under my craftroom window. I wanted to refresh them with some Autumn/Winter colour, and I must say, I'm very pleased with the results.

Enjoy!
Lots of love
Rebecca xx

Visiting Godinton House and Gardens for Delphinium week 2018

Splendid Delphiniums on Display

This week's video (taken on my brand-spanking new camera - the Canon M50) is a visit to the beautiful, tranquil walled garden at Godinton House near Ashford, Kent.

Set amongst 12 acres of grounds, the Walled Garden was the kitchen garden for the House and Estate.
It is now home to a huge Victorian-style greenhouse, clipped box wood, a  rich collection of herbaceous perennial plants, and the stars of the June show are very definitely the Delphiniums. So much so that Godinton House and the Delphinium Society host a 'Delphinium Week' each year.

Come and explore the Walled Garden with me, and experience these breathtaking plants in their prime, plus some cheeky extras in the greenhouse!

Enjoy!
Love
Rebecca xx

My Garden Tour Video - May 2018

There's so much going on in the garden at the moment, that I thought it was an ideal time to do a garden tour video.

The early-mid Spring flowers have faded, and the late Spring ones are bursting into life everywhere I look; geraniums, ceanothus, alliums, irises, wallflowers, heuchera, hostas and so much more. This is a lush time, before the summer heat takes its toll.



Enjoy!
Rebecca xx

Spring 2018 has arrived at last

Spring is in full swing!

It's taken it's sweet time, fierce easterly winds brought in snow, ice and freezing temperatures in March, but finally, enevitably, Spring 2018 has arrived - thank goodness!!

Let's have a look at a few of the highlights so far...

Alpines

New Alpine Planter

 This new planter is filled with two types of Arabis, one creeping and one upright, and wonderful softly spikey Armeria aka Thrift.

Spring Bulbs

Anemone coronaria and ladybird

I can't believe I took this photo with my camera phone! No filters or fancy stuff, this is just how stunningly vivid anemones look...the newly hatched ladybird needs to learn about the art of camouflage though 😄

Narcissus Tete-a Tete have been beautiful this year, and I love the contrast with these early purple tulips, the pink hellebores and all the vibrant fresh foliage.

Narcissus Tet-a Tete, Tulips and Hellebores

Sempervivums

I've just refreshed my Sempervivum planters, they are doing really well, and have put on lots of growth as the days are getting longer and warmer. I love the tapestry of colours, sizes, textures and markings.

A Mixture of Sempervivum in a Strawberry Pot

But as you'll see from the next photo, they also look really fabulous when one variety is planted en-mass (see the top right pot crammed with a cushion of wine red Semps)

More Sempervivum Planters

The Woodland Garden

Things are changing daily in the Woodland Garden, and whilst I love all my plants, there is something very special about Wood Anemones (Anemone nemorosa). I remember walking through woodland with my mother, and her pointing out these shining white, daisy-like flowers to me. She loved them, and the way they spread and bloom under deciduous trees.

My clumps are growing huge, and last Spring I took the opportunity to split off some pieces and replant them in other areas of the Woodland Garden.  I was delighted to see them flowering among the Primroses and Dog Violets too.

Wood Anemones glowing under the trees

On the Lawn

I scurrified the grass ready for it's first cut, and was surprised by this little beastie proudly sticking out from the turf...

A Morel Mushroom

And the Morel of this story is...Sorry, that's a terrible joke 😁

Don't become plant blind, nature is amazing and ever-changing. It's so important that we appreciate its diversity, ingenuity and tenacity. Not just from an environmental or horticultural standpoint, but also to get our faces out of our smartphones and start experiencing real life.

What's going on in your garden right now? Let me know in the comments,

Love

Rebecca xx

Early Spring Sunshine

The sun was so warm this weekend, that I took full advantage to get some jobs done in the garden, join me .... https://youtu.be/yX1lfKsO_zg

The Start of a New Obsession - Succulents

You know when you get that 'feeling' about something or someone, and you just know it's the start of something big? Well recently I got that for an Echeveria at the local DIY superstore.

Echeveria - Isn't it pretty!

Historically, I've not had huge success with houseplants, and after a while I get annoyed with crusty looking soil, dusty window ledges and sunlight being blocked from rooms. Not to mention my extreme clumsiness - potted plants and cream carpets do not mix!

Then I was given a Moth Orchid (Phalaenopsis), then another, and another...I've got about 10 now (I think), they really love my West/ Northwest facing kitchen window. Then someone gave me their ancient Hoya (Wax Flower). I was terrified I'd kill it, but it also adores my kitchen window sill!

As I watched more videos from my favourite YouTuber (besides myself of course lol), Laura at Garden Answer, I realised how diverse the world of succulents is, the stunning arrangements you can create with them, and the propagation techniques you can try and (hopefully) master. My interest was piqued, but I wanted to start gently. So I got myself some Sempervivum (aka houseleeks, Hen and Chicks or Ice Plants), and created some exciting outdoor planters and projects.

Sempervivum are a brilliant way into the world of succulents

Sempervivum are completely hardy in the UK, and will survive down to zone 4 in the USA (−34.4 °C (−30 °F)) - That's pretty darn cold!! The range of colours and textures is lovely, and they are so easy to propagate. When the 'mother' plant (or Hen) grows baby offshoots (chicks) on thick fiberous 'stems', you can either gently pull them off the hen and plant them somewhere else, or allow them to form a beautiful clump. Eventually the hen will die (after about 3 years), and you can take that opportunity to renovate the clump, or just position some of the chicks on top of the brown patch the hen leaves behind.

The large central 'Hen' surrounded by her 'Chicks'

They are quite the most forgiving succulent, and being outdoor plants are much much less demanding than indoor (tender) succulents.

But then I saw it...shriveled and stretched out (etiolated), planted in a chunky glass container with no drainage and marked down from £5 to £2...

The true state of this poor Echeveria

So I thought, I could use this poor sad creature to practice propagation etc on, the worst thing that could happen is that I kill it outright, and lose £2, but potentially I could have 10-12 leaves, a crown and a rooted stem to grow new plants from - isn't that a really exciting concept?

In fact it was so exciting that the following day I went back and bought the other 3 discounted Echeveria and created this...

Leaf cuttings and Crown cuttings read to get growing

80 leaf cuttings, five crowns, four rooted stems (not shown), and an experiment with an unrooted stem, which unfortunately started to go mouldy, so I threw it away for the health of all the other cuttings.

I should mention that there is a really important step in between taking the cuttings and laying them on damp soil to form roots, and that is to allow the wet wounds to dry out and form a callous. This prevents the cuttings soaking up too much water and rotting off. It can take 3-5 days for this to happen, and smaller wounds will callous faster than large ones like crown cuttings.

In this photo the cuttings and soil surface had just been damped down with a spray bottle, I will now leave them alone for a week or so in a bright location, but out of direct sunlight.

This is a brave new world for me, and you can fully expect more blog posts, YouTube videos, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts on the subject.

Do you have a passion for succulents? Have you had a go a propagating them? Leave me a comment below and lets have a chat :)

Love
PB xx