Summer weather and tree paeonies

With the weekend temperatures well above 20 C, a whole range of plants that should have flowered a bit earlier (but didn't because of the unseasonal cold snap) are catching up now. My tree paeonies have all started flowering in response to a bit of sunshine. P. delavayi in the red border has produced lovely dark red flowers with maroon stamens, while two P. rockii hybrids produce white/silvery pink flowers in the white border (unfortunately unknown cultivars, i picked these up rather cheaply in a local garden centre; I'll be getting my next ones from Phedar nursery). All are perfectly hardy, and i get more flowers every year. I do however seem to lose one or two of the woody branches every spring, so the plants never reach 'tree'-like proportions. Especially the P. rockii plants tend to grow top heavy, with little growth coming from the base. I would like to prune them to rejuvenate the growth, but i am not sure the plants would recover well. 

Talking about pruning, our Wisteria floribunda var. 'Macrobotrys' is also producing more flowers year on year. This plant was one of the first we planted, now 4 years ago, and it produced about 8 flowers in that first spring. What a difference a good double pruning regime makes over the years! If let loose, this plant would cover the house in no time with lots of green growth (but few flowers). I cut the long wispy growth mid July, followed by a second pruning in middle of winter to create as many short, flowering spurs.  

Finally, some warmth and bluebells!

We finally have hit close to 20 degrees C this week, and more of that is to come according to forecasts (finally!). We have had some bluebells opening already, but they now have truly started flowering in their thousands and turning our hill blue (the picture is from spring 2009, but i'll make some new ones for a bluebell dedicated post end this week)! Always a spectacular sight and truly starting the flowering season in our garden. The first Syringa to join them in flowering is Syringa x hyacinthiflora "Pocahontas', the x hyacinthiflora's flower a few weeks earlier than the S. vulgaris  cultivars and are supposed to be more floriferous and have the true lilac sent. It does smell good! I'll update with a picture of the other lilacs we have which are all still in bud somewhere end next week. Unfortunately, our acidic soil which is otherwise of great benefit, does not agree well with Syringa, and i've started added a top dressing of lime pellets to see whether i can improve their vigour.

Ajuga reptans

Despite the unseasonal cold, Ajuga reptans has been steadily colonising it surroundings and has produced its blooms right on time. We have two varieties planted in the purple border, A. reptans 'Braunhertz' and the much more rare A. reptans 'Little court pink' which has lovely pink (in stead of the usual blue!)  spires that combine well with the brown leaves. Both are semi-evergreen, and the maroon/brown leaves combine well with the various purple hues in the border. Prolonged wet weather can cause occasional fungal infections, but these plants are usually highly dependable. I found 'Little court pink' in Larch cottage nurseries, and am still looking for A. reptans 'Alba' to add to our white borders.

Acaena family

Besides the excellent purple ground cover A. inermis var. purpurea (see my post of 13 May 2010), there are additional colours available in the Acaena family. I planted A. microphylla 'Kupferteppich' (3rd picture), coppery foliage, white burs, red/brown seed heads),  A. saccaticupula 'Blue Haze' (2nd picture), sturdy stems with excellent blue coloured leaves), A. caesiiglauca (top picture), finely cut leaves of pewter, mauve tinged leave on bronze stems) and A. buchananii (bottom picture, white inconspicuous burs, silverly blue leaves, very low to the ground). All seem to perform well, and cover increasingly large areas with an (semi-)evergreen layer of finely divided coloured leaves. Unfortunately, different plants seem to be on offer with similar names, and i have seen very different plants being labelled 'Blue Haze'. I'll post a picture of the various species in flower later as well of any new Acaena's i might obtain! Most can be obtained through specialist nurseries (Kupferteppich is widely available) and they can also be grown from seed.

Malus x 'Harry Baker', S. raulstonii Hartlage Wine

Our crab apple has just started flowering, finally! We planted Malus x 'Harry Baker' last year which has dark leaves, exceptionally colourful, dark pink flowers in spring and finally large, ruby-red fruit in autumn that is edible. At the same time, the deciduous shrub Sinocalycanthus raulstonii Hartlage Wine (which has has outstanding dark wine red flowers) has shown us its first flower as well, hopefully many more to come! This hybrid between a Calycanthus and Sinocalycanthus species is still rare, but i picked up a decent size specimen at Bridgemere garden centre at a very reasonable price (also obtained the Malus there). We've got some related Calycanthus and Sinocalycanthus shrubs dotted around the garden, both given their young age, no flowers yet. Most of these survived the winter perfectly well, but it appears the young leaves can be damaged by frost. 

May frost, A. inermis

While we managed to escape late May frosts until now, the clear skies of tonight resulted in plummeting temperatures. We were greeted in the morning by the unwelcome sight of the entire garden covered in hoar frost! Had a walk through the garden in the evening and luckily found most plants unharmed. Our inherited Pieris, as well as recently planted magnolia's (including the Black Magnolia cultivar i recently raved about) have suffered most, with the young leaves blackened by the frost. I hope they survive and that this was the last we will see of winter 2009-2010! On a positive note, we planted Acaena inermis var. purpurea throughout the purple border last year and this little evergreen (or should it be everpurple?) creeping ground cover appears perfectly hardy and eager to cover vast areas. The foliage is a lovely metallic purple and the leaves carry small dew drops in the mornings just like A. mollis. Little white flowers should occur when planted in sunny spots later in spring. There are several other Acaena species we have planted throughout the garden and i hope to report on these soon.

Corydalis flexuosa "Purple Leaf" and Aconitum episcopale

I picked up this exciting Corydalis from the RHS garden centre at Harlow Carr last year and proves a great addition to our purple border, with green- purple leaves emerging in early spring. It is in full flower now and will soon retreat in the shadow of a large rose shrub we inherited from the previous owners. The leaves do become less purple as the plants matures, but it still is a more interesting variety compared to the ordinary C. flexuosa in my opinion. As this plant is clumping up nicely, i am hoping in can start to divide late autumn this year. The plant at the back is a climbing aconitum, A. episcopale, which has lovely dissected foliage and climbs up from ground level each year. Bought last year at Dove Cottage and survived the harsh winter without any problem. I'll post some pictures of its flowers in autumn, when it competes with the various purple clematis cultivars in the border for attention.

Viola cornuta, scented flowers spring till autumn!

Violas are excellent front of border perennials that flower from spring till autumn, often with scented flowers. Many of them have started flowering now in our garden. The low mats of evergreen foliage require a tidy up after winter and some varieties self-seed. We acquired a whole range in white, blue or pink colours from Dove Cottage nurseries (see pictures, from top to bottom): Viola cornuta Victoria Cawthorne (pink, does not self-seed), Victoria's blush (pale pink, strongly reduced in winter, does not self-seed), Myfanwy (marbled mauve, only planted this year), Icy but Spicy (blue with black veins, only planted this year), Netta Stratham (silvery-grey/mauve, strong grower, self-seeds), Alba (white, strong grower, does not self-seed at our garden), and Belmont Blue (pale sky blue, strong grower, self-seeds). Most of the varieties that we have had seem long-lived, and perfectly hardy. I am hoping some of the seedlings that are cropping up near the parent plants might actually prove new hybrids.

Magnolia "Black Tulip"

During one of my many trips to Bridgemere, one of the UKs biggest garden centres and only 1.5 hours drive away, i came across Magnolia "Black Tulip". This new cultivar introduces a deep maroon-black colour to the magnolia repertoire that is quite simply stunning, and I needed to take this plant home there and then! I could just envisage a mature specimen making a dramatic impact in our garden, especially at a time when our blue bell drifts will start flowering. I planted it out in our purple border last year and found it made healthy growth in a single season doubling the plant size from 1 to nearly 2m (i am hoping for a large tree ultimately). I eagerly awaited this spring and could count several flower buds on our plant. Although the plant did not suffer in the harsh winter we've had, a recent light overnight frost did harm the unfolding young leaves as the first flowers opened. The flowers themselves appear less affected by the cold, and are of variable size. They are bleached to a certain extend by the sun. The recent cultivar "Genie" apparently holds it colour better, although i have not seen it yet (available only from Burncoose nurseries as far as i am aware). Black Tulip itself is now more commonly available, also through crocus. I hope to report more on how our Magnolia Black Tulip is doing in coming years!

Pennine Gardening and Clematis armandii

Following relocation to Manchester, we found ourselves having the opportunity to buy a decent size plot in a pennine village nearby (sort of). Gardening in the Pennines offers the possibility of great hill top views but also challenges the gardener with predominantly wet and cool weather. This blog documents progress in our plans to create a Pennine Garden, battling steep slopes, brambles, deer, slugs and rain, rain, rain .... Some plants have done remarkably well, while others care not for our damp acid soil. So, what can be achieved? Looking at some nearby gardens for inspiration, quit a lot! Check out one of our favourite nurseries and gardens only a few miles away: dove cottage nursery in Halifax. A wonderful perennial garden in the Piet Oudolf-style attached to an excellent and well-stocked nursery! Closer to home there is land farm gardens near Hebden Bridge, a garden perched on a hill top which combines shrub and perennial planting with sculpture. More to the north, we have been inspired by the RHS Harlow Carr garden in Harrogate and the walled garden at Scampston Hall (designed by Piet Oudolf). Both situated outside of the Pennine slopes, but with similarly cool climates.

Can we create a garden (on a slightly smaller scale) that could withstand the comparison? I hope we can. Can my penchant for unusual and exotic plants be satisfied? Never! Do we have an unlimited budget to create an instant big splash? We wish. So, this is going to be a long journey which we hope to document plant by plant. I'll start with an overview of where we are at. We have been here for 3 short summers and 3 long winters, the house walls have been clothed in various climbers (one of the first things we did was to plant wisteria and Clematis armandii, even before our furniture arrived!) and some loosely colour-themed borders have been installed.

We just had one of the worst winters for the past years, although that meant it was much drier as well. Our evergreen clematis C. armandii "Snowdrift" is heralding spring in from early April (we are a bit late this year) till this week. This plant does wonderfully well against our eastern house wall, now growing by several meters each year. Once established it needs little care except for some guidance of its shoots, but, while young, it seemed prone to wilting of the young shoots during warm days (i presume its juvenile root system could not cope with water demand). As the name suggests, it produces vast quantities of wonderfully white flowers with a strong scent. It survived the past pennine winters without any damage. So far so good. While the plant looks attractive year round with coppery young foliage that turns into glossy dark evergreen leaves, the plant does eventually become bare at the bottom, as it tends to produce new growth near the top. C. armandii "Snowdrift" and other cultivars such as "Appleblossom" are widely available at most garden centres or on-line.