They're out ...

My last post,  'Deefa ... Delphinium !' showed Delphiniums poised on the brink of flowering . Guess what ... the sun has worked its magic and they are now starting to bloom fully.

The darker blue ones seem to be blooming first, and they are the only ones which are fully out.

This paler blue Delphinium won't be long until it is out.

I think this one will be white.

Some of these plants I have grown from seed in previous years and others I have bought from various places, or been given them. They are very reliable and totally hardy but they need to be staked. In my earlier years of gardening, when  gardening  time was snatched between children and work, I never quite got round to the staking thing. Disaster ! They look fine , and you think you have winged it, but all it takes is a bit of wind, or a heavy downpour, and they are ruined. I learned the hard way, but like all gardening mistakes, I only made it once. I made lots of different ones on other occasions, but never that one again !

'Cinderella' and the old Broom !

I looked at this little corner today and knew there had to be some *sweeping* changes ! Brooms tend to be short-lived anyway, and this poor thing has been bending further over as each year passes ! I thought about staking it to hold it upright, but it wouldn't have any of it.

So, it had to go... Mercifully it was shallow rooted, so digging it up was an easy task.

The bed is just a blank canvas at the moment, but lurking just beneath the soil are various Hostas, with delphiniums behind them. There is a young hedge of Berberis Thunbergii Atropururea planted in front of the fence. So I wanted something to complement all those plants, and something to give a little height too.

Here it is when the Hostas are at their best, and just before the delphiniums began to flower.

Now, last year I took LOADS of rose cuttings, most of which are now growing on strongly, and some of which are ready to be planted out from the greenhouse, where they have been protected over winter.

I selected a healthy, vigorous baby 'Cinderella', a most gorgeous, full petalled pink climber, which is a repeat-flowerer from late Spring to the frosts. It will grow to about 2m if you let it. 

I planted it royally! I dug a deep hole, lined it with four year old well rotted manure, added a slow release rose fertiliser, planted the cutting (without any angst about whether the union should go above/ below soil level!!) and mulched with manure. 

It was only then I realised the fatal flaw in my planning ... 'Cinderella' is a climber and it had nothing to climb up ! Being a 'make-do-and-mend' gardener at heart, I got some canes and some wire and some old chicken wire ... then half remembered something that was lurking at the back of the shed !

At the end of last summer, ever watchful for a bargain, I bought a discounted obelisk, which I promptly put in a dark corner of the shed for the winter, then almost - but not completely - forgot ! It was flat- packed, but my man-who-does whipped his screwdriver out and built it pretty damn quick !

Just the jobkins !

So, there you have it ... the story of Cinderella and the old Broom !!

Toasty warm is always best ...

I am no scientist but I do like to do my own little Heath Robinson type experiments in the garden. I like to find out what happens to similar plants subjected to different conditions.

  I have always been a bit of a wuss where temperature is concerned, and have never subjected my seedlings/ young plants to goosebumps and chattering teeth (metaphorically speaking!).  I am not a risk - taker, so have always erred on the side of caution, and kept young plants in the kitchen/ conservatory, rather than my unheated greenhouses, until there is absolutely no risk of frost.  (See previous post  'My seedling guests are confused ... '). I want them to be healthy, happy plants and so give them optimum conditions to help them to prosper.

I have grown lots of 'Bishop's Children' from seed this year, dahlias with 'Bishop of LLandaff' parentage, but in a variety of rich bright reds/ oranges with dark foliage. I have grown them successfully before and the beauty is that you never know what you will get. Very exciting!

Because I had so many, I decided to try my little experiment and keep most inside whilst putting one tray in my unheated, but very solid, greenhouse.

These are the ones kept in the warmth and light of the conservatory by day and kitchen by night. Happy, healthy, growing on fast...

 I feel so guilty ... these poor little souls were left in the greenhouse to take their chance. Still alive - just - much smaller and stockier,  and with much darker foliage. They were sown on the same day from the same packet of seeds.

Then I did the same with some Delphinium seeds ('Pacific Giant') - these are the ones in the toasty warm :-

 Hmm , spot the imposter  in the seed tray above !

Below are the ones I was cruel to, and banned to the greenhouse. I know they are hardy plants, but all babies need cherishing !

All this experimentation has only served to reinforce what I already knew, that temperature plays such a big part in happy, healthy plants.

I will have to rescue the stalwarts from the greenhouse, now, and see if they catch up to the size of the others. Watch this space ...