Deadheading Roses - A Few Pointers

Cut Off flowers As They Fade

Dead heading roses when the flowers begin to fade will encourage them to produce more flowers and will also enhance the appearance of the plant. Cut off individual flowers as they fade and then after the last flower has bloomed on the stem cut it back to a bud lower down the stem. If you are growing roses that produce hips during late summer do not deadhead the rose at all and let it produce its seed.

Rose Yellow Dream

 

Rose Purple Tiger

Rose Sweet Dreams

Rose Intrigue

Where Did The Sun Go??

Flaming June came to a sudden halt this week with high winds and torrential rain mid week causing quite a bit of damage in my garden breaking branches off trees and shrubs and knocking taller perennial's to the ground it has also triggered the weeds to grow at an unprecedented rate.

This afternoon I went out to do a little bit of tidying up staking the Foxgloves to begin with then I began the task of cutting back early flowering perennial's such as hardy Geraniums and Delphiniums. These can be cut to the base of the plant, it will help keep the borders tidy and encourage fresh new foliage this will soon appear in a couple of weeks then hopefully there will be a second flush of flowers in late summer or early autumn.

Lupins and Foxgloves can be cut at the bottom of the flower stalk as soon as the flowers have faded before the plant sets seed and as a rule Lupins will flower again later in the year, one year by doing this I had my Lupins flower three times.

Philadelphus Virginial

My favourite in the garden this week has got to be Philadelphus Virginial I planted this a few years ago and this year is the best I have seen it the gorgeous pure white double flowers have a light scent that is reminiscent of orange blossom it has been flowering for a couple of weeks now and keeps getting better and better.

Summer Seems To Have Finally Arrived!!

What a tremendous week of weather we have had, this week the plants have doubled in size. However there is always a downside for us at the nursery when the weather is warm we spend hours watering plants with the hosepipe keeping them all alive, we never seem to have many in between days as I call them if we are not being washed away with rain we are being blown away with wind it's always a challenge but I would still take the sun any day.

Everything seems to have more or less caught up after the bad winter with the exception of a few things. I took a few hours off today to take stock of my own garden. Most things now are looking quite lush but I have to question why mature plants suddenly die I had a lovely Sambucus black lace growing quite happily for the last two years only to discover it didn't make it through winter. 

My ten minute border as I call it (as I only get ten minutes here and there to work in it) is beginning to look quite full and there are still quite a few surprises still emerging, the Osteospermum Jucundum is spreading out well and began flowering this week with delightful sugary pink flowers that open and close with the sun. Geranium Albanum are providing low growing colourful ground cover with pink veined flowers that age to near white, it looks as if I had planned a pink garden so I am waiting to see what's next to flower and it's colour.

I love all flowers and the tranquility of my garden listening to the birds and watching the bee's gives me a great feeling and sense of satisfaction. 
It was Chelsea this week and I think most people would like a garden like those we see on television and in the past I have gone out with great gusto to create that as seen on TV garden only not to achieve the dream then I give up when it pours with rain, but sitting here in the sunshine with a cup of coffee looking at my half slug eaten Lupins makes me realise that my garden is my little bit of heaven that I have created on my own slugs an all.

Here Comes The Sun (Hopefully)

The weather this week has once again been awful to say the least with a good mix of torrential rain, hail at times and strong winds with some night time temperatures still around freezing. Many of our plants here in the nursery are still showing little signs of growth due to lack of sunshine and cool conditions and when new growth does appear it is burnt again with a fresh bout of cold weather, this can be very frustrating from a growing point of view.

Our Sad Looking Fuchsia Alba

Beautiful Pieris Forest Flame

In our own garden many mature plants are not looking their best right now either and are slow to come out of winter mode. I had admired the fresh new growth of a Pieris forest flame with blazing bright red foliage in my shrub border last weekend only to realise by Thursday the lovely new growth had been hit with the cold weather again and my hardy Fuchsia's are showing little signs of life at the minute, we have only managed to cut our lawn once so far this year as every time we get a spare hour to do a few jobs you've guessed it rains. 

As a gardener I know this is a temporary measure and that nature will catch up, I'm not quite sure how it does it but a little warmth and sunshine goes along way. It does mean we have enjoyed some of our spring flowering plants a little longer such has Hellebores and winter Heathers these are still flowering away in the borders extremely happy.

Cherry Blossom

I have noticed beautiful cherry blossoms have burst into 
life this week with pink and white trees bringing welcome colour to gardens along my route to work, and as I took my dog poppy out for her usual walk the sloe trees have more blossom than I have seen for many a year so maybe things are on the up as they say and it's nearly time to get the bbq out. Hopefully there will be plenty of sloe berries this year if I can pick them before the birds get to them to make one of my particular favourites sloe gin a nice little tipple for the winter months a head.

Sloe Blossom (Bring On The Gin!!)

From My Garden

A Promise To Myself...

Towards the end of last year I was fed up with seeing pots of plants that either were not saleable or had no labels so I decided I would put these in a border at the back of my house that had nothing in it apart from a couple of shrubs and a lot of weeds.  However the weather last year was appalling from August onwards rain, rain and a bit more rain so all I did was dig a hole put these few oddments of plants in then forgot about them.

This week I decided to take a look at this border so in between the heavy showers I began the mammoth task of weeding and clearing this area, as usual I forgot to photograph the border when I started and it wasn't until I had nearly finished I regretted not taking pictures. 

I was really surprised to see how many little plants are beginning to emerge after winter and from inbetween the buttercups that were smothering this area. I am now beginning to wonder what they are, there's certainly Aquilegia, Geraniums and a couple of Peony's.

I am guessing there will be a few bits that will be in the wrong place that I will have to move later, but I think sometimes that's what gardening is all about. I have lost track of the times I have planted something only to discover it grew too big for the area or it didn't thrive, so I had to move it to a new spot in the garden.

I have made a promise to myself to take a few pictures as the summer goes on, I will definitely keep you updated....