We looked at a few plants that were flowering in the garden this week. They included:
- Viburnum tinus ‘Eve Price’ is a bushy, medium-sized evergreen shrub with oval dark green leaves and, from late winter, clusters of deep pink buds which open to small white flowers. It has shiny dark blue-black berries. It is a very good hedging plant, very robust and can be chopped back hard.
- Viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’ is a strong-growing large deciduous shrub with dark green leaves and clusters of very fragrant, light pink and white flowers opening from autumn to spring, from red buds. This shrub grows well on chalk and attracts pollinating insects.
- Veronica peduncularis or creeping speedwell provides good ground cover or grows over walls – it has bright blue flowers in spring and bronze tinged leaves.
- Camellia – is a popular winter and spring flowering shrub. They usually need acid soil and are easy to grow in containers of ericaceous potting compost. Camellias are woodland plants that grow best in shelter and light shade, although with careful watering they can be grown in sunny positions. They prefer free-draining conditions, with plenty of organic matter, such as leaf mould, incorporated into the soil.
Activities in the garden this week:
- Measuring and marking out the plot for the new shed
- Sorting out the herb bed and planting out some summer savoury
- Preparing trenches for sweet peas to grow under the arches
- Finishing cutting back the hawthorn hedge
- Sorting out the veg beds (including combing through the grasses)
- Pricking out lettuce seedlings
- Sorting out pelargoniums in the greenhouse – cutting back and watering
- Cutting back the clematis to first set of buds and feeding and gritting the pots