Rambling in the Garden

It has been another uncomfortably hot week, although not quite as hot as last week; today a welc0me and relatively cool breeze has blown in, which could make it more conducive to getting outside and getting on with neglected garden tasks, especially deadheading, if it continues. Meanwhile, all lilies in pots, whether Asiatic or oriental, were over quickly this year, no doubt aided by the heat, but a couple of the ‘tree lilies’ are just coming into bloom now, like the one above. which does have a label although it was too hot to root around at its base to find it.

A big shock this week, albeit pleasant, was the very sudden appearance of a bright yellow crocosmia in one of the bold borders, ironic because of a recent conversation amongst fellow bloggers. Checking my emails, I could trace my original order for it, so I knew it was planted last year and is one of five ‘George Davidson’ corms – what has it been doing since then, I wonder, and where are the other four? It is nonetheless very welcome, injecting a bright perkiness into a border of hot and thirsty herbaceous perennials.

I am sure the weather is responsible for the speedy demise of my sweet peas; they are still flowering, but with very short stems that would be barely useable. Every year I regret not making a second, later sowing, ready to plant out when these have had enough; will I remember to do so next year? Who knows…

I don’t know if the heat has also played havoc with my dahlias – other hot summers have kept the plants more compact, which they are this year, but this season they are also very slow to flower. Out of twelve dahlias, two were flowering by mid June or so and another two have just produced their first flowers; none of the rest are flowering yet although they are in bud. Admittedly, four of them were new this year from rooted cuttings, but ‘normally’ even these would be flowering by the end of June, along with all the others. Very odd.

I have been asked about my clematis feeding and pruning regime. Almost all my clematis are the viticella type, and pruning is essential for good flowering, but easy. I cut all of them back to about 3 feet to tidy them up in the autumn or early winter, then in late February or March I cut them to about 6 inches above ground level, ideally above the second set of buds. Herbaceous clematis are pruned in the same way, but C heracleifolia should be left unpruned till early spring to give some winter protection. An annual mulch of rotted manure or compost during autumn or winter is recommended, to maintain moisture in the soil, then add a handful of slow release fertiliser and the same of bonemeal in February, watering them in. In March, add a handful of magnesium salts and in April the same of  sulphate of potash, again watering them in. These recommendations come from Thorncroft Clematis, from whom I now buy all my clematis; is it worth the effort? My clematis flower brilliantly, so yes, is my opinion. Below is Clematis ‘Gypsy Queen’, which doesn’t fall into any particulaar clematis and starts flowering a little later than some viticella, but is pruned as a Group 3 too.

Finally, my sixth contribution to Jim’s Six on Saturday meme at Garden Ruminations, is a closer look at how I am stringing up my greenhouse tomatoes this year. After successfully growing them that way last year, I felt I needed a more structured system than my impromptu set-up last year, which threatened the framework of the greenhouse as the tomatoes grew and ripened. There are a limited number of channels in the framework to attach anything to, but after much discussion, the Golfer attached two strips of galvanised banding to either end of the greenhouse with brackets, utilising an existing hole at one level, but having to remove a pane of glass and drill another at a higher level. The banding was attached to the brackets at either end, and supported with brackets affixed to the intervening channels in the framework. At the base of the plants, I affixed the thick jute twine to short stakes with a ring at the end (made in different lengths for me by a local metal worker, to use with string for staking plants), but on Gardeners’ World Monty Don just buries the end in the soil, and then tie the other end to the galvanised band. As tomatoes grow, they are easily twisted round the string. It may look Heath Robinsonish, but it works. A wooden greenhouse offers a lot more flexibility and I believe you can buy special brackets with hooks or rings. Give it a try – just think, no more tying in!