We have had a very wet week, with very little sun. In between showers I have discovered a couple of pests causing damage to foliage. The mullein moth caterpillar has been feasting on a clump of verbascums making large holes in the leaves. I have found that the easiest way of combating them is to simply pick them off and dispose of them. It’s the first time I have come across these, even though I have been growing verbascums for years. Another first is the geranium sawfly. I have always thought of geraniums as being pest-free and I have found no reference to the sawfly in earlier textbooks. The larvae make fairly neat, small, round holes in the leaves, which detract more from the appearance, than the actual health of the plant. Besides an odd one, the culprits had disappeared, although it’s possible to get another attack later in the year. The odd thing is that they attacked one geranium but a different species growing right next to it was left alone. The good news is no lily beetle yet!
Rather magnificent veining of Geranium x magnificum ‘Blue Blood‘ which is a variant of the original cross: G. ibericum x G. platypetalum.
Another of my favourite candelabra primulas. Although this plant was grown from seed last year, overwintered in a container, and only planted out a a month ago it has still produced a reasonably sturdy flower stem. If it had only made a weak attempt to flower I would have removed the stem to allow it to bulk up more.
I have mixed feelings about this rambler. It opens from a really nice tight, typical rosebud. When half- open it till maintains its form. When fully open it becomes a bit of a mess! It might be that the form I have is not as good as it might be, but even though it is also only lightly scented, I am reluctant to part with it.
I can’t resist the colour and texture of herb borage, I even have a photograph on my wall. This plant is flowering from a cold sowing at the end of January.
I have cheated a bit here in order to show the various stages of Viburnum plicatum ‘Kilimanjaro Sunrise’. It opens with the petals suffused quite a dark pink, goes to almost pure white, and then fades to a softer pink as it ages. This is a young plant but the flowers lasted quite well. The flowers of Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum ‘Mariesii’, which flowered earlier, were over very quickly. I think it could have been the long dry spell that caused this to happen.
Geranium × oxonianum f. thurstonianum ‘Southcombe Double’ to give it its full title, is one of a massive group of geraniums which are variants of crosses between G. endressii and G. versicolor, that contain many of my favourites. I think that this is a rather pretty little thing.
This meme is hosted by Jim Stevens who is to be found with all the details and links to plenty of other blogs to enjoy at Garden Ruminations.
A Plantsman's World 
I have the same geranium this week! I don’t know if it’s ‘Blue Blood’, but in any case it’s the same variety. Very pretty at this season
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I wasn’t a great fan of geraniums until I realised how useful and versatile they are. Your G. x magnificum is one of the most grown because it is so good.
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I love the viburnum, you get three for the price of one, very pretty. Lovely candelabra primula, that has done very well in one year. Hope you (and I) get a little respite from the rain this week. No sign of that today!
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Thank you. I have always grown viburnums, one of my favourite shrubs. The rain has certainly destroyed a few blooms this week, but at least the candelabras enjoyed it! They say ” Be careful what you wish for.” and I was certainly desperately wishing for rain a couple of weeks ago!
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I’m very familiar with mullein moth but since I only grow the wild mullein it seems fitting to let them do their munching. Does that lessen the pressure on nearby ornamental Verbascums, or increase it? I wish I could say I’d not seen lily beetle yet but they’ve been around for months.
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Interesting point, Jim. Perhaps using them as a decoy could work. Still fingers crossed concerning the dreaded lily beetle. I used to find them on the fritillary first.
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I always feel that you can’t have too many geraniums, I use them to hide the bare legs of my roses and all the colours go so well together. Like our Viburnum and the way it changes colour, 3 for the price of one!
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Since I am now gardening on poor soil and in, at times, rather challenging conditions I have found geraniums indispensable. In fact, I think I have become a little bit obsessed with them! 😃
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I have a Verbascum that has out done the caterpillar this year. But all these pests are sneaky aren’t they?
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I must admit, as caterpillars go the mullein moth caterpillar is a very handsome chap. I think he also has access to a “cloak of invisibility.”
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I love the different stages of Viburnum plicatum ‘Kilimanjaro Sunrise.’
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Thanks. I definitely have a “thing” about viburnums.😄
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Kilimanjaro Sunrise is a stunner!
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I just love viburnums. If the V. plicatum cultivars were evergreen they would be my perfect shrub.
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I came across a picture of one, and after reading the description, I decided I must have it. Luckily my local wholesale nursery had a few and also sell to the public.
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‘Kilimanjaro Sunrise’ is amazing. Thanks for “cheating” so your readers could see each beautiful stage. Thanks for so faithfully sharing your beautiful garden.
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Thank you very much.
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Your candelabra primula is gorgeous! I’m glad you decided to let that stem flower! I’m happy to see your photo triptych displaying three different stages of the Viburnum ‘Kilimanjaro Sunrise’ – very helpful to anyone considering buying a Viburnum.
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Thank you. On nearly every post I publish, there seems to be one thing that stands out. In this case, it is very much ‘Kilimanjaro Sunrise’.
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