I have already had some crocus and iris in flower this year but for the purpose of my new blog here are some plants which are in flower this week.

I love daffodils and narcissus, there something about them that really heralds spring, although there are quite a few plants that are in flower earlier they still steal the show for me. This year with the cold spring they seem to have lasted longer than usual.

Personally I always deadhead, let the foliage die down naturally and, if I remember, feed with a high potash liquid feed such as Tomorite.

Amongst the springtime greens and yellows the plugs I planted last year add a splash of bright colour. Heucheras are fairly forgiving given sun and a reasonable soil but will not tolerate overcrowding.

Reliable easy to grow alpine phlox, almost garish colours provide a real splash. Best grown in a sunny spot on fairly poor but well drained soil. The thing to remember about most “rock dwellers” is that they don’t need a rich medium to grow well and will grow “soft” and not flower well if overfed.

Geum is one of my favourite genera other than the weed Geum urbanum which had become a real pest in my last garden. There are plenty of cultivars available now as the genus has become a popular subject for plant breeders. Although many are very showy the one pictured below is quite muted. They are tolerant of shade and will grow in even fairly poor soils, not only that many have a very long flowering period.

Here’s to the next time!

After an absence of over a year in which time I have moved to a much smaller property at a slightly higher elevation I have decided to return to the world of blogging.

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The garden I have now consists of two small plots at the back and front of my little bungalow respectively which is quite sufficient for my needs today. My intention is to fill the new areas, which are minuscule compared with my last garden, with as many plants as possible and to this end I am first going to plant a number of “basic” genera to give points of interest and some kind of framework followed by bringing in my more specialised plants next year.

The front garden I inherited had a few nice plants and a patch of grass in the middle which I covered with several tons of topsoil and planted out, mainly using plugs, to form a country garden effect incorporating roses, which did not grow well in my last garden because of the damp conditions, and a few climbers and shrubs. This year it should come to fruition and is showing signs of being quite successful.

The back garden however is a totally different proposition, the garden has been stripped right back to the original soil level which in turn has been covered in limestone chippings and flags. Most of the flags have been removed, a basic layout has been achieved and quite a few plants have been introduced however planting with a pick and my favourite trenching spade was not easy!

Because of the limited scope of the new garden it is now my intention to use this blog to describe many of the plants that I have grown and my experience with them rather than a formulaic list. To keep things moving along I also expect to give interim reports on the new garden as it develops plus some diversification into the area of pubs and steam trains when we are allowed to live again.