National Garden Scheme – Concerns

My morning inspection at Blaen Cwmdu Farm did not go well today. I was left with more concerns than ever for our NGS September opening. I’m sure this will not be the last time I will feel this way. In fact it is probably healthy. Torture is traditional in the lead up to the big open day, becoming incrementally more painful as the weeks pass by. Remind me again why we are doing this?

The problem is that everything is looking too good. Despite the weather, or perhaps because of it, everything is flowering well and early. Too well, too early. By late summer/early autumn surely all will be spent, exhausted, shadows of their former selves. Husks, desolation and weeping gardeners are all that will remain to entertain our visitors.

Of course, all is not lost. I have been trying my best to combat the dreadful prospect of public ridicule. Dead heading, of course. I’ve also been chopping back perennials as soon as the last bloom even thinks about fading, then feeding and watering well, in the hope that they will feel fit to perform an encore. We also have plenty of late seasoners, including salvias and dahlias, ornamental grasses and foliage plants which should provide plenty of interest. Just in case, I will also practice my cartwheels and tap dancing in the slim chance that a diversion is needed.

The cardoon’s violet flat top is in full flower for the first time and will by September have morphed into a stand of tanned sculptural thistles. Earlier, I went looking for an apian photo opportunity knowing they are catnip for bees. Trying to angle my phone to capture the ecstatic insects, I noticed something unfamiliar fluttering in the corner of my sightline. A hummingbird hawk-moth! I was absolutely thrilled. I felt honoured by this apparent approval from a hhm. And it was also a reminder that this is a garden teeming with life, supported by our planting and the wild areas that surround the more formal places. It occurred to me that this is far more important in the scheme of things. This is why we do it.

The fear of what is or what is not flowering in nine weeks time must not sully my time in the garden. It is good now, far from perfect, but we have come a long way. And I’ve always found perfect to be boring. By September it will be splendid and if for some reason is isn’t then I’m sure the cake will be wonderful.

Six on Saturday – Here we go again

On a personal level, it is hard to be a gardener in this weather. Relentless watering whilst attempting to be frugal with supplies, relentless rehydrating of not only plants but self. Skulking in the shadows as much as possible, worrying about which plants will survive and if precious ones will succumb. Wondering exactly what constitutes a client’s definition of “I’ve done the watering”.

On a world level, it is scary stuff. What we are experiencing here at the moment is so much more than just a few uncomfortable nights and Waterers’ Elbow, we are on fire and it is only going to get worse. “Plant more adaptable plants” they say – unicorns that can cope with excessive winter wet and extreme summer temperatures and drought. No talk of soothing our affliction by planting shade trees, baning plastic grass, reducing our greedy consumption. Some are griping about not being able to wash the car with a hosepipe, let me tell you, that is going to be least of your problems. Time to look on the bright side? It is going to be tricky today but I will do my best. If you want to see how other gardeners are coping with their particular lots, pop over to Jim at Garden Rumination for some more positive messages.

Ever optimistic nasturtium. I spotted this one lurking in the shadows when I was putting the washing out this morning. It doesn’t look quite so special as I thought. The teeth look splendid though.

These pretty pinks, again, don’t appear quite the same as the image in my head or indeed in my eye.

There are far too many teasels in this garden. They are OH’s favourites. He is greatly looking forward to the return of the goldfinches. I have, often surreptitiously, culled them. Still they dominate, still they come up, still I weed them. In true wildlife photographer style I waited patiently for a bee to come and pose on this flower. After 30 seconds I got bored, you will have to use your imagination.

Tagetes, fabulous. Makes me feel a little better.

Other worldly, intriguing, wonderful; your name is eucomis.

I grew this Dahlia coccinea var. palmeri from seed last year. It over wintered well and has begun to flower. I do love an orange flower.

Today I watched swifts carousing above the garden, joining the house martins that have been in town for a few months now. They were enjoying the insects that our full to bursting garden have encouraged.

Today I publically bemoaned the obsessive mowing on the estate where previously meadows had been allowed to thrive.

There is so much we can do. We must keep keeping on.

Lighthearted, fun-filled Gill is having a break at the moment. Hopefully she will be back next week.

Lost and Found

I hold my hand up, my name is Gill and I am a plantaholic. Our garden is very small and juvenille, just three years old. Already it is packed to the gunnels, perhaps a little over the gunnels. There are plants in the borders, in terracotta pots, in horrid plastic pots, in a barrel, plants waiting to go in the ground or to be potted on, some waiting to go to clients, plants in the greenhouse, some in the narrow strip at the front of the house and down the side in the resting/holding area, plants absolutely everywhere. But still it is not enough. There is a self inflicted duty of care, however, all these lovelies should be cared for and nurtured. Often I fall a little short of the mark.

My memory is just fine, where most of the garden residents are concerned, but occasionally I will wake in the night and think “whatever happened to ….”. I have been mourning the loss of Fuchsia fulgens, a plant that I grew and loved at Cliffe and managed to source again last year. It did well in its new home and flowered beautifully, I just couldn’t believe that I didn’t have winter-cossetted backups. But then again, it could have slipped through the net. Must try harder.

It is time to introduce you to one of my horti-drug dealers, Alan from Alan’s Tropical Plants, from whom I have in the past satiated my need, if only temporarily. On Wednesday I was taking a sneaky look on his website and Fuchsia fulgens was in stock. As this was where I had got my last specimen, one click and it was in my basket. No harm in taking a look at what else tickled my fancy. Oh dear, it seems a lot. I took a deep breath, deleted more than half whilst gently weeping, and pressed “buy”.

Friday, returning from watering the greenhouse, a virtual spotlight highlighted a Fuchsia fulgens-esque plant in a group of pots. I peered closer and low and behold, a very healthy looking, just about to flower FF, had been hiding in plain sight! For weeks I had been confusing it with another fuchsia. Silly Gilly.

On the off-chance that my order was not quite set in stone, I emailed Alan to confess my stupidity and asked whether or not I could swap out FF for something else. Luckily, I had a long list of suggestions that had earlier been deleted from my shopping list. Very quickly I had a reply, “no problem, which substitute would you like?”. More decisions, I plumped on a salvia, a gal can never have too many salvias. This morning a cheery knock at the door behind which was the smiling face of Paul the delivery driver presenting me with a beautiful box of goodies. And what is more, Alan popped in a freebie from my previous list.

The worth of these fine folk, and all those like them, should be sung from the rooftops. Healthy happy plants, slightly left field selection, fantastic service, local business and reasonable prices. When compared with many other, often large and corporate, concerns, they are crossing the finishing line whilst the rest are lagging behind studying their profits. I am very happy I came across Alan’s nursery, I am yet to visit in person, it is not too far away, but it is definitely on the cards. There is no doubt that I will be back on-line, having a look, just in case there is something I fancy. I also have no doubt that there will be.

As to what these new acquisitions are, you will have to wait to find out. For the moment the itch has been scratched. It can’t last.

Six on Saturday – Did I miss anything?

I was AWOL last week: stuff happening, good and otherwise, mainly good, often mundane, in my fleeting absence did I miss anything? At this time of year the weeks fly by in a blur. I’m not keen on this seasonal hyperdrive. Why should these summer days be will’o’the’wisps when the inclement one are extended? It seems cruel. Let us get on, before we know it it will be next week. If you wish to know more about Six on Saturday then pop over to Jim’s manor and all will be revealed.

Francoa sonchifolia has popped its head through the chaos known as The Bed of Anarchy. Top marks.

I lost quite a few bits and bobs last winter, one of which was Digitalis isabelliana ‘Bella’. As a grown up and very sensible gardener I had a cutting in the relative safety of the greenhouse. This survivor is now flowering. It is not offering up any propagation material. I probably should remove this bloom and let it bulk up. Not so much the grown up now am I?

Another fabulous daylily, Hemerocallis ‘Yabba Dabba Doo’. I am rather fond of dark, dark flowers.

Did I ever know the name of this watsonia? Possibly. Does it need dividing? Definitely.

Tulbaghia cominsii is new to the garden this year. I wasn’t sure that it would flower, but I’m very pleased that it did.

I’m thrilled that the Colquhounia coccinea has flowered this year. I think it enjoyed the hot weather. Such a beauty.

There we have it, another six, another Saturday. Happy Fourth of July!

Six on Saturday – Pottering

I think it was a good week. I can’t remember it being anything other than that. I did some gardening, some not gardening (rained off) and some peripheral stuff. No drama, just pottering along. Which is fine by me, although perhaps a little boring for you. If you would like to join the Six on Saturday Society, the first 50 years are subscription free, or just have a nose at what is happening in a select group of gardens across the world, then pop over to Jim at Garden Ruminations. Let us get on.

I cannot pretend that I bought Pelargonium ‘Crocodile’ for was any other reason than its wonderful name. It turns out that not only does it have the most intriguing foliage, the flowers are the clearest candy pink that you ever did see. Sometimes things work out for the best.

The hairy seedpods of Meconopsis ‘Lingholm’ are looking promising. I must be ever vigilant and catch them at the perfect moment. Chances?

Where there is a will there is a way. Salvia ‘Nachtvlinder’ has squeezed through the lemon verbena and Broussonetia papyrifer to find the light of day. Darwin would have been proud.

A new addition is this little Sorrel ‘Red Lava’. Pretty and tasty. I’m not going to say “like me” although I am very tempted.

The label on this little beauty is long gone. I’m going to call it Rhodohypoxis baurii which is a half guess. Whatever its name, it has lastest well this year, flowering for far longer than usual.

A great joy in my horti-year is when the daylilies begin to flower. This is also the time when I recommend Pollie for anyone who wants to dive into the spectacular world that she inhabits. I came home from a day away to find Hemerocallis ‘Nona’s Garnet’ making its annual appearance. It was a “halt you in your tracks” moment. Fabulous.

There we have it, another six completed. Next week I shall be sad as the solstice will have passed. I will try to be chipper.

National Garden Scheme – An uneasy harmony

Another week has passed and we are inching, or should that be centimetering, towards Blaen Cwndu September NGS opening date. The summer solstice looms, reminding us, all to clearly, of the inevitable decent into autumn. I hate midsummer. Perhaps hate is too strong a word, but it certainly unsettles me. The switch in my head flips from “all is possible” to “all is unlikely”. Things seem a little bit more complicated.

I often think it unfair to label our garden adversaries as “pests”. They are just doing what they can to survive in this world, just as we are. We should try to live in harmony. Then the slugs eat the beans and the aphids infest all, the caterpillars eat the verbascum and my rose tinted glasses tumble to the ground and are stamped upon. Suddenly it all seems a little bit more difficult.

Then a rose such as this begins to bloom and I realise that perhaps things aren’t so bad after all. We are all in the same boat; wins and losses, success and failure, we are in the lap of the horti-gods. It generally evens out in the end. What will be, will be. Please keep reminding me.

Six on Saturday – Flaming

Flaming June, I am sure I will not be the only one to point out the irony. Apparently this weekend will be an improvement, but whilst the rest of the country basks in righteous sunshine, I believe, after a short interval, more rain is to come next week. Of course this is not Saturday, but Friday and it is not the best. The “showers moving east” have morphed into “torrential rain lingering overhead and not shifting for the whole day even though the gusting wind should have blown it away”. Perhaps the wind is just keeping it in place. I was valliant and dashed outside to take a few photos as I was AWOL last week and two absences could easily become a habit. I am irresistably drawn to the lazy habit. Know the enemy. Someone who is busy preparing for his open garden is our leader Jim at Garden Ruminations, take a look at his blog for beautiful plants and wonderful SoSers. Let’s get on.

Gertie is doing well, as usual. Is she my favourite? I wouldn’t like to say.

This year I am growing four tomato plants outside and four in the greenhouse. You may be surprised to know that I actually considered long and hard which varieties would thrive more readily in each situation. This is ‘Cosmonaut’, a Ukrainian variety. Seems to be doing quite well in the wild. I gave a plant to Artem, a Ukrainian chap who works at Maesteg sometimes, he seemed quite pleased.

I have given into temptation again and this new to me Abutilon ‘Souvenir de Bonn’ also seems to be enjoying the wet weather. Is it just me who is miserable?

Lilium ‘Claude Shride’ has fought the dreaded beetle, OH’s pet teasels (grrr) and now the horrendous weather. Bent over the pond inelegantly, it is still beautiful.

Poor old Rosa ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ has felt the full brunt of the recent craziness. I’m sure she is big enough and old enough to recover from the fast spin in the washing machine.

Gloriosa speciosa, the flame lily, was brought on a whim. Quite happy and adding a little glamour amongst the greenhouse tomatoes, I’m not disappointed by my recklessness. Perhaps I shouldn’t be encouraged into further whimsy.

That is it for today. I plan on enjoying the gap in the weather and try to tame some of the madness in my garden. Happy gardening!

National Garden Scheme – Hard Stuff

Although I am loathe to admit it, however many fabulous plants we introduce to a garden, what often makes it work, sets it off to be its best self, is the hard landscaping. The unyielding to my yielding. The frame for my painting. What is fortuitous is that my clients at Blaen Cwmdu love a bit of fancy brickwork, stone wall building, necessary structure. The yin to my yang, or perhaps the other way round. I must have been very good in a former life.

Earlier this year I planted out a new border, a twin and sunny idyll where exotics such Beschorneria yuccoides ‘Flamingo Glow’ will hopefully thrive. Echium candicans, ginger lilies and astelia are bulked out by calendula, dahlia and species salvia whilst the borderline tenders establish themselves.

Today Gareth sent me photos of the completion of the path that lead through this new tropical bed. It made me very happy. As a dyed-in-the-wool plantswoman this has joy slightly disturbed me. And this in itself has given me much pleasure.

National Garden Scheme – Working Party

I’ve been a little tardy posting about our NGS progress at Blaen Cwmdu Farm. I could give a hundred reasons, some might even been true. However, none of the excuses are consequential and we must console ourselves with “better late than never”.

On a Bank Holiday at BCF, if at all possible, we like to have a Working Party. You will be shocked to know that the etymological root of this tradition is an amalgamation of the words “working” and “partying”. These special days, when we are together in the garden, are generally used to tackle a particular job and beat the bejesus out of it. It is fun, fine food is provided, we work hard and get a lot done. Spring Bank Holiday Monday was no exception. What we did not order was unrelenting sun, record breaking temperatures and only a smidgeon of a breeze.

Be-hatted, sunscreen smothered and armed with rehydration of choice, our task was to tackle the vegetable garden. Our quest was three-fold, the great horticultural triumvirate; weed, plant and mulch. It was challenging. My employers are grafters. We soldiered on, through the hellish heat, peppered by “I’ve just got to …” dashes to shade and recovery. Gareth has recently installed a system of pumps to utilise the spring water that feeds the garden, increasing pressure ten fold. On such a day it came in very useful for cooling off the steaming gardeners.

When lunchtime arrived Gareth had surpassed himself. I must remember to add to my interview script for prospective employers “are you a great cook?”. The star of the show had been on the go since earlier, a fabulous hot smoked chicken. At this point I could quite emphasise with the chuck, although I am sure I would be much less delicious. Along with various salads and warm home made bread, it was a meal to soothe our morning’s exertions and energise us for the afternoon’s toil.

By the end of the day the job was complete. Beans; broad, runner and French had been planted. Spare onions replaced those eaten by a mystery assailant. Summer broccoli, stripey courgettes and Shark’s Fin melons were released into the wild. Potatoes were earthed-up and mulch provided a beautiful rich blanket for all. I went home, exhausted, replete and a little bit broken. Alison and Gareth waved me off and continued to mulch the newly planted squash bed. I told you they were grafters!

It was work but it was also a party. The best combination. Another big step forward towards a happy garden.

And then the rain began …..

Six on Saturday – Challenging

It has been a tough week to be a gardener in South Wales. A good week, but challenging all the same. The weather has been unnationally hot, other climes might call it warm, but for us it was definitely bloomin’ scorching. Not the best working conditions, but we made it through. Next week we are expecting rain, the water butts will be refilled, but I’m not sure how quickly I can adapt to this handbrake turn. I would make a dreadful Borg. To find out how others have been coping with the heat/warmth/wet/dry/cold pop over to our leader Jim at Garden Ruminations and prepare to be enlightened. Let’s get started, it is nearly June.

First we have Melittis ‘Royal Velvet Distinction’ skulking in the shadows beneath Forest Pansy. I am not as fond as I was when I first encountered it, I am rather fickle in my affections. Still, it seems happy where it is, gives me a little smile when I catch its eye, and I would be daft not to value a trouble free, passive plant. It can’t all be horticultural champagne and caviar. Although to be honest I wouldn’t mind if it was.

Is this Digitalis lutea? I think so. The label pixie has been up to their tricks again. Nice though.

I’m not generally one for the chimera of the plant world. However, I have been seduced by x Petchoa ‘BeautiCal Sunset Orange’ which quite frankly I would have put back on the shelf if I had bothered to read its pretentious name. The capital C mid word makes me want to push a custard pie into someone’s face. Which amounts to Stage 10 on the violence scale for me. Serious. I love it in spite of myself.

Rosa ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ had a down year in 2025, possibly due to nearby thugs which have since been subdued/composted. This year it has recovered and is full of bud, albeit covered in greenfly. I am depending on an aphid predator flyby, otherwise squishing will be necessary.

Bletilla striata ‘Alba’ is flowering exceptionally well, quite surprisingly so. Dreadful photo, you will have to take my word for its loveliness.

Dahlia ‘Peggy Pearlers’ is flowering. If you know you know. If you don’t, you had better delve deeper.

All done, another Six completed. June next time. Where is the “slow down” button?