Things are toddling along quite nicely, all is growing well, all is either flowering or showing intent, the only blackfly in the ointment is ……. have you guessed yet? I hope so, or we have problems. This demon aphid is thick as plush velvet and not fussy as to who it visits. I understand that it can take a while for ecological harmony to be achieved in a new, previously untended, garden. And I have faith it will be found in the long run, but at the moment it is far from balanced. I have been wondering what happened to the ladybird larvae I spotted a few weeks ago. There are several options: a) I imagined it, b) it has been eaten by one of the greedy sparrows, c) it saw the task ahead and thought “I’m good, but not that good” and is hiding under a leaf until the hoverflies and blue tits sort things out, or d) it has gone for reinforcements who will soon arrive, possibly in a Red Arrows-esque formation, to smite the foe. I am hoping it is going to be d). For the moment I am squishing and contemplating garlic magic, whilst looking to the skies for a spotted sign. You may well see a few photobombing critters in my six today, but my focus will be on the stars not the spoilers. Shall we change the subject, focus on the half full bit for a while? Good plan, let’s start Sos-ing! Don’t forget to check out The Prop and his gang, they are bound to be up to lots of interesting stuff.
First we have the poppy that was in bud a couple of weeks ago. Almost. Same poppy, different bud. I rummaged and found a label (clients please note) identifying it as Papaver orientale ‘Brilliant’, which it is.
This is Impatiens arguta ‘Alba’, one of several impatiens I am lucky enough to grow. I happened upon a very nice nursery website yesterday and I thought, “although these all look lovely, I have enough impatiens and no room for any more”. Strong Willed is what they call me, Gill the Mighty, Queen of Restraint, Empress of All Things Minimal. Stop laughing, it is my new persona. For one day only.
Did I mention that we bought a Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ the other day. Must have slipped my mind. Our last one was deemed too large to transport and it was abandoned to its fate, which was possibly a very nice one. We came across this bargain (£19.99 since you ask) in the garden centre. Seriously, it would have been rude not to.
Now a dark leaved, orange/red dahlia which was grown from seed and is a boisterous fellow. Quite frankly, I love it. The leaves, the flowers, the habit, the everything.
Then the yet to be named border that faces west-ish. The observant will notice the aforementioned dahlia, last weeks Salvia ‘Neon’, a white scabious, Rosa ‘Grace’ and lots of other goodies yet to come into their own. Loving it, loving it!
Finally, Dahlia ‘Peggy Pearlers’ has her mojo back! She struggled in a pot and I am hoping she will get much stronger now she has her feet in the clay. Still not the strongest but certainly the most special. For those of you who don’t know the story behind this dahlia, you can read about it here.
That is your lot, six all accounted for. Have a good week. ‘Til next time.
Off The Edge Gardening 
You had a good deal with this cercis! the leaves are superb… Here too a lot of aphids as you have probably read in my tweets. Small, big, huge, black, white, green: in short, the ladybug larvae have work to do and there aren’t enough of them…
I have another option: are they on a diet??
Finally, a gorgeous dahlia colour .
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That might be it Fred! A diet. 😀
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Rosa Grace one of my favourites, and your border is a triumph all in its first year. I have lots of critters, and still I come back into the house with evidence of blackfly massacre on my fingers. We have too many ant farmers who defend their blackfly!
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Now don’t get me onto ants! There are so many about. We must squish on.
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Uh, that black mass in the centre of the poppy is supposed to be there; it’s not a bug mass. Maybe get some little labels saying “blackfly” which you could dot around to aid identification.
As the unnamed border faces west, it must be on the east of the garden. You might name it on that basis – the ‘East Border’. Or (a bit of artistic licence) plant your new Cercis in it and call it the ‘Gollum Border’.
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The dahlia is lovely – gorgeous shape and colour.
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It is lovely, but it is a weak specimen, always looks a bit sickly.
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I need those ladybirds too, or I shall have to have a spell of black-fly squashing later. Love the Dahlia’s they are one of my favourite flowers.
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Where are they! And thank you.
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I have quite a few dahlias, watch this space!
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D. ‘Peggy Pearlers’ looks lovely! Fingers crossed the Red Arrows arrive sooner rather than later……
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No sign yet!
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Peggy’s Pearler is indeed a pearl. What a beautiful flower. Your border is looking good. As for ladybirds 🐞I have only ever seen one in my garden, in six years!! Perhaps they can’t fly in this wind…
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It is quite windy here too, maybe that is the problem!
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The yet to be named border that faces west-ish is looking really established. I love the purple velvetiness of the Poppy and the orange Dahlia. If you do see a Red-Arrow-esque formation of ladybirds could you direct them this way afterwards and then on to Fred’s garden?
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I will definitely give them a route plan!
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Took my cercis FP a couple of years to settle in but is doing well this year. Still none of those odd flowers but next year perhaps.
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I never saw a flower on the old one, it was in a pot, so maybe this one will be happier.
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Lovely! your garden is toddling towards fabulousness. I am consistently astonished by your Impatiens I have never heard of. Wow. And I have been wondering why I see Forest Pansy Redbuds and no Burgundy Loropetalums from the UK?
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The West border is looking great already. Fabulous dahlias, and lucky you getting to name one.
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Thank you. Yes, it was great, and a surprise!
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I love the color combination of the dark leaves and orange dahlia blossoms. I sympathize with your aphid woes. I have seen ladybugs, but sadly never applying themselves where they are neede most.
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They need a stern talking to, we need them now!
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What? How long did it take for all this vegetation in picture #5 to grow? It seems like there was a considerably larger portion of fence visible not too long ago.
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Not long, it was all planted in the last few months, since we moved in in October. It is loving it!
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That shot of the flowerbed cannot be a first year’s flowering……can it? Really lovely, well done! (That sounds patronising, but it definitely is not.) I don’t have any dahlias this year so enjoy seeing others. 😬😡 No, I am not jealous. 🤞
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It is! A combination of potted plants and new, they have really thrived, I am very pleased.
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The west-facing border is magnificent! A lot of my plants seem to like to grow at an angle to the ground which is rather less than 90deg, do you get yours to parade each morning while you insist on proper posture? If so, do you do home visits?!
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