A little bit of this and a little bit of that.
More and more I have let nature take a share in this garden. I no longer worry if something seeds in the wrong place, not fitting in with the original scheme. It has made life easier in many ways :) A good example is Hemerocallis Golden Chimes and Sisyrinchium with her straw coloured flowers. Sisyrinchium is short lived and often not hardy but seeds itself in any good soil. She pops up here and there, and seems to blend with most plants in the garden.
White campion has appeared in the mixed borders alongside Hypericum, to my delight a sweet pea is growing amongst them.....a lovely deep burgundy. Where it has come from I do not know, but it is more than welcome.
Now this I did plan.....Elder black lace, the Pheasant Berry and Mallow. I love this combination, I think it works really well.
As you can see Black Lace is a particular favourite of mine. Here she is with another Mallow, this time The Bride and red campion has seeded alongside......lovely arrangement.
I love our native willow herb.......it covers the lanes here in the summer. When I saw the white form for sale in the local nursery a couple of years ago I was smitten. I bought several plants, they have spread around the garden, which is just what I had hoped for. They add an ethereal beauty to the garden, especially at dusk, when white blooms take centre stage.
The seed clocks are exquisite, almost persil white :) In fact, I am not sure which I like best the blooms or the seeds.
If anyone in UK would like seeds later in the season, let me know, I am happy to send some to you but be warned this plant can be invasive...............
The wind is coming from the North today and it is very dull. It has been a good day for gardening...............
We need a good North wind to cool it down some here. Not going to happen any time soon. I love the deep rich color that the black lace brings to the garden. Everything that blooms near it has a beautiful backdrop. It is no wonder you were smitten by the white willow herb. It has such a sweet face.
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI am happy to work in the windy conditions but I do not like what it is doing to tall plants that I forgot to stake :(
I think so, black elder is indeed a lovely backdrop....I love deep burgundy foliage.
I am hoping the willow herb will head towards her this year :)
Cheryl. Your plant combinations are glorious, whether by design or with a little help from nature. I'm a great believer in letting plants self seed ... if they turn out to be a problem then they can always be removed or relocated.
ReplyDeleteBTW the Sisyrinchium you kindly gave me is doing well and is putting on its best show ever at the moment.
Hi Frank, Glad to know the Sisyrinchium is thriving. Did it self seed?? Just out of interest.
DeleteHi Cheryl
ReplyDeleteI am loving your plant combinations, intentional or not. The white willow herb is stunning I have never seen it in white before - I would love some seeds if you can spare them. I planted a Pheasant Berry last year but it hasn't flowered yet the flower is a gorgeous colour and goes well with the Black Lace. We visited a garden last week that had a lot of Sisynchrium in the borders it is a good foil for other colours - I did have a plant but it disappeared, will have to invest in another one I think, if I can find room to plant it.
Enjoy the rest of the week - the weather has been dull here and slightly chilly but I had a lot of potting on to do in the greenhouse - Scabious and Penstemons so I didn't mind too much.
Elaine
Thank you Elaine.
DeleteI am sure I will have plenty of seeds, I will be happy to send you some nearer the time.
Pheasant Berry is one of my favourite shrubs.......I love it when the berries form. We actually had a pheasant in the garden last year and I wondered if the shrubs (I have many) had caught his attention. I know they love the berries hence the common name.
I have some small Sisyrinchium plants that have self seeded in the gravel drive. I am going to pull them and compost them but if you would like them I am perfectly happy to send them to you. I am sure if you pot them straight away they will be fine. Please do not feel obliged but the offer is there............
I love Scabious and Penstemons neither of which I can grow here. The rabbits always crop them..........I look forward to seeing your thrive in your lovely garden.
Cold wind blowing this morning........
That would be fantastic Cheryl thank you.
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DeleteHi Cheryl..... Planned or not planned the colors are a natural color pallet!! I have some very invasive plants that I was told to be careful where you plant them ...needless to say I should have heeded the warning!! The worst being Comfrey , I dearly love this plant, and the flowers are wonderful !! I tried to dig it up not realizing that is little piece of the tuber would sprout, and ended up with even more ... oh well!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing more from your gardens!!
Grace
Thank you Grace for your kind words.
DeleteBelieve me when I say I understand re comfrey. Have the same problem here.
I love the plant, as you do, but it is without doubt a thug. I have tried digging out and made the situation much worse. At least the bees love it :)
Isn't it fab when a plant seeds itself into a combination we might not have thought up? I feel sorry for obsessively tidy gardeners, who hoe away all seedlings and miss out on these treats. I am pleased to see that you are growing pheasant berry - it is one of my all-time favourite shrubs. It attracts so many pollinators and is a great all year rounder. The white willow herb is beautiful. Please may I have seeds when the time comes?
ReplyDeletePheasant Berry is so beautiful. I first saw it overhanging a walled garden in the village and fell in love with it. I have several now and have never regretted adding it to the garden.
DeleteOf course, will most certainly send you some seeds. I will make a note and sort it out nearer the time :)
I think Mother Nature can find better plant combinations that we can sometimes, it's certainly worth waiting to see how things look together before being too hasty and evicting something. We had a real problem with willowherb at our last allotment site, it grew everywhere, but we had Elephant Hawk Moths and their caterpillars as they feed on them. Do you get them in your garden? The caterpillars are funny looking things.
ReplyDeleteHi Jo,
DeleteYes I did know but tku for the info. I garden for wildlife so a lot of my plants are host plants for moths and butterflies. I even have a patch of nettles :)
Yes I do get them in the garden, they feed on the honeysuckle at dusk.....they are beautiful moths and the caterpillars are fascinating.
Willow herb is very aggressive.....it grows along the railway embankment at the bottom of our garden, I am forever pulling the seedlings. Album I love, there is no way I will be pulling them :)
I'm giving in to Mother Nature more and more, too, as I discover what likes my garden and what doesn't. I had planned to re-do my sidewalk garden this spring, but ran out of time. Now coneflowers have completely taken over, and I'm going to leave them until fall--I don't have the heart to pull too many when I know they're going to put on a spectacular show very soon.
ReplyDeleteI understand why you love the Black Lace Elder so much. I saw it growing in a local garden last spring, and it was so beautiful! I'm trying to figure out where I can put one here.
I wish coneflowers would take over my garden.....for some reason they are annuals for me so have given up on them.
DeleteI can imagine how wonderful they look.....hope you will show us on your blog at some time.
Black Lace even when pruned regularly need quite a lot of room Rose. I think, it looks lovely as a specimen plant when mature. I have found they grow very quickly here....I know you have very fertile soil so they shouldn't be a problem for you.
Lovely. I especially love gardens that are not so totally planned and groomed. Mother Nature can often add some lovely albeit unplanned accents.
ReplyDeleteShe can indeed :)
DeleteNice to see your "Black Lace" doing so well. Many of my bushes did not! I do like the colors you matched with it in your posting today. Jack
ReplyDeleteBlack Lace seems to be right at home here. I took note from what grew alone the lanes.....wild elder is everywhere so guessed the cultivars would do well in the garden.
DeleteHi Cheryl,
ReplyDeleteLovely borders, your White Campion is looking very happy!
I think the Sisyrinchium you sent me has died as I couldn't see any leaves a few weeks ago. I wonder if it didn't like the wet weather?? Shame, especially as I'd planned to divide it and give some to my mum.
Hi Liz<
DeleteWhite Campion has done really well. It is a particular favourite of mine.
Definitely does not like the wet weather. I treat it as an annual. I find it self seeds everywhere, so I just pull the ones I do not want. Obviously talking about Sisytinchium...........