Delphiniums need careful attention in my garden to achieve success.
Usually about February I should weed the bed because it is very full of ground elder as well as bind weed and other weeds.
The above two photos are of the half of the bed which I have yet to prepare. It is hard work trying to bend to weed since I struggle with arthritis from Lyme Disease so half a bed is as much as I can manage in a day.
It is difficult to see the shoots because they have been badly eaten by slugs and snails but once the bed is weeded then grit and slug pellets are a must.
The plastic bottle tops make excellent protection from late frost although as it is actually April now I think I missed the boat this year but fingers crossed something is saved.
Another bit of a disaster was that the mice got into the lean to and devoured the sweet peas. I think there are probably enough saved for what I need, I have now moved to the greenhouse where mice can again be a problem so I am not taking any chances.
I was encouraged by others to leave my Agapanthus outside this winter and I belatedly realised that it was a mistake these should be evergreen, fingers crossed the bulbs are intact.
These Nerines thankfully survived the cold weather in an unheated greenhouse.
A few cuttings also survived including a couple of clematis cuttings in the plastic box.
A bit of fun growing Echiums but I am not sure if they will transplant and flower this year.
Thankfully I did bring most of my Agapanthus into the greenhouse in time to miss the very cold and wet weather.
The black plastic is to prevent ground elder popping up but it makes a useful area for pots of cuttings
More cuttings and a rather weedy cold frame with hopefully some Hollyhocks to plant out.
More cuttings make this area a bit more interesting. The area is riddled with ground elder and so I covered it with weed suppressant and bark.
The white Camellia struggled with late frost and many of the buds were browned.
The red Camellia has fared better with less damage to the blooms from frost.
Tomato seeds are germinated on an indoor window sill then moved to the lean to until they are pricked out.
Coronilla Glauca Citrina brought indoors during the winter and makes a welcome sight with its dainty yellow flowers.
Must be my lucky day!!
ReplyDeleteI just checked to see how your garden is doing and there was a brand new post for me to see! looks like your spring is about as crazy as ours. we have had a few nights of -20 recently. Still mountains of snow! So no gardening here yet!
Alison in Alberta
Hi Alison how nice to hear from you. Our spring has been the worst I can remember usually we have one nice sunny week in March but it has rained most days. The woods are sodden and walking Meg is difficult sloshing around in water and mud and not much fun for her either. Roll on more clemet weather for all of us.
Delete