Six on Saturday – 11/7/2020

1. Wisteria pruning. I particularly enjoy giving this Wisteria its summer prune, we know the plant to be in excess of a hundred years old and I always marvel at it. Very satisfying when it flowers (white) each year. Just need a head for heights to get up to it.

2. New growth on the bonsai – two beautiful leaves on my bonsai Acer.

Bonsai growth

3. Sacrificial dahlias – I’d planted a lot of dahlias in the front garden this year. Mostly because that’s what I had a lot of and we needed something to fill the gaps. Most of them have done quite well, a few have struggled in the heavy clay and been attacked by the slugs. Nothing particularly surprising in this but I let them sit there and act as decoys, and it seemed to work as a strategy.

It was interesting to see the amount of slugs hiding underneath the tubours when they were lifted. Clearly the soil had left an air pocket underneath the crown of the root system – or rather the gardener had left a gap  – and the slugs were using it as home with ensuite food.

Rescued dahlias

4. Dahlia – whilst we’re talking to dahlias I couldn’t resist  picture of this beauty in our front garden at the moment .

Dahlia ‘Emory Paul’ (I think)

5. Stachys – these are looking lovely right now in a client’s garden. I think I need to add some of these to the patch at home.

Stachys

6. Kniphofia in flower – I don’t know the cultivar of this particular plant but it’s looking magnificent right now. I’m keeping an eye to see how much attention it gets from the insects, I’m hoping it will prove popular with them as well as popular with the gardeners.

Kniphofia sp.