A Winter Reshuffle in the Shade Garden
Hello friends,
Over the winter I've done some rearranging in the shadiest part of the backyard. A couple of years ago I planted two hostas, 'Purple Heart' and 'Sleeping Beauty', beneath the magnolia tree, and beside a colour-changing Hydrangea macrophylla. As the hydrangea has grown, it has completely smothered both plants, so it was time to move them to another shady spot in the backyard, beside my wasabi plant.
It didn't take long to dig up the hostas and transplant them into their new positions beside the wasabi plant. With a little more space and less competition, I'm hoping they'll be much happier in their new homes.
With that job completed, I noticed the space on the other side of the magnolia tree was looking pretty empty, apart from a single peony that wasn't particularly happy in its current position. It didn't take long for an idea to form. By moving the peony to a better location elsewhere in the garden, I'd have the perfect spot for another hydrangea.
I'd been wanting to add another hydrangea to the garden for some time, so I decided to have a look around a few local garden centres to see what was available. Winter isn't the best time to shop for hydrangeas, but sometimes you get lucky.
As it turned out, I was very lucky. The first place I visited, our local Mitre 10, had exactly the hydrangea I was hoping to find, 'Bridal Bouquet'.
'Bridal Bouquet' is a beautiful white-flowering hydrangea prized for its mop head blooms. The flowers open creamy white before gradually ageing to soft green tones, providing interest over a long period. Like many white hydrangeas, it brightens shady areas of the garden and combines well with a wide range of other plants. Its blooms are excellent for cutting and can also be dried, extending their usefulness long after the flowering season has finished.
It didn't take long to dig a hole and plant my new hydrangea. With its new home prepared, 'Bridal Bouquet' was finally settled into the garden.
Because the soil in this part of the garden is quite compact and filled with decorative schist stones, I decided to add a bag of Tui Mulch & Feed around 'Bridal Bouquet' and along the garden bed. I even had enough to spread it all the way along the bed to my other hydrangea. Whenever I add a new permanent perennial to the garden, I like to add mulch and feed around it. Over time, this helps improve the soil across the whole wider garden.
With all these small jobs done, this shady area of the garden feels much tidier, and the plants are now in positions that should suit them much better. I'm looking forward to seeing how they grow this coming spring.
Have a wonderful day,
Julie-Ann
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Flower Garden Update Mid-November 2024
Hello friends,
I'd thought I'd share with you some of the plants flowering in my garden right now.
First up, my roses have finally started flowering, including my favorite, which is Blackberry Nip, and also the new rose in the back garden Gertrude Jekyll. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the first rose pictured...
My two new Hostas, Purple Heart and Sleeping Beauty, are looking amazing with new foliage.
And the pansies I grew from seed from Emerden Garden, Antique Shade and Mulberry Shade, are looking amazing now they are flowering. I'll let some set seed at the end of summer, and then that way they'll populate the garden in years to come.
My cosmos are now flowering as well. I have two new varieties this year Sunset Tones (Kings Seeds), and Strawberry Blonde (Emerden Garden), are now starting to flower as well.
I still have unknown ranunculus flowering in the back garden, and all my peonies are about to burst into flower soon too.
There's even more plants about to flower around my garden, but that'll have to wait until another blog post. I've even spotted some of my older dahlias beginning to form flower buds...
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
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Planting Out Hardy Annuals and Hostas
Hello friends,
The glasshouse is super full at the moment with all the seedlings growing in preparation for planting out into the garden. I recently began planting out some of the hardier annuals when I ran out of potting containers to grow more seeds.
First up was my collection of different Keith Hammett sweet peas. I basically planted them wherever I found vertical growing space for them.
Next up was to plant out my three Calendula varieties, Calendula officinalis, Calendula Sunset Tones, and Calendula Strawberry Blonde. I already have a lot of Calendula officinalis growing in the front garden, so I planted those out in the back garden that has just been redesigned. I then planted the Sunset Tones and Strawberry Blonde varieties in both the front and back gardens. Eventually they'll all breed with one another and set seed, and I'll have heaps of different coloured Calendula everywhere.
And lastly, I went to a local garden center and bought two hostas that were in the back garden redesign plan. I bought the varieties Purple Heart and Sleeping Beauty for underneath the deciduous magnolia tree.
It's already been a couple of weeks, and both hostas are already growing strongly after some protection from slugs and snails.
We've had a frost already this week, and one more is possible, so the rest of the seedlings will have to wait until next week at least.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
Want to discuss my post? Feel free to chat with me on Instagram or Mastodon or Bluesky.
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