Foliage and flowers

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With the warm spring weather, everything has come on apace. There are aquilegia in flower all over the place, hostas are now in full leaf, the allium are in flower, and Betty’s iris is also in bloom.

The aquilegia are well known for cross breeding and one unexpected new flower has appeared, being a mixture of two existing ‘ordinary’ ones that are well established in the garden.

I just wish the seeds and tubers that I have planted over the past couple of months were as successful. Although the cosmos have come up trumps, and there are now lots of them planted out in parts of the border (and more given away), the morning glory sowing produced two plants, the nicotiniana resulted in about half a dozen manky little seedings (now transferred to peat pots in the hope that they will be encouraged to grow), while the seven dahlia tubers have resulted in three plants, with absolutely no sign of action from the other four. (The Bishop of Llandaff has evidently decided that this is his year off.) And as to the crocosmia: only two of the numerous corms are showing any sign of life, although the ones in the border are very vigorous.

The hardy geraniums are a compensation for the no show dahlias and pathetic germination of some of the annuals. Geranium oxonianum thurston has suddenly come into flower and the danger is that it will all be over before summer arrives. So I’ve taken the advice of one gardening correspondent and trimmed back two of them, the idea being to encourage later flowering. It’s an act of faith, so I hope that the treatment works!

In the shady border, the Solomon’s seal have not only survived the winter but have put on a good show.

The miniature ginko has also put on a great show of foliage. We bought this at a rare plant fair some years ago because we love ginkos. They are common in Japan and the main street near our flat in Tokyo was lined with them. Coincidentally, some gingko were also planted in Falaise Square in Henley, where we live, when the market place was pedestrianized a few years ago. Ginko produce wonderful green leaves in the spring while in the autumn they turn a beautiful gold. I would love to have extensive grounds with space for at least one ginko tree. The potted miniature one on our patio is the best we can do for now!

I like plants with good foliage and the acanthus, hemerocallis and hosta are more luscious and abundant than they’ve ever been this year. All will need dividing at the end of the season as they’re outgrowing their pots. This will mean lots more pots of each, and I think that my daughter and d-in-law will be in for a surprise before next spring!

The advantage of plants with good foliage displays is that they provide lots of interest and contrast before and after they have flowered. In the meantime, one of our summer favourites, the hardy salvia, are just starting to come into flower, although one of them, the striking blue flowered Meleau, didn’t survive the winter. Let’s hope we are able to replace it later in the season. For the moment, though, we are enjoying the profusion of foliage and flowers and looking forward to more delights to come, like the first flowers of the ever faithful ‘Hot Lips’ seen here below.

• 9 May, 2011
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