Pebble pond complete

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The pot plants at the back will change – I just put these two out of the way. And I have another electricity socket to install so that the airline to the main pond doesn’t trail across the whole yard. (Unfortunately not a lot I can do about the ironmongery – have considered painting it to look like a tree trunk)

I’m not sure whether the grasses (stipa ‘ponytails’ and carex ‘frosted curls’) will survive – they were reduced at local DIY store – there is a faint hint of green to them.

A quick look at what’s growing elsewhere in the yard…
I thought I’d lost the Zantedeschia – I dug up the bulb last year and put it in the pot and it seemed very late showing itself above the surface, but it seems to be doing well at last.

Hydrangeas are surviving – pink one is in acid soil. One in the pot was a cutting taken on my mum’s last holiday and has been indoors in a pot for a long time now and I’ll pot that on for next year. The climbing hydrangea is going slow but it was a Morrison’s £2 so I wasn’t expecting much from it.

Acers – £3 each (Morrison’s again). Really pleased that these came through the winter as I did absolutely nothing special for them. They are all Orange Dream, but one of them has been in the shade this spring.

Violas – these have flowered continuously since I bought them last September/October. I was hoping that they would set seed but they don’t seem to have done so.

Viola cornuta – getting a bit out of hand but so full of flowers.

Echinops – getting ready to flower.

Hostas – I’ve avoided using any slug/snail control and some of the hostas have paid for that. The most resistant have been First Frost and Fragrant Bouquet – they got nibbled last week when I pushed everything together so that I could do the paving, but had been free of damage until then.

New hostas this year (waiting to be potted up) include several from Mickfield Hostas,
Cathedral Windows, Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

and some small and minis – Snake Eyes, Little White Lines, Venus, Fragrant Blue Ribbon, Autumn Frost, Cracker Crumbs.

Water plants – the Iris was stunning last week. I really need to find a way of planting on very narrow shelf in the main pond. And the tadpoles don’t seem to be getting any bigger – at least some have survived but I was hoping that they would be looking a bit more frog-like by now.

And finally, a little gem Tulbaghia – like a tiny pink agapanthus.

• 12 Jul, 2015
• 6 likes

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