SuburbanGaze

I have spotted this little fellow on an Asian Lily today that is yet to flower - this is the first time I have planted Asiatic Lilies having had previous success with Daylily - these came free with a recent order so I decided to plant them out in pots - I wouldn't have gone out and specifically bought them of my own free will though.   Some of the foliage has been noticeably damaged on one of the plants near the beginnings of the flower-head and I have learnt that this insect is rather unimaginatively named a Red (aka Scarlet) Lily Beetle. Crushing it by hand (which is what I have done) was the correct elimination method and repotting the plants annually to reduce their hibernation pattern just below the soil surface is also advisable.   I'm not sure that I will be keeping these plants for longer than this initial season, however if the flowers are especially stunning I may give them another chance. I assume that black stuff needs to ...

One of my brothers has recently bought a new house and inherited a mature garden that contains a lot of slate chippings - this is quite unsuitable for my two young Nephews who are into everything, love picking things up throwing and/or popping items in their mouths! When we were asked if we could do anything with the slate we were more than happy to take it off their hands and they were delighted too - cue several journeys across the West Midlands - more of which are yet to come. Having had a good think about it I have decided to create a new planting border along the circumference of one of two circular lawn areas. (I will upload an illustration of the complete garden layout when time permits.) Reducing the size of the second circle to create a new border This is quite a sunny spot in the summer months so we have chosen mainly evergreen plants that will do well in this aspect and that will eventually form neat mounds.  I have chosen the brigh...

Unfortunately I sustained an injury during a charity event a few weeks ago and have not been able to do much outside due to immobility. However, some torrential rain and windy weather has reminded me that creating a garden isn't all glamour.  There is a lot of work involved in all weather conditions to achieve that perfect cottage/woodland garden look. It's now May but we have had so much rainfall, all night and day for several consecutive days.  The Pond was almost overflowing and we had to use a bucket to remove some of the water, being careful not to disturb any of the tadpoles! Some of our plants have collapsed due to the constant downpour.  These specifically being the Euphorbia x martini Ascot Rainbow, the Delphiniums, the Oxeye Daisy and the Dame's violet - basically all the plants taller then 50cm.     Commercial plant supports are really expensive so I have improvised with string and bamboo for the time being. If anyone has any sugges...

These beautiful plants which have just begun to flower, were germinated by us from seed in 2015.  They are called Hesperis matronalis/Dame's Violet/Sweet Rocket and like Digitalis/Foxgloves are Biennials.   They formed a nice clump last year which we divided into three and moved around the garden.  This year they have shot-up from their mainly green and occasional dark purple-tingled foliage and reached a height of 130cm. Our patience has finally been been rewarded with a bright profusion of violet and dusky pink/white flower heads which are lovely and have a delicious sweet scent. These particular seeds originated from a perk of   RHS   Membership -   The Seedlist  which I happened to find during my first year of membership in the Members' Handbook - luckily i'm a detail oriented person so didn't miss it! 

Tulips were planted during the Autumn in trenches at the front of the borders on a layer of grit.  We chose a combination of three in Queen of the Night, Recreado and Spring Green.   The Recreado are just beginning to shoot up to catch up with the other two.  We really like this balanced masculine/feminine colour combination.   Another new addition to the garden this year were these Geums which are very pretty.  I am glad that we have introduced some hot orange highlights to the normal cool colour palette of purples, greens and blues that we normally opt for.  These delights have just begun to pop up and flower for the new month of May. Geum Totally Tangerine Geum Borisii