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My back garden in June

17 comments


I can’t believe we are only days away from the longest day of the year. The weather has been pretty bad, although we have had some nice spells. Here in the southern half of Scotland we seem to have fared better than most in the UK, but plants are all out of kilter. Some are very late others are early. I’m gradually getting around to refurbishing the whole garden. I managed to get my camera working again so here goes. Going out of the back door I love the pergola, which stretches across the whole width of the garden. It is on the east side of the house so gets morning sun. The Ceanothus towers above the clematis Marjorie and Montana Grandiflora

Turning south I can admire the alliums in various sizes and shades from white to darker blue under the pergola which is a double width here with a central hit and miss fence to hide my compost bins. In the west facing border outside of the pergola which is open to the elements the alliums seem to be as equally at home as they are in the shade.

In the north facing border of the south garden the Viburnum plicata has an open flower. It obviously needs to be pruned after the flower has gone. It is a bit misshapen.


Near it the Astrantia major is making a brave effort in spite of the invasive buttercups which seek to take over the border.


In the new raised bed the lupins are putting on a glorious show. I’m not sure why I am getting three colours I don’t recall planting three plants.


I’ll have to move them in the autumn because they are covering up my heucheras, including this lovely one named ‘Miracle’.


An empty pot full of soil was a harbour for this lovely filler plant. Its a polemonium caeruleum. It seeds itself everywhere. I also have a blue one, Blue Pearl, and a yellow one which I bought at a car boot sale. Neither have showed their colours yet.

On the east facing border of this south garden in what I term my cottage garden border because it has apple trees, rhubarb and flowers in it, my red oriental poppies are needing to be tied up before the wind gets to them but somehow every year they get overlooked. They sit there as a bunch of ferny green leaves for ages and then the flower stalks pop up and also sit for ages then the flowers open and boom along comes the wind and rain and they are looking the worse for wear. I am not sure how the pink version further along will fare. I had them in a pot last year and they were not performing so I put them in the ground and there are lots of flower stems – sitting there?


Also in this border are Astrantia Shaggy and the Thalictrum


Near the house this antirrhinum is flowering like mad and will continue till the first frosts.


In a pot is this edible allium with a difference. Its a tree onion because the little onions grow from the flowers. I have never tried to eat them.

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Comments

 

Doing really well despite the weather, which I agree has been really odd to say the least.
That first photo is just glorious, with the clematis and ceanothus. (Can't grow it here, too cold. Tried and failed 3 years in a row). Great show of alliums and poppies, both of which I just love, all shapes and sizes.
Lovely big garden, SG. Thankyou for showing us.

12 Jun, 2012

 

I assume you have the red ones if not I can oblige you. The pink one is only in the ground this year so I would probably need to take root cuttings in the autumn/winter. They grow very easily from root cuttings. I have a different ceanothus in the front garden which is a bit of a disgrace. Its 'Autumnal Blue' and I bought it because it was supposed to be very hardy. It is recommended for growing against a wall but it almost dies every year and takes a long time to recover before flowering in the autumn. I only keep it for those flowers. This one is Ceanothus thyrsifolius 'Skylark' . It has a big bunch of flowers below the height of the wall then a long stem and another burst of blue above the heads of everything else. Another stem snakes along the wire trellising and has a nice bunch of blue in a third place. OH wondered if I was not pruning it correctly. Well I'm not worried about that as the effect is stunning. The pyracantha which also grows there along with the clematis probably keep this area if not frost free at least warmer than if it was on its own.

12 Jun, 2012

 

I agree your garden is looking good despite the weather
Ceanothis is lovely (I have had no success tried twice and failed one grew but never flowered so I'm afraid it has gone to the great garden in the sky aka garden recycling bin !!!)
Love your pergola thanks for showing us all your flowers look great :)))

12 Jun, 2012

 

The pergola is a god send. I grow lots of clematis, roses, pyracantha, honeysuckle, summer and winter flowering jasmine, non flowering wisteria and even a grape vine on it. We have bird boxes on it, hanging baskets too. The plastic greenhouse is under the north end of it. We have a well in the garden under the p. and that has been concreted over with iron bars to make it safe but we have access to the water. On the part where the borders are under it, that is like a double extension in width. My garden hut and compost bins live in the easternmost part behind a hit and miss fence which allows light through but keeps them private. The septic tank which is in the ground and can't have anything on top of it is in the south east part as far from the house as it was possible to get and still allow us to access the original sewage pipes to take the clean water away. It was one of the best things we have done in the garden.

12 Jun, 2012

 

Your pergola looks lovely and you have a lovely selection of plants in your garden. Your lupins are looking very good, I like the cream coloured ones. Mine were looking good until all the rain came and waterlogged the flower heads! Your polemonium is very pretty and I like your edible allium, looks like an exploding firework.

12 Jun, 2012

 

Your garden looks lovely! My lupins have been ok - one has been eaten, and I can't tell whether it's slugs or aphids or both! I have cut it down and will move it later this year. It has had one problem after another - funny how some plants just don't seem to thrive. My paeony is at the same stage as yours - plenty of buds so I'm looking forward and hoping!

12 Jun, 2012

 

Nice tour round an attractive garden, thanks. Particularly like the Polemonium, which I think is the variety 'White Pearl'. I must get some...

12 Jun, 2012

 

Lovely garden, Sg, fair packed with luscious healthiness.
I'm very envious of your ceanothus. I have two "skylarks", which were struggling last year and then got frost-bite during the deep-freeze. They are touch and go now...I'm only giving them another month and then I'm giving up on them, if they haven't improved. I really like the thalictrum too, and I quite like the idea of growing that very ornamental and edible onion.

12 Jun, 2012

 

My what a difference a couple of weeks make Sheila! Those lupins are huge - mines are all looking great - obviously the rain can take credit in that department.
I can confirm everyone - that the pictures do not do that pergola justice. The display is incredible!
I bought a white polemolium about 1 month ago - it's still in the pot as I don't know where to put it. The blue and purple ones are out but the blue one has been crushed. I don't think it's the rain - more that likely one of the cats.
My Astrantia are just coming into life now - we just need the sun don't we!!!!
That heuchera is looking great - take a look at my blog Sheila - you may want to comment and add.
Thanks for showing us around your lovely garden.

12 Jun, 2012

 

You are all too kind. Scottish I'm so glad you have blind spots in your eyes where you can't see all the rubbish (recycling bits OH has to keep). I 'm glad you all like it. I am as proud as punch of my pergola which is an architectural masterpiece constructed by OH. The posts are all 8' long and sit in met post holders. Driving 3' spikes in to the ground took some doing. They were put in at 4' or 6' centres. It means I have a pergola 8' high by 8' deep by 126' long, if I remember correctly. The compost area is also 8' wide so I have plenty of room to walk about in there and of course OH has to put his scaffolding up every so often to get to his biggest aerial. To ensure stability for forever it is held together with coach bolts. Lupin seeds or baby polemoniums are usually available when the time is right so if you want some please say so. That paeonia is a pink one and the scent is heavenly. It should not have been planted alongside the red hot pokers but I can put up with clashes of colours because the scent is near where we sit. You have given me a big problem Scottish because I don't seem to have any decent photos of my favourite heucheras. I'll probably be able to find one and I will vote. I have a different favourite for every month of the year I think, because they all change with the seasons.

12 Jun, 2012

 

lovely photos of your plants scotsgran, pretty :o))

14 Jun, 2012

 

Thanks Sanbaz. We are promised rain tomorrow so I have been very busy in the garden today because I have lots of plants needing to be moved or planted. I had to clear an area of lawn before I could get some of them in. Scottish, My new Pink Marble is looking good. Thank you for giving it to me. I hope it will be dry enough so that I can also plant the physocarpus Nugget. I was getting worried that the new raised bed was looking out of place where we have it but OH painted it this afternoon and it looks a lot more as if it belongs. Our new neighbours took out the leylandii hedge on the south side of my garden so after all the worry and replanting to replace plants which could not cope in the dense shade we are back to being open to the elements. Only trouble is as I said to OH if our TV goes on the blink we can watch theirs which is in their new extension only just over 1m from our boundary. Can't win them all.

14 Jun, 2012

 

Better looking at the TV through the window than Leylandii hedge....no?

15 Jun, 2012

 

Absolutely. Don't know that they will agree but at least the hedge has gone.

15 Jun, 2012

 

It's looking lovely Scotsgran, I hope it still is or has everything had a battering from the weather?:-)

17 Jun, 2012

 

Scotsgran, your garden is pure delight, I loved looking around, you have some very beautiful plants.

20 Jun, 2012

 

Bornagain the rain flattens everything and i swear a little, then next day it is all looking fine again, except for the odd stem which gets broken. It is sowet and warm by turns that new growth soon replaces the losses. Marion I am very keen on the garden and it is in turn a place to escape to by myself or a place to share with friends.

21 Jun, 2012

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