Flaming June approaches and the first clematis flower appears

Yes, I know, maybe 'flaming June' may be a little too optimistic but I have watched the rain gradually stop today and the temperature feels as though it's on the up so hey, I'm just gonna go with that feeling.

Today's tour around the garden was, having said that, a bit damp, and not just around the edges. So much so that the rose I've been carefully tying in and attempting to train along my long ugly fence is definitely showing signs of grey mould. Hmmm. Not good. I hope next week's promised good weather will persuade it to change its mind about wallowing in fungus and buck up its ideas a bit - I've threatened it with one more year to behave itself or it's out. 

A nice surprise was the first flower to open on my Clematis 'Miss Bateman'. There are tons of buds on it so by the middle of Flaming June it will look wonderful. Clematis 'Niobe' is growing up the other side of the trellis with a new arrival, Clematis 'Freckles' in between the two, and an Actinidia Pilosula in the middle of the whole thing so there's plenty going on and by next year I reckon the whole thing will be covered.

Clematis 'Miss Bateman'

Meanwhile the Tetrapanax is slowly doing its thing - there are definite signs of growth although it's going to have to go some to reach even the size it was last year when I bought it from the Rare Plant Fair. I am optimistic though - it's in a good site with lots of good homemade compost, ahem, so I think given a half decent summer it'll be well away.

Tetrapanax. Getting its act together.

The Orange Princess tulips are still looking great - really terrifically good value as they have lasted for weeks, and the long awaited first flowering of my Abutilon Suntense is teasingly close now - so much so that I can see it's going to be a purple one rather than the white one my sister Jane has in her garden (she grew both from seeds from the RHS).

Abutilon Suntense. My one's going to be purple!

I'm off filming tomorrow with Pat Havers at Waterperry Gardens. Pat is the Garden Manager and we will be chatting about her inspiration, her favourite plants, and generally what makes her gardening antennae twitch. It's all for a project I'm doing called 'My Garden Life' and I will be posting more on that in the next few weeks. 

In the meantime, I'd love to hear about how your gardens are looking as we approach mid summer (!). You can subscribe by email and don't forget to visit the Nice Tree Films Facebook page and say hello!

Happy Gardening!

Old friends and a new discovery

I wanted to share some pictures with you today from Waterperry Gardens. 

I spent a summer working as a seasonal gardener at Waterperry having been a regular visitor for years, and going back there is always a treat. The plants feel like old friends and I now grow many of them at home.

The recent warm sunshine has turbo-charged the emerging perennials in the famous Herbaceous Border, and whilst still virtually all green, it’s growing and changing virtually by the hour. It’s only a matter of days before the flowers start to bloom in earnest: the Aconitum first, followed by geraniums, achillea, climbing roses and of course, the wonderful delphiniums, which will tower 6 or 7 feet high, dwarfing even the huge Crambe which explodes with a fountain of confetti like flowers in mid summer. 

Skirting the front of the border is one of my favourite plants: Alchemilla Mollis. It spreads like anything and is covered with foamy pale yellow flowers in mid summer, but it's the leaves I love: rosette shaped and grey-ish green, they collect raindrops like diamonds and, unlike many plants, are at their most beautiful during inclement weather.

Alchemilla Mollis

All this is to come. For now though, it's enough simply to admire the structure and form of the plants, the brilliance of the design, and Garden Manager Pat Havers' fabulous hazel staking which will form an essential and invisible backbone of support to the thousands of flowers.

The herbaceous border

The formal garden 

In the formal garden the box knot hedges are looking all first-day-of-term clipped and precise and the wisteria walk is pregnant with buds - once opened the perfume from the plants is heady and full of the promise of summer.

Wisteria in the formal garden - in a a few weeks time this will be draped with flowers

Tulipa 'Maureen

It's still early and tulips are enjoying their moment of glory, from the serene “Maureen” in the formal garden to the more flamboyant examples in the colour border. 

One of my favourite bits of the garden - the Virgin’s Walk - is alive with bluebells, omphalodes, comfrey, and unfurling ferns which are the greenest of green. Virgin's Walk proves that shade is no obstacle to being able to enjoy a variety of wonderful plants throughout the year with plenty of colour and structure.

Omphalodes Cherry Ingram

As I was walking back through the garden, I discovered a new thing: the wonderful Trillium chloropetalum, hiding its light under a bushel in the island beds. 

Trillium chloropetalum

I have Trillium grandiflora in my garden having fallen in love with it at a visit to Wisley, but this one beats even that - all silky white-and-purple-blushed petals, like a bowl of black-cherry and vanilla ice cream. Delicious.

What's looking lovely in your garden at the moment?









To subscribe, hover over the pop-out RSS link icon on the right hand side of your screen, and enter your email address. You will be sent a link to click and that's all there is to it!

All pictures are © Clare Holt