Heavenly Hydrangeas!

If there’s one genus that I am utterly in love with then it’s Hydrangeas! Every year as we head into ‘Hydrangea season’ I begin muttering eulogies to these beauties… ‘What a stunner!’ ‘Isn’t it gorgeous?’ ‘Wow, look at the flowers on that!!!’

I don’t really know when my love for Hydrangeas began. I bought my first, Hydrangea ‘King George V’, many years ago and it still sits in a big pot outside my back door. Its performance always reflects the care (or neglect) that it receives throughout the year. In a good year it is fabulous, covered in white buds that open to reveal rosy, pink-edged blooms.  The flowers darken as they age to rich red-pink.  

 

Pink Hydrangea flowers of 'King George V'

©Sue Sanderson, Thompson & Morgan – Hydrangea macrophylla ‘King George V’

 

It’s always at its best, if it has been repotted in the spring and fed and watered liberally. Sadly this year it has been plagued with Hydrangea Scale and looks pale and chlorotic, with few flowers forming.  Scale insects suck the sap of plants, weakening their growth.

 

Hydrangea Scale insect

©Sue Sanderson, Thompson & Morgan – Hydrangea Scale insect can be seen on plants in early summer.

 

I’ve been squishing the white waxy clusters that cover the eggs whenever I see them. I usually leave the stems and flowers intact over winter, but this Autumn I will cut them all back to destroy any overwintering nymphs.  Fingers crossed for a better display next year!

Luckily, it’s better news on the other side of the patio where Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Madame Emile Mouillère’ is flowering her heart out.  I found her years ago on a visit to the nursery at Great Dixter Garden in East Sussex.  It’s funny how plants remind you of people and places that you’ve know, isn’t it?

 

Hydrangea macrophylla 'Madame Emile Mouillère'

©Sue Sanderson, Thompson & Morgan – Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Madame Emile Mouillère’ in full bloom.

 

This really is an elegant variety with large flower heads that open apple green and mature to dazzling white, before taking on a gentle pink tint to the oldest flower heads.

I’m rather excited about my latest acquisition of Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Princess Diana’. Now I know they look small right now – but given a few years of TLC they will produce fabulous double, pink flowers with an unusual star shape. I’ve only ever seen this variety in pictures so I can’t wait for the real thing!

 

Hydrangea macrophylla 'Princess Diana'

©Sue Sanderson, Thompson & Morgan – Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Princess Diana’ will produce starry, double flowers at maturity.

 

My enthusiasm for Hydrangeas is being fueled by these two beautiful specimens on display here at T&M. Sadly I can’t tell you the variety as they are unlabelled, but there is no denying that they really are magnificent. One plant is so large that I asked my colleague, Sonia to appear in the picture for scale! Both are grown in large pots, and fed and watered liberally – it just goes to show how a proper care can make all the difference.

 

Spectacular Hydrangeas grown in large pots

©Sue Sanderson, Thompson & Morgan – Hydrangeas make superb container plants.

 

You may have noticed that I haven’t included any blue Hydrangeas in this blog so far. The soil in my garden shows no hint of acidity! An acid soil will turn the blooms of most pink macrophylla varieties to varying shades of blue or purple.  I could pot a Hydrangea plant into ericaceous John Innes compost, water only with rainwater, and apply regular drenches of colourant… but I learned long ago that I’m rather a lazy gardener, so I prefer to work with what nature has given me!

It doesn’t stop me from admiring blue hydrangeas though. Here’s a stunning example from our ‘Your TM garden’ photo competition by this month’s winner, Diana Eastwood.

 

Beautiful blue Hydrangea flower

©Diana Eastwood – Hydrangea macrophylla sp. produce blue flowers on acid soils.

 

Hydrangeas really do have a lot to offer. Aside from the large, flamboyant blooms in summer, they also have lovely autumn colour.

In fact, I think they make the perfect gift plant. Here’s a double one that I recently gave for a friend’s birthday called Hydrangea macrophllya ‘Mademoiselle’ – I hope she gets as much enjoyment from Hydrangeas as I do!

 

Hydrangea macrophylla 'Mademoiselle'

©Sue Sanderson, Thompson & Morgan – Hydrangeas make wonderful gift plants.

 

Have I missed one of your favourite varieties? Why not share your beautiful Hydrangea pictures with us on our Facebook page? Or if you want to read more about this beautiful genus, head over to our dedicated hydrangea hub page for advice, tips, and more.

 

‘Behind the Genes’

It’s a very exciting time of year. RHS Chelsea Flower Show preparations are in full swing and the countdown is on.

This year, Thompson & Morgan is teaming up with Sparsholt College who are creating a ‘Behind the Genes’ show garden which is diving into the science behind plant breeding and genetics to offer an insight into the development of plant breeding and selection.

'Behind the Genes' Chelsea Garden

T&M breeding is recognised around the globe and it’s a great opportunity to showcase some of this in the garden which has been designed by Sparsholt’s Chris Bird in The Discovery Zone inside the famous Great Pavilion. The garden will feature plants such as Hydrangea ‘Runaway Bride’, one of the most floriferous and vigorous hydrangeas which won first place in last year’s Plant of the Year competition and plants from our very own breeding programme, such as Helianthus ‘SunBelievable™ Brown Eyed Girl’ which won 3rd place in last year’s competition. This is the world’s first multi branching sunflowers which puts out over 1,000 flowers during the growing season.

Hydrangea 'Runaway Bride', Lance with Peter Seabrook and Helianthus 'SunBelievable™ Brown Eyed Girl'

Hydrangea ‘Runaway Bride’, Lance with Peter Seabrook and Helianthus ‘SunBelievable™ Brown Eyed Girl’

My first trip to Chelsea was back in 2014 as a student at Sparsholt when we brought home the gold medal for ‘The Paper Chase’ garden and it’s great to be going back again this year with both my college and Thompson & Morgan to work on this very exciting project.

It’s a real honour to be a part of this project which aims to encourage the next generation of horticulturalists whilst promoting the opportunities that I’ve enjoyed – particularly at such a prestigious horticultural event! I’m hoping that by being involved in this garden, current Sparsholt students will be able to see the career options that await them.

A very busy few weeks lie ahead; preparing plants for Chelsea comes with its challenges. I find it’s almost like tricking nature, as you have to learn to sweet-talk plants to make them look beautiful on the day! Various methods are used to encourage plant growth, and in some cases, it’s necessary to ‘hold the plants back’.

Clematis ‘Kokonoe’ ©Plantipp/ Visions

Of course, the weather has a big impact on how well plants progress and as with all years, each season is different and no one can predict the weather.

Peter Freeman, our New Product Development Manager, has been working miracles and we have got some very exciting Plant of the Year entries that are being nurtured as I write, including a really striking, brand new clematis which has flowers that change shape throughout the season. Clematis ‘Kokonoe’ starts with warm purple single flowers which change into fully double pom-poms blooms as they develop to create a truly luxurious display!

We are also really excited to be joined by plant hunter Peter van Rijssen, who manages the trials for a worldwide portfolio of new plants and an avid promoter on social media of plants and new genetics.

Watch our Journey to Chelsea video:

I look forward to seeing you all at Chelsea!

Happy Gardening,
Lance

Are you feeling the Love yet?

I’m just not feeling the love! Apart from sloping off to the greenhouse every few days to check on the cuttings (progress not great.) I’ve done nothing NOTHING, I TELL YOU! Oh the guilt! I’ve come up with every excuse: it’s too wet, too cold, too early, too late. Apart from one manic flurry of activity on 23 December, that’s it! Talking of which, having overstuffed our green bin within two hours of the last refuse collection for six weeks, it has now started to compost itself and has reduced in volume by a quarter!

Now, it’s not that the garden can’t wait – it’s hanging in a sort of suspended animation – it just feels odd not to have deadlines (self-imposed I grant you) to meet. Apart from the miscanthus, oh yes and the slimy brown kniphofia ribbons, which really could do with the chop now, the entire landscape is looking bedraggled and somehow in this dim January half-light, saps one’s enthusiasm. Due to lack of will, I never got round to pruning back the cannas on the patio and now I’m thinking I might as well leave them on as protection against inevitable cold snaps; if I cut them down all I’d end up doing is covering them with fleece anyway.

Nandina domestica & Nandina domestica ‘Twilight’

On a more positive note, I have managed to find the energy to fill up the numerous bird feeders regularly. Fussy eaters all, we have had to shop around for a particular seed mix and give away our existing supply to my mother (for her birds, not her, silly!) Mind you, seeing as she only lives 500 yards down the road, the very same birds may well chance upon this alternative food supply, only to turn their beaks up again. I have been desperate to spend some gift vouchers on a squirrel proof caged suet block feeder. Do you think I can find one? Out of stock everywhere. Still, as a consolation I treated myself to some more spring bulbs: Our local garden centre has been selling off five packets for £1 so I bought chionodoxa, puschkinia and erythronium. All I’ve got to do now is plant them. Highlight of the New Year was the arrival of T&M NEW Spring catalogues. True to form I have placed my order for all plugs orange. Begonia ‘Fragrant Falls Orange Delight’, begonia elata ‘Solenia Apricot’, begonia Non-Stop Mocca Bright Orange and petunia ‘Sweetunia Suzie Storm’. (Not to mention last year’s overwintering begonias, already showing one or two pips…..) And it’s not all gloom and doom outside. I’m quite into nandinas right now. In addition to our nandina domestica, which is covered in shiny red berries, I’ve acquired nandina domestica ‘Twilight’, part of a new range of dwarf Heavenly Bamboos ideal for containers. Talking of containers, the red cyclamen & cornus against the black grass strikes a cheerful chord amongst the brown landscape, and the papery flowers of hydrangea Zorro held on top of its black stems looks rather arty.

Red cyclamen, cornus with black grass, Hydrangea ‘Zorro’

So to while away the long boring hours indoors (lovely actually, all snuggled up on the sofa with various felines, binge watching USA plastic surgery Before and After documentaries) I’ve been cataloguing all my press cuttings (ooh, get her!) into a folder. The cupboard was so crammed with dozens of back edition publications that I was afraid wood worm would move in and eat them. What a trip down Memory Lane that has been. The first edition of Garden News to feature its readers’ 4 Corners Gardening column was published on 26 January 2005 and we have been contributing on a monthly basis ever since. Never mind the changing landscape, the range of hairstyles is breath-taking! And back then David even had hair! Happy 13th anniversary to us. I reckon we must have outlasted most of the editorial team in that time. Amazing to see how the garden has developed from Central Lawn surrounded by Narrow Borders to No Lawn overwhelmed by Plants Everywhere.

The Garden, 2005 & Now!

Clearly Nature isn’t suffering from lack of encouragement from me right now. Spurred on by writing this blog, I’ve just ventured outside to take some photos and have come back in with very mixed feelings.

Budding shrubs, Mad Melianthus and Heavenly Hellebore

  • Optimism: Hellebore hybrids are emerging, Lords and Ladies foliage marbling shady places, iris reticulata, snowdrops, narcissi all popping up.
  • Trepidation: Buds swelling on deciduous shrubs too soon already. More guilt: hardy geraniums and various withered perennials need cutting back. Relief: some of the cuttings are still alive.
  • Admiration: overwintering cannas and salvias are sending up new shoots.
  • Challenged: good grief, the hardy fuchsia, sambucus and cotinus are going to need some serious reduction. Amazement: Mad Melianthus Major has Four Fat Flower spikes on it.
  • Anticipation: my beloved roses are begging for their winter pruning; can’t wait to set my newly serviced secateurs upon them next month. Too long, too long!

So at last I can feel the sap rising. Any day now you will find me outside bonding with my garden again. A Happy New Gardening Year to you all.

The Lighter evenings are very welcome…….

frosted plants february

February has come and gone and on the South Coast here we had a week of freezing fog which made the garden look good but certainly not the roads.

I finished ordering my plants from Thompson & Morgan, I don`t know about anyone else but I look at the order and think where will I put them all, but of course they all find a home once they arrive, usually in my case, in hanging baskets, containers and troughs. As I don`t have room for a permanent greenhouse I have a four foot one which has a plastic cover round the frame, and also a hexagonal one which holds quite a few trays. These have worked very well in the past I just have to make sure I watch the weather forecast so I can get the small plants covered with fleece in good time. When I have finished with them they can been cleaned off and put away until needed again and I have extra space on the patio for my containers, and space to put a few more hanging baskets up. I believe some of the plug plants are due during March so that will be an exciting time checking them all out.

Alan and I have moved a lot of stored items from the patio so he could pressure wash it ready for the summer, even during the rain on one day but now it looks really good. I had almost forgotten what the original colour was. Also thinking about moving four containers which have had roses in them for three years and transplanting them along a border by the fence. I hope this will be a good move and that they will be happy in their new home.

nemesia cerinthe hydrangea

There are a couple of bedding plants from last summer that seem to have survived the winter outside, Nemesia and Cerinthe Major. I believe the latter is from seeds that have been dropped in the Autumn and the Nemesia is one that was left in a container. The frost on my Hydrangea Annabelle early one morning looked lovely but soon disappeared once the sun started to rise.

We arrived back from a close friends funeral in Somerset to find that my Incredicompost from Thompson & Morgan had been delivered. The driver had kindly stacked the bags in the porch for me instead of leaving them outside in the bad weather or worse still taking them back to the depot. My eldest Grandson thought I had over ordered until I told him that it was probably only a third of what I would need for the containers and baskets.

compost daffodils

This year I am trying the new Ruby Falls Raspberry that can been grown in a hanging basket. It has started well having been kept it in the front porch, as it arrived during the freezing weather, where it gets plenty of light and covered each night. A couple of warm days this last week has seen some of the daffodils flower but others seem to be very slow, just waiting for a little more sun!

A footnote to my Blog re California November 2015:
ducksI wrote about the awful drought that Southern California was going through when I visited my Sister in California with a lot of restrictions on the usage of water, 2 minute showers etc. They still didn`t get much rain last year until the end of the year when they had several storms following each other. To date they have had so much rain that the rivers and gardens cannot take any more. A dam in Orriville Northern California overflowed and 180,000 people were evacuated. All this before the snow has melted on the mountains which runs down to the rivers. Some wild ducks obviously took a liking to to the very wet garden and have been visiting my Sister`s garden every day and making themselves at home. The good news is, at least the drought is over for now!
That`s about all for this time gardeners, enjoy the start of Spring and all the new planting ready for the summer……..

Welcome To The New Gardening Year 2017

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year and are now ready for the new gardening year ahead.
During the summer of 2016 I planted Passiflora Caerulea and it soon grew to eight feet, must really have loved it in the full sun. I had around six flowers on it by early Autumn and then I noticed the fruit about the size of an egg appearing and turning gradually yellow. By then the days were colder but left them on the plant to see if they developed any further. The first week of January I decided to take the fruit off and cut them open and was very surprised to see that there was a lot of ripe flesh inside. I decided not to eat them as they had been around for a while and was not sure if they were edible after so long.

The Freesias I planted back in October started to grow far too quickly so I put more compost on them so the frost wouldn`t catch the tops but that only helped the local cats to use my containers as their toilet and scratched up the bulbs several times. Not wanting to to use anything that would hurt the cats but would stop them I asked a neighbour if I could have some branches of holly from her bush. That really did the trick with no damage to man nor beast.

On a mild day I checked the garden and noticed the Nemesia I had planted in a coloured pot during last summer were still growing and flowering as was some Cerinthe Major whose seeds had dropped on to the garden and had started to shoot, the plants are standing around 12” tall at the moment but I am afraid that when we get some very hard frosts it could be goodbye to them. My Hydranga `Annabelle` which had beautiful huge balls of white flowers, were still holding their own even though all the white heads are now brown, but still looking beautiful.

This Autumn I decided to plant up a couple of containers with a Winter Collection of small shrubs which gives a very nice show of various colours, and in the summer can be planted out in the garden.
My roses are in four containers but don`t really seem to be happy they all lost their leaves at one point and I did wonder if it was irregular watering that was causing it, although the bottoms of the containers were quite wet, so I am making room to put them into the border in front of a fence. If anyone has any answers re losing their leaves I would be very pleased to hear from you, this is their third year. The roses bloomed and looked great apart from the loss of leaves..

Having won Gold and Silver awards for my Container garden and hanging basket in 2016 for the Bournemouth in Bloom competition, I now have the challenge of turning the silver into gold for this year!

I have been making a provisional list of plants which I would like to grow from Thompson & Morgan for 2017 summer, I expect that will be re-written a couple of times before the final one. First of all we have to move a 5 ft.garden storage box and a small garden cupboard. The larger one is right into a corner and appears to be making the wall damp so will have to do some clearing out and moving it to under the kitchen window – fingers crossed.

I am hoping to try out a couple of Thompson & Morgan`s new Easy Fill baskets, I think the idea of having a solid piece of plastic holding the plants tight in their holes will stop the compost from falling out.

……………. so until we meet again, have fun deciding what you are going to grow this year, it`s getting lighter longer every day – hooray!!

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