I’m fed up of talking about the weather, if we just keep telling yourselves we will get some sunshine soon, we will get some sunshine soon, on repeat! Surely if we all do it someone will listen and send some kinder weather our way.
As well as working for Higgledy Garden I also work at Bluebell Cottage nursery and gardens. We opened for the summer this week with a nice quiet start, bright sunshine and blue skies till the afternoon and then heavens opened, hailstorms, wind whipping round and chilly. Hoping it will be a bit calmer over Easter weekend. Do come and visit if you are around the Cheshire area. The gardens are looking lovely and fresh, tulips just opening, lots of Spring flowers and blossom. Plus it will soon be Bluebell time! There is a lovely tearoom too for hot drinks and delicious cakes. Its a hardy perennial nursery who’s staff have had to be pretty hardy this winter. But its getting better, we are so proud of how the nursery is looking and such a good selection of plants.
So a busy time and also a busy seed sowing time for my garden. Lots already sown, my early sowing of the nice tougher hardy annuals like Calendula, Echium, Gypsophila, Scabiosa, Salvia ‘Oxford Blue’, Godetia, Larkspur, have been pricked out and are growing on. Got to keep an eye out for slugs at this stage, its those little brown ones, they have nibbled a few of my Larkspur. You can often find the pesky blighter the next day nestled under the trays or pots, they are swiftly despatched on the compost heap. I also sowed a few perennials Gaura ‘The Bride’, Knautia ‘Melton Pastels’ and Chrysanthemum ‘Crazy Daisy’ I’ve pricked out what I need of those.
Another sowing in mid March of Statice, Rudbeckias, Dill, Phlox, Didiscus (very excited about this, a new introduction suggested by Higgledy Gemma), more Salvia painted sage and Chrysanthemum rainbow. Also a couple of new things, Coreopsis and Combidium for a bit of an experiment! These have all germinated well (though still waiting for one of my Phlox to come) and so I’ve a bit of a backlog for things that need pricking out.
After writing about Nicotiana last week I was going to sow them last weekend but I ran out of time so they are still to be done this weekend, see blog post! Oops, but also sowing Amaranthus (my favourite drama queen), Cosmos, Sunflowers and Zinnias. There is still loads of time for sowing. I just plan mine out a bit of where I will have space. My garden is not massive so I’m planning for better use of the space this year, so my autumn sown annuals like Cornflowers, Corncockle, Orlaya are mostly planted up in the garden now. I’ve also got 2 raised beds with some Iceland poppies and Ranunculus in, plus some beds of mostly biennials. They will flower away in late spring early summer and then the plan is (fingers crossed) I will take them out and plant up some beds full of Zinnias and Cosmos which will take over and flower then till the end of summer. Thats the plan anyway whether the timings will work that’s yet to be seen.
The Biennials are just starting to get going now though not enough for picking really so far. But here are the Wallflowers ‘Cloth of Gold‘ and ‘Vulcan‘, I also grew a variety called ‘Sugar Rush Pink’ but way too short, shame as I fancied a purpley flowered one.
Forget-me-nots, I have the blue ones seeding all over my garden but I grew some pink ones and white ones from seed this year to see how they did. The white one is a bit behind the pink one. I love a forget-me-not!
Honesty is looking good and often attracts one of the earliest butterflies the Orange Tip.
Still to come are Sweet Rocket and Canterbury bells, they are a bit later. I also have Foxgloves but they are just dotted around the garden.
So lots of promise and I did finally do a bit of flower cutting and arranging, see photo at the top of the blog, of which everything was cut from my garden. It included Hellebores, Narcissus, Fritillaria, Flowering currant, Pachyphragma macrophylla and Lathyrus vernus. Its just an exciting time that even the weather can’t dampen. Its an Easter weekend and the clocks go forward so it will be lighter at night, giving us gardeners more time to potter in the evenings after work!
So now’s a perfect time to get sowing, its much lighter and warmer and seeds will grow lovely and fast now. Wishing you all a garden full of flowers.
Happy Easter!
Higgledy Anne
(I’m on Instagram anne_hinks and on Twitter Anne Hinks if you fancy a follow)