The May cutting garden : Biennials time
May my favourite month I think, everywhere is just so green and it is that bright fresh spring green that seems to just glow. The May blossom is out in all its glory and Cow Parsley is adding a frothyness to the hedgerows and road sides. I’m just back from Malvern Flower Show which really is such a joy, what a setting with the back drop of the Malvern Hills. I was staying in Worcester and the drive to Malvern each morning was just beautiful through little villages and down windy lanes, what a treat. Bluebell cottage nursery, where I also work, had a stand in the Floral Marquee. Sue created a beautiful display which won a gold medal. Two days working, chatting to people about plants and selling our lovely stock, its hard work but lots of fun too. Everyone has that spring buzz at Malvern, excited to be back in their gardens after winter and looking for plants to fill gaps and get their gardens looking good. This Thursday I’m heading down to Chelsea Flower show to help Sue with the build there, we are exhibiting there for the first time in a few years so very exciting. Hard to leave the garden at this time of year though.
So after a busy few days it was nice to get in my garden on sunday to get a few jobs done, we are still getting some cold nights so I’m holding off from putting too many tender plants like Dahlias, Cosmos, Sunflowers and Zinnias out just yet, I think that will have to wait till I get back from Chelsea. Sowing of annuals has finished now for me, though if you haven’t sown there is still time, you can direct sow lots of annuals now and with the warm weather they will germinate quickly and be flowering end of June into July so plenty of time to sow now for summer cutting or for your gardens. I’ve just done my last pricking out and that was the Nicotiana, which I missed out on last year so looking forward to having them back in my garden this year. I’ve been planting out Ammi majus, most of that has gone round the garden rather than in any of the cutting beds, filling in gaps. The Snapdragons are all in, Larkspur is planted, as is a second batch of Cerinthe. I’ve been pinching out my Cosmos young plants, if you are unsure about how to do this I wrote a blog about it here. Sunflowers and Zinnias are growing well and I will let them get to a good size before I plant them out, I may even pot them on again if needs be. They will be planted where my Ranunculus are so bit of a wait until there is space for them. There is a lot of juggling in the greenhouse though slowly emptying as I plant them out or move them outside. The Dahlias are getting put outside in the day and taking back in if cold nights are forecast. Yesterday I planted my tomatoes in the greenhouse so thats when the Dahlias really need to be ousted. I love the rhythms and routines that I have through the year, each year they may get tweaked slightly but mostly they are set by the weather.
Time to get back to properly playing with flowers again and seeing whats in flower in my garden and what combinations do well together. Some people don’t like picking from their garden and thats why having a designated cutting patch can be so good. But I enjoy cutting from the rest of my garden too, bits of foliage and flowers that can just add a bit of the unusual to the arrangement. On Sunday I had a lovely time just wandering and seeing what is in flower and picking, trying different colour combinations and filling the outdoor display with colour and also bringing some into the house. Nothing fancy just simple arrangements in jamjars or small jugs. I have armfuls of Ranunculus which have been fantastic this year, the sweet rocket is starting to flower which is great for filler for arrangements.
After Chelsea I have a week off and thats when I will sow my biennials for next year, Sweet Rocket, Canterbury Bells, Honesty, Sweet William, Foxgloves and Wallflowers but I will do a separate blog about those. But get your seeds ready for sowing, May, June into July are the best times for sowing those. They will germinate quickly in the warmth, you can prick them out and grow them on ready for planting late summer into autumn. My Honesty has been brilliant this year and it’s starting to set its beautiful seed pods, I’ve had a few flowers on my Wallflowers but I think I might have overfed the bed as there is lots of lush, healthy green growth but not too many flowers, always learning. Sweet Rocket is bursting into flower now and still to come are the Canterbury bells and Sweet William which are showing lots of promising buds.
The Ranunculus keep on giving, the Creme ones are starting to flower now, though really they are lemon yellow. Here with the lovely perennial cornflower, Hesperis Purple, Allium cowanii and Geranium phaeum.
The autumn sown annuals are getting ready to flower, there are buds on the Cornflowers and Corncockle and the first flowers are appearing on Orlaya and Cerinthe.
Hope you are enjoying your gardens in May, beautiful blooms are on their way
Get ready for biennial sowing soon.
Higgledy Anne
(I’m on Instagram anne_hinks if you fancy a follow)