POPPIES AND PEONIES
It's June, so it is time for poppies and peonies in all their fulsome glory. Following closely on their heals are the roses, which have also started to bloom.
We have had some rain at long last. A few days of intermittent showers and some cooler temperatures have cheered the garden up. The gardener is quite happy about it too. The weeds, that had been firmly gripped by the baked concrete of the clay soil, can now be pulled up. I should even be able to dig a planting hole or two.
1. Poppies
First on the list is a clump of scarlet oriental poppy. They are happy here in the long border and have self seeded to prove it.
2. Peonies
I've planted peonies all over the garden. Some are doing very well, and others were planted four or five years ago and are only just getting going. Here I have a single peony 'White Wings' and a double pale pink one, that is probably 'Sarah Bernhardt'.
3. Reine des Violettes
Have you ever bought a rose just for its name? Would I have chosen this if it was called 'Blue for You', 'Kiss Me' or 'Super Hero'? Absolutely not. But a rose called 'Souvenir de la Malmaison', Cuisse de Nymph or Gloire de Dijon seems impossible to live without. The images they conjure up: a stroll with Empress Josephine, a young lady reclining on a chaise longue, ancient cities.... All that romance brought to your garden, and to top it all there's the perfume. I'm unable to resist.
4. Rosa Roald Dahl
I love the soft apricot colour of this David Austin rose with its cup shaped blooms. I'ts a colour that doesn't exist in the old roses. Its a smaller bush, so can fill a little gap. Shame about the name (see No.3) although I think his children's books are great fun.
5. Planting out the Long Border
Many of the plants in the Long Border are tender perennials and annuals. It's time they were planted out. I got as far as laying out the pots of Cannas and Dahlias yesterday afternoon, before the rain (and hail) swept in.
6. Strawberries
The squirrels are still trying to beat me to the strawberries, but when I bought some new plants earlier this year, I also got a crop cage, which has helped. My harvest may not be huge, but it was delicious.
That's all from my garden this week. This post is part of Six on Saturday which is kindly hosted by The Propagator. Click on the link to see posts from gardeners around the world.
I agree, those rose names are very evocative and the plants themselves very beautiful. Love the single white peony, reminds me of a fried egg, mind you I haven't had my breakfast yet! Glorious poppies. Stay safe and enjoy your week. :)
ReplyDeleteI shall think of eggs every time I see it now 😂
DeleteFab roses ! I love the rose "Rein des Violettes" : old names are better that new ones created in recent years, I think.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous red poppies : the sky wasn't blue but you took a nice pic.
and for me the names sound so much better in French.
DeleteQuite how we ended up with just one rose, 'Hanky Panky', I am at a loss to understand.
ReplyDeleteTime to go shopping again Jim.
DeleteI quite agree with you about rose names! Your white peony is gorgeous and looks very similar to a Californian Tree Poppy (Romneya coulteri) which also looks like a fried egg!
ReplyDeleteI can see the similarity. The Tree Poppy is lovely.
DeleteStrawberries are hard for me. I have a lot of trouble with pill bugs, I find them curled up asleep in the morning, in holes they chewed!
ReplyDeleteThat's one problem I don't have, thankfully.
DeleteThank you for welcoming me to the frantic Six on Saturday club. I am swamped!
ReplyDeleteStrawberries look stunning... mouth-watering I'm sure. Apart from your lovely plants, I think your website name is magnificent! HortusBaileylana. I'm not likely to forget that one!
Thanks Padraig. I'm glad you like the name. (and one day I'll work out how to get accents on this keyboard).
DeleteYes - agree about names. But the closest I can come to a name with romantic connotations is ‘Valentine Heart’ - but I do love the roses, all two of them. Others are ‘Mortimer Sackler’ and ‘Tottering-by-Gently’…will they do? No, I thought not. �� Oh, what about ‘Jacqueline du Pre’…such a lovely name, and equally lovely rose. I give in, 'Reine des Violettes' is beautiful, both the name and the rose.
ReplyDeleteI’m surprised to see so many flowers on Rosa ‘Roald Dahl’ - I thought I was doing well having 4 blooms on ‘Princess Anne’.
Jaqueline du Pre makes the grade in my opinion. It's a lovely rose, that I will find the right spot for one of these days.
DeleteRoald Dahl wasn't pruned, and I David Austin roses flower on old and new wood. I think that has made the difference. It will get pruned next year, but it was such a young spindly plant that I decided it wouldn't benefit from it this year.
Those white peonies w/the yellow middles are spectacular. Love them. I also agree about the beautiful rose names that evoke a story or a person's life. And strawberries! Look deliscious!
ReplyDeleteNames are very evocative. I remember our conversation last year about Lord Bute.
DeleteWe ended up with yellow Welsh poppies this year, though I'm not entirely sure where they came from. Our strawberries aren't ready yet.
ReplyDeleteI think poppy seed can remain dormant for a long time, but a bit of weeding or planting can bring them to the surface and they spring to life. I had just two of the yellow ones appear here as well.
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