SNOWDROPS AND ROSES

 

Well it's been a complete change this week, with the snow gone and the temperature rising I managed to spend some time in the garden every day.  The brief spells of sunshine persuaded the snowdrops to open, and with the leaves of daffodils and tulips appearing, the garden has been transformed from the wintery scenes of last weekend.

The snowdrop lawn

Let's start with the snowdrops.  I could have wished for some better light for these photos, but I was too busy enjoying the brief spel warmth to remember to go and grab my camera.

The patches of yellow aconite, which opened weeks ago, are still performing well.


Each year I dig up and split some of the very congested clumps and move them to uncolonised areas.


The patches under the trees in the foreground were added last year.



They are just the common type of snowdrop.  They really seem to love it here.



Fickle Hellebores

The hellebore seems to be a more temperamental plant.  I had some early success with them.  I bought a mixed selection, not in flower, some of which turned out to be rather nice.  


This yellow beauty is a particular favourite, but it was given a sorry location, when it really demands centre stage.  

None of the hellebore I've purchased since have so much as grown a leaf, let alone flowered, and don't even ask me about the pricy fancy seedlings I bought. 


Crocus tommasinianus

These are so delicate and fragile that I marvel at how they survive the wind, rain, frost and snow and emerge looking perfect.  Not even mud splattered!



Pruning the Climbing Roses

A few years ago I went on a rose pruning course at David Austin roses.  It was a really useful course with classroom and practical sessions. They aim to have all their roses pruned by the middle of February.  This week I finished doing mine, which is a lot earlier than last year.

This is Madame Alfred Carriere (or rather two of them) enveloping the arbour.


She's also trained along two parallel chains to an upright post each side.  Mr B has been commissioned to put in two more posts so that the rose can spread even further.


Here is another Madame Alfred covering an East facing wall.  I've left quite a bit of wood in here as it seemed to flower better last year, that way.


That's all from my garden this week.  Thank you for reading.  If you would like to find out what's happening in other gardens from around the world then have a look at The Propagator who hosts Six on Saturday.

Comments

  1. Beautifully trained Roses - I particularly like the wall trained one. There's something very satisfying about seeing the branches all laid out and ready for the coming year.

    The drifts of snowdrops look heavenly! They might just be the 'common' type, but when they're grown like that, I don't think it matters what sort they are! Lovely photos, thank you.

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    1. It's very satisfying to remove all those grotty old rose leaves and even the odd pigeons nest and make it all neat and tidy.

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  2. Wow to the snowdrops. Beautiful, as is the yellow hellebore. As a recent convert to hellebores I think I was in danger of going a bit mad with purchases but I suddenly pondered "what it they don't make it?" and will wait and see how my 3 acquisitions do first. I'm going to use your trained rose pictures for guidance when I tackle mine!

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    1. I hope your purchases thrive. They are so lovely I'll probably keep trying with them.

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  3. Wonderful snowdrops and I love your yellow hellebore. So far I have pruned half a climbing rose - I might finish it today then on to the shrub roses.

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  4. The snowdrops are doing fabulously for you. I have found they haven't done so well in grass here - it is quite wet and I wonder if that may be a reason for the poor display. Mary wonders if it is because we all that area to continue on as a wildflower area with quite high grass, not cut until August - there are daffodils, fritillaries, camassias and a mixture of other bits and pieces to follow; a nice scattering of the Common Spotted Orchid later. It's difficult to figure it out as they thrive elsewhere.

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    1. To be honest Paddy, the snowdrops grow like weeds here, but although there are a few in the areas of longer grass, the places where they seem really happy are where the grass struggles a bit because of the shade of overhanging deciduous trees. The grass there would never get thick and lush. You wildflower area sounds lovely.

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  5. Oh my goodness, the snowdrops! That’s the way they need to be - impact plus!
    I love the rose arbour over the seat and do hope you post a photo of it when it’s in flower. Mme Alfred is a favourite of mine.

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    1. I hope Madame A will put on a great show and feature in a future post.

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  6. Beautiful snowdrops. I used to work in a garden with huge drifts of Snowdrops, thank you for transporting me back there. I bought a yellow Hellebore last year and it has reappeared but with only one flowering stem. I feel that the more decorative they are then the harder they are to grow.

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    1. This one is really tucked away in a shrubby corner under an oak tree. It's not a great position from the gardeners point of view but it seems to be very happy. Others in the same border but slightly nearer the front are doing OK but not as well.

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  7. What a pretty climbing rose! I like the way it's led on all the wall and the other on the arbour. Good job !

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  8. I love your photo of the crocus, so delicate. Snowdrops looking fabulous en mass like that. Re Hellebores, so far I have resisted their charms but there's a Hellebore event taking place next weekend at an Arboretum I'd like to visit, so it will be a big test for me. I'm bound to come back with at least one. Am not so optimistic they will do well, especially after reading your post.

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    1. The hellebores are so lovely it's worth giving them a go I think. Perhaps we will see your purchases next week?

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  9. What a superb garden you have! Can you come and prune my roses too? But first, please help me fix them properly to the walls! A great six - the huge drifts of snowdrops were very special.

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    1. Thanks Cathy. I love your garden too, but not the extremes of hot and cold you have to cope with! Mr B did put some nicely spaced horizontal wires on the wall last year which gave me a good start.

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