MAYBE, MAYBE KNOT

The Knot Garden is planned to be at its best in May.  This year it may not at its best yet (hence my attempted pun in the title).  But with some sunshine on the way, next week I think it will really get going.  




Looking down the purple border, there are plenty of buds on the Lupins but I think the late frosts have affected the earlier Iris varieties, which have very few blooms. 


1. Smell the Lilac


At the far end, Lilac Michael Buchner has started to bloom, and smells wonderful.





2. Russel Lupins

The Lupins, in shades of blue and purple are putting up their flower spikes.  The growth these have put on in the last two weeks has been phenomenal.  I grew these from seed a few years ago and then had to keep moving them around to fit the colour scheme.  Most of them survived this rough treatment!  So far there's been no sign of the dreaded lupin aphid.


3. Allium Gladiator


Looking along the purple border, from the other direction, are some Allium Gladiator, in their second year of flowering.  They are much taller than last year (good) and each bulb has produced two somewhat smaller flowers (not so good). 


4. Iris 'Here when we Moved In'


Over on the other side of the Knot Garden where colours are pink and burgundy, this nameless Iris has opened the first of its flowers. I am fascinated by how easy it is to snap up and replant Iris rhizomes and now have a long sweep of these from that original plant I started with.



5. Bad Gardening


This pretty two tone aquilegia fitted the colour scheme here better, so I moved it while it was in flower  (hears chorus of disapproval).







6. Jobs for the Weekend


As I walked through the Rose Garden yesterday afternoon I could smell the musky perfume of Box.  It was the first time this year that it has been warm enough to release the fragrance.  The recent weeks of rain have made the garden grow lushly and weeds spring up seemingly overnight. There's plenty of weeding to be done but luckily the strulch mulch has kept the weeds down in the Rose Garden.  The Sambucus 'Black Lace' makes a nice contrast to all the green foliage. The rather obvious gap is where some Penstemon are being very slow to get going and may need replacing.


There's also the tomatoes to pot up in the greenhouse and the Second Vaccine Jab later today as well.   I hope you have an enjoyable weekend and some lovely weather.  
Thanks as always to the Propagator for hosting Six on Saturday.

Comments

  1. Replies
    1. That's high praise indeed from a New Zealander.

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  2. How fortunate to have those irises left to you. They are a very attractive colour and the fact they grow so well is a huge benefit.

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    1. I love the colour too. In fact I think I love all the Iris.

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  3. What magnificent borders you have. Do you have any help in the garden? I guess you must with such a large area. That would leave you more time for all those beautiful designs and plant buying.

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    1. Thank you. I do have help in the garden from Mr Bailey who does all the lawn moving, most of the hedge cutting and anything else that requires some muscle!

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  4. It all looks lovely. I'll have to imagine the fragrance of the lilac. I'm having a few penstemon issues. Some are looking very sorry for themselves and don't seem to be putting on much new growth at all, despite a chop.

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  5. The lupins are looking lovely, good impact and I like their foliage too. A very pretty time of year all round in your garden, even if things are a bit later than usual. Does the Sambucus Black Lace get out of hand? Was thinking of one to eventually replace a Forsythia, I'm been thinking of doing that for eons, but I heard the Sambucus get pretty big. Good luck with jab number 2.

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    1. The Sambucus should be fine as once it has had time to establish (I left mine a few years) you can start to hard prune it back like a buddleja. It gives you more striking foliage but fewer flowers.

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    2. That's good to know, all I have to do now is get round to it!

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  6. Good luck for the tasks to do on the weekend and this lilac must be a marvel to smell ... Everything is faded here but the memory is still present.

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  7. That Aquilegia is very striking. I think you can move most things whenever you like, as long as you give them enough water. That's what I tell myself anyway...

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    1. I go for that approach too. It usually works.

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  8. I’m guessing some Penstemons haven’t liked the cold as some of mine aren’t moving much either. I’d forgotten it but I used to have an Aquilegia like that. ‘Magpie’?. The Iris colouring is lovely

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    1. I don't know the name of the Aquilegia. It just appeared, so I suspect it was supposed to be a white one and I was given the wrong kind.

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  9. I seem to love every plant you're growing there, and grow quite a few of them as well. I hope you're spending loads of time soaking up the beauty. The sambucus never disappoints.

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  10. Why is the Knot Garden so called? Is there an unusual shape, or is there a story behind it?
    Lupins look great, especially in large numbers. Gosh, I never thought I'd say that.

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