Well, the weather can’t make it’s mind up at the moment and it seems that this has put the garden back by approximately 4 weeks. Alliums are still in flower and in fact some of the Allium Ambassador are not even open yet. The Mount Everest are still in mid flower and the Purple Sensation are still hanging on in there.
Our iris reticulata are starting to flower – at last – perhaps Spring is on the way!!
February is the month when all those Spring bulbs starting showing through and even though it is a month of snow, rain and cold you just can’t stop them!
In the milder parts of the UK you can think about dividing perennials such as the Agapanthus. It is also a good month to start dahlias, cannas and begonias off in greenhouses and to plant lilies out into the garden or pots. When planting lilies in pots, aim for odd numbers such as threes or fives and plant in heavier pots that will not be blown over in the summer gusts.
This is always a great month to pinpoint those wetter parts of the garden and to look to add in plenty of organic matter and grit to help them become more free draining.
The winter as we know has been pretty wet but the pots of bulbs are doing well as we always put in a good amount of grit to give good drainage. Don’t forget to regularly feed bulbs in pots as they start to grow to get the best from them.
Snowdrops are now flowering well and if you want to split these then this can be done once they have finished flowering. Specie crocus and dwarf iris will be the next to flower.
Don’t forget to order lilies and dahlias for summer flowering as they bring fantastic colour to the garden.
Finally the garden is starting to get some colour after the last few months of cold and rain. The lilies do not seem to mind the cold and wet so much and are coming into flower at the moment with Specie lily Orange Marmalade being the first to show through. The peonies are looking very good and health with some very large buds forming ready to burst into life. The Dranunculus Vulgaris is also about to burst into flower (well not sure how else to describe it!). This particular plant has been in the garden for the last 4 years and through all the cold wet winters and summers! has naturalsied really well and now has 3 flower stalks. Although when they first open the smell is far from nice that really only lasts for a few days and then their elegance can be enjoyed close up. The eremurus planted however look as if they have sucumbed to the cold and wet we have had and have failed to perform, on closer inspection i have found that they have rotted away. This is more usual for first year plantings as they have not established well enough. I will of course try again for next year and add a bit more grit and humus to the soil to help the drainage even more, when they do flower they are absolutely magnificent.
As we all keep on hearing about the mild weather these last few weeks it really has confused Mother Nature. It is however, as I write this blog, good to note that we had a decent frost this morning which is good as a spell of cold weather kills off pests and diseases that lay about in the garden within the debris of last years growth.
We have managed to pick a number of early flowering Rynveld Sensation which this year have grown before our snowdrops but this is probably as they are in a much more sheltered position. We have also noticed that one of our more interesting plants, the Drancunculus has poked its head well above the soil but to protect it from todays and future frosts, we have covered it with mulch.
August has seen the last of our range of lilies come into flower. Many of these are the late oriental types wihch are very fragrant and have made walking around the garden even more enjoyable. We are also now seeing the first of our dahlias come into full flower and are looking forward to a summer of colour from the many vairietes scattered around the garden. These will of course keep on flowering right through to the first frosts as long as the dead heads are removed.
The begonias we started off in the greenhouse in late February were planted out into our containers and hanging baskets in early May after we were confident that the frosts had subsided. These have continued to grow and although they need a lot of watering to keep the massive amount of tuberous leaves looking good, it has all been worth while as the first of the flowers are appearing and looking quite stunning.
It is a busy time in the garden both in keeping things up together and of course enjoying the odd BBQ and glass of wine whilst admring the fruits of our labour. Thoughts during these times turn towards Spring flowering bulbs as experience has shown us that to get some of the more new and unusual bulbs we need to obtain these early.
Directbulbs now bring you a fantastic range of products from Burgon and Ball – UK tool manufacturers. The range includes bulb markers, Sophie Conran designed Hand Tools and gardening gloves, copper tags and tees and pocket pruners. Hand tools, pruners and gloves are £14.95 each, Bulb markers are £7.99 (choose from Tulip or Daisy designs – 4 per pack) and £4.95 for a pack of 10 copper tees or tags.
To order just visit our website via the link below.
Lily Flowering Tulip: Claudia
We have had a wonderfully warm and sunny April and with plenty of watering our bulbs have enjoyed the warm weather, some of our results we have displayed here.
Historical Tulip; Theeroos (Tea Rose)
Tulip Peacock Mixed planted with Muscari
We are now getting ourselves ready for Chelsea Flower show and the launch of our new catalogue for the Autumn 2011 season. We have many new stunning varieties coming and also will be presenting some Gift Ideas from the quality Garden Tool Manufacturer Burgon and Ball.
Muscari Valerie Finnis
All our bulbs planted back in the Autumn are starting to grow rapidly now. The White Pearl hyacinths are providing a beautiful fragrant display in our pots by the door and are growing well alongside the Topolino Narcissi. The Muscari azureum is raising its pretty heads amongst the stunning striped foliage of the Red Riding Hood Tulips.
With the wedding season rapidly approaching we are looking forward to helping brides source a lasting and memorable gift for thier wedding favours. We are able to provide collections of small bulbs which can be wrapped and packaged beautifully by the bride and then planted by your guests for a lasting reminder of the special day.
Mother’s day is also coming up soon, on April 3rd and a ‘grow your own bulbs’ gift might be the ideal thing for those Mum’s who love their gardens.
Direct Bulbs Gardening Blog 
