Flowers For Free

Very often gardeners are so intent on finding plants to flower for the garden that they overlook those that grow in the wild around them. To an extent there is a certain amount of snobbery concerning plants. If you don't buy it then it is not of any worth.

I have come across this many times throughout the years. Plants that are every bit as good for the garden are despised purely because they are wildflowers.

Yet if the same plant with the same flower came from another continent then it would be bought and cosseted within that persons garden.

Growing plants that are from ones own region not only adds to a garden diversity but encourages wildlife to thrive in the garden. True many garden plants that come from elsewhere do still have good ecological credentials. But ones that are natural to the area often support greater and more diversified wildlife colonies.

Here in this bed I encourage Red Campion (Silene dioca) to thrive. The blast of colour it gives for quite some weeks is so eye catching that passersby comment on the show. I hope some go away with new ideas for their own gardens.

Having said that,they just as likely think it is an expensive plant from a Garden Centre, what else would give such a show of colour!

London Pride

It's time now for the London Pride (Saxifraga umbrosa) to be at it's showiness in an understated way. We love this plant not only for the delicacy and airiness of the blooms when it is flower, or the florettes of leaves that fill in some difficult places. But also for the fact that all the plants of it that we have in the garden were completely free.

Just because it was free is not the true significance of it. But because how we obtained them.

When we first moved here there was not a garden as such and on the bottom part of the land where the old shed stood, once used to be the farm workers cottage.

The cottage had a low stone wall built in front of it. This had become overgrown with bushes and grass. But right on the end of the wall two London Pride plants maintained a hold in the rocks.

These plants and their ancestors must have been growing there for over 60 years. That was the last time that the cottage had been lived in before most of it was demolished and an old hooped shed built on the foundations.

From these two plants we established a colony within the garden that now consists of hundreds of plants.

Soft filmy flowers with all year green rosettes contrast wonderfully against stone and rock within the garden. The flowers attract numerous small flies and is alive with movement when the sun is warm.

Gathering Lilacs

The Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) is in full flower within the garden.

Once again the garden is filled with a  delicious scent.  This is plain ordinary Syringa vulgaris which quite frankly takes a beating for it's scent. Other varieties are still scented  and bolder in colour, but the true Lilac is still the best for scent.

We are quite fond of our Lilacs, we have them spread throughout the garden. When we first moved here they existed on an earth and rock mound at the front of the house. Planted many years ago by one of the tenants who farmed here when it was an active farm.

We split the bunch of Lilac and positioned it around in varied places to ensure we always had a good stock, and have been rewarded since by the glorious displays we get each year without fail.

The name Syringa is derived from Syrinx meaning a hollow pipe or tube. Traditionally the Lilac used to be used for making reed pipes and flutes. A few years back this caused some confusion when an old lady asked me if she still had her Syringa in the garden. The chap before who had maintained her garden had pruned everything in Winter, the so called traditional time for doing so.

I searched for the Lilac but found nothing. Several shrubs though I pruned back into shape at the right time to encourage flowering. One of which was a Philadelphus. When it flowered a year later, I took a large bunch to her and she really did cry out for joy, "You found my Syringa".

This was confusing especially as she told me she had always called it Syringa and lots of people she knew always called the Philadelphus, Syringa. I did some research and found that Philadelphus was often referred to by country folk as Syringa as it too used to be used for making pipes.

Bluebells abloom

On banks and in the woodland the Bluebells are now coming out in full. A wonderful sight and if the temperature is just right the air is filled with their delicate scent.

Here in Britain we it's estimated that we have between 25-50% of the world population of Bluebells. Unfortunately some of our true stock Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) are under threat.  Spanish Bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica) have been introduced into gardens and have found to be crossing with our native forms forming Hyacinthoides x massartiana a hybrid Bluebell.

The hybrid  may be classed as pretty by many people, but is courser in it's looks to our native form. Thankfully we are out of the way and so our Bluebells are strictly native forms.

Bluebells growing in the bank.

 

Every year I am caught unawares by the Pittesporum (Pittesporum tenuifolium). A sweet delicate scent drifts over to me, then I realise the Pittesporum  in flower once again.

Against the dark green foliage the small dark flowers are very indistinct, and you have to wonder how so much perfume comes from such a tiny flower. But there is strength in numbers.

A large bush of Pittesporum approximately 10 feet tall.

  Small dark flowers of the Pittesporum, all but insignificant.

 

 

 

 

 

While we are on scent (again), another of my favourites is in bloom. Erysimum cheiri 'Harpur Crewe'  This is a lovely double flowered form of wallflower. It forms a dense plant of around 16" tall and about 12" wide. Completely unfussy in it's soil needs and tolerates well drained fairly poor conditions. But rewards with masses of very sweetly scented flowers at this time of year.

Harpur Crewe is not very common and will need to be searched out, but it is well worth it.

Erysimum 'Harpur Crewe' happily growing right on the edge of a wall.

The border in Spring.

Seriously Scented

Two of my most favourite scented plants have now come out in flower, one is Rhododendron luteum. This has a deliciously light slightly fruity perfume that will gently drift on breezes. The first time I came across this was at a visit to Colby Lodge many years ago. Walking up the ride to the obelisk the air was filled with delicate perfume. Walking higher up we came across one Rhododendron luteum bush in full flower. Coming up close to the bush the air was awash with glorious scent and I knew then I had to get one.

If you want to grow the Rhododendron luteum then you need at least a light acid soil, or grow it in a pot of ericacious compost.

 

The next I love is Viburnum burkwoodii, this has a rich deep intense scent that makes you come back over and over again just to continuously draw in its headiness. This is really a must in any garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Viburnums are easy to please and any good garden soil will support them.

Shrubs with a completely different kind of scent are the Ribes family. In this case Ribes sanguineum, the main scent of which comes from the leaves when they are brushed or crushed, although the flowers do have a lighter fragrance to them. Some say the smell is similar to that of cats pee. But that doesn't really do it justice, it's a strange tart kind of scent that is unforgettable once you have smelt it. The beauty comes in the racemes of flowers that abound on the bush this time of year.

The colour ranges from white through pinks to deep reds, hardy and easy to grow on most soils, they're really good spring flowering shrub to have in a garden.

 

I have just made a new acquisition Ribes sanguineum 'Olympic double'. The flowers are unbelievable looking much like deep red miniature rose flowers, this is going to look fantastic once it is a fully grown shrub bearing flowers such as these all over it.

Seasonal Scents

Delicious scents drift in breezes across the garden. Whole new dimensions open up when scent becomes an integral part of the environment.

The first to infuse the air with a rich floweriness is Osmanthus burkwoodii. A dark evergreen shrub that can reach upwards to 10 feet (3 1/2 metres). Now is the time for it to flower and although it lasts for around a month it's well worth having in any garden. Don't let the size put you off, with gentle pruning just after it flowers, it can be kept to a more reasonable size.

Strong growing and deliciously scented.

A shrub that is not often known for it's scent is Berberis thunbergii atropupurea or the Japanese barberry. Small yellow flowers cover the shrub at this time of the year that give off a musky scent with a crushed green leaf undertones to it.

Berberis thunbergii atropupurea can grow to 10 feet (3 1/2 metres) if left alone. But judicious trimming at the end of Summer can keep it to size. The nana form is more compact in size.

Still days or ones with only a very light breeze allows the light scent to hang in the garden.

Berberis thunbergii atropupurea

Our Honey Spurge or Euphorbia mellifera survived with no problems over the harder winter we had than was usual. Coming from the Canary Islands it needs a sheltered spot to grow and rewards you with delicious honey scented flowers that flower on an architectural plant. It forms a strong large mound with narrow leaves that have a central stripe running down them.

A plant to take visitors around to show.

Deliciously honey scented Euphorbia mellifera.