Cool and windy here today but there are still six things from the garden to share with you.

  1. Scarphagus bed – The jasmine is flowering, not enough to catch the scent but there are sufficient buds for that to be a possibility in the near future; imagining a warm, calm evening…The rose Scent from Heaven is in bloom, I was aiming for an apricot pink and currently hoping the orange will fade. On a positive note, it is a good combination with the floribunda Champagne.

2. Pots – There aren’t very many pots in this garden but the steps from the patio looked bare. I heard someone on Gardener’s world recommend ferns and hostas as a combination and then this week I noticed both hostas and ferns on the pity bench at the local garden centre. It was meant to be…I don’t usually grow hostas given they are considered caviar by the slimy hordes but a protective layer of Strulch seems to be working (so far) I think the hostas were consigned to the pity bench because they are flowering – curious.

3. North border – Now that the Pat Butcher rhododendron has finished flowering, this bed has returned to shades of cool green. The persicaria seems to be standing up well against the ferns who are having a growth spurt this year. The Japanese anemone and unknown hydrangea are very lush and look at the flower buds on the hydrangea, I will finally find out its colour preference. I’ve topped up the bed with ericaceous compost, so I’m betting on blue tones.

4. South border – The cooler colours in this border are at the house end (let’s ignore rose Scent from Heaven) where the border is shaded in the afternoon moving through to hotter shades at the pergola which is in sun most of the day. I’m considering nibbling away a bit more grass but I’m happy with planting progress here. The slugs have decimated the foxgloves here but still they flower. The linaria is self sown, probably carried in on pots from the old house. Behind the linaria and next to the clematis is a gap. It’s a tricky spot as I need access to the japanese quince to keep it under control – I’m pondering a fatsia japonica or another hydrangea – what would you suggest?

5. Sunny south border – This is at the potential stage. There is apricot/orange dahlia Henriette and Karma choc, mingling with rose Buff beauty and Chandos beauty and the blue salvia African sky. Behind the rose are three delphiniums rescued from the garden centre pity bench, really strong specimens who will likely flower next month – no labels. Just to the right of the empty plant stand is a raised bed with grasses (a miscanthus and deschampsia) and red salvia Bumble.

6. Pergola bed – I’m aiming for the plants here to provide a loose privacy screen for the bench and something more interesting than fence panels as a view. I cut back the geum this week to give the new buds space to grow. The knautia macedonia read the height memo and is just about to flower, unlike the stipa gigantia I lifted and overwintered the delphinium and it is showing its gratitude. I may rework this bed this winter to create a better rhythm between the plants.

That’s my six, do catch-up with the rest of the team at Jim’s.