Lee visits a Woodland garden

By

Lee Bestall
Garden Care
26th July 2017

This week we begin our tour of other peoples gardens, and the first stop for the next 3 weeks is Dawns garden.  Set in a woodland environment, this north facing garden has pockets of special plants dotted here and there, with a wonderful use of colour repeated throughout each border.  The rain makes it look like an autumn day, but it didn't put us off having a good look around.

The Agapanthus I planted a few weeks ago are really flowering well now, and this week the pink Echinacea (also known as the cone flower) have come into flower.  It’s a beautiful plant and is peering through other grasses and perennials in the border and will continue to flower for a good while yet.  It came through the winter very well, and I presume that it’s the fact that it’s growing in a raised bed rather than in the local heavy clay soil which would have been too wet and cold for it.

 
Tool of the week

Cold Frame

Small Cold Frame

COLDFRAME1


COLD FRAMES

Verbena bonariensis

Verbena bonariensis

 

Agapanthus

Agapanthus

As many of the Verbena bonariensis plants in peoples garden were killed off by the harsh winter, I sowed some earlier on this year and have planted them out, but took one for Dawn as it really compliments her colour scheme.  Now is also a great time to collect the seed from fox gloves, and the white flowering Digitalis 'Alba' we have in the garden, came from seed i sowed a year ago.

Sow now over compost but do not cover the seed. Place in the cold frame (preferably in a shady place) and prick out into modules once germinated.

The Agapanthus are also looking great this week so they deserve a shout out, unlike the coriander which has (as it often does) gone to seed.  That said, i'm letting the white foamy flowers go on and will collect the dry seeds to use in the kitchen.

Enjoy the warmer weather!

Lee 'The Gardener'

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Rekha Mistry

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