June in the garden

Quote of the month:

‘Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration!’

The garden continues to build momentum for the summer, the spring display is almost over with just alliums, cammasias and wall flowers with forget-me-nots in the Holm oak walk hanging on and in the second week of June we strip this out for the summer display a little late some may say but we stagger the shakedown so the garden doesn’t look empty all at once ( the tropical garden is done at mid to the end of May), not that it would on the Holm oak walk because there is a hedge of lavendula ‘Munstead’ with Rosa compte de chambore (Portland) and Rosa ‘James Mitchell’ (moss) in their hundreds to give the June display, we infill these with annuals for later colour to succeed the roses/lavender and give late summer colour to a border that otherwise would be a little dull later on and with a garden only three and a half acres big all the borders have to work hard right up to the first frosts anything less would be disappointing in my eyes.

Speaking of disappointments I am always keen to grow lots of new plants to me as there is no better way to know a plant than to grow it ‘you know what you grow’ is what I always say to people who don’t know why I can’t identify a plant for them.

It allows me to see if a plant suits my gardens soil and location, it also allows me to see what height, form and colour it will achieve in my garden, book descriptions can be quite different from the actual plant and there are many factors that contribute to this. Every year for the past three years I have brought the variegated form of Nicotiana Tabacum quite unusual and I was really taken with its appearance the guidance with the seed said discard seedlings not displaying good variegation sooo watching, waiting!!

Then hundreds of plants emerged from the packet of sown seeds none with the slightest hint of variegation on them huh! Well I thought maybe it comes with age so I pricked them out potted them on and finally planted them out still with no variegation they grew really well to 6 ft and had pinky bell like flowers but no variegation disappointed to say the least but I did not give up buying the seed each year and binned the lot when no variegation appeared just when I was about to give up and tell the seed supplier he must be having me on there were three hopefuls emerged in this year’s batch and one is now six inches high and looks awesome!! Cream and yellow heavy variegation all over every leaf and all the other failures are melting into the background of my one plant obsession!!!

The garden is looking so beautiful this June, years of Restoration and now with a really good team on board I am finally beginning to see my vision becoming reality. If you only come a few times a year June surely has to be one not to miss and this one is no exception.

Steve