Hello from the not-so-sunny Golden Bay, where rain seems to be the number one theme this week. The early hours of Monday morning brought a deluge from the skies – basically 1ml per minute for a couple of hours – which was not at all fun, for me or the plants. A total of 161ml that morning, plus more yesterday and overnight means everything is just wet and soggy. I did think it was supposed to fine up this morning but it’s pretty bleak out there so I’m in the office for a bit instead. In between all the rain I have been attempting to pot up plants as fast as I can, because suddenly there is a shortage again and lots of new things coming on that need to go into larger pots ready for sale. So watch this space… In the meantime, there are just a few new additions to the website this week, which are listed below, or you can find everything on my website here https://www.seaflowersnursery.co.nz/perennials.html#/ Dianthus barbatus ‘Kaleidoscope’ Helipterum roseum ‘Pierrot’ (punnets) Potentilla rupestris Rudbeckia hirta ‘Cherokee Sunset’ Salvia ‘Costa Rica Blue’ Salvia lanceolata Salvia nemorosa ‘Blue Queen’ Scabiosa caucasica ‘House Hybrids’ Solidago ptarmicoides (previously Aster ptarmicoides) Symphyotrichum (Aster) ericoides Verbena hastata ‘Pink Spires’ Out in the garden I have been busy weeding as time allows, and planting the odd thing in gaps. Really I need to wait for the soil to dry out a bit before I can develop any more of the gardens I have planned. I am very impressed with a bed I put in over winter, which has now filled out and is looking fantastic. Geranium ‘Victor Reiter Junior’ teams up nicely with Centaurea dealbata, then the foliage of the ever-expanding Campanula primulifolia which is slowly coming up to flower. I think there’s some Phlox and Achillea tucked in there too. The Peony foliage makes a great backdrop for my favourite Agastache cana ‘Bolero’ which forms bushy clumps of fabulous smokey purple foliage, and the spikes of small, dark magenta flowers are a nice colour pop too. I’ve blended it with Thalictrum aquilegifolium ‘Purpureum’ and Knautia arvensis, the field Scabious. The Knautia is seriously impressive – what a great plant! It is tough, hardy, and just keeps on sending up masses of lilac Scabiosa-like flowers on long stems which look lovely waving about in the breeze. Perfect for picking too, as the flowers are only small-medium sized so don’t hang their heads from being too heavy. It looks like it will just keep going all summer long but will wait and see. I also have an outstanding new Echinacea in this bed, which is an E. pallida var. simulata hybrid. Take your best, most vibrant deep pink Echinacea purpurea cultivar and add elegant drooping petals for drama and long narrow, soft grey-green foliage for effect and that is pretty much what this seedling has turned into. It also stands about 80cm tall at present, and looks stunning rising out of the luscious frothy foliage of Geranium ‘Joy’. The Echinacea is one of three seedlings I put in that spot and so far it is the biggest and best, with twice as many petals as a standard E. pallida…and very early flowering, but I’m waiting to see what the other two come up with. One is definitely going to be paler…so we shall see. Anyway, it looks like the sun is trying to send some sort of weak glow of hope through the drizzly clouds, so I’m off to have lunch then head out to the nursery again. Happy gardening! Kate Jury
2 Comments
22/6/2021 02:04:07 pm
Surely gardeners will relate. Adding new plants to our garden gives some kind of happiness. Can't wait for more! Regards, Kelle.
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23/2/2022 06:15:32 am
What a lovely garden! Thanks for sharing. I could see that there are many special flowers and each has its character in your garden. I admire you for planting such a garden. What is the name of the purple flower in your photo? Is that a peony? Its flowers are beautiful and striking.
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Kate JuryOwner-operator of Seaflowers Nursery and serious plant addict! Archives
October 2022
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