 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 Hello everyone, and a big hello to all the lovely people I met at last weekend’s Motueka Garden Trail. I had a fabulous time talking to the hundreds who had come to see Angela’s garden and buy plants, and I also put faces to names for quite a number of existing customers. Thank you for supporting the Toy library and my small business...I hope the brave souls that came out after the flood on Sunday morning dried out and warmed up when they got home.
That’s the thing with opening your garden for an event such as this...you really are at the mercy of the weather and there are never any guarantees what it will do. But the reactions from those that came to view the garden made up for the incredible deluge which arrived at 4am on Sunday morning. Many visitors walked around the corner and were stunned by the layout…there were plenty of oohs and aahs, lots of sighs and smiles of satisfaction and wonderful comments about the beauty and design of the garden. Overall, I think the feel of the garden was what people liked the most…it just feels so welcoming. It is a real credit to Angela’s hard work and dedication that she has transformed a slightly overgrown blank canvas into a work of art filled with sumptuous colour, form and fragrance, and all in not-quite ten years. The most asked about plants over the weekend were the roses ‘Lavender Pinocchio’ and ‘Chevy Chase’, the tractor seat plant which we all still incorrectly call Ligularia reniformis, but which is actually Farfugium japonicum var. giganteum, and the purple honeywort, Cerinthe major, which of course is an annual best grown from seed…so I will be adding this last one to my to-do list. It is an exciting time in my garden right now...the weeds are in full force of course but there are also many new plants and old friends all growing madly, or just appearing, or even some in full flower already. I have been weeding in the shady garden up near the bush and loving all the different textures of foliage, variations of green and the calm feeling that the area has. I am adding plants in slowly, finding small treasures to pop in around the roots of the big titoki. The Corydalis ochroleuca and ‘Blackberry Wine’, Disporopsis omeiensis and Borago pygmaea are all starting to expand, along with various Tricyrtis, Epimedium, Arisaema and several Lilium species. The native Fuchsia procumbens is beginning to sprawl, while nearby the hybrid Fuchsia excorticata x procumbens 'Lincoln Bronze' is just coming into leaf. I am waiting for Isoplexis sceptrum to flower…it is getting bigger and bigger so can’t be far off. I have some ferns waiting to go in the shadiest areas, and am contemplating attaching my staghorn to the large roots on the bank below the titoki. It is an interesting, peaceful area, and so different from the hot border in full sun that I was creating a couple of weeks ago, so I want to keep the colours and textures fairly calm here, to retain that peaceful feeling. In other news…I have adjusted the freight prices for both the upper and lower South Island now, most have gone down, or are a flat rate for more plants. I’ve also discovered that recently many emails from customers have been sent into confinement in the spam folder on the Spark server…so if you have sent me an email recently, or even an enquiry via the website, and haven’t yet had a response, then please get in touch again, as I’m hoping I have thwarted the spam gremlins…for now at least. This week there are three varieties on sale at 30% off – Gaura ‘The Bride’, Centranthus ‘Snowcloud’ and the sumptuous Carnation, Dianthus ‘Raspberry Ripple’. Stock numbers have been updated and there are a few new plants this week…I sold an awful lot at the garden trail last weekend, but there are always some new treasures to add (see list below). You can find these latest offerings (and more) on my website here https://www.seaflowersnursery.co.nz/perennials.html#/ or email me direct with a list of what you would like. Agastache rugosa ‘Arcado Pink’ Callistephus chinensis, China Aster, ‘Lilliput Blue Moon’ Delphinium requienii Eryngium planum Erysimum cheirii ‘Blood Red Covent Garden’ (new stock) Pennisetum glaucum ‘Purple Baron’ .....note I think these have already sold out overnight! Primula vialii Salvia ‘Big Blue’ Salvia ‘Shangri-La’ (new stock, few only) Salvia canariensis var. candidissima (2 only) Today I finally decided I’m going to tackle the terrible world of FREIGHT. I say ‘terrible world” because it seems to be the one thing that makes customers and small business owners cringe more than any other aspect of running a business.
When you’re sending products (in my case plants) via courier across the nation, reliable freight services are absolutely critical to your business. Without them you can’t get your products to your customers. Without them to safely deliver your products for you, you would not be in business. And let’s face it, without our businesses they would not have parcels to collect and deliver either, so technically they need us to stay in business too. BUT. Sigh…yes there’s always a but…freight seems to be a huge hurdle for so many customers to get their heads around. Almost every week I receive questions or responses from customers or potential customers about the exorbitant cost of freight. So I thought I would say something…I might look silly for doing this, but I really feel it can be such an ‘icky’ subject for small business owners and their customers that it needs addressing. As a long-time plant addict/customer myself I totally understand – freight costs make the plants, or other products, you are purchasing that little bit more expensive. But I prefer to think of it as a way of supporting several different businesses. First there’s the one you’re purchasing the actual product from (such as my nursery). Then there’s the courier driver, earning their living delivering your parcel, so that they can then financially support themselves and their families. What about the businesses who produce the cardboard cartons, packaging tape, labels etc? They too are earning a living by providing goods which ultimately you are benefitting from as well. Basically, one carton of plants can support many different New Zealand businesses…it might seem small but every dollar counts right. I am really grateful for all the customers who not only buy my product, but also happily pay the correct freight, as this helps me to cover at least some of the costs associated with postage and packaging. I found it a little tricky to figure out the different shipping rates from my new area at first. So a big thank you to all of you for your patience while I worked on this, and for negotiating your way through all the different rates and choosing the right option for your carton size and delivery address (yes there are now both urban and rural options specific to the North Island). If there’s anything that you find confusing about the shipping options please let me know, I’m always looking for ways to make the checkout process as easy as possible. And thanks for reading this too…with your support, local small businesses like mine will continue to thrive :)   Hello, I wrote this a couple of days ago now of course, but it is still relevant…. I’m not sure if other gardeners do this but virtually every day I wander around my garden, usually in the morning, to see what is happening. Sometimes nothing has happened of course, but mostly I see something new each day. It’s not necessarily that what I have spotted today was not there yesterday, but rather my focus and perspective has shifted, allowing me to see something that I hadn’t before. Today’s jaunt brought me to the clump of white bluebells that are just starting to open. Yesterday they looked uninspiring, but today their buds are the most beautiful creamy lemon, with flowers changing to pure white as they open. The seed heads on my Anemone pavonina are all bursting, but collection will have to wait until the damp weather has passed, perhaps tomorrow with any luck. I know plenty of you would like some babies of these beauties so I must get on with sowing them, as fresh seed is best when it comes to Anemones. Salvia ‘Shangri La’ seems to be thriving in the hot stones near the house, the leaves are getting bigger every time I look at them. And they look gorgeous with the dew on the hairs catching the light and going all shimmery, almost looks like frost. On down to the shady corner bed that I put in not long ago…the Pulmonaria are starting to flower and there is one particularly good bright blue form, from Roger of course, but not labelled. The first flower open on Ranunculus cortusifolius…a new plant so it won’t look as spectacular this year, but still, a stunning yellow. And one lonely little Trillium poking its head through the soil. I’ve never grown them before so this will be a bit of a test. Enough garden rambling…there is work to be done in the nursery, shifting older plants out from the tunnelhouse so they can harden off. Lots of trays to be carted out and put where they can get both sunshine and rain (and hopefully not frost!). Of course this leaves gaps for lots more babies to be potted up…I have always loved the excitement of seeing what sort of plants I have produced from seed. Many people see this as a rather tedious and boring job, but I’m always interested to see what sort of root systems my babies have, how many have come up, whether they all look true to type or if there are any different ones amongst them. Anyway, on to the news of today – the next lot of plants are ready and waiting for their new homes, and have been uploaded to the website. You can view the plants available here https://www.seaflowersnursery.co.nz/perennials.html#/ Just a note about ordering. Unfortunately my website is not set up to take orders for payment via internet banking (frustrating I know…I’ve tried!). If you would like to pay this way then please send me an email to seaflowers@xtra.co.nz – there is no need to send this through the website, just send me an email from your phone, laptop etc, and include a list of the plants that you would like to order. Your delivery address is helpful as well. Then I can reply with confirmation of availability and costs, and we can go from there. Adding plants to your shopping cart on the website won’t automatically reserve them for you I’m afraid, but if you send me a quick email then I can adjust the numbers available very quickly. There are no guarantees of course but hopefully you won’t miss out if someone else buys them online in the meantime. Here’s what has been added to the website today… Antirrhinum majus ‘Canary Bird’ (very few, punnets) Antirrhinum majus ‘Defiance’ (only two, punnets) Centaurea macrocephala 1 litre Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii 9cm Helenium ‘Sunny Wonder’ 9cm Nepeta tuberosa, tall form 9cm Poppy – Beth Chatto’s – Papaver dubium ssp. lecoqii var. albiflorum Salvia uliginosa ‘Ballon Azul’ (few only) 9cm Salvia canariensis var. candidissima 9cm Salvia interrupta 1 litre Symphyotrichum (Aster) cordifolius ‘Silver Spray’ 1 litre Also new stock added of Monarda ‘Squaw’, Salvia ‘Shangri La’ and a few extra Symphyotrichum (Aster) ‘Little Carlow’ Happy plant hunting and thank you for supporting small businesses like mine 😊 Well it’s another cold and rainy day here so I am in the office catching up on emails and other important jobs (and to be honest there’s a heater in here so it’s the place to be today 😉).
I just thought I would take this opportunity to let you all know that I am busy making adjustments to the website in preparation for when the online shop finally opens again. I’m hoping for sometime in the next couple of weeks. Growth has been really slow but the plants have finally decided that spring is here and they are starting to grow at long last! Initial offerings will be limited compared to what will be on offer later in the season, so don’t be disappointed if something you have been wanting is not on the first list, as chances are it will be available a little later. I tend to update my online shop at least once a month (when it’s open) for much of the year, so there are always new things coming on. As we live in a reasonably temperate climate, as a nation we tend to garden off and on for all year round, so it makes sense to always have something coming on to offer keen gardeners around the country. I do already have some potted, “in the green” specialty bulbs, surplus to requirements, now listed for sale on Trade Me for anyone that is interested. With so much interest in these I decided that the fairest way to distribute them was to sell them on Trade Me, otherwise it would always come down to who happened to see my email first. The auctions close on Sunday night (seller jury1 or listed under perennials in the outdoor, garden section). I will have more bulbs available in about February (in packets). There are a couple of minor changes to the way I do business which I would like to make you aware of. The first is that I have begun using Daltons Organic Potting Mix for all of my plants (there are a few that are still in transition between standard mix and organic). The second is that when online orders do recommence, I will only be sending plants via CourierPost, as Aramex (Fastway) is not an available option in my area. I had to have a couple of trees taken out last week, as they were hanging over the back of the house and had lots of rotten branches on them. Felt very sad to see them go (I gave them each a big hug before they came down), but the arborist reminded me that even trees have a lifespan. The positive side is that it has opened up a whole new area of potential garden space for me. There are areas of shade with lots of leaf litter, then gradually descending down the slope into part shade and eventually large areas of full sun. So plenty of room for all sorts of ideas here, and I am very lucky as the soil is great to work with too. I have a number of seedling Salvias to trial so the sunnier areas will be ideal for these….hopefully something exciting comes out of this batch 😊 Take care and happy gardening, or if you’re like me – happy keeping warm! Kate Jury Here's a variation of the email I sent out to my mailing list customers this morning... I realized just the other day that I haven’t been in touch with my customers lately, so I decided it was high time I extracted myself from hibernation and got on with it! Apologies if you thought I had disappeared off the face of the earth – I can assure you this is not the case. I have been flat out keeping up with all the business of family life, madly sowing seeds, pricking out, potting up and planting gardens. In fact I don’t think I’ve been hibernating at all….perhaps just wishful thinking on my part! I've recently sown seeds of some of the plants that grow fairly fast but need the promise of early spring weather to get going quickly. I've discovered from previous years that there's not much point sowing them any earlier as they tend to sulk if the weather is too cool, even under cover. Things like Verbascum phoeniceum, in white, rose and dark purple, Silene dioca and S. alba (I think this used to be known as Melandrium), Eryngium planum including a new cultivar called 'Silver Salentino', Nepeta tuberosa (both the low and tall forms), Penstemon smallii etc, all seem to benefit from sowing now, rather than overwintering young seedlings. So I now have lots of potting to do....many of these are growing like mushrooms!! I've just finished potting up all the lupin seedlings into punnets, so they should be ready for sale in a month or so - these are the Russell types, in individual colours, fantastic fillers in the garden as they have nice foliage and the added bonus of flower spikes that create a little vertical accent. I've also started potting up the Queen Anne's Lace seedlings, this first lot are Ammi majus 'Graceland' reputed to be particularly good for picking as they have long straight stems with less side shoots. I would think this could also make them less rumbustious in the garden! Well here's hoping anyway....I do love the wild look but Queen Anne's Lace can sometimes take wild and unruly to a whole new level. I will of course have some of the traditional variety and the green form to offer later on... Also on the potting-to-do list is Nepeta parnassica which I think is an absolute treasure, flowering from early summer right through until early winter. Whilst it is beautiful and useful, I find better known Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' tends to become almost too dense when it flowers, flopping terribly in the rain and smothering everything around it. In contrast, Nepeta parnassica has a less condensed form, still plenty of flower stems but they are quite upright spikes with stronger stems and a more graceful appearance. I'm looking forward to planting more of this one in my garden. In the land of cuttings and divisions I have all sorts of different cuttings at various stages of growth, mostly Salvias, many which have recently been potted up, and there are plenty waiting in the wings as well. Cuttings can be fickle at this time of year, but with my glasshouse up and running I'm hoping they continue to grow well. I've potted up Salvia 'African Sky', S. univerticillata , S. gesneriiflora 'Compact Form' and various others, plus Penstemon 'Stapleford Gem' with its stunning mauve and iridescent blue flowers. I have a variety of Aster and Helenium divisions already done and potted, including the popular 'Lord of Flanders' - they are just waiting for some better weather to get them growing and looking good in their pots before I add them to the list. The Echinacea are still dormant of course, but I have plenty of stock to work with so am busy dividing and potting when I can. Most of them have overwintered well, any that don't make it aren't worth worrying about really as there is so much diversity of colour within the genus now that there will always be something with more natural vigour to replace those that don't make the cut. (ooh this just reminded me that I have a punnet of excitement to pot up...in the form of Echinacea pallida var. simulata - haven't grown this one before!). There's always more to dig and divide....Rudbeckia, Aster, Persicaria, Sanguisorba etc etc...a neverending list, very enjoyable though, seeing how each variety has fared in the garden. Some do better than others of course, and there are always failures or disappointments which need to be worked on. Anyway, with the arrival of August has come the first spring bulbs. My Narcissus ‘February Gold’ is positively glowing this year. My clump has even managed to ‘stage’ its blooms so they are evenly spaced, with shorter stems at the front of the clump, gradually lengthening towards the back. I’m not quite sure how or why this has happened but I’m not complaining, they look fabulous! I’m also impressed with a newly acquired daffodil, ‘Kapiti Talisman’, a tazetta type with (usually) two flowers per stem. They are good strong flowers that seem to stand up to the bad weather very well, bright and cheerful and with a good scent too. My clumps of Lachenalia reflexa have almost finished, but they have lasted for ages this year, having been in flower for nearly a month now. Such a stunning shade of bright lemon-yellow with a hint of green. Anemone pavonina has just started, and will no doubt continue to put up more flowers as the season progresses. This is a stunning plant for a trough or small corner of the garden. I have three different colour forms so far, all in the pink/lilac range, and some seedlings from a red form coming on as well. I will have to save seed and get some seedlings started for selling in the coming years as they really are something special! Here's a wee slideshow of various photos taken over the past couple of weeks, including those mentioned above, plus a different Bergenia which is looking slightly unusual at present. Last year it had large pale pink flowers....perhaps it needed time to settle in as it now has white flowers. Time will tell.
The Salvias are a mixed bunch at present – some have that distinctly ‘wintry look’ where they are basically hiding away any signs of growth until someone turns the temperature up. Others like ‘Waverly’, ‘Indigo Spires’, S. elegans ‘Sonoran Red’, S. confertiflora and S. canariensis var. alba are still doing okay, particularly if sited in a warm corner. Salvia karwinskii is just coming into bloom, about to light up my daily life with its spikes of vibrant watermelon flowers. So unique to have a Salvia that loves to flower in winter and early spring! The wee birds and bees will appreciate it too I'm sure. I quite often update my Instagram and Facebook pages with photos while I'm outdoors, but finding time to update the photo gallery on my website can be a little trickier. For those of you who use social media you can find me on Instagram as @kateseaflowers and on Facebook search for Seaflowers Nursery or click on the little blue F icon near the top of the homepage here on my website. Here's my list of recommended plants for a range of coastal conditions in New Zealand, as discussed with Tony Murrell this morning on RadioLive Home & Garden Show.
For those with free-draining sandy soils: generally soils like this have low fertility, Many gardeners think they have to change this and try to feed everything, but in reality there are many plants that do best when they’re not overfed. Achillea, or yarrow – these guys will flower for months, just trim off any spent flowerheads to keep more coming. Range of colours available. Eryngium planum – not called sea holly for nothing, these plants thrive on poor soils and the violet blue stem colour intensifies in hot weather Perovskia or Russian Sage is a really tough deciduous perennial, which thrives in free-draining soils in full sun, smothering itself in silver leaves and blue flowers in summer. Silver foliage is usually a good indicator that plants like less water and more sun. For smaller gardens try Catananche caerulea or Cupids Dart, in blue or white, it has narrow greyish leaves and beautiful papery flowers on upright stems 30-40cm high. There’s a few tough, hardy Salvia species that are brilliant in coastal situations. These three Salvias all have one thing in common – they all originate from the South African coast, the Cape of Good Hope. The first is S. aurea or S. africana-lutea as it was previously known. It forms a slow-growing shrub with silvery green leaves and unusually beautiful large rusty-brown flowers. It’s also one I recommend for coping with heavier soils too…as long as it’s not too wet in winter. Salvia lanceolata is another, slightly smaller growing species, also with unusual coloured flowers, this one has rose-pink tinged warm brown flowers…sounds weird but is very beautiful in full flower. Again it has silvery green leaves. Salvia scabra is the third tough cookie which I recommend for coastal plantings….a wiry, stiff-stemmed but bushy plant with many long-tubed lavender blue flowers all summer long. We often think of Campanula as being only suitable for traditional perennial borders, but some of them are tougher than they look. Campanula carpatica, C. glomerata and C. rotundifolia are all good choices to try in coastal gardens. For those gardeners that live in areas with heavier soils but want something bright or pretty, try these beauties... Asters…you can’t go past them really. Choose tough varieties that multiply well….I grow ‘Calliope’ and 'Hi-Jinx', and A. novi-belgii hybrids in white and lavender, 'Coombe Violet', etc. They do well because they have reasonably shallow root systems that spread out slowly across the soil, so they’re not trying to break their roots through the hard clay pan in order to get nutrients. The perennial sunflowers or Helianthus are similar. My favourite is 'Lemon Queen', but there are others like 'Golden Pyramid' and 'Table Mountain' Rudbeckias (not to be confused with Echinacea, which have a woody tuberous root) are another favourite for heavier soils in exposed conditions, try Rudbeckia fulgida and it’s cultivar ‘Goldsturm’, or Rudbeckia laciniata for some height. Some of the annual cultivars like 'Prairie Sun', 'Irish Eyes' and the newer 'Chim Chiminee' are also great fillers for hot sunny areas. Stokesia laevis or Stoke’s Aster, great for smaller gardens and despite many attempts I’ve failed to kill one yet….they come in white, blue and creamy yellow, form low clumps of evergreen, narrow foliage and they flower for ages. With Tony I talked about plants for sunny gardens, but what about shade, or damp? Try out some of these ideas in your own microclimate… Hellebores….as long as you don’t divide them up and move them about too much they are incredibly tough and once established will do remarkably well provided they get the odd whiff of fresh water. The only thing that really kills them is prolonged dry. Let them self-sow too – they’ll pop up where they are happy. Heuchera….not the coloured leaf hybrids but some of the original species like H. micrantha, H. americana and H. maxima perform really well in shaded areas and have the vigour that modern hybrids sometimes lack. Bergenia – these tough plants will thrive on partly shaded banks with little or no maintenance., providing both foliage and flowers. Clivia, providing you don’t get frosts they are fantastic under trees near the coast! I love mine and have grown some different colours from seed to extend the clumps even further. For damper places try Persicaria (Polygonum), Lysimachia and Filipendula, these genera are reliable performers that can cope with a bit of damp and neglect. What have I been up to? Well apart from fighting off the headcold which seems to be taking hold of almost every 2nd person in the district (possibly an exaggeration…) I have been busy sending cartons of plants off to customers all over the country. Most of them have gone to warmer areas of course, as spring still hasn’t sprung in many regions to the south….but this can change in the blink of an eye, as one of my customers brightly said the other day, “we’ve been removing layers of merino all day”. (After they had been suffering through a seemingly endless period of bitter cold and damp, while I swanned around in 18 deg and shorts and t-shirt). Anyway, I’ve got plants taking off all over the place, so my list and website updates are happening almost weekly at the moment. They probably need to though to keep up with demand, as it seems as soon as I’ve listed some things they are snapped up by eager gardeners. It is really satisfying for me knowing that I’m supplying plants that people truly want to grow….of course it can also be quite disconcerting when I think I’ve grown plenty of something and they’re all sold out within a day. Leaves me wondering how many I should have grown instead! This week I have potted up various new lines, which should be ready in a few weeks…punnets of Queen Anne’s Lace, Ammi majus; the infamous Red Orach aka Atriplex hortensis var. rubra which is used quite extensively overseas as a striking accent plant with deep beetroot-red foliage; some more of that exceptional Great Dixter Poppy with the amazing name Papaver dubium ssp. lecoqii var. albiflorum (and interesting to note that it’s pink, not white, even though the name suggests otherwise). I’ve put Helenium ‘Butterpat’ into individual pots, it really wowed me last summer as it had been severely neglected but put on an amazing show and was very tall but didn’t need staking at all. Also into pots this week went Aster ‘Hi-Jinx’ a must-have one for me that mixes happily with other perennials or equally as well with smaller native shrubs; Centaurea jacea, not one I’ve grown yet but I’ve become happily addicted to these plants, knapweeds as they are known. They’re not weedy at all of course but seem to produce endless amounts of cornflowers all summer which the bees and butterflies love. Echinacea purpurea ‘Mellow Yellows’ a new seed line which has all the vigour of the true species but in a beautiful range of soft to bright yellows. The seedlings have shown good strong growth so far so I’m excited to see how they perform in the garden. Lobelia x gerardii ‘Vedrariensis’ has just been potted up too. Great for those partly shaded areas where you still want some colour, I find this one is pretty tough and sends up multiple strong stems smothered with vibrant purple flowers. I’m sure there’s others I’ve potted up….but here’s a sneak-peek of a few of the plants on next week’s update… White honesty, Lunaria annua f. albiflorum I had a customer looking for this last year as it provides a good light colour for part shade and self-sows easily. The attractive seedpods are an added bonus. Leucanthemum (Shasta Daisy) ‘Phyllis Smith’, big white and slightly unruly looking but such a good long-flowering plant. Rudbeckia laciniata a giant for the back of the border, I’m a sucker for big daisy flowers and this is a favourite. Salvia nemorosa ‘Rose Queen’ a reliable performer in sunny, free draining soils, great for smaller gardens or even pots. There are bound to be others on the list of course…. I’ve just been on RadioLive Home & Garden Show this morning chatting to Tony Murrell about perennials that are tough enough to cope with coastal conditions in New Zealand. Tony was in fine form this morning and we had a thoroughly enjoyable talk, if you missed my list then I will post it as a separate blog, in a more condensed form! In the meantime, it is a glorious day here but I must stay away from the nursery and do some housework instead! Enjoy your weekend… |
Kate JuryOwner-operator of Seaflowers Nursery and serious plant addict! Archives
July 2021
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