Spring Babies

The thrushes have been busy gathering food for their babies. I see them poking about looking for insects and spiders around the garden. When the weather is bad they land at the door, sometimes with a whistle, and I throw some broken up arrowroot biscuit out. It's quickly grabbed and they fly off to feed their chicks. Just before nightfall I can usually count on seeing them for one last feed. For the rest of the year they're around, but don't come looking for extra food.

No wonder they're busy, four hungry babies.

My first irises to flower. I don't do anything with these tough old ones and they flower year after year

I've bought some Heucheras this year and so far so good. I'm blaming Pinterest for my sudden interest in them, there are so many pretty colours, so many to collect. 

 The Cotinus coggygria had a severe pruning 18 months ago when we thought it might have to go to make way for our new driveway. Luckily we didn't have to remove it and it is making a slow recovery and now with its new dark purple foliage, a lovely backdrop for Heuchera Southern Comfort

         I'm enjoying the creamy coloured silky Californian poppies that I grew from seed and that have now taken over this spot. They can spread themselves around to their hearts content. That's a Kangaroo Paw Bush Pearl to the left.

The Roses

The Roses are starting to flower.

 Draped all over the chook yard is Souvenir de Madame Leonie Viennot which smothers itself in large pink blousey blooms. The thick heavy stems are starting to bow the roof. I would rather put in an extra support beam than cut those laden branches off. There's not much perfume to my nose, just a rosy smell.

Lovely pink Lorraine Lee is doing well even after being moved. The fruity perfume it emits is a favourite, plus its long flowering period.

La Reine Victoria has only a couple of cupped lilac pink flowers. It doesn't flourish in my garden and will soon be covered in black spot. The blooms are still lovely, so she stays.

Monsieur Tillier with its unusual shade of salmon pink flowers is out. I pruned its large old canes hard one year when when I was sick of it growing the wrong direction, and it hasn't really forgiven me.

Some old tea roses probably shouldn't be treated that way. Luckily I'm still getting flowers.

Lady Hillingdon, another tea, is always reliable with pointed yolk yellow buds and sweet perfume. The flowers open out, fading to cream.

I love the colours of Hugo Roller, looking almost edible with its strawberries and cream petals. It's another tea rose I've had for many years, with a lovely fragrance. Unfortunately if the weather isn't favourable in spring the blooms can turn brown, although this year I've had no trouble.

My Sombreuil has plenty of  beautiful saucer sized white flowers with delicate flesh pink centres in the newly opened blooms. Despite growing against a warm wall, it isn't the vigorous plant I see photos of elsewhere on the net. One thick stem that I'm not game to prune but loads of flowers at least.

The last pic is, I think, Duchesse de Brabant. I moved this one from mum's garden and it has done very nicely. The lovely soft pink nodding flowers and healthy foliage are a welcome sight.

More Self Seeders and Other Spring Pics

Some more plants that pop up on their own around the garden

Thalictrum aquilegifolium with its fluffy mauve flowers and aquilegia looking leaves

this Euphorbia which can be a bit invasive, but is such a lovely colour

and the lovely ornamental glossy leaved Angelica pachycarpa 

And an update on the Echium pininana. 

Surprisingly it seems to have made a recovery, and is standing up,

 

although the leaves have suffered with some browning on the ends.

   

My Narcissus Sundisc is out. Such a lovely little variety, each flower only the size of a 20 cent piece.

The Maidenhair found locally, which I suspect is Adiantum aethiopicum, has shot up with new fronds in a foamy mass. It has slowly filled this little area in front of Cocky's cage.

  

And finally, an achievement over the weekend, shovelling some stones onto the sedum bed. which has made it look so much neater.

Yay For Self Seeders

There are some plants that come back year after year, putting on a colourful show with absolutely no help from me. These are the self seeders that pop up around the garden, taking over any bare spot they can find. They are all easily removed if need be.

Forget Me Nots in blue and white,

Geranium Palmatum,

this Verbascum whose full name I don't know, which also emits a sweet perfume if the weather is warm. 

The unopened flowers look like little tight parcels.

Nasturtuims. Cocky loves their flowers, so I throw a few in his cage and  he chews off the end with the sweet nectar inside. 

I am still yet to try them in a salad.

And I was surprised when Cerinthe Major decided to spread itself around. It makes an attractive plant even before the flowers appear with pretty mottled blue green foliage. I often see our local Eastern Spinebill feeding in the flowers too.

Maples & Geraniums

Japanese maples have always been a favourite small tree with their lovely fine leaves. The two  grafted varieties I have are doing well in a sheltered spot, their leaves all fresh and new at the moment. They do get a little bit of dead wood which I usually just break off in winter while they are bare. 

This one is "Filigree"

The purple one I don't have the name of  but has the bonus of turning fiery red in autumn

Luckily some of  my Geranium Maderense  survived being moved to another part of the garden. One lot did not, probably too big and then not receiving enough water through last summer. It can be a bit tricky distinguishing G.Maderense from G Palmatum which I also have, especially when young. G.Maderense has the interesting habit of using its leaf stems for support. As it grows the leaf stems start to point downward and end up keeping the whole plant propped up ready for a big head of flowers.

 These ones settled into their new location.

The wet and windy weather we've been having kept me inside looking at online nurseries and adding to my wishlist.

There are a couple of pretty Corydalis that would go nicely with the ones I have and some perennial Sunflowers that I'm yet to try.

I only bought my first ever Grevillea last year, intending to keep the local birds happy. The idea was to have the smaller flowered varieties for the smaller birds, and I started well, but that idea went out the window when I had to have "Ivory Whip". And now another has caught my eye - "Purple Haze". Onto the wishlist with that too.

A Bit Of Calm Please

 Well that's not good

The Echium that blew over in the wind yesterday looked okay while it lay on the ground, but as I stood it up today it made a cracking sound at the root. I tied it to a stake and later when I came back it had drooped. I've given it a good watering, there's not much else I can do. Thank goodness the wind has dropped. Our power wasn't affected but others still don't have any a day later.

I have more Erythroniums flowering; pink ones this week. The paler coloured ones are possibly the seedlings.

They enjoy the same conditions as my Lily of the Valley, which are starting to bloom, and all grow happily together under the rhododendrons in a sheltered woodland type of setting.

Windy, Windy Weather

Well, what a crappy day, regarding the weather that is. We've had 31mm of rain overnight and still getting more in patches, but it's the wind that is causing chaos. I decided to survey the situation between showers and found my Lavatera arborea variegata had split at the base and fallen over. Last week I had thought about taking off a branch which had  already split. It had been growing so well and was just beginning to flower. I may decide to leave it as is and hope it sets seed. Usually I have odd ones pop up nearby.
Another casualty  is my Echium pininana.  Disappointingly it has blown right over. This is the first time I've grown one and was most impressed when it started to head for the sky and some flowers began to pop open up the stem. I will make an attempt to stand it and put a stake in just as soon as the wind calms down. I'll just hope the roots aren't too badly damaged.
                                                            2 days ago.....

and today

Meanwhile the Wisteria is blooming beautifully whilst securely tied (I hope) to its pipe. I really need to get rid of the excess  hideous bright blue twine spoiling the whole effect. I may get only a short time to enjoy its colour as the rosellas usually swoop in and chew off the flowers, leaving a mauve carpet beneath.

I picked up plenty of dead branches from under the trees while I was out there. That's about the only way the wind helps out, pruning off old wood high up, where I can't reach.
The rest of the plants laying over will most likely stand up again and carry on. Tomorrow will be better.