June in the garden

Saturday 26th June

Yesterday I spent a few hours collecting and downloading the photos I had taken of my garden, arranging and rearranging them with text to my satisfaction and saving my work every few minutes. Today I opened up my blog only to find that it had all disappeared. Now clearly there is something I am not doing right. I felt like abandoning the whole thing but I dont like to be beaten so I am having another go.

No doubt when I have finished this the previous one will turn up. Anyway, summer is here at last and everything is coming up roses, literally. My theme for this year is foxgloves and aquilegias which I have grown from seed and am fairly pleased with the result. Gardeners are never 100% satisfied with what they have grown because next year is going to be better and however poorly you feel (which we all feel some time or other) you cannot possibly die this year because you have to see your garden next year.




















The above photo is one of my apricot coloured foxgloves. I had seen them growing at Kingston Maurward in Dorchester our local horticulture and agriculture college and thought they were lovely. I have also grown some excelsior mixed foxgloves (above right) which grow the flowers all round the stem instead of just one side like the native foxglove.

I have grown some aquilegies from seed and particularly like the Origima strain which I shall endeavour to find some pics and place them in the appropriate place
.

My other passion at the moment is Delphiniums and I desperately want to grow some like I have seen at Chelsea. During the winter I liberally threw handfuls of chicken pellets around the garden hoping to achieve the same result. I think I am getting there gradually, give me a few more years.

I am going to publish this now in case I lose it all again. Will be back later.

June is busting out all over

My Calamondin Tree that Sue rescued from the garden centre for me

Wednesday 9th June

Well after a cold winter, and a wet spring we have been thrust into a blazing June with very high temperatures. I had a lovely visit from my daughter Sue and we indulged ourselves in a couple of days visiting gardens etc.

On our first day out we visited a Citrus Nursery. Actually, the nursery was closed but Sue rang the number and the very kind owner opened up the gates and let us in for a view. The owner a 70 year old lady is cruising towards retirement and is running the place down. She now only has huge citrus trees of every sort so we couldnt actually purchase any. However, she gave us a lesson on growing citrus trees and their care which we found invaluable. Sue and I are both a bit passionate about citrus trees and we are going through our "citrus phase"

Montissfont Gardens

These gardens hold the National Rose Collection and they are truly beautiful. It is what I imagine heaven (if there is one) to be like. The scent of the roses hits you as soon as you enter the garden and is intoxicating. You immediately want every rose that is there in your garden.

This is Sue, she could not stop snapping all the wonderful roses

Thursday 10th June

Today I took Sue to my Ocean Spa for a swim and lunch. In the afternoon we visited Value House the local garden centre where Sue did a rescue mission on the Calomondin Trees. She feels a need every so often to carry out these operations, for which I as a recipient am very grateful, as I said we are both a bit nutty at the moment about citrus trees. Some years back I had a Calamondin tree laden with small oranges which I made into marmalade and it was the most delicious marmalade I have ever taken. I am hoping to do the same with my new tree but at the moment I am enjoying just looking at them.

Friday 11th June

Today we went to Kingston Maurward, the horticultural and agriculture college in Dorchester. They keep animals for the enjoyment mostly of children and have many school visits there. We go mainly for the gardens and walks which are lovely. We spend many happy times gathering seeds from the flowers according to the season. It was here that I got my idea of a border which consists mainly of aquilegias and foxgloves. Last year they had some beautiful apricot coloured foxgloves and I have since grown some from seed for my garden.

Saturday 12th June>

This day we went to Abbottsbury Gardens which is always beautiful. There is a new viewing point which I hadnt seen before. The view takes in the sweep of Chesil Beach with Portland in the distance.

This is the view of Portland and the other picture is a carved tree trunk which has only been carved this year from a tree that grew from 1810 and was cut down in 2010.