Whilst our esteemed leader is scratching his itch and beginning to sow a few seeds I am still at the pottering stage. The cold of January does not often entice me out into the garden but there are one or two things to be done. Here I should state clearly the level of my gardening skills: pottering amateur. So what I do in my garden is not a recommendation or a ‘how to’ guide. Here’s what I’ve been up to:
One
I have been buying a few seeds. These are my Sweet Pea choices. Last year was the first summer in a new garden. It was a garden that needed clearing of weeds and then planting up. I put in some roses and some 9cm pots of a few perennials and some plants brought from the old garden but I needed to fill in the spaces. So I grew annuals. My wigwam of Midnight Blue sweet peas were a great success and I’m growing those again. I’ll also grow a mix of Gwendoline, Anniversary and Black Night for a second wigwam. I’ll start them off in root trainers in February. I also have a pot of autumn sown sweet peas in the greenhouse which are doing well and need to be potted on soonish. Eventually these will be planted out amongst some climbing beans on the veg patch.
Two
Of course buying a few seeds is nigh on impossible. Another success from last year was Calendula Indian Prince and I will sow these again but I also discovered, late in the season, the wonderful Tithonia. I saw a great cloud of tall orange flowers at a garden I visited and was smitten. I am trying out Tithonia rotundiflora ‘Torch’. The seed packet says height 1.2-2.5m and a flowering period of 3 months. If I am successful it will be a bargain splash of colour.
Three
Zinnias were my other success of last year. I planted zinnia Lilac Rose and after nurturing them through the early days of slug attacks they put on a dazzlingly long lived display. This packet of seeds is a mix of Benary’s Giant Lime, Benary’s Giant White and Benary’s Oklahoma Ivory. Sorry, I can’t tell you who Benary is. I will need to find the right spot for them as the flower height is 90-100cms, taller than last year’s zinnias which I used for edging. I’ll be finding a space for Lilac Rose as well.
Four
Featured in an earlier six was the wildlife attack on my old sink filled with succulents. I wasn’t sure that I really like them so the fox or squirrel did me a favour. This year I am going to fill that sink with a cascade of nasturtiums. I hope they will enjoy the gritty mix of compost that remained after all that furious digging.
Five
I have also bought my seed potatoes. May the chitting commence. I put out a potato poll on twitter and had a lovely number of great suggestions. I was influenced by the thumbs up for Sarpo Mira as the floury main crop choice and by the loyal support for Arran Pilot, a waxy first early. The other two choices were Ratte, a waxy second early and Belle de Fontenay, a waxy maincrop which caught my eye at the nursery.
Six
And just when you were thinking I hadn’t been out in the garden at all this week I bring you a clematis. And here I stress: pottering amateur. I had a lovely viticella which grew up into a lilac tree in the previous garden and I barely pruned it all, just pulled out the dead bits every now and then. In this garden there is a clematis growing up a fence panel on either side an arch. The top of the arch is dominated by a passiflora so I need the clematis to clothe the side panels. I noticed that the clematis was already putting on new growth so I took the plunge and cut it back. I hope the current drop in temperatures and the bitingly cold winds don’t freeze the new growth to death.
That’s the round up of my gardening week. Take a look at what other sixers have been doing in their gardens at The Propagator where you can also read about that itch
Lots of lovely seeds, I fully approve!
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Good choices! as much with your seeds as your potatoes. I didn’t tell you about ‘Belle de Fontenay’, but it’s a common variety here in France and a good one! Don’t be afraid for your clematis, I think frosts won’t burn the new buds … just slow down their growth. About sweet peas, It will be a first to me (thank you to all English people who made me want to grow them …)
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Thanks Fred. I really hope you enjoy the sweet peas, I think they are a lovely flower to have in small vases around the house.
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Nasturtiums! There are never too many of them!
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Being something of an itinerant smart-arse, I can tell you that Benary was originally a German company founded in the mid 19th century by the (wait for it) Benary family but is now a mix of German, Dutch and American breeding expertise. They breed a lot of ornamentals. After a couple of bad years, I’m not growing sweet peas this year. I’m not! I’m not! I’m wondering what I’ll do with those six packets of sweet pea seed I seem to have acquired.
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I just love this thread/meme/whatever. There is always someone who knows something!! I googled the name but didn’t find anything. Thank you – and I’m looking forward to see pics of your sweet peas in the summer! 🙂
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Lots of sweet peas and a sink full of nasturtiums! What could be better?
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You’ve given me lots of good ideas for seeds. Tithonia might make an appearance in my garden this year. Your nasturtium idea for the sink is fab – are you only planting one colour or . . . I shouldn’t encourage you, should I? Altho who of us needs encouragement in the seed buying dept? And sweet peas w/beans, why did I never think of that? I can’t wait to see photos of your summer garden!
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I’m going to be strict, only nasturtiums in the sink….but I do have a pot of blue lobelia that seems to be overwintering. If it survives, I might allow it into the sink and buy a few more to add to the impact – where does it end? I’m very happy to encourage Tithonia!
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I meant will you use the same colour of nasturtium or mix them up a bit? (And I shall encourage you to keep encouraging me to put new plants in my garden.)
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Oh, I see. I’ve only got the one packet of seeds. The flowers have a mottled colouring and I was hoping there would be enough variety through that. And yes, one of the joys of this thread is that we get to see so many different plants. I am awash with ideas for roses, dahlias, and now Thomas Stone’s clematis. I need some more colour at this time of the year. 🙂
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Nasturtium, even w/solid colours, has such variety in its shape & foliage growth. I have a Belfast sink & was trying to envision how yours would look, perhaps to make decisions of my own. I suspect you aren’t alone in your Thomas Stone’s clematis envy. We could form a group.
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