There is nothing like visiting the garden of a friend or relative for giving fresh impetus to your own garden. After spending time last Sunday dispensing words of wisdom: ‘that achemillia mollis can be cut back now’, ‘don’t let that lemon balm seed everywhere’ and ‘that’s a weed and this is a tree seedling’, I came back to my garden and spotted a large clump of achemillia mollis seeding itself everywhere, nettles quietly gaining strength under the shade of the geraniums and grass creeping into the borders. It was time for a midsummer clear up. A frantic spurt of dead heading and weeding ensued and there was that alchemilla mollis to deal with.
One
The offending alchemilla mollis. I wasn’t in a ruthless enough mood to start with so I just cut back the flowering stems. The fresh new growth began to emerge from the shadows and I realised that if I had done this earlier and by ruthlessly cutting back the old growth by the handful those new shoots would have been taking centre stage earlier. I know this but I rarely do it early enough!
Two
Down at the allotment end of the garden I noticed that the autumn raspberries were ripening. The plants came as runners from my old allotment raspberries and this is their first fruiting year. I’m so glad they survived the low rainfall which I’m sure owes much to their shady position.
Three
My clematis have all gone to seed now but I spotted one last flower valiantly soldiering on, thereby earning the right to be included in this six.
Four
Also on the clear up list was the rambling rose I chose to train up the back fence. It is ‘Wedding Day’. A mad choice I confess but I planned to train it into my neighbour’s trees. ‘Wedding Day’ is rampant and I didn’t keep it under control the first year. This week I took it hand and tied it in as best I could, rose scratched arms is not a good look! Half way through the job I consulted my RHS book of pruning which tells me that ramblers come in three groups and the pruning is slightly different for each group. Now I just have to find out which group ‘Wedding Day’ falls into.
Five
Since I have mentioned my neighbour’s trees, it is only fair that I show one or two. This majestic willow catches the evening sun and is spectacular.
Six
I also benefit from another neighbour’s elder tree. The berries are ripe now and some may find their way into fruit pie. The colour combination of stem, leaf and fruit is just sumptuous.
Sharing gardening experiences is a great part of #SixOnSaturday and an important part of gardening. I hope my ‘advice’ was well received but I will also share by potting up some of the seedlings I discovered in my clear up. There are a good number of astrantia major, hollyhocks and verbena bonariensia for a start. And I thank my neighbours for sharing their trees and giving me a fabulous frame for my garden.
For the links to other sixes pay a visit to The Propagator the hard working host of this meme. Now time to get back to that clean up!
I love the photo of the agapanthus against the sun drenched willow leaves with the blue sky behind…so summery. I also like the idea of SoS being about sharing gardening experiences.
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It was taken on a great summer evening – just the right time and place! I do like the sharing on SOS but my plant wish list gets longer every week!
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I’m laughing about there being different types of rambling roses. Same is true for clematis and I can never remember what I have. My goal now is to only plant the kind that need to be cut back in the spring. Then I can do all of them at the same time. Unfortunately I have several where I don’t have a clue when to prune.
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I know! I thought all ramblers did the same thing but no! And I had already cut a couple of long branches back! It may just have to do it’s own thing – I want it to cover the fence as quick as possible.
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Very nice weeping willow with agapanthus in the foreground! The colors were incredible when you took the picture. I guess you’re also going to make raspberry jam and elderberry jam? Yum!
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It was indeed a great evening, the sun comes across the garden from the west and it was catching the top of the tree giving it that lovely golden colour. I’m hoping to make some jam but my record is a bit hit and miss!!
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The weeping willow is beautiful. What do you make with your elderberries? I am tempted to harvest them too.
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Just use the berries, the stems are toxic so careful removal is a must. I make cordial, scones, tarts (especially good with a bit of lavender added) jelly, and lots more.
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That is very good and important advice. I have not cooked with them before. Thanks for the tip.
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I’ve not cooked with them before and another reader of the blog has told me that the stems are toxic so they must all be removed. She uses them for cordial, scones, jellies and tarts. I was thinking of mixing them with other fruits in a pie.
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I wish I could get alchemilla mollis to grow as well here in Indiana as it does in England. I didn’t move any to my home gardens when I sold the farm, but now I miss it. I especially loved the miniature ones in the Fairy Garden, but they were tricky to keep going.
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So many people dislike the alchemilla because it self seeds everywhere here. I wonder why it doesn’t take to Indiana!
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That’s some tasty looking raspberries you’ve got growing. You’re lucky with the shaded area – mine’s all open with no shade at all, so they got through an incredible number of watering trips to the water trough.
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I think I would have had a better crop if I had managed a few more watering trips. It’s been a tough year.
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A gardener’s work is never done! And you are right, it is lovely to share garden experiences 🙂
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“I planned to train it into my neighbour’s trees” had me sputtering a bit. You must get on with your neighbours extremely well or extremely badly. Is that laurel hanging over from their side? Could well be badly.
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The laurel is from their side. They had it all cut back about a year ago and of course it has surged! I hope we get on well enough – doesn’t every one love a rose growing through a tree!?! Time will tell 🙂
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That Clematis is a gorgeous colour. I used to grow Alchemilla mollis but the seedlings got me down.
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Its just my third year in this garden so I have some room for a few more self seeders. But after that I will be more ruthless – honest!
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I’ve been mercilessly cutting back Alchemilla all week. I’m hoping for fewer seedlings than in previous years! You’re so right about the contrasting colors in that elderberry patch. Perfect!
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I have to develop my ruthless streak, the Alchemilla seeds were falling everywhere. But I have room for a few more self seeded plants.
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Oh, do you know what sort of elderberry that it? I suppose it does not matter. Those in North America are considered by some to be the same as those in Europe. We lack those here. However, we have our own native blue elderberry.
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The common one here seems to be Sambucus nigra. good for hedges and trees.
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Ours is Sambucus cerulea or Sambucus mexicana. No one can really decide. I prefer to the former to the latter. Sambucus nigra is not available here, although there are some ornamental cultivars of it. Is there a difference between Sambucus nigra and Sambucus canadensis? I would guess that the two names describe the same species in the east like our western specie has two names.
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I have been doing a bit of a tidy up myself this weekend. A lot of spent flower stems lopped off, including our friend alchemilla mollis. It was well overdue, along with a bit of weeding and edging. Now the garden looks more presentable,if not yet fully recovered from the hot dry spell.
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It was a busy weekend in the garden for me too, my soil is still dry. But the cut back has made the garden look better.
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Well, how ignorant can a person like me be? Fairly, it would seem. I didn’t know you could eat elderberries. I knew cordial was made from the flowers & assumed everything else was as well. Sometimes my brain just doesn’t travel down the normal road to a sensible conclusion. So your original premise is right – fresh eyes welcomed here. A lovely Six, btw.
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I was in the same camp as you, flowers yes, berries no. But the internet is an amazing thing!!
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