Perennials with the WoW factor – on a budget

[blossomhill]

Yay! someone else after my own heart - I wish I could grow Phlox, we have a virus round here that wipes them out

When I saw a post the other day for someone asking if they could do a garden for £50 I thought "why so expensive?"

What is the pink in pic 3? oleander, hebe ???

and I wish I was in your freeyccle area - no-one does plants on mine!

[torbrex]

Originally Posted by blossomhill

Yay! someone else after my own heart - I wish I could grow Phlox, we have a virus round here that wipes them out

When I saw a post the other day for someone asking if they could do a garden for £50 I thought "why so expensive?"

What is the pink in pic 3? oleander, hebe ???

Phlox seems to thrive in the clay soil here, it doubles in size every year

The pink in pic 3 is actually a spirea (Joseph's Coat) there are 3 colours on the same bush but pink is the dominant one, I cut it down to ground level every November and it produces flowers at about 2/3 ft again in the summer on woody stems. It was one of the few plants that I bought when I moved here 19 years ago.

[EpsomOldie]

Wow - what lovely, lovely gardens...such an inspiration! Haven't got a camera unfortunately so can't contribute. I love making cuttings and seeing self-sown things pop up.

[EpsomOldie]

Originally Posted by SailorSam

I know after watching Chelsea, some of the gardens and plants are breathtaking but the cost !!! And it doesn't have to be like that, i only started serious gardening a few years ago, i don't know all the names and most have been bought in Wilkies or Morrisons while on offer or many have come from the £shop, and things are already well established and i can see the fruit and berries starting to pop-up. One corner of the garden i've kept for wildflowers and even the nettles look good. It's so peaceful sitting (weather permitting) surrounded in greenery and all for just a few pounds.

I like watching Chelsea and might even visit the real thing next year - I hate crowds though and therefore didn't get near the show gardens last time I went...too many sharp elbows!

I agree about the cost of some plants though. I got some peonies from Thompson and Morgan (Eden's Perfume) ages ago and also a couple of Duchesse de Nemours as gifts and both give me huge pleasure and loads of scented blooms. But when I was drooling over the peonies on the Kelways site, I came across one (that to my eye isn't anything special: http://www.kelways.co.uk/products/pe...on_dream/1698/) for fivepence short of £400! Gulp.

I don't know the proper names of all plants either, just some of them. It sometimes comes in handy to have the real names squirreled away though. I was at a nursery recently with some friends and one of them had chosen a perennial that was still young. She loved the picture of the white ruffled rose-like bloom on the label. "I thought you didn't like hollyhocks" I said. "It's not" she said showing me the picture with Alcea written underneath. We found the small print with the dreaded H word on the label which convinced her I wasn't winding her up.

BTW, this is the nursery http://cheamplantcentre.co.uk/Index.html, and if you live nearby is highly recommended for quality and price - they tend to major on pelargoniums and fuschia and also do very cheap bedding plants.

I know what you mean when you say "even the nettles look good". There's a clump near my allotment that look so handsome and healthy. If they weren't so common, they could be a choice exhibit at Chelsea! My consolation is that the butterflies like them to lay eggs on, and they're supposedly a sign of good soil.

[VfM4meplse]

Originally Posted by blossomhill

Vfm - Wow though - look at yours compared to your neighbours'! You certainly cheered up the gritty east end! Have you gone for red white and blue this year?

Yep, it's generally me and just one other that bother with our front gardens - she's a pensioner and has a good sized frontage and also looks after the common areas of the street to keep it looking well cared for.

You're right, the theme this year is red white and blue (well purple actually ), there's been a bit of flowering and I was disappointed that there wasn't much of a display for the weekend. I'm waiting for a good dose of heat to get things blooming in time for the Olympics!

[EpsomOldie]

Originally Posted by VfM4meplse

Yep, it's generally me and just one other that bother with our front gardens - she's a pensioner and has a good sized frontage and also looks after the common areas of the street to keep it looking well cared for.

I bet all the passers by enjoy your garden too. I know that when I walk to the station and back every (work) day, I have my favourite front gardens and always look forward to seeing what's growing in them.

(BTW, I smile everytime I see your signature. Walk Like A Man is one of my favourites of the Four Seasons. They did so many good songs!)

[blossomhill]

Epsomoldie - if you fancy Chelsea then it is worth going on members' day - not nearly so crowded (until 3:30pm) - we walked in at 8am this year and went straight to the artisan gardens and had plenty of room to take some panoramic photos with no people around (to view at our leisure once home) and were there when the designers were handed their medals!

£400 for a peony! Wow! I wanted a particular daphne this year and was given £100 RHS tokens so decided to buy it - when I saw it was £60 I thought it was ridiculous and didn't get it, even though I had the vouchers. I did buy a peony with them but it was only £8

I wonder if people with front gardens realise they give others pleasure?

and I have a clump of nettles among my perennials, for the butterflies - just tend to forget them when I am wading through but they find me!

[blossomhill]

A few more pics - compressed this time so hopefully a reasonable size

The James Galway against variegated wigeila in back garden


A fremontedendron - I hate the colour as mostly I have pastels but it performs well so I cant make myself take it out - maybe take some cuttings then ditch it
and


and my blues - campanula and cornflower - but what is the mauvey plant with leaves like columbine and flowers like michelmas daisies - is it a columbine? Answers on a postcard please!

[rubytuesday]

Mr T's have some great looking salivas for £4 at the moment.

[aggypanthus]

Blossom, I think the other one does look like a columbine.

[ds1980]

http://www.thompson-morgan.com/newsl...5cd6ddc9a42acc

not a bad start

[converted-lurker]

The thompson and morgan perennial offer mentioned above states despatch end July - is that not too late to plant the plugs or is it the right time?

Just wondering because I got some echinacea roots (sorry dont know what you call them ) and I planted them ages ago

[ds1980]

no expert but never had a problem. theyll die off in the frost but should be right the next year.....

[blossomhill]

I have never had any sucess with perennials bought as bare roots unless they are a clump divided by a friend and put straight into the ground
I prefer them in pots showing a bit of root out of the bottom of the pot

[Mado]

I have a lot of what you have... but I am terrible and I keep on buying planst every year becasue I can't resist!!!

I also have quite a few hellebores (white and pink)
Loads of campanulas (just opening now ; so lovely).
Hostas
Acanthus Mollis
Rhubarb (in the flower beds, love the foliage)
Lupins
Hardy fushias (just starting)

I bought more perrenial geraniums this year as I only had one and when I tried to divide it last year, I found it was near impossible, but none of the blue variety is alive; 2 didn't do anything at all, and 2 had a leaf or two and died. Any idea what went wrong?

[blossomhill]

Love campanulas, I just cut some for a vase - and lupins but they make me sneeze

Geraniums are usally pretty foolproof ( and slugproof) - were they in pots or bare roots?

[Mado]

Bare roots and I started them all in pots.
The whites and pink are Ok. just the blues.
I might ask the company for a refund!

PS: The flower in question is a columbine. I ahve the same. But unlike the others alquilegias, it doesn't seed itself madly. I wonder why?