{"id":5574,"date":"2013-06-12T03:56:00","date_gmt":"2013-06-12T07:56:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-08-13T18:00:57","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T22:00:57","slug":"nostalgia-and-june-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardern.co.za\/2013\/06\/nostalgia-and-june-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"Nostalgia and the June Garden"},"content":{"rendered":"
A 100 year old unknown peony that was once my grandmothers, still blooms in the garden where it was first planted around 1910.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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A new intersectional peony, a lovely yellow form, blooms upright and sturdy in the perennial border. Even the foliage is nicer with these newer crosses.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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An heirloom iris has strong, rootbeer-like grapey fragrance, but it barely compares with newer crosses such as the big German Bearded below.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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This large new (2010) German Bearded Iris “Greatest Show on Earth” has on-trend coloring and massive flowers.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Other new German Bearded Iris have striking stripes and colors, such as the aptly named”Crows Feet” introduced in 2006, which has brilliantly striped falls.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Some new Itoh Hyrbid Peonies have pure yellow blossoms, with little or no red in them.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Just an update on those pansy’s that I started last summer and transplanted into the garden in the autumn – this is the proper way to grow pansy’s, as when others are failing in summer heat, these are growing stronger and bushier. Hopefully, they will self sow for next year.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Artichokes are growing fast ( with little chokes already showing!). The pansy’s probably should be pulled out to provide more air movement around the base, but I just can’t bring myself to do this just yet. Maybe in another week or two.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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Baby Artichokes! These will probably be ready to pick while I am in California amongst the ‘real big artichokes being harvested’ in two weeks, as I will be in the San Fran area.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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The lemons that provided us with many jars of marmalade in January, still have a few fruit on them, but these will be harvested as the trees are well budded and ready to start the season over again, now that they are out from the greenhouse for the summer.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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In the alpine troughs, the late blooming silver saxifrages are starting to bloom. I always enjoy their delicate white flowers, sometimes produced on long panicles, and other times, just like this. They always remind me of the Italian Alps and the Dolomites, where they grow on the highest, limestone mountain peaks.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
The many primula ( Primrose) species which Is started from seed this winter, are ready to be placed out into the garden, where they will bloom next spring. I dug a new bed this weekend ( I have blisters to prove it!), and most will be going in there. These are Primula denticulata – blue forms, from the Himalaya, but I have at least 7 species that I will be transplanting over the next few weeks.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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\nPrimroses are best grown from seed for many reasons, but mostly for cost. Sure, it’s hard to find most varieties and species other than those polyanthus or acaulis types grown for the potted plant trade, which are rarely hardy once planted out, but when grown from seed, primroses can be very hardy, often withstanding very cold temperatures, even in Alaska and Canada – so there are no excuses why you should not grow some next year. My favorite for garden performance are the drumstick Primroses ( Primula denticulata, and the Polyanthus forms, Primual veris ( the wild cowslips in England), and Primual acaulis. The only thing ‘acaulis’ means is that the flower does not have a stem, just a pedicel, so the flowers sit down low in the rosette of foliage, whereas the Polyanthus forms have a stem, and then pedicel, like a magic wand, if you will. In the garden, stemmed forms are usually better, but they are rarely sold in pots as the stem once wilted in the garden center, rarely comes back with full force. Primula veris have stems, but the flowers are not that showy, a characteristic I happen to appreciate, so I grow many of these, and the fact that they are the easiest to grow from seed, helps.<\/div>\n
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Sunday was beautiful here, bright blue skies, cool temperatures and hardly a breeze or a cloud in the sky. The perfect June morning for home made Black Cherry Buttermilk muffins.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
I picked a few old world roses from the early 20th C. and some vintage peonies that were once my grandmothers from around 1910….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5575,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
Nostalgia and the June Garden - Growing With Plants<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n