A Taste of Summer

When I moved here I inherited a vine.  It was very unloved and straggly and didn't produce any grapes.  Over the last 2 and 1/2 years I have nursed it back to health -  I learned how to prune it properly and have trained it over a pergola behind the greenhouse.  This year it is covered in baby bunches of grapes, there are over 100!

A baby bunch of grapes.

Next to the vine are these newly planted strawberries -

If only I could make champagne from the grapes then I could have bubbly and strawberries in the garden!
(How to keep the birds off will be my next project!)

Cedric Morris Irises

Last autumn I bought 3 Cedric Morris irises at the NCCPG (National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens) plant fair at Helmingham Hall from Sarah Cook.  Sarah now holds the national collection of these irises and her display was one of major temptation.    The irises I bought were just tiny rhizomes, but yesterday one opened to reveal this beautiful flower.

Unfortunately I can't remember what it is called, but as Sarah has open days on the 5th and 6th June this year, I may be able to find out then. (The NCCPG Spring Plant Fair is on the 30th May, also at Helmingham Hall, and as the entry fee includes a free plant I may have to attend that too!)

Edited - it's Benton Deirdre

The promise of things to come....

My garden is full of promise today.  It feels as though it's teasing me, with its half opened buds, just biding their time, waiting for the right moment.

Alliums - Purple Sensation

unknown clematis

Centranthus ruber

Unknown rose - possibly Mme Alfred Carriere

Rosa Abraham Darby

I am sure the waiting will be worth it!

Happy Birthday Cats!

Today is my cats' birthday. Florence and Dylan were born 5 years ago to a young ferral cat and  they were  all taken to SESAW, an animal rescue centre, by a lady who had been feeding their mum.

This is them on the day I brought them home

This is them today

 

Over the years they have found some very special and "interesting" places to sit and sleep in, here are some of them. (The last picture is them with our old friend Lucky, who is no longer with us, but they all loved each other - most of the time!)

Sudbury's Plant Sale

Today was the annual plant sale in Sudbury.  I'd never been before, and nearly didn't go this year because of the weather, but I'm very glad I made the effort.  Friends and neighbours had often told me how good it was, but I have to admit I was half expecting a selection of bedding plants and not much else.  How very wrong I was.  There were many specialist nurseries from around this area of Suffolk and Essex with a good range of unusual plants.  I came back with these:

Thalictrum Rochebrunianum

Chiastophyllum Oppositifolium

Jovellana Violacea

Disporopsis Pernyi

 Geranium Splish Splash

The Jovellana isn't fully hardy so will have to be moved into the greenhouse over the winter.  It, and the Chiastophyllum and Thalictrum, came from Priory Plants, a nursery I first came across at the NCCPG plant heritage fair at Helmingham Hall last year (where I also bought some wonderful Cedric Morris Irises which I will share with you when they bloom). 

Now all I have to do is find the right homes for them all!

Doll's Minuet

I bought these on a whim last autumn for two reasons really.  One was that I liked the name (it conjured up a nice image of minuetting china dolls), and the other one was because they seemed a bit wacky.  Now they are in flower I'm so glad I bought them as they are gorgeous, and seem to almost be dancing by the twists and turns of their petals.

Feeding Roses

 Unnamed inherited rose in my garden (possibly Pink Perpetue)

I love roses. As far as I'm concerned you can never have enough roses (or clematis).  I inherited several, and have planted many more.  My favourites are the English roses which have a delightful scent and gorgeous shape.  I think I now have over 30 (but I'm sure there will be a couple more by the end of the summer - I have my eye on Fantin Latour for a start!).

Earlier this year I bought a book Guide to Natural Housekeeping by Cabbages and Roses after reading about it on Tales from a Cottage Garden.

In this book they recommend using Epsom Salts to feed roses, something I'd never heard of before.  They say that roses fed with Espom Salts are "bushier and produce more flowers than those treated with commercial fertilizer".  So, along with a friend, I'm giving it ago this year.   I gave them their first feed a couple of weeks ago and I'll let you know how they get on.