A single rose shines through my clematis
With the recent good weather everything is putting on a spurt of growth. The early potatoes, ‘Pentland Javelin’, are growing quickly and I’ll spray them with a fungicide as we’ll be having more showery weather. My peas and broad beans are also accelerating in growth and I’ve erected netting to support the peas.
There’s a good set of fruit swelling on the gooseberries and blackcurrants. I’ll keep a close eye on the gooseberries for the sawfly that can strip the leaves from them. The lettuce grown in a windowbox is a success and has kept the kitchen supplied for the past few weeks.
The vigorous white Clematis montana looked good in full flower. A very determined rose that was overgrown by the clematis managed to force a single red bloom through its tangle! My lilac has only produced a few flowers this year. I think this is due to a dry spell last year which suppressed the new growth. During the recent dry spell, I watered it well and am hoping for a better display next year.
Two contrasting irises have flowered recently, a large flag iris and a miniature one that only reaches a height of about 10cm
Clematis montana! (4in). I have a few of these miniature iris that I’ve grown from seed saved from an original purchased years ago. Other perennials in flower now include poppies and a campanula that's currently covered in blue flowers. My white-pink bicolour lupin has more flowering spikes this year. Last year I saved some seed from it and now I have about a dozen seedlings growing on and I’m hoping some will be as good as the parent. My rebutia are kept on the conservatory windowsill and flower reliably every summer. They’re undemanding cacti and the flower buds come from near the base of the plant. They’re also easy to grow from seed and will flower when quite small.