Sudbrooke News June 2013 - Lincolnshire County Council

Hello and welcome to more Gardening News. The sun was shining when I first
sat down to write, but it has now become gloomy and wet again - more April
showers? Even though it is now May, the weather is still very unsettled. It is
very difficult to make any progress in the garden.
In the front garden most plants have recovered and are doing well. However,
the Quince (Chaenomoles) which would normally start to bloom in late January
was delayed until early May, when it eventually burst into bloom and is still covered
in beautiful red blossom. One casualty is our Salix Tortuosa, which has
come into leaf with an overbalanced one-sided effect. This will be given some
serious consideration before Autumn treatment. The wall baskets along the
front of the property which contain winter pansies were very slow to come to
life but a good feed made a big difference to their performance. They should
hold until the end of May when the summer bedding plants will be ready to replace
them.
The greenhouse is full of bedding plants which will be transferred to cold frames
to harden off before being placed out into the wall baskets at the front house
and into pots in the gravelled area in the back garden. These pots have been
brought out from their winter quarters and are doing well, in particular four
pots of Lewisia, and eight different Hostas, three of which are miniature varieties.
The polytunnel has been cleared ready for the grafted tomatoes and cucumbers
when they arrive. The shrubbery area has been gradually cleared as and when
weather permitted, and several new shrubs have now been planted. These include
Magnolia, Rhododendron, Spiraea, Photinia, two Buddleia, Callistemon
(bottle brush). These plants are joining some of the long established plants
which have been kept, such as a Camellia which is over 8ft tall and has
bloomed beautifully this year, a Ribes (flowering currant) a dwarf Lilac and an
Azalea which was already well established in the garden when we moved in
twenty two years ago. This Azalea has lovely scented yellow flowers. At the
opposite end of the shrubbery area is a Laurel which we also inherited and
there are several clumps of Euphorbia. Although the new plants are small and
will take time to fill out the shrubbery, we are pleased with result. It has been
hard work and has meant that some parts of the garden have been neglected.
There is still plenty of work to be done - a never ending battle with ground
elder lasts throughout the whole summer. This has, as always thrived despite
poor weather and this applies also to the mares-tail which is just as troublesome.
However we can only hope for more settled weather to come. In the meantime,
farewell for now.
GP
June 2013 http://parishes.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Sudbrooke/ Page 10