Tales from the Garden – June
We had a beautiful day for the garden opening on 12th May and the word seemed to have gone round that we were having a good plant sale. Consequently we had a record number of people, over 300, and can hand over £1,950 to the Caley for the new greenhouse at Saughton.
Kalmia latifolia ‘Freckles’
A friend of mine said the other day that her garden was the best she had ever seen it. The recent generous rain, the sun of last summer and little prolonged frost in the winter have all contributed to make it a good year for flowering shrubs. The rhododendrons have flowered well and now we have Kalmia latifolia ‘Freckles’ bought ages ago from Glendoick, in full flower, and every year it gets better.
This view of our herbaceous border shows it at a good moment with rather a random colour scheme, but before any of its constituents are over. Managing this border is difficult and it needs regular adjustment. I like it best at this time before the flaws are revealed.
Geranium palmatum
One of the mainstays at this time of year is Geranium palmatum. It seeds itself all over the place and throughout the Spring the leaves are beautiful and full of promise, and then these tall magenta flowers emerge. They don’t look good for very long and then I take them out, and in some places replace them with dahlias which have been brought on in pots. I look out for seedlings which will be next year’s show.
Hydrangea petiolaris with Tropeolum speciosum
Hydrangea petiolaris, at its best now, can be seen in many different places here in Edinburgh and this chance combination with Tropaeolum speciosum, a climbing nasturtium, works well. Tropaeolum comes and goes here and we find it in several different places, although unlike the geranium, it doesn’t like being moved.
Dactylorhiza majalis
These Dactylorhiza majalis come out a little every day. They came originally from the Botanics and have had a chequered history as a few years ago all of them succumbed to a terrible virus. I thought we had dug them all out but they came back gradually, and now there are several good clumps of them, and I hope they are resistant to the virus.
Anna Buxton June 2019
