Weekly catch up with garden and propagation

This week in propagation

with Rob

We're feeling blue down in the growing department this week! Don’t worry, not in a romantic, forlorn and sorrowful sort of way. It's a good blue, a blue with a bit of swagger about it. I'm talking Duncan James and the other three performing 'One Love' in 2002 on Top of the Pops Blue! But why are we feeling this way? Well, it’s down to two particular genera looking spectacular at the moment - caryopteris and ceratostigma!

I'm a big fan of Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Dark Knight', with its clusters of brooding blue flowers. This dense mound-forming shrub boasts aromatic green leaves that are rather silvery. It's just one of five varieties we propagate here, and I recommend it for anyone with a full-sun spot, and a light well-drained soil needing something a bit special.

Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Dark Knight'

The other blue beauty looking a right Bobby Dazzler at the moment is Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, commonly known as hardy blue-flowered leadwort. Head of Horticulture, Steve, refers to this creeping stunner as a valuable autumn plant. Not only does it gift some groundcover and vibrant blue flowers, but its changing foliage turns a crimson-red, a colour we love to embrace at this time of year.

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides

Emily has been seed collecting and what a haul she's pulled together this week. The Lovecraftian heads of Cynara cardunculus, beads of Milium effusum 'Aureum', and the rich brown treasure of Tellima grandiflora Odorata Group which will have you craving a hot chocolate.

Tina and Mel have been absolute rockets this week! Both have been scissor happy, cutting back those plants needing a chop. When not snipping, they've been checking on our growing stock, much of which is now fully rooted and can now be found on our nursery and website.

As always, thank you so much for your orders, they've kept Kiran, Debs and Angela in the pack house very busy. Many of you might have noticed we currently have an incredible array of dry bulbs for sale, proving extremely popular as always. There's a plethora of gems here, including 13 different allium varieties, 10 narcissus varieties and 7 tulipa.

There's at least another dozen different genus for the grabs, so if bulbs are your thing, please go take a look!

This week in the Garden

with Malin

After a couple of weeks of autumn planting in the Water Garden, we got back to the other garden areas for some weeding. It’s been wet and warm, and all the weed seeds that have struggled to germinate this hot summer suddenly got a lease of life and decided to pop up everywhere at the same time!

With three interns to help us this week, we have been flying from area to area weeding out sow thistle, annual nettles and groundsel en masse. In the Scree Garden we thinned out seedlings of Californian poppy, Eschscholzia californica, and Galactites tomentosa, and in the Water Garden weedy euphorbias and Geranium robertianum, commonly known as herb-robert, were the main seedlings.

Towards the end of the week, we moved on to the Gravel garden. Cathy made an ident of tiny seedlings to help our interns identify which plants want to stay and which ones to be removed. A big thank you to Sofia, Ludi and Lily for all your help this week!