Tag Archives: Crocus Giant Ruby

Welcoming Spring with new plants and a splash of colour

Posted on 07/04/2013 by | Leave a comment

Finally the sunshine has come and it now begins to feel like Spring has arrived. It’s time to get the garden moving again.

On Saturday I sat having breakfast with the windows open, enjoying the sunshine and non-arctic fresh air, and I could hear the Sparrows chattering on the roof, and some Doves cooing somewhere off in the distance.

Inspired by this sudden heatwave, like probably thousands of others, I ventured off to the garden centre to look for something new for the garden.

Rosemary Upright

My new upright Rosemary plant. I often use Rosemary in cooking.

I found a new upright Rosemary plant to replace the one that was killed during the Winter before last (feels good to say that – adds a sense of distance!).

I also decided to go and look for some new flower seeds – something cheerful, but also something that can handle the partial shade of one end of my garden.

The Light in the shade

I’ve chosen some Aubrieta ‘Cheeky Mix’ – a perennial that spreads and comes out in a range of colours. These aren’t likely to flower this year  - these will come into their own in 2014, but need to be sown now.

Next up was three Begonia ‘Prima Donna Pink’ bulbs which apparently have ‘strong stems for pots or gardens’. These will flower in a bright frilly pink in about July time, reaching a high of 10 inches. The bulbs look near lifeless, but i’ll get them started in pots and hopefully they’ll soon spring to life and be ready for planting out in a pot in the garden – to brighten that partially shaded spot.

I also got outside and tidied up a few stray branches and seed heads and stumbled across a blue Hyacinth in flower. It’s come up right next to the Buddleja – too close really.

Hyacinth

The welcome blue of the Hyacinth, but it’ll have to be moved a bit for next year.

And finally, the Crocus ‘Giant Ruby’ and some Narcissi have recovered from the snow, and are looking bright and cheery. So far, i’ve spotted one bumblebee!

Crocus 'Giant Ruby' meets some Narcissi

Looking much happier without the snow.

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Posted in 2013, Bulbs, Flowers, Herbs, Sowing Seeds

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Snow Wars: A New Hope

Posted on 24/03/2013 by | Leave a comment

Saw these peeping out from the snow. There is hope yet!Crocuses in the snow

These crocuses  are ones that I planted in 2012 (the yellowy ones – Crocus ‘Golden Bunch’) and 2011 (the purple ones - Crocus ‘Giant Ruby’) and whilst the yellowy ones have been leading the way up until the last few days, the purple ones have caught up.

However, whilst they’re poised to bloom like last year, but they’re now covered with snow. Snow fell again yesterday whilst I was in London, seeing me return to a ‘good’ 3″ covering, and it’s snowing right now as I type.

Crocus 'Giant Ruby' in bloom

These were the same purple crocuses ‘Giant Ruby’ on 11th March 2012. A slight contrast.

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Posted in 2013, Bulbs, Flowers

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Crocuses and Tulips usher in the warmer weather

Posted on 16/02/2013 by | Leave a comment

The Crocus and Tulip bulbs that I planted in Autumn 2012 are making great progress in the garden.

Today has seemed like the first time in a long long time that it hasn’t been so bitterly cold, snowy, icy, or rainy, that everyone has been forced to stay indoors and peer longingly outside at their garden.

In this last week, I have been able to have a quick look at its progress, but today has been sunny and dry enough to actually go and explore properly.

The yellow Crocus ‘Golden Bunch‘ are ahead of the purple Crocus ‘Giant Ruby‘ that I planted back in Autumn 2011, and are poised to open up and provide that essential early food source for bees.

Crocus 'Golden Bunch'

Crocus ‘Golden Bunch’

Joining them are two types of Tulips (also planted last Autumn) – Tulip ‘Negrita‘ (a deep crimson red), and Tulip ‘Madonna‘ (a later flower white flower with green edges).

Tulip 'Negrita' and Tulip 'Madonna'

Tulip ‘Negrita’ and Tulip ‘Madonna’

Bulbs for 2013

The bulbs were planted in Autumn 2012.

Also, I have amazed myself at having actually seen that for the first time in this garden – the Strawberry plants have survived a winter. Despite the -11C temperatures and being buried under snow, they’ve held on, including the new plants that I raised from the runners. Fingers crossed they can hold on for a bit longer and eventually provide the tasty fruits that they managed last year.

Is your garden now waking up too? Did you lose much in the cold weather? How well are your bulbs doing?

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Posted in 2013, Bulbs, Flowers

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Crocus Giant Ruby welcome Spring 2012

Posted on 10/03/2012 by | 3 Comments
Crocuses

The Crocus ‘Giant Ruby’ flowers are now fully open

Just wanted to quickly share this photo of a few of the Crocus ‘Giant Ruby’ bulbs on full flower.

This morning the windows have been opened, the birds are singing, and it’s intermittent jumper weather. Yes, it feels like Spring has arrived (for this weekend at least).

These were planted back in October/November.

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Posted in 2012, Bulbs, Flowers

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The Crocuses awake!

Posted on 01/03/2012 by | Leave a comment

The Crocus ‘Giant Ruby’ bulbs that I planted back in October, are now right on the cusp of opening after months of growing up through the soil – and for a few weeks, snow as well.

Crocus 'Giant Ruby' bulbs about to flower

Some of the Crocus 'Giant Ruby' bulbs that have grown and are ready to flower.

I planted around 70 bulbs and it would appear that most are doing something. Many have the dash of purple as above, whilst the ones that I planted during November are somewhat behind (I planted them because the Antirrhinums just wouldn’t die!).

I’ve seen a few bees around (including a big fat bumble bee inside a Tube train on the District Line of London Underground the other day!), so hopefully those that have woken early will find these and feed on them – as it’s absolutely crucial for bees to get this early food in order to survive.

Getting a head-start with the vegetables

I sowed some seeds back in the middle of January, and these have been busily growing in my propagator. The Sweet Pea ‘Cupani’ have grown very fast and I have been busy nipping out the tips of the plants so that they grow strong and sturdy (and don’t grow too much before i can plant them out). Hopefully these will be far enough ahead that they will survive if/when the aphids swarm again.

Pepper (Sweet) 'Friggitello' seedlings

Pepper (Sweet) 'Friggitello' seedlings

The Pepper (Sweet) ‘Friggitello’ seedlings have been steadily growing, alongside my second attempt at growing Aubergine ‘Black Beauty’. I have high hopes for these Peppers, and as I sit here typing, I’m reading the packet which describes them as ‘small, very sweet, conical fruits. Perfect for stir-fries’, I’m looking forward to them even more.  These should be ready to harvest between July and October (about the same time as the Aubergines) – so they’ve got a while yet.

I do believe spring is here!

jobs for the weekend

This weekend I aim to do the following:

  • Remove weeds and any dead foliage from the garden.
  • Sow Chives and Parsley indoors (remember that Gardeners’ World kit?)
  • Check up on the Strawberries – the cold weather once again gave them a hammering and I’m not sure how well they’re coping at the moment.

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Posted in 2012, Bees, Bulbs, Flowers, Vegetables

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A dash of colour in the snow

Posted on 08/02/2012 by | 2 Comments

Heavy snow and very low temperatures have struck the garden in the last few days. The Wallflower ‘Ruby Gem’ plants that I planted out recently took a real battering from the severely low temperatures, and my Foxglove ‘Excelsior Hybrids Mixed’ (that i’d grown from seed) have met with a real shock too.

A dash of colour

The blue of the Polyanthus peeping through the snow.

Despite these wintery conditions, there have been some flashes of colour – the blue Polyanthuses have been peeping out, and the Crocus ‘Giant Ruby’ bulbs are reaching upwards with their lush green growth out. Other bulbs are also happily growing too, and even the Daylily ‘Hemerocallis Bonanza’ are beginning to wake up.

How is your garden faring? Is there colour in your borders? Are there plants living far beyond their usual life expectancy? Let me know in the comments below…

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Posted in 2012, Bulbs, Flowers

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The Crocuses arrive

Posted on 08/01/2012 by | Leave a comment

Remember those crocus bulbs I bought and planted out a few months ago? Well, they’ve just started to peep through the soil, and it looks like a pretty good success rate too.

Crocus 'Giant Ruby' begin to peep through

Crocus 'Giant Ruby' begin to peep through

I planted 70 Crocus ‘Giant Ruby’ bulbs back at the end of October (a few in November too, once those Antirrhinums had *finally* given up and made space for them)  so that they would provide much-needed early food for the bees that would be coming out of hibernation.

Snowdrops do pretty much the same job, but I’m not really a big fan of their pale flowers. Hopefully these crocuses will fill the garden with some early colour whilst preparing the bees for another busy year.

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Posted in 2012, Bees, Bulbs, Flowers

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Planning the garden for 2012

Posted on 13/11/2011 by | 5 Comments

This weekend, I once again found myself buying seeds for next year. This is a fairly addictive habit of mine. So whilst my local Huntingdon Garden and Leisure was thick with shoppers, pushing and shoving their way round calendars and Christmas decorations, I headed off into the opposite direction towards the pots, propagators and seeds.

2011 wasn’t great for my courgettes with both of the Courgette ‘Black Beauty’ plants succumbing to a mildew. This is perhaps partly because I planted my Antirrhinum ‘Chuckles’ so thickly, that air wasn’t able to circulate around the courgette leaves to dry them and avoid the outbreak.

The Aubergine ‘Black Beauty’ plants were reluctant. Out of 7 plants (3 kept in a greenhouse, 4 grown outside), 1 died outside suddenly, leaving 6 plants. None of them produced a harvestable Aubergine, with one of the outdoor plants producing a fruit that you could practically inhale instead. It’s still there. The fruit hasn’t grown and the plant hasn’t died. It’s almost as if it’s just switched off!

Finally, the first Aubergine begins

Seven aubergine plants, and not one harvestable fruit!

Blogging chum ‘Scyrene’, who has a tomato addiction and writes the brilliant ‘The Gourmand’s Progress’, suggests that I sow the Aubergine seeds in a propagator in January in a bid to get that little bit further on. So, I will try again (on a smaller scale). If you have any tips on growing aubergines, please let me know in the comments!

My Sweet Pea ‘Cupani’ took a real hammering from those pesky aphids / greenfly, with ladybirds moving in far too late to deal with them. This aside, I will try growing them again, as they tried hard to recover from the ordeal.

Speaking of ‘sweet’ – my little collection of Strawberry plants (Strawberry ‘Fragaria x ananassa Elsanta’ in particular), did well. Okay, so I only have 4 plants, but they kept going even when there wasn’t a great deal of sunshine around. I’ll hopefully find myself with an expanded crop of these in 2012.

Blue is the colour

My observations this year, is that everyone’s friend the bee, loves blue flowers. With this in mind, I took cuttings of the existing Lavender that was in the garden already, as it was very popular with them. In addition, I have one of those freebie packets of Thompson & Morgan Lavender ‘French’ from the Amateur Gardening magazine, which seems to be the same type.

Added to this will be Salvia ‘Farinacea – Victoria’ from Suttons Seeds - giving the garden another shot of blue. My Salvia ‘Nemerosa Ostfriesland’ was very popular with the bees this summer, so hopefully this will build on it.

…and the rest…

Foxgloves are ready to escape

The Foxglove 'Excelsior Hybrids Mixed', grown from seed, have been planted out.

Already planted out are the now matured Foxglove Excelsior ‘Hybrids Mixed’, Wallflower ‘Ruby Gem’, and the Crocus ‘Giant Ruby’ which should be flowering early next year.

I also picked up a packet of Suttons Seeds Night Scented Stock ‘Matthiola Bicornis’ – as I would like to see if I can get some plants that are fragrant. The Sweet Peas are supposed to be, but I never smelt anything (perhaps they were just stressed by the aphids?).

Having read many praises for their fragrance from Sean James Cameron on Twitter (a presenter on The Horticultural Channel), I’ve decided to give them a go too.

All set!

So, I’m already set up for 2012! 2011 has been great for learning in a new garden – which is both windy and shaded, and despite some failures, it has been very enjoyable to grow things from seed, nurture them to maturity and then see them grow and bloom for both myself and the wildlife to enjoy.

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Posted in 2012, Flowers, Garden Centres, Sowing Seeds, Vegetables

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Being Bee Friendly

Posted on 22/10/2011 by | 5 Comments

It’s no surprise to anyone who has read my earlier posts, or who knows me, that I love bees and I dream of having my own hive one day. I bought a book called ‘Keeping Bees: Looking After An Apiary’ by Vivian Head some time ago, and watched with interest when Alex Langlands tried bee-keeping on the Victorian Farm series.

Bees are enchanting, and the benefits of their work really are significant in food production. Yet we have taken them for granted for so long.

According to the Cooperative’s ‘Plan Bee’ campaign:

“bees pollinate a third of the food we eat, so without them there would be no apples, onions or even tea!”

A Bee at work

The only bee that I managed to catch on camera.

I’ve been trying to consciously pick plants that bees really like – this has ranged from visiting garden centres and following the buzzing sound until I find the plant they’re going crazy for (as has been the case with the Salvia ‘Nemerosa Ostfriesland’ and the Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’), and reading up on different plants that attract them.

Today I managed to plough my way through the Christmas shoppers (!!) to pick up 70 Crocus ‘Giant Ruby’ bulbs whilst on a visit to Huntingdon Garden and Leisure. Crocuses are great for bees, because they flower early in about February or March when there are very few other flowers in the garden. This early bloom gives bees the perfect source of food as they hungrily emerge from hibernation.

Crocus 'Ruby Giant'

The Crocus 'Ruby Giant' bulbs need to go in now for Spring 2012 colour.

According to Vivian Head, bees also appreciate Winter Aconite, Snowdrops, Gorse, Hazel, Willow and Yew in the spring. I know that I don’t have any of these other plants, trees or bulbs in the limited space that I do have in my garden, so these crocuses will be crucial.

By the time that their flowers begin to die off, my other plants like the Nepeta and Salvia, as well as the 50 Foxglove ‘Excelsior Hybrids Mixed’ that I’ve grown from seed, should be coming into bloom. I only had one foxglove in the garden in 2011, but my shady garden should be awash with towering spires of irresistible bell-shaped flowers for the bees to climb in to.

It’s important to leave a little water out for bees too – even just a shallow dish with a few pebbles in it so that the bees can have a drink without drowning.

Do your bit. Bee Friendly.

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Posted in 2011, 2012, Bees, Bulbs

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