24/04/2021
What a glorious day! In fact, what a glorious fortnight! We’ll gloss over the corresponding nights of frosts and the damage and hold-ups they are causing in the potting on and planting out department. Nevertheless, there’s plenty of growth and some beautiful blooms, so let’s take a look around for Six on Saturday, a weekly gardening show-and-tell, kindly run and hosted by The Propagator. Check out the link and you’ll probably find yourself wanting to join in!
Here are my six things:
1 Tulips -> Tulipa whittallii ‘Major’
Species tulip: Tulipa whittallii ‘Major’
I am in love with this pretty little species tulip, which I first spied on Cathy@gardendreamingatchatillon’s blog last year. It’s a wonderful coppery red colour with a contrasting olive base. The flowers really glow in this lovely spring sunshine. Plus the petals are delightfully pointy, so that the cups look like little crowns. I’ve grown them in pots this year, but they will be going in the ground shortly to (hopefully) naturalise.
2 Crab Apple
Crab apple, Malus ‘John Downie’
I know that I am not alone in highlighting apple blossom this week, but our John Downie tree on the driveway is too stunning to ignore. The blossoms have started opening in the last three days and the bees are there, happily pollinating. In fact, it was buzzing at ear level (as I took the bins out this week) that drew my attention to the flowers.
3 Blue tits and the new, somewhat-cobbled-together, bird box
They look interested, don’t they?
I am not sure if they are properly nesting in the box yet or not, but a pair of blue tits have been checking out the hole and hopping in and out of it over the last few days. Fingers-crossed!
4 Disporum lutescens
Disporum for the shade garden
Disporum lutescens, aka Korean Fairy Bells, was a Lockdown purchase from Pottertons nursery for our shady front garden (which desperately needs more interesting plants in it). Now that the plant is in flower and I’ve added the link back to their website for this post, the ID looks a bit suspect. I need to do more research, but I’d say that my plant looks more like photos of D. uniflorum?
5 Corydalis flexuosa ‘Purple Leaf’
Corydalis flexuosa ‘Purple Leaf’
At the same time and for the same reason, a Corydalis flexuosa ‘Purple Leaf’ found it’s way into my online basket and is now gracing the planting on the shady side of our patio. I think it’s a really interesting colour, a little bit blue, a little bit purple and against the darker leaves the flowers appear to be slightly fluorescent. My iphone hasn’t done the colouring any justice, I am afraid. It is quite a lot more purple in reality. I have to give Potterton’s full marks for careful packaging. It seemed a bit expensive, hence the multiple purchases (coughs), but it was done very well.
6 Fritillaria acmopetala
This fritillary was added to the garden last year and has indeed returned, hurrah. (I wasn’t sure about our heavy clay soil.) The bulb hasn’t multiplied though, so I must look to improve it’s conditions … and probably buy some more in the autumn. It’s very elegant and I still love the cute flicks at the ends of its petals.
So, those are my six. What are yours?
Have a great weekend and fingers-crossed that we will break the run of frosts tonight.
Frogend dweller's Blog 
I thought you’d enjoy a small bouquet from a surburban garden!
Tom Corbin Arlington , Virginia
Sent from my iPhone
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Certainly. What a nice thought! Bouquets always welcome 😉
This Fritillaria acmopetala isn’t often seen ! Thanks for sharing it. Great shot
Thanks Fred. You are welcome. That fritillary, rather strangely, wasn’t very easy to photograph.
The bluetits do seem to be checking it out. I see another box, do they have neighbours?
I wish! The next box is a design for robins and the furthest (out of shot) is for sparrows. So far, there is only interest in the first.
Do they mind living so close together?
An excellent six this week, Allison. I particularly admire the species tulip, such a lovely color.
Thank you Eliza. I am so enchanted with everything about it.
The blue corydalis was a surprise. We have a native yellow species that’s known by the common name ‘scrambled eggs.’ I like the pointy tulips, with that luscious color.
Oh my goodness, what a brilliant common name. So evocative! Totally agree about that tulip.
Good luck with your blue corydalis. I bought one years ago at a plant sale after having to answer a whole list of questions about where I was going to plant it… I think the nursery man considered it a baby he was giving away only to a good home! It was such a delicate specimen though and only lasted a year. The fritillary is very pretty too.
Thanks Cathy. I can’t help but like the sound of your nursery man! I probably need to check out more about their requirements now you’ve said this though! Fingers crossed.