Lily disease

I have been having troubles with some of my pot-grown lilies and don't seem to be able to find any direct visual reference to a similar condition so thought I'd post some (rather sad) pics. The lily leaves begin to turn brown from the bottom of the plant, spreading up the stem as the flower buds become deformed and finally fail. It seems that they are rotting so I guess it must be some sort of rot or fusarium problem - maybe caused by watering in the wrong way! It seems lily culture is more complicated than I had anticipated. Anyway, it seems there is no cure, so I shall have to do some digging-up and disposing of infected plants and hope for the best with those remaining....

Pruning in the rain

Another warm but rainy Saturday after the hottest days of the week (while I was shooting Christmas food!) but not so wet as to prevent a good pruning session - nothing is quite so satisfying, especially when it reveals hidden treasures struggling for light. Contrary to general advice I am having to cut back R Kiftsgate as it looks so untidy and it's thorny stems dangling about quite a hazard. The hop leaves peppered with snail holes are also best tidied making space to see the budding clematis better. Clematis Etoile Violette and Diana are both really late this year which I consider a bonus in keeping the flowering season going before the dahlias come into their own. My new Cl. Sunny Sky is performing really well, brightening up a dark spot - still in it's pot! The pretty little flowers of Cl. Betty Corning are looking a bit fragile but it seems to be establishing itself quite well. In spite of neglect there are a couple of huge flower heads budding on the agapanthus - lovely to photograph on my fabulous 100mm macro lens.

Lilium longifolium and delicious rain

Today we have the perfect gardeners' rain - it is warm but not windy and the rain is coming down gently, just what we need even though it is Saturday and I had plans for making redcurrant jelly. What a lovely excuse to just look.... The lack of recent posts reflects my pre-occupation with the garden. I've been enjoying the best of the roses and trying to keep the jungle growth under control, along with picking a good crop of soft fruit and my first (and probably only) crop of sugarsnap peas. I really need to re-think the fruit garden and make more space for veg.. Fruit may be incredibly easy to grow but it takes a lot of time to pick and then distribute to those who make better use of it than I do. Almost every day in June seems to bring something new. This week has included discovering a splendid frog, the first cosmos flowers, nasturtians, perennial clematis and lillies Regale and Longifolium. I am so glad I persevered and tracked down the latter, recommended by Christopher Lloyd as later-flowering than most. I have 2 pots - one of bulbs bought at a garden centre which have just begun to flower, the other bought on-line are still building up to budding - the promise of things to come. They are evidently different varieties each with their individual beauty. The trellis is a total disaster area, the weight of plants toppling it over and squashing a lovely pink rose and clematis Minuet against the greenhouse - something I should really have dealt with in the early spring - object-lesson!

Diana Roles Open Studio

Had a wonderful evening yesterday at Diana's Open Studio in Sunningdale but didn't excel at taking pictures! Oh for more to space to have more of her beautiful work!!! Here are a few images which really don't do either her lovely garden or her work justice. The only thing to do is see it for yourself. The last open day is Saturday - www.dianaroles.co.uk for details

Long evenings and a stag beetle sighting

My 9.00 pm stroll with wine glass in hand brought an unanticipated treat on Saturday night - a large stag beetle circling over several neighbouring gardens. I think it may even have landed in my Judas tree. I hope it doesn't see it as suitable site to lay eggs, it is looking rather unhealthy this year. A friend has seen several just recently.

In spite of the weather it's still a great novelty to have long enough evenings to allow for some actual gardening. This evening I went out with a mug of tea and managed to plant out most of my dahlias before it began raining. After buying fewer tubers this year (2 did not come up at all - oh dear Parker's!!) I now discover I have spaces to fill. That is a novelty! The roses mostly seem to be doing well this year, seeming to have benefitted from a hard spring pruning - all except Bourbon rose Prince Charles which flowers only once and - apparently - not at all this summer. Hopefully it will forgive me next year (lesson learned!). In the past few days my Kiftsgate has begun its great display. It really is the metaphorical icing on the cake. The only down side with it is a very bad case of black spot as I haven't managed any preventative measures. The little old white rose pictured suffers particularly badly as a result of Kiftsgate shedding infected leaves onto it which seems to limit its growth. It's still a little treasure though. I still haven't managed to pick the first rather weedy-looking raspberries. But the birds haven't beaten me yet. I think that's the only advantage of having neighbours with cats.

A few reasons for not planting in tight spaces

It is wonderful to be able to go down the garden during these light evenings - even if tonight I first had to don a warm coat! Today I noticed the first wild strawberries ripening, the first raspberries on their way and my tiny Sugarsnap pea plants are showing their first blooms too. This is remarkable to me given that they are so tightly squeezed between the strawberries, a gooseberry bush and tall raspberry canes which are completely overshadowing them - virtually all day. To reward them for their efforts I decided to water them - and the heavily fruit-laden strawberries - with some liquid fertiliser. Great idea, except that in trying to squeeze between things I managed to loose my balance, tread on a young pea plant and then break most of it off in trying to replace the dislodged support stick. Grabbing hold of the nearest thing to help my balance was an even worse idea - it being the gooseberry bush. At least this time I managed to get the whole thorn out unlike the last time when it went in so deep it took about a week to work its way out again. Unfriendly things gooseberry bushes! One other first today - my new Clematis "Sunny Sky" which I threatened to re-home since its flowers proved to be much bigger than I had anticipated (as I bought it on-line) has endeared me by performing so well in its temporary spot - still in its pot - and has begun flowering. I think it's going to have to stay.... Pictures to follow when the light is better.

First Kiftsgate flowers and Diana Roles Ceramics on show

I came home this evening to find the first little white buds unfolding on my rampant Kiftsgate rose - always so exciting with the promise of a halo of white buzzing with bees stretching nearly half way around the garden. The whites are quite prominent at present - white peonies, a few white fox gloves, Iceberg and Madame Alfred Carriere roses - and the first flowers of Mrs Sinkins "pinks" which remind me how my Dad used to grow them in such plenty that I used to pick bunches to fill both hands. Gardens are places that hold so many memories yet at the same time they are so liberating.... I am really looking forward to visiting another garden on 12th June - Diana Roles is opening her garden to show her wonderful ceramic pieces as a part of the annual Surrey Artists' Open Studios. She will also be welcoming visitors on Saturday 7th, Sunday 8th and Saturday 14th June. For more details see www.dianaroles.co.uk and www.surreyopenstudios.org.uk Diana's totally individual pieces are major focal points in my garden. I can't imagine it without them...