Some new arrivals

I shouldn’t be allowed near a nursery at this time of year because even though I know that my garden is full to overflowing, I can never walk out empty-handed!

Top of my “couldn’t resist” list was Heuchera “Marmalade”:

I’ve owned Heuchera “Plum Pudding” for quite a number of years and love it for its robustness and easygoing nature – it seems to do well no matter where I grow it – so I’ve been meaning to add another variety to my plant collection for a while now, but hadn’t been able to decide on one until I spotted Heuchera “Marmalade” at a local nursery. I was immediately drawn to its pleasing blend of hues, reddish-orange through to pale lime green, and its compact habit, so it found its way into my basket, shortly followed by Heuchera “Fire Chief”:

This one is a really stunning red and will provide excellent foliage contrast in my sunny borders.

I was going to be (almost) sensible and leave it at that when I saw this little beauty:

 

Brunnera macrophylla “Jack Frost”, a variegated Siberian bugloss to add to the one I already have, Brunnera macrophylla “Variegata”. The blue forget-me-not flowers will have been and gone for this year, but those gorgeous leaves are showy enough for me!

I had to make a little room in my borders to fit in my new acquisitions, and I shall have to be careful that they don’t get swamped by any of their new neighbours, but I’m sure they’ll be worth the space.

Now I just need to stay away from anywhere that sells plants for the forseeable future…or get a bigger garden!

Nature watch: damsels laying

For about a week now I have been spotting a pair/pairs of Large Red damselflies laying eggs on the stems of emergent plants in my two water-filled containers, so I know that come May/June next year, barring accident, there will be a new generation of damsels to delight me.

I know that this species is just about the most common in the UK, but I never fail to feel honoured when these dainty, jewel-coloured insects choose my garden to reproduce in. It took a few seasons for them to find me, but now they come every year, and early summer wouldn’t be the same without them.

Lots more roots!

I think it’s time to pot up this rooted side shoot!

I measured the roots when I removed it from the jar, and the longest were about 8cm – not bad for about a week’s growth!

Next step was to carefully pot it up in some multipurpose compost and water it in very well:

I then put it in my shady coldframe so that it will be protected from hot sun (if we get any!) until the roots have had a chance to establish, after which it can go back out into a sunny spot to grow on.

It already has a little flower bud on it, so I may see fruit quicker than I think!

Roots!

Well, it took 8 days for the first root to appear (yesterday), but my tomato side shoot is really picking up the pace today:

 

The question is, do I bother to do anything with it? The only reason I stuck it in some water was to see how easily it would root, and the answer is, “very!”, but I don’t actually need any more plants, sooooo….?

Actually, why am I even pretending to ponder this?? I’m a gardener, and as such I can almost never bring myself to throw away healthy plant material, so you just know that this cutting is going to get potted up and bunged somewhere or other, if only to find out how quickly it grows and becomes productive.

Inquiring minds need to know…