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Morning Light: The Fetchland Gardening Wire

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Velociraptor Apr 2018 9:43am, 19 Apr 2018 38,140 posts	0 Velociraptor My daffs are still going strong. One little stray clump is just in bud, the others have been flowering for weeks. However, I planted some fancy-dancy tall daffs with big multi-petalled heads and they've been horizontal on the ground since they started to flower. When the leaves have died back I'm going to dig the bulbs up and move them to a more sheltered spot for next year. Some gorgeous parrot tulips are just thinking about opening, and I forgot I'd buried some fritillaria bulbs in the front garden so it was a lovely surprise when they popped up. I'll be going shrub-shopping soon, and plan to fill the gaps and the pots vacated by the spring bulbs with dwarf sunflowers and impulse purchases of summer bedding.
Mrs Jigs (Luverlylegs) Apr 2018 5:06pm, 19 Apr 2018 26,610 posts	0 Mrs Jigs (Luverlylegs) I need to do some shrub shopping for a border that is clay soil and holds water, gets some sun but not a lot, I would welcome any suggestions before I spend my money.
Markymarkmark Apr 2018 5:22pm, 19 Apr 2018 6,805 posts	0 Markymarkmark MrsJ - I have a rosemary bush that has thrived in that sort of situation. Useful in the kitchen too! I need to do some fence panel shopping, now the winter seems to be finally over. I may do some paving slab shopping too!
LazyDaisy Apr 2018 5:32pm, 19 Apr 2018 22,221 posts	0 LazyDaisy A cornus would be a decent option Mrs J - have a look at Midwinter Fire, you get plenty of year round interest from that and it seems to grow anywhere.
Mrs Jigs (Luverlylegs) Apr 2018 8:12pm, 19 Apr 2018 26,612 posts	0 Mrs Jigs (Luverlylegs) I love rosemary! I haven't heard of cornus so I will take a look, thanks both
Columba Apr 2018 8:14pm, 19 Apr 2018 15,390 posts	0 Columba I love that sort of surprise, V'rap. I put in some anemones last year and forgot about them, and now they're producing intensely bright flowers, red, blue, purple.
Hanneke Apr 2018 9:35pm, 19 Apr 2018 69,931 posts	0 Hanneke Rosemary copes remarkably well with waterlogged clay here, even though it supposedly only likes free draining soil. It needs a lot more water and nutrients than people think! I was going to suggest cornus (dogwood) as well, there are some nice different varieties with different stem colours and leaf colours. If it is very wet, willow will work even better and takes some of the water away, t absorbs it like a sponge. Just keep it coppiced at just above ground level and it will behave like a shrrb if you cut it back every february. Again, you can get different coloured stems, different leaves etc, quite a bit of variation available.
Garfield Apr 2018 10:03pm, 19 Apr 2018 8,940 posts	0 Garfield Our camellia tree has been heavily laden with flowers for the last few weeks...bright pink flowers. Hubby keeps threatening to chop it down because of the colour!
Fizz :-) Apr 2018 1:08pm, 20 Apr 2018 2,708 posts	0 Fizz :-) My first asparagus cutting Grown from seed. It's been a long two years, but worth the wait.
Flatlander Apr 2018 4:18pm, 20 Apr 2018 1,114 posts	0 Flatlander Your asparagus is ahead of mine Fizz. Patience with asparagus is rewarding :-).