Wednesday 25 March 2009

Out like a lion.....

March came in like a lamb, and I think she is preparing to go out like a lion. Heavy showers, cold winds and lowered temperatures have been with us for the last few days. The little blue tit appeared not to like the change.
Despite the weather a lone honey bee decided to visit the cherry blossom. Her pollen bags looked nice and full.

Things are coming on well in the greenhouse.....Poppi's sunflower seeds are up


also Morning Glory 'heavenly blue'.......I am so excited about this.....Beckie at Dragonfly Corner showed this stunning plant on her blog last year. The blooms seemed to last forever. Beckie and Rose were kind enough to send me some seeds.



During the winter the rabbits dug up several plants. Sedum Autumn Joy was one of them. I split the plant and repotted pieces of it. I now have ten plants all doing very well.......
Clematis Armandii is blooming.......this is a monster evergreen that will fill a space 9m x 2m (30 x 6ft). I have it climbing through fencing at the bottom of the garden.......it is ideal in this situation.
It blooms from the beginning of March until the end of April, and it's flowers are slightly scented. I love clematis and have quite a collection now...........I have read that if you grow a mixture of large flowered hybrids and species clematis, it's just about possible to have one in flower every day of the year.....Now this has got me thinking.....hmmmm...maybe, just maybe.......


26 comments:

Gail said...

Cheryl, Did you notice that we have a similar bird photo as our opening photo? I love how they look in the bare branches! You are going to love heavenly Blue...it is truly a heaven blue! T Thank you for showing the sweet bee...The carpenter bees are out and trying to bully the gardener away from the blueberry plants! I am so glad I got them so that the big bees and even the little bees have a native plant to visit. A clematis in flower everyday would be a treat...I hope you can do that! gail

Lisa at Greenbow said...

I love the idea of having Clematis blooming every day. You still seem to have more blooming than I do now. I can't wait for the next wave of plants to start blooming. Is Poppi's sunflower one of the huge tall ones? or is it like the smaller teddy bear varieties?

Wendy said...

Going out like a lion...ohh too bad. But I hope the lion doesn't roar too loudly.
How exciting! To watch your seedlings sprout. Poppi must be enchanted with the process.

I think that would be quite a challenge to have flowers blooming every day - but it would look totally splendid! I remember Beckie's morning glories.
Hope the rains turn gentle and the winds die down. And, of course, the sun shines once again in your neck of the woods.

ShySongbird said...

I love Clematis too and have several in the garden.One called Pink Perfection is very vigorous and has a tendency to strangle anything which gets in its way, a lovely miniature Willow was a victim, my fault of course for not keeping a closer eye on it.
It has turned more Wintry again here, it seems we are having a 'Blackthorn Winter'.

o2bhiking said...

For us Cheryl, March came in like a lion - 11 inches of snow in an area that got a total of 2 inches for the entire last five years. We shall see if it goes out like a lamb or not next week. :)

beckie said...

Cheryl, I was hoping it would warm some for you...maybe soon. The seedlings look great. I'll bet Poppi is excited to see hers growing. Hope the Heavenly Blues do well for you. I love the Armandii clematis and it's gorgeous blooms must bring a smile. I am trying to grow Sweet Autumn from seed that Racquel sent. I've not had much luck with a couple other kinds. I can't wait til it's warm enough here for bees!

Cheryl said...

Hi Gail......yes I did notice the birds were very similar....snap, as they say....

I have bought some blueberry plants this spring....I have never grown them before, so it will be interesting to see how they progress....

I think the clematis thing is a dream Gail, but it is nice to have dreams.......

Cheryl said...

Hi Lisa.....I am not sure about the sunflowers, I will have to ask Beckie....I think they came from her plants. It might be nice just to let them grow....and have a surprise......

Cheryl said...

Hi Wendy.....they are saying there is a slight, only slight, chance of sleet on Saturday....and the winds are going to be very strong. That is not good here, as we are so exposed. Even with my shelter belts it roars through the garden....ggrrrrr......

Cheryl said...

Hi shysongbird.....clematis can be cruel....I have to keep an eye on some of mine....shame about the miniature willow, I have to lose plants....

It feels like winter here.....the blackthorn is out and looks stunning as I drive along the lanes.....

Cheryl said...

Hi racn4acure......I do hope that you have a calm end to the month and the sun shines for you....

We are all in the hands of Mother Nature.....

Cheryl said...

Hi Beckie......seeds are so frustrating, don't you think. Some romp away and others just won't move........the moonflower has not appeared yet, it is lovely and warm in the greenhouse so I am keeping my fingers crossed. I long for those large white blooms (you know me and white)....wish me luck......

Rose said...

Cheryl, I'm so glad the Heavenly Blue has sprouted for you; I have a couple seeds, too, so we might all be swamped with blue flowers this summer:) Having clematis in bloom all summer sounds great to me!

The colder and wet weather is also coming our way; it will be awhile before I can do much of anything in the garden again. I saw a solitary bee here one day, but I think he may have found a warmer place to stay for now.

NCmountainwoman said...

A flower every day. Wouldn't that be something! We're also have a downturn in the weather. Chilly, foggy, but with some much-needed rain.

Morning Glories in Round Rock said...

Your Cherry blossoms are beautiful. I hope the colder weather doesn't do too much harm to all those lovely Spring blooms. We had a hail-storm to contend with last evening...not too much damage.

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

To have a Clematis in flower for every day of the year sounds very tempting indeed.

It's good to know that you have had a little helper with the sowing too.

Hope your morning glory will fulfill all your expectations!

Spring offers us a plethora of promise, doesn't it? I think that's why I love it so much.

Cheryl said...

Hi Rose....I can think of nothing better than being swamped with blue flowers....how exciting....

The solitary bee may have found somewhere to shelter in your garden Rose....sometimes they will find holes at the base of trees........

We have had sunshine and showers today....I have had a couple of soakings, drowned rat is not a good look.

Cheryl said...

Hi Carolyn.....the weather is so changeable....it seems to be the same everywhere....
A clematis in bloom everyday would be wonderful....nice thought....but I might just pass on it, too much to do......

Cheryl said...

Hi morningglories......we had a hail storm the other night.....the stones were hitting the window and actually woke me up......

Ruth said...

How nice that you have a greenhouse to get a head start on spring. Autumn joy Sedum is so easy to grow and I love the way it looks in each season.

Cheryl said...

Hi Ruth.....the greenhouse is so useful........it is also a great money saver......

Autumn Joy is lovely and as you rightly say so easy......

marmee said...

dear cheryl,

i planted clematis in several places last year and they didn't do much but we will see if anything comes of it this year. i had some beauties at my other house. i think it would be wonderful to have one or the other blooming all year round.
dh and i want a greenhouse. one of these days we will get one.
march for us came in like a lion with snow on march 1st. so we shall see. we have has a week of rainy chilly weather.

Rusty in Miami said...

I love Clematis unfortunate they don’t grow in my climate.

Cheryl said...

Hi Marmee....don't give up on the clematis......several of mine did not do well last year and looked very weak. I cut them right back at the end of the summer and forgot about them. Yesterday I noticed some lovely new growth coming through, so looks like they are going to be fine.

Fingers crossed for yours........

Liz said...

Great to see your garden is getting going, and your seeds are coming out too, not long to go! :)

My seeds are showing their faces too, some I don't know what they are, thanks to my lack of labelling hehhe.
Sweet peas have come up, the rest are mysteries still, though I do suspect some poppies.

Cyndee Greene said...

Oh Cheryl...how I DO wish we lived closer.
As I just wrote that I looked out my window & there was a feather floating down. I can't tell you how many times that has been happening recently...
And Clematis blooms every day of the year...mmmm....love that tho't!