Aquilegia

There are lots of varieties of Aquilegia (or granny’s bonnet) and I have three or four in my garden but my favourite is photographed here. Unfortunately I don’t know what it is called.

Aquilegia live full sun but do well in partial shade too. They are fully hardy and flower during May and June, self seeding around the garden.

The flower colours vary from dark purple, through blue, pink and white and they all have delicate, pale green foliage.

They are easy to grow and need little care except to deadhead to help prolong flowering.

Keep an eye on children near this plant as the sap may cause skin irritation.

Buy your own Aquilegias from Crocus.co.uk

The photograph above is the property of Linda Peppin and must not be copied or used in any public work without her express permission.

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Rosa “Remember Me”

I have a few roses in my garden but my favourite is the hybrid-tea Rosa “Remember Me”.

It’s main attraction are the deep orange coloured flowers and dark, glossy leaves. Unfortunately the flowers only have a slight scent but the look of the plant is enough.

It is an award-winning bush rose and does well in full sun with fertile, moist, well-drained soil. It is disease resistant and the blooms make excellent cut-flowers.

Buy your own Rosa “Remember Me” from Crocus.co.uk

The photograph above is the property of Linda Peppin and must not be copied or used in any public work without her express permission.

Hibiscus

I love Hibiscus as they look so exotic and I still wonder at how they flower so well each year in my North facing garden.

The variety I have is Hibiscus syriacus ‘Oiseau Bleu’ which has amazing large deep purple/blue coloured flowers with a bright magenta centre. It is a deciduous shrub but has lovely dark green foliage during late spring and summer.

They like to be in full sun and planted in a rich, moist, well-drained soil, they are fully hardy and flower between August to October.

Prune young plants in late spring to encourage a bushy habit but once established they need little care except to mulch well in autumn to help retain moisture and keep down weeds.

Buy your own Hibiscus from Crocus.co.uk.

The photograph above is the property of Linda Peppin and must not be copied or used in any public work without her express permission.

The Gardening Register Rose

For my birthday in 2008 I received a Name a Rose Gift Box which contained a number of rose seeds, a label and some instructions.

I sowed the seeds, following the instructions, and was very surprised that a number of them germinated. From those that did I managed to get two decent sized seedlings.

This photograph was taken in July 2009 when the plants were very small. I looked after them through the very cold winter and this summer I have two very good, healthy rose bushes, one with pink flowers, one with white.

In the Autumn I will prune them and re-pot them and hope for bigger specimens next year.

The final step in the gift process is to register the rose … so welcome to The Gardening Register. Whether I will ever be able to propagate more plants will remain to be seen but I’m very proud of the two I have managed to nurture of the past two years.

The photograph above is the property of Linda Peppin and must not be copied or used in any public work without her express permission.

Giant Snowflake

Leucojum Gravetye Giant or Giant Snowflake is a lovely plant, the flowering looking like a very large snowdrop. The foliage is bright green with stems of about 14ins (36cm).

They are a great addition to your Spring display as they are relatively disease free and, apart from slugs, do not suffer from pest damage.

Plant in the Autumn and propagate from the offsets which grow near the original bulb.

The photograph above is the property of Linda Peppin and must not be copied or used in any public work without her express permission.

Dicentra spectabilis

Dicentra spectabilis or Bleeding Heart is one of the first plants to emerge in late spring and has arching sprays of dainty, rose-pink, heart-shaped flowers above fern-like, fresh green leaves.

It is extremely easy to grow and as long as the ground is moist it will thrive in full sun or partial shade and it looks great planted in groups towards the front of a shady border or as part of a cottage garden scheme.

Dicentras are happy in any good garden soil that is fertile but not too heavy. Enrich the soil with plenty of leaf mould before planting and apply a mulch in autumn too. A light fertilising in March will also help.

Clumps of dicentra remain compact for many years and do not need dividing however they have brittle roots and so do not like disturbance – instead, try taking root cuttings in spring.

There are a number of varieties available from Crocus.co.uk.

The photograph above is the property of Linda Peppin and must not be copied or used in any public work without her express permission.

Flower Carpet Red Velvet

This is Flower Carpet Red Velvet a ground cover rose.

It has lovely bright red flowers with a yellow centre and glossy, rich green foliage.

I have put mine in a container as I don’t have much room left in the ground so I’m hoping it will flow over the top of the container.  The flowers should last well until the frosts.

It is naturally disease resistant and likes a sunny spot but is not particular about the soil it’s planted in. Feed regularly and trim off spent blooms to encourage more flowers.

Flower Carpet Red Velvet is available to buy from Gardening Express.

The photograph above is the property of Linda Peppin and must not be copied or used in any public work without her express permission.

Camellia x Williamsii Debbie

Camellia x Williamsii Debbie has been on a container for about eight years now and it has always flowered well.

It has deep pink flowers during February and into March but the glossy, dark green foliage remains throughout the year to provide additional interest.

This variety is available from Gardening Express for just £12.95 for a 3.5l plant and Crocus.co.uk have lots of other interesting varieties.

The photograph above is the property of Linda Peppin and must not be copied or used in any public work without her express permission.