Thursday, 15 January 2015

Perennials - increasing my stock

The other day I went to the Garden centre to buy more ericaceous compost for re-potting my Blueberries. Well, I did buy the compost, but I also made an "impulse buy" - I bought these:


There was a big display of Perennials, being sold as rooted cuttings / divisions, in 9cm pots, priced at £1.99 each or 3 for £5. Hard to resist!

There were quite a few different ones available, so it took me a while to decide what to get, but I eventually settled for these:


As you may be able to see, they are Verbena bonariensis, Geum "Mrs Bradshaw" and Lobelia cardinalis "Queen Victoria". Although I'm sure that all three will be nice, I am particularly glad to have acquired the Verbena, since this plant is supposedly very attractive to bees and butterflies.

These may well be the only flower plants I buy this year, but you will have noticed that little by little I am introducing more flowers into my garden. Last year I bought Helenium, Scabious and Coreopsis; and the previous year I bought Echinacea, Rudbeckia and Gaillardia. Most of my flowers are in pots, so that I can re-arrange them frequently and put them in a more prominent position when they are flowering. These plants I have just bought are perhaps a bit small to be potted-up just now, so I will keep them under cover for a while in one of my mini-greenhouses, where they will be more sheltered from frost and wind.

Oh gosh - sudden thought... I'll have to go back to the Garden Centre to get potting-compost, won't I? I wonder what will be on Special Offer then?
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6 comments:

  1. Vesna Maric15 January 2015 at 12:08

    Way to go, Mark. I am glad to see you are introducing some more flowers in your garden. I am sure you'd love them especially when they are in bloom.

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  2. Daphne Gould15 January 2015 at 13:42

    I was thinking of a lobelia for my garden. I decided it was too tall for the spot though. They are pretty.

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  3. Sue Garrett15 January 2015 at 15:35

    If you are lucky Mark the verbena will self seed - it does in our garden and on the plot

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  4. Jo15 January 2015 at 15:47

    I'm very fond of geums, there's one, Totally Tangerine, which is on my wish list. I don't have much luck with lobelia, I've lost the varieties I've tried through winter.

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  5. Gardeningbren15 January 2015 at 16:30

    Good choices Mark, although the verbena has a bit of a different leaf than the Verbena Bonariensis I grow. It is a wonderful plant in the flower garden, well all three are really, and you should have reseeding from the Verbena. I haven't had to replant it in years. It's an annual in our garden.

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  6. Margaret15 January 2015 at 20:36

    I, for one, am no stranger to impulse buys at the garden center. In fact, I have probably never come out of one with ONLY what I intended to purchase.

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