One of the many positives of gathering together a Six on Saturday is the way it helps pin down the weather and its patterns. When growing up I couldn’t completely understand the fixation my Welsh farming mother had on this. But I didn’t have to get up in the middle of the night for lambing or worry about healthy hay. Now in the middle of England and not near a wet and windy coast, I have my own harvest to grow: flowers for a wedding. A long way off, but March’s cold delay means I am not feeling as relaxed about it as in February. So keen weather watching has begun.
That leads me into number one, the small patch used for growing flowers in my friends’ large field. Its heavy clay was too dank and cold to work until this week when the sun came out. Out too have popped the nettles and docks, but yesterday weeding them with warmth on my back it was difficult to mind.
The beginnings of weeding
Next is another outside my own garden – a trip to Hidcote. Perhaps too early for my partner as not so much to see, but for me looking at the early Spring bulbs and the paths and supports in the Kitchen garden was satisfying enough – lots of ideas to take home. As well as a few plants…
Not sure if I can replicate this cat’s cradle for my flowers.
My clashing primulas are a source of pleasure everyday on the steps outside the kitchen. Dunberg and Valentine need to be kept apart, but they are eye catchingly cheerful.
It may be getting late to include daffodils (or narcissus); perhaps for most people the baton has firmly been given to tulips, but this week old and new favourites have finally bloomed. Hawera is a new one for me and daintily beautiful. Thalia is an old love and, yes, they have been a bit beaten by the weather (and probably the slugs too), but that wouldn’t stop me having a whole garden of them and maybe next year I will.
Fifth is a pot I found lurking, forgotten at the back of the greenhouse under a shelf. A martagon lily, Claude Shride which seems to have flourished in neglect.
It is often frustrating to recognise what an absent minded gardener I can be. Sometimes though there can be happy unintended accidents. So I did mean to plant up the smaller pot with tulips and Sweet Williams, but when the Autumn grown coriander plugs were slipped into a large pot, the tulip bulbs underneath had been forgotten. Never mind, they seem to have made room for each other quite well. Much more intended gardening over at the Propagator’s blog where the ever increasing Sixers share their gardening knowledge generously.
thedevelopingplot 
It’s never too late to include Daffodils, especially now it’s starting to feel a bit more spring-like outside. And I love the pot of coriander and tulips – that looks like it was done intentionally (I bet it’ll look even better once those tulips come into flower).
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I hope so! Think we might have eaten it by then though…
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What flowers are you growing for the wedding? 11 years ago my mother grew sweet peas for our June wedding and it still amazes me that she managed to produce enough for every table and to line a mantelpiece.
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The wedding is at start of August and the only must have flower requested is cornflower so I am sowing these over and over again just to make sure. Lots of sweetpeas ready to plant out and am hoping to keep some of these going. Have scabious, larkspur, nigella and cosmos all germinated and sunflowers too. Buplerum and dill have been sown and phlox creme brulee. At the moment am having a bit of a throw the kitchen sink at it approach, but am hoping to calm down and be more strategic soon!
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Sounds like you will have lots of lovely native flowers! August gives you plenty of time. Good luck!
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I still have a few daffs in bud so they’re not necessarily giving way to the tulips just yet. I’ve just consigned three Claude bulbs to pots while I try to decide where their permanent home will be. For an easy plant support – a bit more expensive but a lot less work than string – you could use some plastic pea/bean netting (the sort that has 3″ squares, not the anti-bird netting) fixed horizontally to some bamboo canes. Fix it when you sow and the plants can then be left grow up through it. You may need a couple of levels for taller plants.
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Thanks – I will give that a go!
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‘Hawera’ is gorgeous! I love your primulas too.
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The primroses are beautiful, I’ve always found them to bring a special panache to the garden
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Ooh I like that dark leaved primula! Whats the variety?
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Those primroses are striking. Such a dark flower with light foliage, and such dark foliage with pale bloom.
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You must have nerves of steel, doing someone’s wedding flowers. Despite this year’s weird weather, you sound like you have things firmly under control, though. And if your spring flowers, the daffs & primula & tulips are a sign of things, there’s going to be one very happy bride in August. Hopefully we’ll see things as they progress?
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