middle of April 2019

It is cold! so it's been difficult to do much in the garden but yesterday I started to do a bit and after working for a while I warmed up. I just had to pot up the last nepeta and that led to repotting some other things.

I grew scabious Perfection Blue from seed last year. I got 5 plants from the packet of seeds (not terribly impressive) and they've been in pots since. These three highlight what happens to pots in my garden. They are invaded by self-seeders. Left, a large verbascum rosette has taken over. Two on the right, snapdragons which I like but they can't take over my scabious. There are violas there as well but hoping they are small enough to co-exist.

I repotted each of those (and the two others in pots of their own. I left the violas with them.

The pots are so large, I put the nepeta (new from Peter Nyssen) in with the scabious and another nepeta I had. It's small so I guess it's a nepeta cataria (catnip) I grew from seed but I'm not absolutely certain.

In that pot behind, there's also scabious from the garden centre last year. I buy whatever I can in the "wildflower" range and last year they had small scabious and scabious columbaria? Thought they were selling them as two different plants. I'll have to check. Anyway that pot is full of scabious. To the left another large pot with a nepeta fassennii from last year. In the back, the beginning of the globe thistles on the right and in the centre a self-seeded veronica which also got a globe thistles - they will take over given half a chance but the bees so love them so I try to accommodate them in my garden, as many as I can. One of my more successful plants grown from seed. 

this is the sunniest part of my garden so I cram in as many pots as I can on the patio

that honesty is amazing, the stem is so thick - and a gorgeous colour

One my my hostas, in pots, shoots just showing. Of course, the pot is also being taking over my self-seeders, in this case forget-me-nots.

Further back in the garden, the left flowerbed which I've tried to keep clear for other things but the green alkanet is encroaching and a foxglove has made itself at home. A few centaurea montana are left - the main plants I planted. I see another two globe thistles have self-seeded. I must move them or they'll take over.

further along the back garden on the left,

that same section of the garden facing the fence

facing the back of the garden, taken over by green alkanet at this time of year