Fingers Crossed, the Mitcheldean Garden 2021
June is Bustin Out All Over Part 2

This page is part of a series of garden blogs from 2021. Click here for the index. Click here for part 1 which covers the lower garden between the bungalow and the road.

When we first arrived in Mitcheldean, we concentrated on the lower garden as it was our public face. These days we put out fewer summer plants by the road as they are a pain to water and by and large we let the permanent residents give no more than a hint of what might be found out of public view. Most of our efforts go into the upper garden although these permanent residents need only minimal maintenance. 

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The leylandii hedges are a pain to keep in order but they do offer a high degree of privacy, Garfield possibly doesn't know how privileged he is although he does get very upset when feline trespassers pass through. The winter primroses are gone, but amazingly the pansies are still flowering, they'll be left until they fade away. Many of the pots are geraniums which over wintered in the greenhouse although there are various small plants like lobelia and verbena interplanted for variety. There are various others of Yuehong's regulars like busy Lizzie and nemesia which will keep going all summer. We know that if we hold our nerve then come June there will be 'end of season' bargains galore in places like B&Q and the larger garden centres. This year we have (extra) snapdragons, red salvia, osteospermums and petunia at prices which make growing from seed satisfying but ultimately hard work with no money saving. I'd got lazy with my African marigolds and hadn't collected fresh seed for some years with predictable results, so we bought in a tray of leftovers. Of course, it would be unwise to rely on such things and we do buy in main season basic stock to avoid potential total embarrassment. 

For me, the fun starts at the top of the bank above the patio, the pink azalea is always a later flowerer and here Garfield has intercepted Yuehong returning from the washing line which is well hidden from view next to the small top greenhouse. The perennial daisies tend to get overwhelmed by moss while we are away in Penang but this year I have taken the opportunity to religiously remove it with excellent results. Overall I plan to have the rockery as mainly for azaleas but that will mean a lot of weeding.

We inherited the pieris fire plant, I fear that, like the acer next to it, a significant pruning will be due soon. At the top is our salmon coloured giant poppy which looks great until it rains...

The middle flower bed, is inevitably colourless in May and June, but the the gladioli are going well and the dahlias are in and growing fast. The latter had a wretched winter, we lost a high percentage, but I've managed to get a few replacements, have spaced out the survivors and will look to rebuild from next year.

The summerhouse area is now a wonderful private retreat where we relax at the end of a hard day in the garden. At any time of day we're likely to soon have company if we are in this area. We've long had the lupins and the makeover of the lily bed went well last year. At the moment only the irises are in flower.

The weigela has confounded my prediction last month, it has been ablaze with colour, probably because it escaped pruning last year. That's not an option this time as it is almost blocking access through the honeysuckle arch to the top of the garden  The assumed spiraea is about to flower and if the buds are anything to by then it's going to be a spectacle too - but pure white. Next to the bench are some rehomed unwanted dwarf snapdragons.

The rhapsody in blue rose is near uncontrollable as usual and the view up from behind the lupins an ever changing delight.

However. this year's stars are these half a dozen peonies which have reached maturity. 'Fortunately' they are of the 'single' variety and not too difficult to support. The 'doubles' elsewhere are another matter altogether.

We were gifted some excess dwarf sunflowers by Trevor from up the road who is the only other serious gardener for some distance. They have proved to be the perfect solution for the three planters which I have dragged up here.

It's early days for the mass planted peonies at the top. There are nearly 30 of them and at the moment maybe only 10 could be considered established. The tree peony on the left repeated its flowering and we have high hopes for this unusually coloured specimen.

Double peonies are unnatural creatures that spill over as soon as the buds open  The garden centres sell special supports but they cost at least 10 times what the plant did originally. So for the moment we use most of them as a source of cut flowers for the house. I'll leave you to guess why Yuehong is photographing our Sunday breakfast.