My greatest problem is black spot which is apparently harmless to the plant but is unsightly. I’ve used fungicide on that but it never works. I’ve just read an article about black spot, the spores live in the soil below the plant and the rain splashes spores onto the plant and so on. So, wood clippings on the soil below the plant should stop repeated infections.
I’ve never used insecticides or pesticides and now I don’t use fungicides, I’m fearful of killing the good things, ladybirds.
I get aphids but every day, I check the plants and manually remove those.
I do only have 11 rose plants so it really isn’t any hardship.
Due to the frost in April early May the roses are well behind in blooming but there are plenty of buds ready to burst forwards.
These are from last year.
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The bumblebees appear to be settling in and the eggs are developing further:
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I plant Lavender next to my roses and have no problems, it’s good for bumblebees and keeps away aphids. I have used rosemary but that got overgrown. Every few years I dig up the lavender to prevent it getting woody,
a few years ago whilst doing this, one plant was transplanted into a big pot and is very happy and very substantive
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I do have lavender planted around the garden and Rosemary, I didn’t realise that these were a deterrent against aphids. Last year, aphids devastated my lupins, so I’m now keeping an eye on those.
A few more flower photos.
The first one shows, Pyracantha, foxgloves and hostas all under a Rowen tree.
This second one is of Delphiniums, these are about 6 feet tall.
The third are lupins, these are an intense red colour. I keep trying to get my wife to split these, so I can have some in my part of the garden.
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My delphiniums are yet to flower but my lupins and hostas are looking delightful:
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Those red lupins look very nice. The first photo after the lupins, is that really an hosta? It’s unusual, I’ve never seen one like that before.
I assumed it was a type of hosta because the foliage is similar but after cross referencing with my wife it is apparently a Siberian bugloss. I think it would complement your collection nicely and it does produce pretty blue flowers.
It’s a Forget-me-not! AKA Brunnera
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They are happy in the shade as long as the soil is relatively moist.
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Thank you, I’ll have a look at that.
Also known as Siberian Bugloss, as Satori says. It seems to do quite well in out damp N. Wales climate (as do Hostas if you can keep the slugs away.)
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We have snails and slugs but to be true full we didn’t have much slug damage. Until last year when things changed.
Next door neighbour’s dog got hold of a visiting hedgehog and fatally wounded it. They took the hedgehog to the vet who advised it be put down. I haven’t seen an hedgehog since.
A second change was a pair of Sparrow Hawks nesting in a tree on the railway banking at the bottom of the garden.
Off course with Sparrow Hawks in close proximity, our garden was abandoned by Blackbirds and other such smaller birds which feed on slugs etc. The Blackbirds love foraging under the Hostas.
So slug damage went up.
However, they was a up side, we had the best crop of blueberries and strawberries in years cos the birds weren’t getting at them.
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Oriental poppies, some of the flowers are a staggering 20 cm (8 inches for our imperial friends) in diameter:
Opium poppies, these have grown over 1 metre (3 feet) tall:
Corn poppies:
Welsh poppies:
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Poppies are great aren’t they? Add a good splash of colour to any garden. 20 cm, that’s huge.
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They are indeed and extremely easy to grow as they tend to look after themselves.
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I have several bird boxes occupied by nesting birds throughout the garden. I’ve also put out food to help them feed their chicks which will soon become fledglings. I’m wondering whether I should stop feeding them soon because if they have continued access to a supplemented diet, I’m concerned that they may become lazy and not catch their own food. The consequence being that the bugs/snails/slugs may end up eating more of my plants.
