My Little Garden 3rd April 2021
My mystery daffodil from last week has been identified. Someone on twitter (sorry, I can’t remember who) kindly suggested that it might be Narcissus ‘Ice Follies’, which did ring a vague bell, and lo and behold when I looked at my receipts for supplementary (necessary / vital /critical) bulb purchases there it was in black and white. Mystery solved!
While we’re on the subject of daffs, I might as well make them the first of my six choices for this week. It could be argued that six varieties of narcissi make up the whole of the six choices this week, but as long as nobody tells The Propagator.
- Narcissi
Here they are, and no longer a mystery - Narcissus ‘Ice Follies’.
Second up is the lovely Narcissus ‘Actaea’ which grows next to the arbour in the morning coffee seating area. It is very similar to an old favourite Narcissus Poeticus var. recurvus which is possibly the last of the narcissi to flower in late April and early May. Apart from the timing, the other way to tell them apart is that Poeticus or Pheasant’s Eye apparently has a green centred cup with a red edge, rather than the orange in my photo below. Something new I’ve learnt this week!
I only have a few of the next one but I think it might be nice to have more next year. Narcissus ‘W P Milner’ is a dwarf pale yellow variety that is perfect for my yellow and blue border. Yes I know referring to a colour themed border that is less than two square metres is a little pretentious, but in spring it’s exactly that with a yellow camellia, hellebore and narcissi, accompanied by blue in the form of forget-me-nots and muscari.
This is my favourite from last week. The delightful Narcissus Jack Snipe just catching the morning sun.
Jetfire is still going strong
I wasn’t sure this one Narcissi Tete-a-Tete White (Toto) would flower for the second year. I planted them elsewhere three years ago and they did well for the first spring and then were a total disappointment in 2020.
2. Fritillaria meleagris and their friends
I love the chequered petals on this Snakeshead Fritillary.
But it does bring with it these little red blighters. They have now been disposed of.
3. Fritillaria michailovskyi
I planted these purely for the purpose of taking photos. An interesting little bulb.
4. Magnolia
A shrub I bought very cheaply a few years ago. It struggles a little where it’s planted because the soil is quite dry but at least it’s produced a few flowers for me. More T L C required this year I think.
5. Dicentra
Lamprocapnos / dicentra / bleeding heart. Call it what you will, it’s pretty heart shaped flowers are perfect for a shady spot, either in the ground or in a container. This plant has always been in a pot but it was treated to new compost last year.
6. The first tulip of 2021
And the winner of the #mylittlegarden tulip race of 2021 is Ronaldo. Isn’t it a beauty. Hopefully soon to be joined by some equally beautiful friends.
And that’s it for this week. My seedlings are coming on nicely in the greenhouse (known locally as my front porch) and the first of the dahlia tubers has a little leaf. Happy days!
For more ‘sixes’ take a look at the blog of The Propagator who is the creator of this weekly collection. And as always there are many more excellent photos and blogs on twitter under the hashtag #SixonSaturday
https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/
Have a great weekend!
