Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Bulbs => Ian Young's Bulb Log - Feedback Forum => Topic started by: Maggi Young on July 10, 2013, 05:44:48 PM
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Our friend the forumist "Mavers" said he was re-reading the http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2013Jun191371634092BULB_LOG_2513.pdf (http://[url=http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2013Jun191371634092BULB_LOG_2513.pdf)]Bulb Log of 19th June,[/url] (where Ian writes of the plants we have self-seeding in the garden ) and was moved to send a picture of his Somerset garden with self-sown Ranunculus acris.
He tells us " The original ranunculus was the sulphur form so I let them all flower & the remove the normal yellow ones before they set seed & hopefully increase the number of the pale yellow form. They look so lovely with the blue Viola cornuta that also self seed."
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Isn't this a super photo ? Mike's garden is looking deliciously lush - and very colourful too.
Everyone's garden should look like that - how do some folks cope with great patches of bare earth??!!
His programme to get all primrose yellow buttercups seems to be working - and how pretty the combo with the viola is - wretched thing has never established here, don't know why.
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Fabulous Mavers!!
I'm also allowing buttercups, not R, repens/creeping, to self seed One day I want to find a white one. Do you know if you cut them back before all flowers are finished they will repeat flower
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Maggie I think they like the gravel mulch to germinate in, sowing on the surface.
cheers
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Yes Stephen - the corydalis, meconopsis, aquilegia and primula florindae really spread happily in the gravel.
It is the willingness of seed to grow in gravel that has allowed us to populate our brick-hard gravel drives so prettily.
Sometimes wonder why we bother with seed pots at all!
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Sorry Mark I've been on holiday so have not seen this until today. Thank you for your kind response.
It does look rather different now after enduring the intense heat of the past couple of weeks.
I usually cut them down to the ground after flowering & the first of the seeds are just starting to drop when touched. This gives plenty of seedlings without being overrun with them.
The plants usually send up new leaves & flower again.
Mike
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What an education your bulb log is Ian, I pick up so many tips.
I enjoy knocking dormant bulbs & tubers out of their pots at this time of year & replanting.
When a bulb has grown well & divided it feels like I'm finding real treasure.
Miss Lily is cute.
Mike
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You share the excitement and pleasure that Ian and I do with our bulbs, Mike. Even when there is nothing to see above ground there is the fun of seeing if a plastic pot has a pregnant bulge to promise good bulbs later and the thrill of tipping out the contents to see how they've got on during the growing season - just great fun - it really is a sort of "present opening" moment, isn't it?
We never got that feeling of anticipation when we were re-potting the alpines but it happens every time with a pot of bulbs!
Thanks, we think Miss Lily is one cute little white dog - but we know that there is a small furry in Mike's life too.... I take the liberty of sharing this photo of Mike's own sweetie pie - the very cute little black dog - Saffi - a photo from her third birthday in May - what an adorable wee face!
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The plants usually send up new leaves & flower again.
I am trying to grow Ranunculus acris 'Citrina' and flore pleno in my garden. Planted in the autumn in the ground they flower next spring then die; completely I fear. In a pot in a tray with water they will repeat flower. So the answer to the question is yes, if it is wet enough.
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Thanks Maggi, I love Saffi to bits.
She is very small, being a poodle x pomeranian.
I've attached two photos of when we first had her at 12 weeks when she was even more wee.
I'm looking forward to Ian building the plunge beds in the bulb house, I'm going have go myself when I've seen how he does it.
Mike
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Oh my word! Tiny little pup but MEGA CUTE :D
First set of plunge beds from Two Wests are assembled and in the glasshouse - as I type Ian is out in the glasshouse in the heat of the day, laying out the warming cables for frost protection. Heat out there will probably kill him- which would be ironic to say the least ::) :-X :-\ :'(
He has devised a homemade drainage system for the plunges - involving holes and plastic guttering hung under the plunges. It worked in testing ....... :-X ;)
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What size is the greenhouse please Maggi and are the plunges going round all three sides?
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G/house is 8 foot by 6 ft. Plunge staging going in a "U" shape. Ian taking photos as he goes and all will be revealed in the Bulb Log in due course I expect.
Staging is a little lower than our old home made stuff, but I think that is no bad thing because it's easier to lift pots to the far side for those of us who are vertically challenged.
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Cheers Maggi, watching with interest.
Easier for the vertically challenged but harder on the not-so- (Y)young back? ;D
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I think it's about the right height for both of us, David - the Bulb Despot being just around 5ft 8 inches tall, I'm just 5 ft 4inches. Of course we could have raised them up on a higher base if we wanted but the standard height of 30inches ( sorry for all the imperial measurements but both Two Wests and I seem to think better that way ) seems just fine. The plunge is the same width as before ( 2 feet) but it is a more comfortable reach to the far side of the bench for us shorties from this new height.
For the modern, metricated reader :
5ft 8ins =173cms
5ft ins = 163cms
30 inches= 76cms
2 ft = 60cms
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I'm looking forward to seeing the 'Bulb Despot's' progress building & fitting plunge staging Maggi.
I had a look at Two West's website & their staging looks sturdy, not bad prices either.
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Mike, see today's Bulb Log - we got our wires crossed and thought this was only Tuesday, so it was a little late being posted online- but it went on about an hour ago ------
http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2013Jul311375281392BULB_LOG_3113.pdf (http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2013Jul311375281392BULB_LOG_3113.pdf)
You can see how it looks- we are pleased with it. More ordered already!
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Just having my lunch at work Maggi & reading the latest bulb log...................looks very impressive.
Very tempted to order some for my greenhouse.
Mike