Little seedlings

gauras to go outI have come indoors for tea. And scones, with home made jam and greek yoghurt. If it were England, it would be clotted cream.   But I find the rich yoghurt does just as well.   And is probably better for you.   But if you are chomping into scones slathered with jam, you aren’t really in a position to be virtuous.

But I feel virtuous about this morning’s work. Planting out hundreds and hundreds and little seedlings.   And the head count will continue when I surge back outdoors.

First up were the gaura seedlings that germinated well from the seeds I sowed a while back. (I could walk out and find the stick with name and date, but that would involve getting up and deserting this wonderful cup of tea.)  I have planted out 70 seedlings in the calabert bed that now contains lots of happy summer bulbs.   The tall Gaura lindheimeri at the back of the bed, and a different variety of slightly dwarfish gaura towards the front. And yes, the label would be useful here. calabert bed

100 metres walk; the variety is called Summer Breeze, bought from Chiltern Seeds, sown 26th April.   Slightly cooler sip of tea.

With luck both plants will hit maturity this summer and shower me with little flowers and lots of swaying greenery.   All woven between the bulbs of peacock gladioli and nerines.   Well, that’s the plan.

bonariensis on terraceNext was to try and find room for the hundreds (and I mean hundreds) of verbena bonariensis seedlings that are bursting out of their pots in the shed.   I have decided the terraces on the bank behind the potting shed will be where I have the little forest of these amazing plants.   And naturally that involved a spot of weeding first.

My plans are to eventually have the spaces between these banks filled with new soil (and a retaining wall of either stones or chestnut poles) and keep on drifting the plants up along the bank.   Right now things feel a bit rigid and dull. salvia on bank

And one of the best things about bonariensis is that they self sow.   Well, not as successfully as I would hope, and not as prolifically as in Andrew’s garden, but it gives me a chance for making extra plants. bonariensis on terrace 1

So if they can survive the winter they will multiply and give me a good August interest up on that steep bank.