GBBD June 2011 – My Highlights

I am quite taken with these Allium christophii more so this year than any other.  I have had these for probably at least 4 years and they have been OK but last Autumn I moved some Sisyrinchium into this border.  They have proved to be an unexpectedly good combination so much so that I am planning to add more Allium and Sisyrinchium to this border.  Also in the border which I think adds to the overall effect is golden Oregano and Trifolium.  I am actually quite pleased with the display in the front garden

In the back garden the main display is from Delphinium and Geraniums.  I am growing fonder and fonder of the Delphinium especially as I grew all of them from seed and it took a couple of goes before I got successful germination and then when I did another couple of goes until the seedlings survived the winter.

As with the Delphinium,  I have grown all the Geraniums from seed over the last few years.  Most of them have come from one packet of mixed seed so I have no idea what varieties they are but this doesn’t bother me.  I would rather have a selection than lots and lots of the same ones. The Aquilegia McKana hybrids are still flowering their socks off a good few weeks after the others finished flowering.  I love these flowers they are just so elegant.  I have been carefully removing all the seed heads of the other Aquilegia but will leave seed heads of the McKana ones in the hope of increasing the population.

There are also lupins, geums, foxgloves and roses in flower but I thought I would focus on my favourite flowers this month.  However there is one flower I really can’t decide whether I like or not.

Yes its a Thalictrum.  I think it is Thalictrum flavum.  Again I have grown these from seed but I’m not sure they are working in the garden.  The majority of them are on the slope and they are at least 6ft tall completely out of proportion to everything around them plus they are leaning dramatically so if they are to stay in the garden they will  have to be relocated.  Also I am struggling with the shade of yellow which is quite acidic.  If you look at the photo below they work quite  well with the Delphinium but not with the Cirsium as well or maybe they do – I like good  contrasts of colour but I can’t decide if this is too much of a contrast.

So that is what I consider to be the highlights of the garden in June this year.

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