April in May

Dreaming spires of foxgloves

Don't be fooled by the deceptive tranquillity of this photo.  We took the precaution of staking our taller plants last week when the forecast showed that strong winds were on their way, accompanied by several thunderstorms and a scattering of hailstones...  

Snail damage to stem

Since then we've had buckets of rain, along with gale-force winds, and our fairly pest-free garden is now full of snails and aphids which don't bode well for newly planted seedlings. 

Interestingly, one such snail almost chewed through the stem of this foxglove, but it survived anyway and continued flowering. 

Fresh growth

When I eventually cut off the main stem, the other side-shoots quickly took over and have now produced about ten healthy flowering stems.  

We already do an early 'chop' on our hollyhocks to prevent them getting too tall but it seems to work spectacularly well with foxgloves too and is probably worth repeating in areas where they get very wind-blown.  

As it's usually a strong healthy plant, I have to take a deep breath before wielding the secateurs so cruelly!!

Plants for shade

Osmunda regalis with Digitalis

Having just watched the Chelsea Flower Show on TV, I make no apology for featuring white foxgloves at every turn! 

In fact we have pink and apricot varieties too, mostly self-seeded and usually in cool dry areas, although they also seem to do quite well in damp shade - as seen on the right, where a majestic fern clothes the wall behind it, revelling in rainwater which cascades down due to lack of guttering on the old barn.

This 'royal fern' - Osmunda regalis - is quite at home in sodden, chalky soil and now reaches a height of two meters.  It produces substantial 'flowers' or heads of brown spores, which I cut off so that the fronds can move more freely.

Lychnis coronaria

Another plant that seeds itself liberally is Lychnis coronaria, which can have magenta flowers (as shown here) or white ones which are even more effective in dark corners. This one is flowering under the canopy of a large ash tree but would be just as happy in a dry, sunny spot.

Similarly, there are many types of geranium - or cranesbill - which are able to prosper in sun or shade. They are often good for underplanting around shrubs

Cranesbill

and those with pale flowers look quite luminous in dark areas. If the soil is very dry then add a mulch of leafmould or some homemade compost after ensuring that the plant is well-watered.

Our ash trees provide a huge haul of leaves in the autumn and these are well worth sweeping up and keeping separate from the main compost bin.  This winter's heavy rain has ensured that our heap has been keep moist, with only the topmost layer drying out in the wind - lift that and you find dark layers of sticky leafmould underneath, damp and rich in worms.

Hedera helix

Weed of the Week

Something else which finds itself right at home in shady corners is our old friend Ivy... much beloved by us English expats who associate it with decorated terracotta pots and crumbling brickwork.  Banish all such romantic ideas when entering a southerly climate!

I have zero tolerance for this ultimate thug which runs far too quickly under hedges, up trees and over walls, soon reaching heights where its flowers can't be controlled so the seeds rain down far and wide.  You can see from the tiny seedling above how efficiently it puts down roots even though its leaves are no bigger than my smallest fingernail.  Learn to recognise these two little leaves lurking in shade and uproot them immediately!

Oenothera odorata

Returning to plants which have impact on gloomy days, I think it's hard to beat the evening primrose - the flowers of which open when sunlight fades or when the sky is overcast.

The lemon-yellow blooms last a day and then turn orange as they droop  Its erect stems are also tinged with red and stand out well against a green background.

As a member of the gaura family, it can develop a woody root after a couple of years and will probably need digging up, but it seeds readily and will doubtless pop up elsewhere.

Pittosporum tobira

Shrub of the Month

My nomination for a shrub which looks great and flowers well in late Spring would be Japanese Pittosporum tobira or 'mock orange'.  We don't have one in our garden but it's tolerant of sea winds as we just encountered it at La Rochelle, where it was blooming profusely along dense hedges in the shoreside park.

The tough, glossy leaves are suited to full sun or part-shade and its creamy white flowers have a similar scent to orange blossom. We first noticed it whilst on holiday in Greece where it was planted around a swimming pool and kept very neatly trimmed... well worth noting for poolside planting!  This evergreen shrub is also recommended by the RHS, who say it needs just light pruning and a mulch with compost.

We're almost into the month of June now, hoping that our weather will finally settle down to those long hot days of Summer!

Lavender border starting to fill out,
 with Campanula lactiflora flowering in background