The long dry spell finished, just as we were about to fill the final watering cans from our IBC tanks.
The rain has not been torrential (fortunately for all the delicate flowers it would have damaged) and it may not last long, but while it does, we and most of you will be very relieved.
The parched grass seems to have greened up almost instantly and seeds which were struggling to germinate in the veg patch are putting on good growth (along with a fair few weeds).
Maybug or common cockchafer (Image: Norfolk School of Gardening) The garden seems to have been full of various pollinators, beetles, and other insects this week.
A few different types of bumblebee were busy in the chive flowers and others overnighted on the Knautia macedonica flowers.
We found our first maybug of the season in an empty flowerpot.
The common cockchafer has spent several years underground, eating roots, before it emerges as a large flying beetle.
It will now only live a couple of months, just enough time to mate and lay its eggs in the ground.
Elsewhere there are mullein moth caterpillars on the Verbascum flowers, the common mullein’s cultivated cousins.
These brightly coloured caterpillars are easy to spot, and while they are not very welcome on our Verbascum we have simply relocated them to a nearby Buddleia which they also will happily eat.
We were less thrilled to discover box moth caterpillars this week, giving themselves away with their webs as well as the leaf damage.
And we have spotted various aphids out and about including black fly on the coriander.
But the cavalry have also arrived in the shape of ladybird larvae which we have spotted in the garden.
We’re hoping there will be a natural balance in our garden this year, with the munchers kept under control by ladybirds, lacewings, and bluetits as well as the less easy to spot Encarsia formosa, a kind of parasitic wasp.
Certificate in Practical Horticulture students taking cuttings (Image: Norfolk School of Gardening) This week The Certificate in Practical Horticulture students were learning to propagate plants by taking cuttings.
We did warn them that this can become a bit of an addictive activity, and they certainly went away with lots of pots full of cuttings to nurture at home.
It is so incredibly satisfying to be able to create a new plant from a piece cut from a shrub or perennial, but we did remind them that they need to ask before helping themselves to their friends’ or neighbours’ plants!
Many of our courses are now fully booked, but these are a few which have some spaces available.
Let us know if you’d like to join us:
Advanced Practical Gardening – 11th June
Developing an Annual Maintenance Plan – 25th June
Summer Pruning – 26th June
Introduction to Garden Design – 11th September
Certificate in Practical Horticulture – 12th September
Nectaroscordum (Image: Norfolk School of Gardening)Plant of the Week
Nectaroscordum siculum, or Sicilian honey garlic, is a strange and beautiful flower.
It is a fine species with large, nodding white or cream flowers, flushed pink or purplish red, and tinted green at the base.
Seed pods become erect as flowers fade, resembling fairytale toadstools or castle turrets.
Ideal for gravel gardens and sunny borders, plant it at the front of the border, where other plants can be seen through its stems.
The flowers are a magnet for bumblebees, and the seed heads dry well and can be used in dried flower arrangements.
For best results plant Nectaroscordum siculum bulbs in well-drained soil in a sunny border where it will gradually multiply.
It grows easily from seed, but the plants won’t flower for around six years.
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