Flowers

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OscarSidcup
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Hello

I thought a thread on flower photos could be fun too.
Here's one I took earlier. 2 types of Dahlias and some Cosmos from the garden. Everything is still blooming outside, so as the days get shorter i thought i would take some inside...

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Pawty
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They look beautiful.

I'm not good with flowers but this year a sprinkled a bee mix in a patch of the allotment. Very pretty and the insects loved them so I'll do that again next year.

On the subject of flowers - 2 questions -

1) I have a small area in the back garden which is mostly in shade but really want it to be a flower bed. I put blue bell bulbs, daff's, Lilly of the valley and a few other things in there - so hopefully there'll be flowers in spring. In terms of summer flowers, I've struggled a bit. Wall flowers seem to do ok. Are there any other flowers which don't mind the shade?

2) Monty has started his sweet peas off already, so that he gets early flowers. Does anyone else start them this early and would the be ok in the cold frame one germinated?

Thanks

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Monika
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Pawty, on your second question: sweet peas are hardy down to quite a few degrees of frost, but if it gets very cold, you might be best off to place straw mats over the cold frame or even several layers of newspapers, or fleece inside the frame.

I used to sow our sweet peas in autumn and keep them in the unheated greenhouse, but found that early spring-sown ones caught up with them, so I no longer bother and find there is very little difference as to their start of flowering, and certainly not in vigour.
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retropants
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Beautiful display all in white Oscar! :)
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OscarSidcup
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Thanks!
Yes white flowers - we are setting up a white flower bed so stay tuned (next year) for more white flower displays...
Have a good week everybody
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Westi
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Oscar that is beautiful!

It has made me think actually - I have dahlias in every colour (well several) but no white ones. They'd be perfect at home as I have a partly shaded spot at the end of the garden that I thought brights would light up but hasn't really worked but think white would shine through more!

What varieties are they Oscar?

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OscarSidcup
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Oh thanks - pleased I inspired you! These dahlias are White Aster and Siberia. We got them on sale at the local garden centre this April and did not expect them to do anything,so we are in awe at their splendour. Some other bulbs we got did not do anything so it will be a surprise for next year - me hope... :wink:
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Shallot Man
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Pawty. My sweet peas have been started of, five to a pot. And have already been nipped of at the second leaf stage. They are around the back [east side ] of my small greenhouse out of any sun we might still have.
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Geoff
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Here are some shade loving notes https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=100
Although they aren't listed for shade I have Martagon Lillies in a shady spot that do well and look a bit exotic. Many so called shade lovers like Pulmonaria are a bit of a cheat, they are Spring flowers for before the shade is too dense, I guess you really want to brighten up Summer.
I think Spring sown Sweet Peas are much easier. Sown with some heat towards the end of February with me they are nicely ready when the weather is fit to plant them out and they grow away unchecked. I seem to have flowers before that man shows them on TV many miles South.
I'll make a note of those white Dahlia varieties, I abandoned the only one I had as it had very floppy stems. I guess the Cosmos are Purity - a wonderful cut flower, we have a row in the veg garden and a vase full in the lounge.
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OscarSidcup
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Hi Geoff,
yes you are correct, the cosmos are of the Purity kind - also courtesy of KG free seeds this year.

I had no idea what they would look like so planted them a bit tight... And now they look a little bit like (nice) triffids. here's a snap from this morning when I left home...
So lesson for next year (to me) - give them space!!!

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oldherbaceous
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A lovely photo indeed Oscar, sometimes less really is more, beautiful.....i have always loved Dahlias.
Kind Regards, Old Herbaceous.

There's no fool like an old fool.
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Westi
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Thanks for the link Geoff!

Some of those names make me feel like I'm reading a menu in a foreign language - yep it is foreign I know, but you don't actually ever see that in the seed catalogues - thankfully I say - but my flower advancement is in it's infancy! I do love them though, need those bee attractors!

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Primrose
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Lovely display Oscar.
Talking of white flowers can anybody please identify these white flowers which I saw growing in a clump outside Leicester cathedral at the weekend. They looked like pretty little white stars shining in the sunlight. The tall stems had buds growing on them rather like miniature gladioli buds grow.
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sally wright
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Dear Primrose,
schizostylis or cape lily a pale pink form, needs a dry sunny spot to perform well though.
Regards Sally Wright.
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Geoff
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I've never seen one as pale as this. I have two colours but the wind and rain last week weren't too kind to them. They appear randomly in my garden so must self seed and Chilterns sell seeds so it might be worth popping back.

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