Horticultural highlight of the week (2014 week 16) - Tulipa 'cummins'

I think I've probably got a bit of a tulip obsession, and of course I love the unusual, whether its in my garden or otherwise.

This tulip is a fantastic colour - an old-fashioned 'mauve' and the fringed tips of the petals catch the sun giving a frilly halo to each bloom.

Tulip 'Cummins' - opened flower

On the unopened flowers this fringing can almost appear like rows of teeth!

Tulip 'Cummins' - unopened flower

And of course these are perfect to capture in close up with my squidcam macro lens...

Tulip 'Cummins' closeup taken with squidcam macro lens for iPhone 5

Tulip 'Cummins' closeup taken with squidcam macro lens for iPhone 5

As with most bulbs I buy, I got these from Avon Bulbs

Horticultural highlight of the week (2014 week 15) - Clematis Alpina 'Frances Rivis'

Already mentioned as 'plant of the week' back in May 2013, this beautiful clematis just keeps getting better every year. It's flowered about a month earlier this year, probably because we had a very mild winter this year. Last year we had a severe winter with some late frosts. Fascinating that this variation can shift the flowering period so dramatically.

I've already described this clematis in some detail - follow this link for the original post. I am going to attempt to take some cuttings of this to bring to the new garden. Watch this space for the results.

Here's a photo of the blooms this year - more impressive than last year.

Clematis Alpina 'Frances Rivis'

Of course, I have added some macro shots of the flowers this time too.

Clematis Alpina 'Frances Rivis' - closeup of stamens - squidcam macro lens

Clematis Alpina 'Frances Rivis' - closeup of flower - squidcam macro lens

Horticultural highlight of the week (2014 week 13) - Snakeshead Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris)

Another late post - I'm doing my best to catch up, currently about three weeks behind!

I'm always amazed that this is a native wildflower in the UK, as it has the air of a tiny exotic, with its intricate chequerboard pattern (almost like snakeskin). I've never seen one in the wild, I'm guessing its a rarity these days.

Snakeshead Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris)

I bought a handful of each of two varieties - the usual purple/white check and pure white. After two years of both flowering, I haven't seen any white ones this year, and only four of the purple ones. I'm not sure if the bulbs have a limited lifespan or if squirrels have been digging them up (there's possible evidence of squirrel activity in the garden in that several baby horse chestnuts have appeared).

I've naturalised them in grass which is where they look best, as their leaves are long and linear like grass. I'll definitely be adding a few clumps of these delicate gems when I get to my our garden (wherever that is) although I probably won't bother with the pure white variety again.

Snakeshead Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) with aphids!

Horticultural highlight of the week (2014 week 12) - Honesty (Lunaria annua)

The silvery seed pods of honesty remind me of secondary school art lessons - still life drawing in particular. Drape a cloth over some boxes on a table, add one violin, a sheeps skull, some other random objects 'acquired' from the biology room and garnish with some dead stems of honesty. Also known as 'silver dollar' the seed pods are silvery and papery, you probably know them even if you can't put that name to them.

Much as I loved still life drawing, I now prefer honesty flowers and they are now one of the earliest splashes of colour in the garden. They are incredibly good at self-seeding - they now exist in all the places where I didn't originally plant them (including growing out of cracks between the house and paving. If you get enough of them they create an amazing purple mist that attracts bees and butterflies.

Honesty (lunaria annua)

Honesty (Lunaria annua) - self-seeded in a dry patch by the greenhouse

They can start to look a bit scraggy one the flowering is over - which is a matter of weeks. It takes some time for the seed pods to mature - so there's a long period where they don't look their best.

I grew mine from seed, bought from Thompson & Morgan. They are perennial, and don't flower in the first year but they are super-easy to grow and once you have them, you've got them for life.

And here's the gratuitous close-up (of course taken with my squidcam macro lens)...

Honesty (lunaria annua) - close up taken with squidcam macro lens

Plant of the week - Cyclamen hederifolium

The first cyclamen in our garden were donated by my Mum - spring flowering - one white and one-pink. I was fascinated by the size and shape of the bulb which didn't seem to correlate with the tiny delicate flowers and leaves of this ephemeral plant, which disappears without a trace after its flowering spell only to re-appear again each year as if by magic.

I immediately fell in love with their delicate tiny flowers, and their early-flowering nature added to their appeal. But buying the bulbs or plants is quite expensive (about £5 per plant or £1 per bulb) so I decide to have a go at growing my own.

Two years on and my hard work and patience has paid off - there are now several of these tiny plants established in secret corners of the garden. I only just spotted these a couple of days ago as I was trudging up the soaked lawn. I was amazed to discover that the flowers appear before the leaves (the leaf in this shot is a fallen hollyhock).

Cyclamen hederifolium

Germination was a bit of a drawn out affair - soaking the seeds, covering with vermiculite and keeping them warm in a sealed plastic bag - but several months later they sprouted, and two years later they are flowering. I'm hoping the carpet of tiny gems will get bigger year on year. This kind of gardening is all about patience! These ones are autumn flowering - so I get two cyclamen fixes each year.

Cyclamen hederifolium

Plant of the week - Clematis Alpina 'Frances Rivis'

As clematis go, this one is pretty amazing. The problem I had was a north-west facing slatted fence right by the house that looked pretty ugly. What could I grow up it to break up the hard lines of the fence that would survive in the shade, have good foliage foliage and provide some colour.

Then I stumbled upon this clematis while looking for a variety that would thrive in the shade. In the space of three years it has scaled the the fence stretching for the sunlight on the other side and covered about 10ft of space horizontally.

It's done less well in the last two years despite being hardy, I think caused by a period of harsh weather/frost that came late in the spring after the new buds had already started to grow. Despite this setback its still a mass of colour and bees love it - its right by the house so the delicately shaded mauve flowers can be seen while I'm typing this from my dining room table.

If you have a shady wall that needs colour I would really recommend giving this a try!

Again I bought mine from Crocus - here's the link to buy it on their site.

http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/clematis-alpina-frances-rivis/classid.856/