RogWilko’s Garden

 This is Chaenomeles x superba “Crimson & Gold” (aka Japanese quince) planted autumn 2024 against the fence. We hope to train it up the fence. It has the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM) so we’re expecting great things, though it is sntill quite small yet - but in flower now, anyway.

 It was a while before I realised this was a species of comfrey because of the colour. It seems to have introduced itself into the garden. Its proper name is Symphytum grandiflorum, commonly called creeping comfrey, which describes it rather well as it is low growing and speads readily (?invasive?) by rhizomes, a bit like the wild yellow loosestrife. Here, it is growing along the edge of a herbaceous border and draping itself nicely over the edging stones. It’s a pretty tough customer and shrugs off winter conditions and is growing here close to a 6 foot hedge and under a mature plum tree (though not in leaf yet, of course) The rhizomes are close to the surface, so no too hard to contain its invasive character. Flowering nicely now and still only March.

 We know spring is really here when this begins to flower. It’s Saxifrage x arendsii, common name mossy saxifrage. It seeds itself and spreads sideways to create low mounds of greenery which are worthwhile at all seasons. If you don’t like little plants like this springing up between  slabs and in dry stone walls, then don’t let it in. The green cushions with these charming deep pink flowers will spread onto path edges, softening the hard straight lines. It alsodoes a good job of weed control, as nothing can grow through the dense structure.

 This member of the large Borage family is one of those easy uncomplicated tough as old boots perennials to be found in every cottage garden, with its odd mix of pink and blue flowers. It’s one of our earliest flowering plants, sometimes blooming before Christmas, and its spotted leaves give it the common name of lungwort and its genus name of Pulmonaria. Breeders have produced a number of strains, the best of which is P. angustifolia (narrow-leaved) ‘Diana Clare’, which claims to be blue flowered, but does seem to have the odd rogue pink flower. It’s a very strong growing strain, with dense very beautiful foliage that looks well most of the year. Picture below:

 No, it’s not a giant snowdrop. It’s Leucojum vernum, commonly known as spring snowflake. It’s a strong growing clump-forming bulbous plant, growing to about 30cm. Seems to be quite hardy and comes up smiling every spring. Not a close relative of common snowdrop, but both are in the family Amaryllidaceae.

 This little chap, growing from a bulb, should appear every spring as long as it’s able to survive damp winter conditions. It needs good drainage and a gritty soil for preference, and this one is growing on top of a dry stone wall. It’s Chionodoxa, commonly known as glory of the snow. Related to the wild squill.

 Plants that set seed freely all over the garden can be a nuisance, but who would complain about that habit where these are concerned? I’m unsure if this is a wild strain, as I can’t remember ever planting a primula like this. The one in the picture is growing out of the crack between two paving slabs.

  Hellebores can now be bought for almost every colour between black and white, and this one is a very sultry colour for which it is hard to find a name. They seem to start flowering in December, but this one has reached its peak now in mid-March. 

 We have a lot of shady spots in the garden, partly because the garden is on the north side of the house and partly because there is a tall hedge (a windbreak) on the west side of the garden. This plant was bought last summer and has grown willingly since then. I’m hoping it will spread and cover much of the ground beneath the Camellias. It is a Pachyphragma macrophyllum, a hardy perennial shade lover. Even after flowering it is quite presentable with its shapely and slightly glossy leaves.

 There can scarcely be a gardener who doesn’t love this harbinger of spring, the Camellia. How can something so delicate and exotic-looking appear either from December onward (in the balmy south west of England) or as early as February even here in Cumbria? This was the first flower of 2025 and the picture was taken on February 28. This is one of three we planted some 20 years ago which are adjacent to our ugly garage. They have reached the gutter and would have been larger still if we didn’t have to trim them every year lest they cast shade on the solar panels we have on the garage roof.

 This cute little number is another early flowering shade loving woodland plant, growing under our plum tree. It’s a very smalll thing, easily overlooked, but nevertheless quite charming.The flowers are the little yellow balls which are surrounded by 5 green bracts. Its name is Sanicula epipactis, the species part coming from the greek meaning something to do with curdling milk!

One of the earliest hardy perennials in the garden to come into flower before winter has really ended is this unusual little woodland plant. It is Cardamine quinquefolia and is a close relative of the common wayside wild flower commonly known as ladysmock. It seems to be thriving in a shady corner of the garden next to the hedge.  

 I became a born-again gardener during covid. Before that I was only interested in growing things to eat, but now I have more interest in growing things of beauty. This blog is really for me. I hope I will be able to use it as a sort of diary, and a place to keep pictures of my garden. But I have a few relatives and friends who might be interested and I am happy for them and indeed anyone else who may come upon the blog to see it and maybe make comments.