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gardens & polka dots

Tag Archives: Flowering

Giving Bulbs A Go!

10 Friday May 2013

Posted by gardensandpolkadots in Gardens

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Autumn Planting Bulbs, bulbs, Bulbs in Pots, Flowering, flowers, Gardening, Gardening Blog, Serendipity Garden Designs, Spring Flowering, Spring Flowering Bulbs

We know the cooler weather is upon us when the local garden-centre shop is filled with an assortment of spring flowering bulbs in an array of flowers and colours. The excitement and anticipation of the colours and arrangements that can be created in our gardens is wondrous.

Ambition is the key to success.

Ambition is the key to success. Right?

If you already know which bulbs you’ll be planting you can go straight for them and get them in your hot ‘green’ hands. For others it is a chance to riffle through the assortment of flowers and colours to choose the ones that tickle their fancy. Ensure that you choose bulbs that will suit the conditions that you can provide.

One day I too will have a pot of red Tulips!!!

One day I too will have a pot of red Tulips!!!

Last year I tried my hand at growing both Tulips and Hyacinth flowers, you may remember I wrote a post about it. You can read ‘It’s Bulb Planting Time’ here. I was very excited! I chose the bulbs, chilled them, got my pots, asked the husband where the soil was and planted my little bulbs. I had them in a great position on the north side of my house and I lovingly watered and cared for them. You can see where this is going can’t you… Well, don’t get too sad, it’s not all doom and gloom on the bulb front. I was a little disappointed with the result, but I did get some Hyacinth flowers and the scent of them knocked my socks off! I also got to glimpse some tulip leaves, but that’s as far as the tulip story goes.

A spike of perfumed Hyacinth flowers - that I grew.

A spike of perfumed Hyacinth flowers – that I grew.

In my defence I’ve never said I was a master horticulturist, I’ve only ever said I would give it a go, and that is exactly what I encourage you to do too. It’s one thing to know ‘stuff’, it’s another thing to make the ‘stuff’ you do know about gardens work. And that is what I love about gardening. It is seeing past the, what shall we call them… how about ‘the troubles’… seeing past the troubles, making adjustments and learning from the experience. That is what I think gardening is, some people have breathtaking eye-candy results (also known here as Polka Dots) while others plod along anticipating the next attempt.

This was my eye candy.

This was my eye candy.

But I think I know where I went wrong, actually it’s a few little but significant things.… I think it is a problem most of us have created all in the name of making do – it was bulb planting on a budget.

The soil I used was rubbish – in my quest to assemble all that was required to plant my bulbs I was directed to nutrient poor, unstructured soil. Good, nutrient rich soil is something I never skimp on when planting but it seems I inadvertently did so in this case. Don’t worry, I now have a stash of soil that I can put my hot ‘green’ hands on when I need.

Here you can see the beginning of the Hyacinth. This is where is gets exciting

Here you can see the beginning of the Hyacinth. This is where is gets exciting.

The second problem was the pots, they just weren’t deep enough and I wasn’t able to plant the bulbs deep enough in the soil. I had a gorgeous little weather worn terracotta pot that I thought my flowering Hyacinth would look spectacular in and it did, this one did flower but it wasn’t very big. A little rustic, a little old world, just scrumptious, but I think the bulbs would have done a whole lot better if the pot was deeper.

Can't you just imagine a gorgeous Tulip emerging out of this weather terracotta pot?

Can’t you just imagine a gorgeous Hyacinth emerging out of this weathered terracotta pot?

I have not been deterred. The excitement and anticipation of the coming flowers is such a lovely gardening experience. It’s what gardening dreams are made of.

One open flower and still more to come. Yippee!

One open flower and still more to come. Yippee!

So, I encourage you to come along on the bulb growing journey. It’s fun, it’s unexpected and you never know, you may just succeed and have a pot full of eye candy.

Until next time, happy bulb growing

Carmel

Pictures – assorted bulbs in pots and red tulips Bulb Blog

All other pictures Serendipity Garden Designs

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Crepe Myrtle

01 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by gardensandpolkadots in Gardens, Polka Dots

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Crepe Myrtle, Deciduous, Flowering, garden design, Gargening, Lagerstoemia indica, polka dots, Serendipity Garden Designs, Summer Flowers

Lagerstroemia indica, more commonly known as the beautiful, the gorgeous and the delicious Crepe Myrtle. Oh, how I love this tree and wish there were more around our streets, gardens and parks. They herald the warm days of summer with eye-popping pinks or majestic white and provide a structural element to the garden during winter when the tree is bare and without its leaves.

SAMSUNG

The trunk is multi-stemmed which means rather than having a trunk with a mop of green leaves on top like our childhood tree drawings it has any number of trunks sprouting from its base. The trunk is mostly salmon in colour with lovely flecks of green throughout.

Crepe Myrtle Trunk

Here’s an idea, when the branches are long and strong enough to support weight, you can decorate the bare stems with lanterns or fairy lights or even tea cups.

Decorating a tree any which way you choose!

{I found this picture after I had written this piece, it’s so perfect to share here.}

In spring we start to see the first flushes of new leaves and you just know that with a little patience the crepe fabric flowers will follow. We’ll delight in this sight knowing that the cycle of the seasons will bring a carpet of flowers underfoot when they float down away from the branches. The leaves will change from green to red, yellow, orange and crimson and soon after the trunk will be exposed, letting us know winter is approaching.

We don’t have a Crepe Myrtle planted in our garden, just a sad little one in a pot that my husband rescued {it needs a lot more lovin’ still}. We do however have the luxury of having an uninterupted view of our neighbours bright pink Crepe Myrtle. It is quite old and has the most beautiful display of flowers at the moment {it did have a beautiful display before the storms over Australia Day weekend}.

Our neighbour, the owner of the Crepe Myrtle does a fantastic job of maintaining it. Each year after it has lost all of its leaves {when it is dormant} he cuts it back to about 2m from the ground {remember it is multi-stemmed so it has lots of ‘trunks’}. By doing this he is can maintain its height and it also promotes healthy new growth in spring that results in new branches with an abundance of foliage, followed by an overwhelming display of flowers. This Crepe Myrtle shares close quarters with a mature frangipani {this also gets a chop every now and then} that has a fabulous canopy, maintaining the height keeps them from getting all tangled up in pink and white loveliness.

Oh, and the best bit about the pruning is that our view of the ocean gets replenished each year. Yay!!!

Crepe Mytle flower

Crepe Myrtles are a fabulous addition to any garden. If you are thinking of adding one to your garden now is the time to purchase, they are flowering in all good garden centres so you can see them in flower and pick the perfect colour.

Lagerstoemia indica – Crepe Myrtle

    • Family: Lythraceae
    • Plant Type: Deciduous small to medium size tree
    • Flowers in late summer to autumn in colours of pink, purple, red and white
    • Foliage colour change in Autumn
    • Requires full sun but will tolerate some shade
    • Prefers moderately fertile, well draining soil
    • Prune to shape in winter if required
    • Dought tolerant but will produce good flower display if kept moist
    • Fertilising not required once established
    • Plant in open area with good air circulation

All posts need a Polka Dot so here’s one for those that REALLY like their Crepe Myrtles. How about a Crepe Myrtle print dress like the one below?

Crepe Myrtle print dress from Anthropologie

Crepe Myrtle print dress from Anthropologie

Until next time.

Carmel

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