Today I planted out one of our olive trees. It's been in a pot for several years and I find it very hard to keep it sufficiently watered. A couple of years ago it nearly died because of this and although it's getting better again, it hasn't fully recovered. It was outdoors in its pot this winter, just as usual, and seemed not to suffer for it. So since watering seems to be more of an issue with it than cold, I've decided to try it in the ground. I planted it in a bed that is a little raised but still fairly lush, so I hope this suits it. I have asked the surrounding apple trees to be nice to it! This year it will have tomatoes around it in the bed, to make it feel more at home.
Other than that I pottered about with pots. I've bought lots more petunias - I just love them. Next year I'll grow my own. Some of these are a stunning deep blue, like midnight blue velvet.
I've got my beady eye on the "in bloom" competition the town runs for houses (and other categories). I'm very aware that the garden is still nowhere near tidy enough, but I hope it will be! Well, tidy by my standards anyway... it's never going to look like a city park. Hence all the petunia madness, to be honest. And I also just love the way these and the helichrysums fill out - it's like putting something raw and horrid looking into the oven, and then taking out a beautiful golden, risen cake!
Anyway, here are a few more photos from today.
This little rose is Phyllis Bide (Bide, 1923) - she's actually a rambler, I have her not-very trained along part of the front fence. To be honest I wouldn't plant her again because I only like the flowers in the early stage of opening, but she has lovely foliage too:
The Olive looks happy there the white underneath looks nice to is it Honesty difficult to tell.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the name of your white geranium and how tall does it grow? It looks like one I have that I am not sure the name of.
The whitery below the olive is stock, and it's enormous, up to my chin, and smells amazing particularly if you cut them for indoors, for some reason. The white geranium I think I bought simply as "album". Height, about - oooh, 15 inches? It has taken its time to establish but looks nice this year.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the new page!!! It is GREAT!!! Your garden is looking wonderful! I think you would do quite well for the "In Bloom" competition! Your pond is fabulous. That is one of the things I have on my to do list. I actually have a shell of a pond under an old playhouse. I just need to tear the playhouse down and get the pond back working. Have a good day
ReplyDeleteHi Emily! Your blog's new face looks good!
ReplyDeleteI am also happy for that olive tree! Yellow irises enjoy the water!
I don't think olive trees are ever very happy in pots. They naturally have deep roots because in their native Mediterranean they must search out water way below the surface. I hope it will be happy now you've planted it out. Olive trees can stand the cold - here in the Languedoc where olive trees thrive the temperature can go down to minus 5 or 6 on winter nights. It's late frosts and extreme cold that they can't take - in 1956 there was a very hard frost which killed many of the trees. Sadly most of them weren't replaced, although new ones grow around the dead ones so nature replaces itself.
ReplyDeleteEmily the garden is looking good. My friend has 2 olive trees in pots that do very well, not sure why she doesn't put them in the ground I must ask her!
ReplyDeleteI love the look of Petunias, but can't stand their sticky feel when they need dead-heading, so I don't plant them. All your hard work recently has really paid off the garden looks well cared for.
Hi Maureen - I never knew you were supposed to deadhead petunias! If all goes well I'll be doing rather a lot of it in a few weeks' time.
ReplyDelete- and thank you (all) very much too.
ReplyDeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous garden you have! The pond area looks so peaceful. Good luck with the Olive tree!
Goodness, your garden's looking good. And I love the blog redesign too.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I find it very, very difficult with my double vision to read blogs of coloured print on a black background. But my goodness what fab photos. I love the new profile pic and the header is fabulous. I think I may get into roses more now that I have my first one and it's doing well. You have encouraged me (so your name will be used in vain I'm afraid by my hubby when I pester him to buy me another, hehe).
ReplyDeleteJust want to say thanks for all the lovely comments you leave on my sites, you constantly make my day x
Emily your beds are looking so pretty with all of the blooms. I love the deep red geranium.I do not think I have seen a blue petunia. Have to see it because I love blue flowers.Love the new look of your blog.
ReplyDeleteLona
Nice look to your blog.
ReplyDeleteI also love petunias, although it took me a while. The non-stop blooming color is great.
White stocks! My absolute favourite scent ever! And those petunias - the rich royal purple! (and deep blue lobelia) are my favourite flowers for my garden. They go very nicely with cream/buff eschilotzias. (sp?)
ReplyDeleteGlad the new look blog is mainly successful. Katherine, I'm afraid I've found that petunias are too popular with slugs, so they'll have to stay in pots and I'll hope for the best.
ReplyDelete