It’s been a wet and windy week so work has stopped on the new gravelled area, though turf has been removed. And I have been considering a few more changes.
Towards the back of the garden in the raised beds area there is a lot of yellow and purple, which made me look around my garden to see what colours dominate at this time of the year.
(1) Hebe / shrubby veronica grows like a weed around here! I have several clumps in the garden, most from cuttings, including this one near the raised herb bed which is now too big for its boots! After flowering has finished I will cut it right back or possibly remove it altogether. Though it does look nice right now.
(2) Origanum majorana ‘Aureum’ or Golden Marjoram – as usual this plant sprawls all over the herb bed during the summer months, despite my pulling out clumps of it each year. Perhaps this would be better in a container! When spikes of tiny, tubular light pink flowers appear in mid-summer the bees love it and it really does have the most wonderful floral/woody scent when you pick the leaves.
(3) Clematis ‘Night Veil’ is a viticella type of clematis meaning it is hardy coping with temperatures into the 30’s during summer and as low as -15 in the winter. The slightly reddish-purple blooms have a hint of white at the base of each sepal and almost black anthers. It will bloom from around the middle of June right through to the end of September. This is a new clematis so I am pleased to see it flowering so well in its first year even though it has climbed horizontally instead of upwards!
(4) Leycesteria ‘Golden Lanterns’ / Himalayan honeysuckle has golden yellow leaves, which emerge in spring with a bronze-orange flush, and then, throughout the summer and into early autumn, pendulous racemes of white flowers with burgundy bracts are followed by red-purple berries.
(5) Euphorbia oblongata / Eggleaf spurge was planted in the second raised bed and took a while to settle in. It is a short-lived perennial, but I’m not sure what that actually means as this is into its 4th year. A lovely acid green it makes a nice backdrop to the blue flowers in this bed. My other euphorbia is Euphorbia x martinii which normally I cut back after flowering in early spring, but this year I noticed the bracts turning a rather lovely red so I have left them for now.
(6) Geranium phaeum ‘Lily Lovell’ (Dusky Cranesbill) is a new addition to the garden and has been planted in the dappled shade bed. She is an exceptionally beautiful geranium with slightly reflexed, dusky purple flowers with a white heart. I really hope she enjoys her location and forms a decent clump in years to come.
Casting a critical eye over the garden in its 5th season I have reached the conclusion that less is more and I need to begin to cull a lot of things, mainly to give plants some space to grow properly. Like many gardeners I hate to see bare earth, but come this September I shall be removing/dividing/composting a few plants that have possibly outgrown their location. I think a kind of horticultural decluttering is required!
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Cornwall in Colours 
Everything looks so healthy, vibrant and zingy. The clematis is perfect there – I think this year is a particularly good one for clematis, which might by why yours is doing so well in its first year (as well as your TLC of course!). Does the golden marjorum have as a good a flavour as the plain green one?
I haven’t got any ordinary marjoram, only oregano which is more bitter than this. I definitely need a week of sunshine to tackle the garden, but yes, the clematis do seem to be doing okay this year, though my ‘Polish Spirit’ is taking its time to get started.
I love the clematis ‘Night Veil’ and the geranium ‘Lily Lovell’ – both very beautiful and I’d like to grow them here. (More for the ‘to look out for/buy’ list!) Your garden is looking lush and wonderful. 🙂
A bit too lush!
The yellows and purples go very well together. I keep thinking I should go for a less is more approach. That purple of the geranium is very striking indeed. We have a variety of marjoram growing rampant through a few borders. The fragrance of the leaves and the buzzing of bees when it flowers though is wonderful.
There’s a lot of green this year too. But yes, yellows and purples work well together and especially with a pop of orange.
Lots of fabulous plantscapes, Jude. But yes, decluttering. Our upstairs garden is so overgrown with all the rain there’s scarcely room for us humans. And as for the guerrilla garden – jungle would be a better description. It’s two feet taller than usual.
Lovely mix of foliage this week. I just bought a tiny Hebe of that nature from a charity box outside a house. Don’t know that I really want it but it was only a £1. Probably use it for a pot display then move to work.
Tiny hebes grow quickly!
That’s the fun part of gardening, that it is constantly evolving. It’s like a painting which is never finished. Some years a part of the garden will be just right and the following year the balance is gone and some thug takes over. I like the contrast of the hebe with the marjoram.
Thanks Chloris. The balance has certainly gone this year. I need to address that.
I also grow Golden Marjoram and battle to control it. It seeds a little too easily as well. I am so guilty of planting things too close so as not to have bare soil. I probably need to take a leaf out of your book but it’s so hard to cull the plants
I made a start today, but I can’t bring myself to cut back the marjoram until it has flowered.
Yes, it’s one thing culling plants that are underperforming or that you could happily do without, but when all your favourites start crowding each other out then that’s a different matter. Most of my borders are stuffed this year, but currently I am just thrilled to see them like that although editing will be required at some stage! The marjoram and hebe are a great combination, aren’t they?
Your garden looks lovely and alive with colour! Can’t wait to see how the new area develops. The golden marjoram looks lovely in the garden, and the clematis is such a vibrant colour.
That marjoram is a thug. It will be removed this year and put in a container.