The weather this week has gone from freezing hailstones on Monday to boiling hot sunshine by Friday. The sunshine is still very hot today and is forecast to continue for some time. I feel the garden is about a month behind what it usually is, maybe now it will catch up. In the meantime here are my six for this Saturday.
No 1. Viburnum plicatum Mariesii.
Beautiful shrub at this time of year with its horizontal branches and lacecap flowers.
The flowers stand up proud of the branches.
They look like the flowerheads of lacecap hydrangeas which will flower later in the year.
No 2. Viburnum opulus
Another lovely Viburnum with very different flowers.
No wonder it’s common name is the Snowball Bush
No 3. Clematis Guernsey Cream.
My clematis are starting to flower, this one is on the archway leading to the woodland. and eventually there will be flowers up to 8ft .
No 4. Clematis Lasurstern.
Climbing up the drainpipe and disguising it to some extent. This was here when we moved here 30 yrs ago and is still going strong. It looks as though one of the flowers was shattered by the hailstones.
No 5. Allium Purple Sensation.
I have planted lots of these near the house in between the new peonies that I planted last autumn, hoping they would flower at the same time. The peonies are still in tight bud.
The bees are thoroughly enjoying the alliums though and I’m sure they will be back as soon as the peonies open.
No 6. Allium schoenoprasum.
Or chives to you and me! From the large flowerheads of Purple Sensation to the small flowers of chives, apart from the size, they look exactly the same. These have seeded in the paving on the patio and sit in flood water all winter, I don’t know how they survive!
These are my 6 for this weeks Six on Saturday hosted by Jon The Propagator. Please pay him a visit to see what other gardeners have to offer this week.
The Viburnums are lovely Pauline and coincidentally I was reading an article in ‘The Garden’ about Viburums, a lovely group of shrubs. I hope the paeonies open whilst the alliums are still flowering. They will make a beautiful combination.
I’m very fond of the Viburnums as a group Denise and they usually have good autumn colour too. Peonies still not open, but the bees and I are enjoying the alliums!
That first viburnum in particular is very lovely. I love the horizontal branches and the way the flowers stand up. Some research may be in order to see if it would like my garden…
I agree with you Megan, the horizontal branches make it different from other shrubs in the garden. It does grow quite big eventually, about 8ft x 8ft but I like it so much that I have 3 in the garden here!
Loved your blooms. Those viburnums are gorgeous, especially the first one, I really must look out for it. Our weather is the same as yours, it’s gone from freezing to boiling in a week. The plants must be so confused, we’re about a month behind too.xxx
Another hot day forecast Dina, too hot to work all of a sudden! It has to be early morning for sunny borders, after that I work in the shade, it has come so suddenly. x
What an impact those viburnum have!! And of course allium, whether a sprinkling or large group of them. Is your C Lasurstern darker than the photo suggests? I have a mislabeled one which Thorncroft suggest is Lasurstern, but it is much darker than this
I’m glad you like the Viburnums Cathy, I think they look wonderful at this time of year and am so glad that I bought them many years ago. The Clematis that I think is Lasurstern was planted by the previous people and I looked up in my encyclopedia to try and find which one it is. I have just rechecked and it does look the same shade of blue. Whatever it is, it is a beautiful flower.
Viburnums are a delight to watch. Such great captures… it has made my day! Beautiful share.
I’m so glad you like the viburnums Kritika, thay stand out so well with their horizontal branches which are emphasised when they flower.