I am now no longer in a quandary about which perennials to buy for the border under the crab apple. Decisions have been made and things have moved on a pace.
My list of plants was whittled down to fourteen which should nicely fill up the border alongside the plants that I bought last year. The list of the plants that I chose is here along with small images of the expected flowers and flowering times, so if you are interested you can take a peep. The athyrium filix-femina is intended to be planted in the trunk of the now defunct tree fern of which there will be more at a later date.
As last year I ordered my plants from Beth Chatto Gardens as I was so impressed by the quality of the plants they sent me and the service that I received from them. Not only that but their prices are extremely reasonable all my plants were either £3.95 or £4.95.
I emailed my order last Thursday around teatime along with a request that I should one of the out of stock plants come in later could I add it to my list. When we got back from the plot yesterday there was a message on the answer phone to say that they had managed to add the out of stock plant to my order and the order was complete and being sent out. The caller went on to say the plants should be with me Friday. Sure enough Friday morning they arrived. Overnight from Essex to West Yorkshire was what I call a good delivery service.
Each plant was wrapped in wet newspaper and placed in a plastic bag which was then wrapped in dry newspaper. A couple were planted in pots. The plants aren't newly propagated so aren't babies - they look as though a large plant has been split into sections - just as you would if you were splitting your own garden plants.
As last year we decided to put the plants into large pots rather than plant them straight out in the garden. They seemed to respond well to a little TLC last year and it will also give me a bit more time to sort which of the plants already planted will need moving around to accommodate the newcomers.
The plants are now sitting on the floor of our greenhouse settling in.
The two in smaller pots were already potted when they arrived so I may move them on to larger pots soon.
I'm looking forward to seeing how well they perform.
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Agree with you that potting them up for a couple of weeks will definitely help them settle. A little TLC in a sheltered area and at this time of year they'll grow away nicely.
ReplyDeleteAm hugely impressed with your list of seeds and perennials
I should wait until they grow to be impressed BW
DeleteOh well, at least you didn't go to one of those dangerous Garden Centres (unlike me). I have just bought some Strawberry plants (4 for £5 - is that a fair price?). They look healthy and vigorous, so I couldn't resist. I'm going to put them in that big wooden planter outside my kitchen window, where I can keep a good eye on them and shoo away any pesky squirrels that investigate too closely.
ReplyDeleteWhat variety Mark? As for dangerous outings - the problem is there was just so many plants to choose from on line so I guess it was equally dangerous - my first list was extensive and I had to be strict with myself"
DeleteHow exciting that your plants have arrived. Hope they all do well. Looking forward to seeing them once established too!
ReplyDeletePlanting out will be crunch time Kelli - have I bought too many - not enough!
DeleteIt's nice to hear of a company giving good service, Sue, it's so rare these days. Their prices seem very fair too. Hope they all do well for you.
ReplyDeleteIt is Jo I was happy to stumble across their website last year when I was almost ready to order from a much more expensive site.
DeleteThat is good service, hope they settle in well.
ReplyDeleteThey look good Damo so I guess if they don't perform it will be my fault
DeleteThat certainly was great service and I'm glad you are happy wiht your purchases...your garden is going to look great once you get them all settled in!!
ReplyDeleteAns after that just another 3 or 4 beds to renovate Tanya
DeleteI will be very excited when items are delivered. How long did you spent time potting them up? My movement getting really slow in the garden. I feel it takes me longer time to get something done in the garden compared last year.
ReplyDeleteI don't really know how long it took Diana - I just did it the afternoon they arrived.
DeleteIt looks as though you will need to cut back on the gardening a while - it's a good job that you are heading for autumn/winter
Very good way of delivering the plants! All look so good! Your plot will be more beautiful with all this planst in place!
ReplyDeleteHappy Gardening!
These are for the garden Malar - the plot gets either cuttings from the garden or plants grown from seed.
DeleteI think there's only thing better than getting a parcel in the post is knowing that the parcel is filled with plants. All very exciting!
ReplyDeleteI agree Liz - I love getting a parcel!
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