Mid Summer Moments

need to be held in place.

One such is clematis durandii with indigo-blue flowers with a central boss of yellow stamens. Growing to around 2 metres it is moderately vigorous and is strikingly individual in both leaf and flower. First introduced by Durand Freres in 1870 it is an old-timer of some distinction. It is also very hardy and easy to grow. Why it isn't more readily available is a mystery, although its undoubted charm has managed to keep it a toehold on the marketplace for years.

My other herbaceous highlights of mid-summer include old favourites like agapanthus and acanthus. Agapanthus is best grown in pots or containers rather than the open ground. Grown in the border it tends to put out all leaf and no flowers, root restriction is what it requires. Pot grown agapanthus just need a little high potash feed each season and no re-potting until the pot gives out - literally. Acanthus on the other hand is a true border plant. Having a liking for dry sun baked spots, this stately giant is an excellent architectural marker for the ends or corners of garden borders.

With garden visiting now well under way it was with some trepidation that I agreed to accept a request by a local womens' group to visit my garden via the National Gardens Scheme. Never having coped with a dozen women all at once it seemed I might be overreaching my garden's ability to cope, to say nothing of mine. I need not have worried, the evening visit was a complete success and my co-garden opener Celia Peera and I took it all in our stride.

There are still lots more summer highlights to come of course and with a promised article about my garden due to appear in a UK weekly gardening magazine in July, perhaps more visitors for Celia and I to prepare for. Who said high summer was all about saying 'Oh how beautiful' and sitting in the shade!

Mid Summer Medley

• Thrive - National charity promoting gardening and horticultural activity for training, therapy and health.
• Y-Stakes - First Aid for floppy plants.
• No More Deer - Keep deer away from your garden with Deer Scram deer repellant.
• Hortus - A gardening journal - Privately published quarterly journal for lively-minded gardeners throughout the English-speaking world.

Graham Leatherbarrow.
June, 2003.

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