I'm really pleased with my recent plant purchases. I specifically chose plants that can cope with chalky alkaline soil and shade, for our back garden which is north facing and has quite a few trees. I ordered a bunch from Crocus: a bugle, a hardy male fern, a cyclamen, wood spurge and a geranium (Dusky Cranesbill). They have done well so far.

Then I bought a hydrangea, another fern, a laurel, a californian lilac and some summer bedding from Homebase. The hydrangea has really flourished. They flower pink in alkaline soil and blue in acid.

I discovered today the the white powdery coating I had noticed on a couple of my conifers is actually spider mite. All of a sudden the leaves have gone brown, which prompted me to look online for what mite (!) be the problem. I immediately went to Asda, bought the appropriate spray and drowned those bastards in the stuff. I enjoy unleashing my wrath on insects, especially ants, but they haven't really appeared yet with all this rain we've been having.

I don't know what the blue flowers in the picture are. I bought them yesterday from a little independent garden centre while waiting for Dom to get a car tyre replaced. Aren't they gorgeous though?

Labels: gardening