The wisteria on the back (E facing) wall of the house has now reached the roof. It was planted just over two years ago, is obviously healthy, but hasn’t flowered yet. The variety is Wisteria floribunda ‘Yae-Kokuryu’ (Black Dragon) and it has an AGM.

Monty Don on Gardener’s World suggested cutting back oriental poppies, so I gave it a try.

Chelsea was last week. I cut two thirds of the thalictrum in B2 and the lysimachia in B1 to about half height. We’ll see what happens.

See also May 18, May 17

I cut back the lace cap plant next to the bay tree to buds on stems that flowered last year. It’s clear that flowers are forming on the stems that these buds are growing into this year. Is this old or new wood? Either way it looks very promising, but I could have cut a bit lower to make a more compact shape.

The white mophead is also showing flowers coming on similar stems. This has had fewer, bigger flowers the last two years.

It’s always hard to cut back a plant that’s doing really well, particularly when it’s in full flower, but it really was getting rather big, and it should recover.

The miscanthus are doing very well and need to be separated.  It is normally pruned in spring, but perhaps not as hard as this. The choisia behind has suffered from being shaded and probably needs to come out.

The erysimum does not normally come again from old wood. If it does, good – if it doesn’t, fine.

Artemisia is said to respond to hard pruning. We’ll see.

Moved the thyme which was rather shaded by the tetrapanax to a pot (with tulip bulbs underneath) and planted 20 narcissus ‘Carlton’ in the space left. I can’t remember exactly how the tetrapanax behaved last winter, but surely it’ll lose its leaves for the narcissi to flourish next spring.

22 Dec 17

Many of the leaf bearing stalks have fallen off cleanly from where they joined the stem.

10 narcissus ‘Dutch Master’. Should I prune the spiraea or the hop? This fence is rather bare in winter.

The hibiscus didn’t flower at all again this year. If it doesn’t perform next year I’ll replace it with something else.

Meanwhile I planted 10 narcissus ‘Dutch Master’ in the space behind, and 20 narcissus ‘Curlew’ in front.

No flowers at all this year. The leaves are nice and the birds like it, so I won’t take it out even if it never flowers again. The ghost bramble is looking good, and It should cover the lower part of the fence. I might move one of the zebra grasses which are doing rather well somewhere in this area.

See also: August 17