If a gardener doesn’t have beautiful blooms in June then he should be doing something else. In June we have the richest, most opulent flowers of the whole year here in the UK. Nothing that goes before or comes after can rival this glorious month for colour, perfume and luxurious texture. Even in a new garden like mine there are plenty of beauties vying for attention. And today, summer has arrived properly. So lets forget about the lack of rain and possibly months of watering and just enjoy the moment, because this is as good as it gets.
I have lots of dianthus or Pinks as we call them even though they are not all pink. They all smell gorgeous but the perfume of the one I want to feature today travels over a distance and is quite deliciously different. It is not the usual clovey scent you expect from Pinks. It is called Dianthus monspessulanus and I grew it from seed several years ago. It lives in a pot where it has formed a mat. The flowers are fringed and untidy; they are white with a green centre. There are prettier pinks, but none with such an amazing fragrance. I believe you can get it in pink too. Next year I shall grow more because I’d like this wonderful fragrance all over the garden.
My number two is also fragrant as it is a daphne. It has lived in a pot for a couple of years, but now I have planted it out in its permanent home. Daphne gemmata ‘Royal Crown’ comes from China. It makes a neat, compact shrub with shiny green leaves and clusters of yellow flowers. I do like it, but it is not as strongly scented as winter and spring varieties. In fact to be honest, I just went out to sniff it and I can hardly detect any fragrance at all. But still, it is pretty.
I grow this little daphne with golden variegated Hosta ‘Great Expectations’. Behind it I have planted my tree fern which I am glad to say survived the winter encased in old pillows.
Number three is also fragrant. In a smaller garden you have to make use of all available space and vertical gardening ensures that no fence, wall or tree is wasted. Against the house, I have planted a twining climber from China and Tibet. It is called Schisandra grandiflora and it has pretty, dangling, creamy flowers which are cup-shaped and deliciously fragrant. It is sometimes known as Large Flowered Magnolia Vine, but not by me, as it is no relation to the magnolia and it doesn’t have large flowers. Anyway, I believe that gardeners should call plants by their proper names. Apparently, this plant produces spectacular long, pendant heads of bright red berries. Unfortunately, I won’t get to see these as the plants are dioecious which means you need both male and female plants to get fruit. There is a red flowered form of this called Schisandra rubrifolia which I have never seen. My poor plant got cut back a bit by being exposed to winter frosts while it waited for its new home in a pot for months. But now it has the protection of a west wall I hope it will be happy.
Number four is a pretty white-flowered shrub with no perfume. It is a deutzia and although they are quite pretty, I have never been mad on them. But then a few years ago I saw Deutzia multiradiata growing in the rose garden at Sissinghurst and I fell for it. Looking back I find that is was nine years ago that I saw it there. I remember that I fell in love with the lovely white Dianthus ‘Charles Musgrave’ on the same visit. I am still looking for that one. Anyway, this deutzia comes from China and has glossy green leaves and masses of starry white flowers. Mine doesn’t look as good as the one at Sissinghurst yet, but give it time.
I will finish with a couple of South African bulbs which I grow in pots.
The first one is a tiny, delicate form of tulbaghia which an alpine-enthusiast friend of mine gave me a few years ago. He told me to keep it in a pot in the greenhouse as it is not hardy. The pot is now full of little bulbs and when they have died down I shall split them or put them in a larger pot. Unfortunately, like many of my plants, including my many snowdrop bulbs, the pot lost its label in the move and I cannot remember which it is. I wonder if anyone can help me? I used to grow Tulbaghia violacea ‘Silver Lace’ in my gravel garden, but this is much smaller and more delicate.
I’ll finish with a very easy bulb which soon fills its pot. I don’t know whether it could survive outside in the gravel garden, but I think these dinky plants show up better in a pot. It is called Ledebouria cooperi and it is so pretty with striped leaves and clusters of pink scilla-like flowers.
Right, that’s my six for today and now I am going to lie in my hammock and see what the happy band of SOSers have to show on this glorious June day. As I now have quite a small garden, for the first time in my gardening life, I can sit back and say there is nothing that needs doing in the garden. It is a novel experience and to be honest I don’t quite like it.
Thanks to Jim at Garden Ruminations, Six on Saturday – 10/6/2023 for hosting; do go and see, there are always interesting things to see in Jim’s garden.
Chloris
The Blooming Garden 
Your new garden is looking great. It is nice to take a break and enjoy your labor.
Thank you. I have worked very hard for nearly 5 months to make a garden from scratch and I have enjoyed it, and to be honest, I’m quite disappointed that it is done. I like to be doing, and when I’m not doing, then planning the next bit.
2 things caught my eye this week: this serrated dianthus and the( unknown to me ) Schisandra: both superb !
The dianthus is easy from seed, if you can’t find a source in France, let me know and I will send you some. The schisandra was new to me a couple of years ago when it was an impulse buy.
Why not ?! I could send you back seeds of this dianthus. https://twitter.com/frdvil/status/1279729356965916673?s=46&t=cvmLTGzsui-Y7K8RkfBjfg
How lovely to put your mark on a garden then to sit back and enjoy your work. Lovely thoughtful six.
Thank you Rose. Yes, it is very satisfying starting a garden from scratch. I have had great fun.
I love the delicate flowers you shared this week! I can’t pick a favorite. Here in Wisconsin, we are lucky to have flowers in June – the bulbs have all been fried by 90 degree weather, he lilacs and bridal wreath spirea also. There are little kale flowers on the overwintered kale. I feel so impatient! Everything is budding, almost nothing is blooming. Six on Saturday is a drink of water for me !Soon!
We all have our prime garden time and here in the UK spring is lovely, but for me June is perfection. Although we too could do with some water.
We are having rain right now. It is a nice gentle rain, so it is soaking in, but it is not likely to be more than a half inch or so.Not enough, but we’ll take what we can get. I realized my second rain barrel was not quite right, so only one was filling (they both fill from a diverter on one downspout). I think that one was closer to the downspout, so the tubing drooped more before it got to the barrel, and as we know, water does not want to flow uphill. I hope I get it right! Last year it was too low, so it filled preferentially. Now the height of the barrel itself is correct, and I think the tubing is correct, so hopefully I am in good shape now!
I can just smell them from here! Gorgeous! Pretty Tulbaghia and cute lacy dianthus! 😘🌸💞
Thank you. I particularly love dianthus and regret that I didn’t take cuttings of more of my treasures before I moved.
Fragrance is something that seems to be lacking in my garden, I must consider it more when planning what to get next. I can’t seem to get pinks to survive here, maybe I’ll try them in pots next year, yours looks lovely.
Fragrance is such an important element in the garden. I like to have scented plants all round the garden, specially next to paths.
All these plants are spectacular, Chloris. I imagine your new garden will be looking fantastic in no time. I’ve never seen a white-flowered Tulbaghia but I’d love to have one (or more) in my garden. The Ledebouria cooperi is sweet.
Thank you Kris. I have spent a fortune on climbing roses and it is frustrating to have to wait a couple of years for their best performance. This little tulbaghia is not white, it is very pale lilac.
There is a lot of Society Garlic (Tulbaghia) around and I have never seen one like yours, beautiful. The yellow and summer flowering Daphne threw me off completely..Liz is at it again. Enjoy your fabulous new space.
You know me, I always like to find something unusual, although that is getting increasingly difficult in the UK. Not only are plants now crazy- expensive , but unusual plants are getting increasingly difficult to find.
It’s true and always fun to see what you come up with.
How lovely to see things from your new garden. I imagine you will have lots of fun redesigning it and scented flowers are definitely the way to go.
Yes, it has helped not to have any plants here; apart from horrible trees, hideously invasive bamboo and lawn to get rid of. It is great to start planting from scratch.
Good luck with the bamboo! It’s a nightmare to remove.
I know. I got the tree surgeon to use his stump grinder and then I seived the soil. But I am still digging bits up. I know I haven’t seen the last of it.
Mine grows under rocks that are impossible to move.
Schisandra grandiflora looks familiar. The name sounds familiar also. We never grew it though. I must have seen it in a catalogue. The rest are unfamiliar, and I have never seen Tulbaghia violacea with white bloom.
Schisandra isn’t seen here very often either. The tulbaghia is a very delicate shade of lilac.
As ever, really interesting plants to drool over. I have not heard of the daphne before and it looks perfect next to the hosta. Lovely schisandra, I think I may have tried the red form when I was at Cliffe, it is very familiar. Happy gardening to you!
I haven’t seen the red form of schisandra. If I find it, I think I’ll grow the two together.
I so enjoy reading your Six on Sunday. I hope that you are enjoying your new garden. Here’s a link for Dianthus ‘Charles Musgrave:
https://shireplants.co.uk/dianthus-musgraves-pink/
Best wishes Katherine
Thank you Katherine and thanks for the link.
I’m glad you like my choice. I’m closely watching a bud of something fabulous as it opens a bit more each day, causing my heart to flutter. I hope it will have reached perfection in time for the next SoS. In a small garden you need to always have something exciting to look foŕward to.
Oh I will have to look out for that dianthus in the seed catalogues Chloris – it looks and sounds a treat. I sometimes think that it would be a satisfactory state of affairs to have nothing to do in the garden but then again maybe not 😂
Yes, do try the dianthus, you won’t be disappointed.
Your dianthus is beautiful, but I don’t think it would like my heavy clay or our wet winters, I’ll just have to admire yours! You have given us a lovely selection this week, very unusual.
Thank you Pauline. The dianthus is very happy in a pot. I now have quite heavy soil so I am growing lots of dianthus in pots.
Intriguing collection of plants. I don’t see a Search button on your website but if you edit the site and add the Search widget somewhere you could search your blog posts for “tulbaghia”. If you’ve written about it before you could probably quickly find it.
I love dianthus and the one you’ve grown from seed with the fringed flowers is charming!
Thank you Susie, I only have a very tenuous grasp of the tehnology needed to do this blog.. I can’t find a search button but I am going to ring my friend when he gets back from holiday.
A topping selection of plants!
Thank you Paddy, I see you have a post about Mount Stewart. I’m going to read it properly when I have more time.
How lovely to have you sharing six unusual plants with us on a Saturday – I wonder how long it will be before I am tempted to add one here, although already I am looking up the Ledebouria…! I have a few Tulbhagia, but if this is a tiny variety it isn’t one I have (although again, it is now tempting me!) Have you looked at Hoylands website? They are thulbhagia specialists but this may be too specialised for them
What beauties, especially that deutzia! I hope in time you get used to doing less, I’d be happy too!xxx
A smaller garden means I have more time to fuss over all my plants. They probably get sick of me hovering over them asking them how they are feeling today and are they thirsty or hungry, and are they happy in that spot, or is it too sunny/ shady?
Glorious! June is my favourite month in the garden. However, I just discovered (or rediscovered) that July is a more colourful month here. It’s all the colours of bee balm (monarda), day lilies, clematis, hosta, and lots and lots of phlox. And why did I never know/forget that phlox has such a lovely fragrance?