Plant of the Month: Berberis x stenophylla (April 2025)

If you have a shady area in your garden that needs ‘lightening up’, then perhaps consider the rosemary barbary. This shrub is looking fantastic in Linda B’s garden at the moment and I’m hoping that it will seed on my side of the fence in the near future.

Berberis x stenophylla
Photo by Agnieszka Kwiecień via Wikimedia Commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Berberis x stenophylla.
Photo by Agnieszka Kwiecień via Wikimedia Commons

Her Berberis is growing on a raised area so it gets good drainage, tolerating the shady side and facing north.  So, it’s a tough, evergreen shrub, liking good drainage and drought-tolerant.  Its tiny, narrow leaves (much like rosemary) are a leathery green, with a sharp point to the tips.

Continue reading Plant of the Month: Berberis x stenophylla (April 2025)

Pat’s Jobs for September 2024

1. Start ordering your bulbs now as all the bulb catalogues are arriving – though prices don’t stop going up! 

2. Start planting bulbs when they arrive but save your tulips until later as they are prone to virus and rotting, and to theft by squirrels. 

3. Divide large established clumps of perennials by cutting back first, then splitting either by hand or with two forks back to back. Delay if soil is heavy or too wet.

4. Replace tired summer bedding in pots and replant for winter and replenish with fresh compost.

Continue reading Pat’s Jobs for September 2024