Garden Bloggers' Blooms Day: 'Just Add Cream'

Pink flowers of the everbearer Strawberry 'Just Add Cream'

Veg Plotting's Blooms Day would be incomplete without the occasional foray into Grow Your Own flowers, so I'm pleased to bring you my 'Just Add Cream' strawberry plants for this month's floral focus.

This is a relatively new variety from Thompson & Morgan's own breeding programme, who also provided me with a few plants to try in 2017. Naturally I've given them a tough time by forgetting them entirely deliberately growing them on in the smallest of trays for a year before I finally planted them out. I'm pleased to say they've passed this test with flying colours.

I'm growing these at home instead of on the allotment where VP Gardens demands food plants look attractive as well as being productive. Apparently pink flowered strawberries have proved rather bland and unproductive in the past, but this variety is bucking those particular trends.

It's an everbearer strawberry which means the crop is spread over many months in the summer/autumn instead of a few weeks around June. The number produced each week per plant may be smaller but this is more than offset by the longer cropping period. Everbearers are my strawberry of choice and these have the best flavour of those I've grown so far.

The only problem I have is the pesky pigeons and squirrels love them too. My challenge for 2019 is to ensure there is more of the crop for us rather than the garden's wildlife. The first task in this strategy is to get some more plants so I can double my cropping potential for next year.

Then over the winter I can start to think about protective measures which look attractive rather than utilitarian. Do you have any suggestions which may help?

Garden Bloggers' Blooms Day is hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

Comments

  1. Sue Garrett15 October 2018 at 12:50

    I’ll Be interested to know what the fruits taste like.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lea15 October 2018 at 18:57

    Great photo! I hope the strawberry plants produce well for you.
    I bought a few strawberry plants last year. There were 5 plants together in a pot, looking more like flowers than fruit. But when I saw the everbearing label, I knew I wanted them. They are slowing putting out runners to make more plants. Last year's Summer and this Summer, too, I was getting enough berries to add to my breakfast cereal 3 times a week. September was so hot and dry, I was afraid they were going to die even though I watered them. But now, we have rain, and they are looking all green and healthy again!
    Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP15 October 2018 at 20:09

      Strawberries are pretty resilient Lea, I have similar experiences to you 😊

      Delete
  3. Anna19 October 2018 at 14:56

    Such a pretty flower VP. I have grown fragaria 'Pink Panda' in the past which looked attractive but there was really no serious fruit to speak of. Finding pleasing to the eye protective measures is a challenge. Presumably you are growing these in the ground rather than in pots? I have the same issues in terms of pests at the allotment but my wire cage protection is not a pretty sight :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP21 October 2018 at 20:25

      No Anna these are in pots and their flavour is delicious :)

      Delete
  4. Lisa22 October 2018 at 05:35

    It has beautiful flowers. I gave up on strawberries, too many pests. Mostly sow bugs got them just as they ripened.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VP23 October 2018 at 12:54

      We love them too much to give up on them Lisa, but I think that's going to give me a few trials ahead...

      Delete
  5. RobinL5 August 2021 at 02:35

    I have a few strawberry plants in an attractive strawberry planter, but it only gives me about ten small red berries each year. I never thought the plants would continue to live over the winter! So I keep growing them until they don’t.

    ReplyDelete

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