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23/06/2010


my photos

BLOOMS FOR JUNE

I have three varieties of Oriental Poppy in my garden.

The red/orange one above sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb amongst other muted tones that is this side of the garden.

It's not that I don't like it, I just don't like where I've put it!

I was originally given a division by a good friend from a plant which originated from her parent's garden, so it has sentimentality. I've tried to move it, but it just keeps coming back.

I've found Oriental Poppies are like that, once they've settled in they are very difficult to move. Rather like an unwanted lodger or squatter!



I bought Patty's Plum for the garden when we first moved in. It was all the rage back in the late eighties, being regularly mentioned in gardening programmes and magazines alike. It's popular still now, even Carol Klein has recently mentioned having it in her Glebe Cottage garden in Devon.

Again where it is just isn't right, it's in a position in full sun all day, and for anyone who knows this variety will know that the flower petals that open in a beautiful pink/purple colour, soon turn a rather muddy brown when scorched.



Princess Victoria Louise is especially loved by the bees in my garden (see previous post).

It's petals open in a salmon pink colour, which I confess to not liking very much, but soon fade to a pale pink which I much prefer.

However much I love Oriental Poppies, I'd rather look at them in someone elses garden. The leaves can look scruffy (I'm an obsessively tidy gardener), the stems can droop, and when finished there's a gaping hole in the border.

To get over this I keep the foliage tidy, and after flowering has finished I leave on the seedheads for a while, before cutting the whole plant back for a new flush of growth.

Nothing goes to waste in my garden. The foliage is composted and the seedheads dried for decoration.

o

10/06/2010


my photo

ORIENTAL POPPIES AND BEES

I've had the day off work today, and early this morning I took a leisurely walk around the garden, dilly-dallying with the camera. Lou if you're reading, I was in my nightie!

I noticed bees around the Oriental Poppies buzzing in the most crazy way outside and inside the flower head.

They were loving the rich velvety centre ...



and the silky-smooth crepiness of the petals.

o

07/06/2010


my photo

BLACKBIRD FLEDGELINGS

Newbies to the garden.

Two blackbird fledgelings have now left the nest.

o

03/06/2010


my photos

RAMSTER GARDENS IN LANDSCAPE

Oriented horizontally.



Jazzy pink Rhododendron.



Striking foliage of Gunnera maniculata.



Children playing Oranges and Lemons.



Wading metallic Cranes.



Upper layers of trees.

o

02/06/2010


my photo

GREEN SHIELD BUG

Adult shield bugs will hibernate in leaf litter and emerge in May to feed on plant sap.

Just looks like another leaf!

o