my photo

FRAGRANT SWEETPEAS

Instead of Runner Beans next year, I think I'll grow more Sweetpeas.

After a slow start, this mix Elegant Ladies have been flowering really well.

They smell amazing, and remind me of the old-fashioned Matucana and Cupani varieties.

I took up Monty Don's invaluable advice to pick blooms every 10 days, which has proved a great success!

.

my photos

A COLOUR SPLASH IN AUTUMN

It's October, and we imagine the garden to be full of browns, yellows and oranges.

Not so!



Salvia Black 'n Blue



Aster Barbados



Dahlia Happy Wink

my photos

HUMMINGBIRD HAWK-MOTH

Hummingbird Hawk-moths move at speed, and are not easy to photo, so I was pleased to get these three photos of one in action in my garden.



I've noticed this particular one returning to the same patch of Verbena B since the end of August.



If you have seen one or more in your garden, you can plot your sighting at the Migrant Watch webpage.

o

my photos

MAY

There's always so much to do in my garden in May.

At this time of year I could do with an under-gardener!

All these beautiful blooms are now over for another year.

Blue Veronica and Helichrysum - white Rhododendron and purple Iris - white Iris and pink Poppy.

Thank goodness I found a little time here and there just to relax, take photos ...

and admire the fruits of my labour.

o

my photos

PRETTY IN THE GARDEN

I notice there's already two blooms on my Papaver Orientale Patty's Plum, planted when all the rage back in the late '90s.

I find it's colour a bit wishy-washy, but the bees seem to like it!

A garden dilemma.

Where to put eight large divisions of Rudbeckia?

Giving an abundance of striking yellow blooms right when you need them in late Autumn.

I know it's invasive, I've dug it out of the garden before.

I put it in a large pot, but it didn't want to know.

It's a thug (a beautiful one at that) of which needs to be kept under control.

Rather like Periwinkle!

Good for ground cover, in both sun or shade.

I've noticed a few self-seeders in the garden over the years, including the one above.

Do you know what it is?

It's getting on for 90cm tall, and I'm very happy it came to live in my garden.

I was thinking maybe a Stock of some kind?

Uurgh!

It's not all pretty in the garden you know!

Edited - Thanks Flighty, the mystery plant is Sweet Rocket!

o

my photos

IN SPRINGTIME

I've been left feeling rather deflated after Friday night's Gardener's World - not sure why, I've been eagerly awaiting the return of Monty Don to the show for weeks.

Toby Buckland, Alys Fowler and Greenacre are no more, and the programme is now being filmed from Monty's own garden in Herefordshire.

It may be because having spent many hours thumbing through the pages, and drooling over the beautiful colour plates in his books The Jewel Garden and The Ivington Diaries, I'm already too familiar with the garden?

Having loved the garden at Berryfields, and being a big fan of Monty Don's approach to gardening, I'm sure to feel different once the season gets underway.

It's early days.

I'd be interested to know your thoughts?



I spent an hour or so this afternoon working on my Spring border - splitting Snowdrops in the green, and planting Honesty, plants grown from seed by my Dad.

Purple Honesty thrives in his garden of chalky soil, but up until now I haven't had much luck with this plant in my rich loamy soil.

It's Latin name is Lunaria, deriving from the moon because of its round and silvery looking seedpod.



This morning we had drizzle and light rain showers - it's been quite dull with short spells of sunshine breaking through this afternoon.

The beautiful lime-green Corsican Hellebore has enjoyed a good soaking.



The Spring border is on a bank which faces North, and sits opposite our workshop wall - it's not in complete shade, and gets morning sun from the East and evening sun from the West.

First to appear are Snowdrops, followed by Primula vulgaris, Hellebores and Euphorbia - I may be tempted to introduce some Crocus next year?

I'm not a fan of bulbs in borders, there's too much danger when digging in for other plants with a trowel.

So as not to disturb the Snowdrop bulbs, I surround each clump with chunky bark pieces, which also adds a more woodland feel to the area.



Whilst working, this lone Sparrow sat above - of course as soon as I came back inside the whole group (host) decide to come out of the hedgerow.

A bit nervous, or camera shy perhaps!

I could also hear a loud hum of Buff Tail Bumblebees - both on the Winter Clematis and on the bank, where they are happy to nest underground.



The Forsythia is not the only yellow shrub in Spring in my garden - there's Mahonia Japonica and Winter Jasmine which has just about gone over now.

I have two large clumps of drumstick Primula in pots coming into bud, and miniature Daffodils planted along the wall edge - though I notice many this year are coming up blind.


o
There's colour appearing on the rockery too.
o
This tiny flowered white plant is pretty rampant, and if allowed will quite happily spread a mossy blanket of green across the whole area.
o
Soon purple Aubrietia will be in full bloom, amongst self-seeded(!) yellow Celandine.

I'm finding myself starting to like these out of focus colour blur pics!


o
All nature seems at work, slugs leave their lair,
The bees are stirring, birds are on the wing,
And Winter, slumbering in the open air,
Wears on his smiling face a dream of Spring!
o
In Springtime - by S T Coleridge

o

my photo

HOLLY BLUE BUTTERFLY

My garden has a good population of Holly Blue butterflies.

Fact is, this species will feed on holly and ivy, and on plants such as euonymus, snowberry and bramble, of which I have a plentiful supply of.

These asters will quite happily set seed around the garden too.

A good food source for bees.

o

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

my photos

ALLIUM SCHUBERTII

Shows a spectacular firework burst of flowers in June,



and dramatic seedheads later in the year.

o

my photo



... a ginger-haired Bee, on Purple Toadflax.

o

my photos

WINTER

... white



... bright



... delight!

my photos

HELLEBORE

The hellebore, flowering above, is doing very well. It is planted in a north facing position, in semi-shade. When planting I incorporated lots of homegrown compost, but once established the hellebore will tolerate most soils.

The dark purple 'lenten rose' is a welcome addition, the only herbacious perennial, alongside spring bulbs, flowering at this time of year in my garden. Plant preferably on a bank at more or less eye level, as hellebore flowers do have a tendency to bow their heads.

Three or five cut hellebore stems do look beautiful in a vase, if you can bring yourself to take them from the garden.

The beautiful illustration above is taken from Culpeper's Complete Herbal with The British Florist 1812.

my photos

PLANT COMBINATIONS TWO

Another plant combination which I have been enjoying in my garden over the past couple of years is with Statice and Sedum. This photo was taken about a week or so ago, the Sedum is now just starting to turn a blushed shade of pink.



I have plans to grow more Statice from seed next year. It really does look great in both borders and on sloping banks.

my photos

THE COLOUR PURPLE

I think the majority of us are familiar with Verbena bonariensis with its tall and willowey, candleabra-like stems. The photo above is of one of its many relations, Verbena rigida.

This smaller, more robust version with its much shorter stems, carries vibrant mauve flower heads on each. It never fails to grab mine, or butterflies, bees and hoverflies attention.



My neighbour pulled up some clumps of this from her garden when we first moved here, some ten years ago. Osteospermum, white with a splash of pink/purple. It's a great gap filler and I have maximised on this by taking lots of cuttings to make new plants, which soon establish.



Statice, one of my all time favourites. So easy to grow from seed and one packet goes a long, long way.

All these plants I would describe as a border line annual. With the warmer climate here in the South, mine make it through the winter months.

my photos

LAVENDER - Loyalty, Love, Devotion
AND BEES

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green;
When I am king, dilly dilly, you shall be queen.
Who told you that, dilly dilly, who told you so?
'Twas my own heart, dilly dilly, that told me so.

Call up your men, dilly dilly, set them to work;
Some to the plough, dilly dilly, some to the cart;
Some to make hay, dilly dilly, some to thresh corn;
While you and I, dilly dilly, keep ourselves warm.

If I should die, dilly dilly, as well may hap;
Bury me deep, dilly dilly, under the tap;
Under the tap, dilly dilly, I'll tell you why;
That I may drink, dilly dilly, when I am dry.

Anonymous

Lavender's green, dilly dilly, Lavender's blue;
If you love me, dilly dilly, I will love you.
Let the birds sing, dilly dilly, and the lambs play;
We shall be safe, dilly dilly, Out of harm's way.

I love to dance, dilly dilly, I love to sing;
When I am queen, dilly dilly, you'll be my king.
Who told me so, dilly dilly, who told me so?
I told myself, dilly dilly, I told me so.

An English folk song dating back to at least 1849, and is said to be connected with the festival of Twelfth Night and the choosing of the king and the queen. I am not sure if the two additional verses above were part of the original rhyme?



In Provence in France, hives are taken to the fields of lavender in order to produce Lavender honey which is pale and gold with the flavour of the flower. The bee above hasn't had to be taken to the Lavender, it has invited itself!



I often find one of these around the garden, a bee hole. A home for ground nesting bees, usually in a dry and undisturbed part of the garden.

my photo

CENTAUREA MONTANA

Fortunately for me this lovely old-fashioned cottage garden plant self-seeds itself around here and there in my garden. The deep blue to violet flowers with a thistle-like centre and slender petals is not only attractive to me but also to bees!

my photo

TRADESCANTHIA

The tradescanthia is what I would call a good value for money plant. This variety which has beautiful ice blue flowers was given to me as a division by a friend from her mum's garden. It doesn't take long for it to bulk up and over the years I had gained three large clumps. I noticed last year each clump was beginning to overpower all around it, so I reluctantly dug up and split each clump into four separate divisions making twelve new plants, sharing them with my dad, step-dad and keeping some for myself to plant in different areas of the garden. A good idea, each new plant has already flowered and settled into their new homes for the next year or two?