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NATIONAL INSECT WEEK

This week is National Insect Week here in the UK, it runs from the 23rd to the 29th June. If you click on the photo above you can just about see the butt end of a lovely bee checking out the nectar in one of my foxgloves!

Honeybees in Britain are in decline. It is estimated that in 10 years time, if nothing is done to protect them, the honeybee will disappear from Britain by 2018, see Eco Home & Garden. No bees, no food on our plates as bees don't just make honey they pollinate more than 90 of the flowering crops we rely on for food.

Albert Einstein predicted that if something eliminated bees from our planet, mankind would soon perish.

Here is a list for plants for bees. I am sure lots of you have many of them already?

Don't forget, especially this week is - bee kind to bees week!

This post is dedicated to Life in Red Shoes. You guessed it, I have been out in the garden with my camera! Also to say to Lavinia Ladyslipper at The Birdbath Chronicles, I am still here!

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THE LONGEST DAY

Here in the Northern hemisphere we usually mark the longest day on the 21st of June, but because this year is a leap year, the longest day is one day earlier, the 20th of June. From now on the days will get shorter, so less time to spend in the garden.

Apparently Midsummers day is on the 24th? Traditionally on this day St John's Wort was gathered, thought to be imbued with the power of the sun. Other special flowers (Vervain, trefoil, rue and roses) were also thought to be most potent at this time, and were traditionally placed under a pillow in the hope of important dreams, especially dreams about future lovers!

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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!

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BLACKBIRD FLEDGLINGS

I was having a conversation with my dad yesterday of the fact that neither of us had seen any young blackbirds yet this year around in our gardens, my dad saying it was most unusual. Back home later in the day I was on the PC with the doors and windows flung wide open, and low and behold I realised I could hear a young blackbird. I very slowly moved outside and there they were, two fledglings along with the male. I quickly retreated back inside to grab the camera, my photos of birds usually blurred on 10 x optical zoom, but as it turned out I was quite pleased with these. Click on each one for a closer look at the speckly markings.



I have come to notice each year they do love feasting on these Amelanchier fruits along with the starlings.

A few days previously I had spotted a very scruffy looking male on our flat roof, maybe he had been doing all the work taking food in to the nest, which the female would have constructed out of grass and mud, usually low in a tree or bush, sometimes using a previous nest as a base. The young are fed for twelve to nineteen days and after leaving the nest they are split between the pair.

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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?

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FROGS TWO

I thought I was taking a photo of one frog, the fine specimen below. It was the first I had seen this year, but when it jumped back into the undergrowth, I lifted up the canopy to take a closer look, and discovered a second one just sitting there staring up at me. I hope I didn't make it jump! I really like the photo above, the frog just looks so at home tucked up in the hartstongue fern.



Frogs spend most of their lives on land so give them long grass, leaf and log piles, trees and shrubs in your garden to feed and hibernate under.

What does a frog order in a restaurant? French flies and diet croak!

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IRIS

I love iris, but I only have three varieties in my garden, the most impressive being the white one above, which has huge flower buds right the way up the stalk. I separated rhizomes from the original clumps I inherited last year and made lots of new plants, although I shall have to be patient, I only had the pleasure of one flower spike this year, but I hope for more next.



The purple variety above came gratis from my great aunt many years ago, who had it flowering in her front south facing garden. I have moved it around several times, but have now found a home I, and the plant is happy with. It has a pleasant aroma.



Finally I acquired this yellow flag iris from my dad. It likes moist and boggy conditions. I have no pond, but I have found a suitable spot where the rain regularly runs into. It does get quite congested and needs dividing every now and again to encourage more flower spikes.

I would like more iris around the garden and if I had allotment space I would grow many different varieties, mainly tall bearded ones. My maternal nan was named Iris so they always remind me of her.

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CAMPANULA

This variety is glomerata superba. The stem bears many large headed clusters of dark purple-violet flowers.

This has to be my plant of the moment, and one of my many tasks for this year is to introduce it to different parts of the garden.

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GREAT DIXTER

I don't know about you but every now and again I visit a garden which instantly becomes my all time favourite, and this one is no exception. Set in beautiful countryside near Northiam in East Sussex, pretty much on the border of Kent, is Great Dixter House & Gardens, family home of Christopher Lloyd, one of the great plantsmen of the 20th and 21st centuries.



The front path which leads you to the entrance through meadow, which in the height of summer I can imagine absolutely buzzing with bees and fluttering butterflies feeding on the rich nectar.



Look at this for an impressive entrance porch. Click on any of the photos for a closer look at the planting schemes.



The Long Border which was absolutely stunning, although I really would have liked my secateurs at hand to trim the phlomis which had spilled so far out on the path. Maybe another one of those round tuit jobs we all have around the garden at this time of year?



The High Garden. A path leading you through a vista of annuals, perennials and shrubs. The epitome of an English country cottage garden.



What about this beautiful pond for a water feature, surrounded by plants who like to get their feet wet, which include yellow iris and gunnera.



What a shame, not allowed in here! No problems, there is a vast nursery in the grounds which sells the largest selection of plants that I have ever seen, some common but many unusual. I bought one with a lovely blue pea-like flower as a momento of our day, although I shall have to update you on the name, as a new discovery for me.



I couldn't get over these lettuces! Maybe the netting keeps the bunnies out, and where are the slugs and snails?



Finally, after about half a dozen circuits of the house, what a welcome relief to find no-one was occupying this lovely bench.

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PINK

These are a selection of pink plants from my recent trip to Ramster gardens. The rhododendron above reminds me of strawberry ripple ice-cream.



I think this pink azalea would go very well with a dark purple flower, any ideas?



This rhododendron looks lovely against the burgundy of the Japanese maple.



I love colour clashes in a garden. I like to see hot pink with orange.

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SPARROWS FEEDING

Whilst I sit on my PC I have the privilege of being able to look out into my garden, and for the past fortnight or so the sparrows have been a huge distraction to me. Every year is the same, I sit marvelling at the spectacle of parent feeding their quivering young who are begging for food. Then watching the little inexperienced flyers attempt to take off, struggling to get their undercarriage off the ground. It just brings a smile to my face every time I see it.

Young sparrows leave the nest when fully feathered and are not able to fly for a couple of days. The parents generally look after them for a fortnight. I hope the majority survive in my garden although predators are always lurking, the magpies have been making their presence known.

Unfortunately what was a once a common sparrow has now found itself on the red list here in the UK, although I must say there seems no shortage in our garden. I put this down to the fact that we have a very wildlife friendly garden with lots of hedging, shrubs and trees which goes to encourage wild food for the very young, aphids, flies, grubs and spiders. I top up the birdbaths and I put bird food out all year, although I don't use peanuts, sparrows will eat seeds and grain.

The image I have used for this post is called Feed Me, courtesy of Nic from London Daily Nature Photo. Please click on the link to discover his great photography, but please do not use any of Nic's images without his permission.

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RAMSTER GARDENS

A beautiful mature woodland garden at Chiddingfold on the Surrey/West Sussex border.

I have visited two lovely gardens in the space of a week. The weather was warm and sunny for my visit to Highdown gardens, but on Friday when I visited Ramster gardens the temperature had definitely taken a plummet and it was cloudy, cold and damp. Today the sunshine is back, so with lifted spirits I am showing you my photos of yellow azaleas and rhododendrons, both acid loving plants.



In May the garden reaches its peak where the azaleas and rhododendrons provide a brilliant display, while the carpet of bluebells fill the air with their scent (although unfortunately these were over for our visit).



There are many rare trees and shrubs at Ramster and wonderful wild flower areas where in June bring orchids. There is a bog garden with giant gunnera leaves which I have featured in my post below.



The gardens at Ramster were laid out in the 1900s by Gauntlett Nurseries of Chiddingfold, who were pioneers in importing new shrubs, trees and ornaments from Japan. One hundred years on many of the original plants are still thriving in the garden today.



The house which is not open to the public is based on a Jacobean farmhouse, but the Long Hall is a popular venue for civil marriages, wedding receptions, dinners and corporate events.
Admission to the gardens is £5 but you can come and go as you please which we did having a picnic lunch in the middle of our visit, but if you have no picnic there is a tearooms. I resisted but there is also a plant sales area too!

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FERNS & GUNNERA



The magnificent gunnera (giant rhubarb) needs warm soil on a damp site with lots of space!



The makings of an impressive stumpery.



The woodlice are going to love it in here!

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HIGHDOWN GARDENS

I would like to show you the photos of plants growing on chalk downland soil, taken on my outing to Highdown Gardens in Worthing, which is open to the general public free of charge (although donations are very welcome). Above the most blousy tree peony I have ever seen.



Highdown Gardens is one of the least known about gardens in the area, but it is one that offers a unique collection of rare plants and trees. The views from the gardens are beautiful and include the sea and the South Downs. Above is a very pretty herbaceous peony.



The garden looks its best in spring and early summer when there is a colourful succession. A lovely yellow peony this time.



The whole garden has been deemed a National collection. Above a vivid orange rhododendron.



A beautiful purple bearded iris. The garden was created during a period when many expeditions were going out to China and the Himalayan regions collecting rare and beautiful plants.



Volunteers meet once a month on a Friday morning to assist with a variety of light conservation work within the gardens. They are always on the lookout for new helpers. The pink cherry blossom above was hanging in clumps from the branches.



The beautiful handkerchief tree (also known as the dove or ghost tree) with white bracts which hang down and flutter in the breeze. Discovered growing in China in the 1860s by the French explorer Pere Armand David. This tree first flowered in England in 1906.

This is the most amazing tree and I would very much like it in my garden.

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PARSNIPS

Remember my mutant parsnip post? Parsnips modelled on the well known Dr Who character The Ood. Well this one has forked, but it is the longest one I have ever had, from the top of the foliage to the root of the parsnip, it measures just over 55 inches, and is in danger of taking over my garden bench, if not the world! My ever so slightly clay soil must half be fertile!

Thanks to Na at Shadows and Clouds, I now know these parsnips are going to seed!

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AND THE WINNER OF MY 100 GARDEN BLOG POST COMPETITION IS ...

Michele from Cowboys & Custard, who correctly guessed five out of the six mystery plants I asked you to name? Well done Michele, you have got the birdie, and she will be winging her way to you next week. Luckily the birdie hasn't had too much time to settle here in my garden, although she had enough time to earmark a very comfortable, if not rather small, nesting box!

The answers are:
a) lamium maculatum (deadnettle) - an evergreen ground cover with yellow flowers
b) geranium (cranesbill) - a hardy perennial with small pale pink flowers
c) sedum spectabile - a succulent foliage with pink clusters of flowers
d) echinops ritro - a spiky-leaved architectural plant with purple thistles
e) potentilla (cinquefoil) - a strawberry-like leaved perennial with red flowers
f) centaurea montana (knapweed) - a clump forming perennial with deep blue cornflower-like flowers

Michele has created a beautiful garden on a slope in Bath, using a very well thought out landscape design with well stocked borders, which contain some very healthy-looking plants. Take a look at Michele's latest post where she has some photos taken from different vantage points. Lovely!

Thank you to everyone else for having a go, you all did very well!

Louise x

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GARDENING GLOVES

Do you always wear gardening gloves when working in the garden? That was the question I asked in the April poll. It turns out ten of you do, and thirty-five of you don't.

There is no doubt that gloves are a necessary piece of gardening apparel, but most of the time I don't wear them for general gardening, which shows on my hands, dirty fingernails and rough skin, and have to buy handcream by the gallon! The gloves above were bought for me, they fit me perfectly, and I will wear them, sometime?

Subject to the contrary if the soil is very wet, I do wear the very handy latex gloves you can buy in boxes. If the soil is dry I'd much rather get my bare hands in. Of course when handling shrubs and trees with thorny prickly branches it is necessary to wear the thick leather kind of gardening gloves, otherwise hands and arms are torn to shreds, and I do keep a pair in the car for when I pay the refuse tip a visit, they come in handy when emptying out the bags.

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EUONYMUS FORTUNEI

I cannot declare to being a huge fan of this shrub, but we inherited quite a lot when we moved here. Although at this time of year the colours of the variagation do look good together. It is important to remember with any variagated foliage shrub to cut out any stems which revert back to plain green.

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KERRIA

This double-flowered variety of Kerria (Japonica Pleniflora) is also known as Bachelor's Buttons, Jew's Mallow and Japanese Rose. A really pretty shrub to have around the garden at this time of year. I really like the combination of the 'custard powder' yellow of the blooms against the lime green of the leaves.

It will grow just about anywhere and if left to its own devices can reach up to 6ft tall. It will also spread by suckers which grow from its creeping underground root system. A plant which is best kept in check by pruning out all the old flowering stems.

William Kerr a protégé of Sir Joseph Banks, the famous 18th-century naturalist and plant collector, bought this particular variety back from China in 1804. By 1838 it was so common it was to be found in the gardens of labourers cottages!

This post is for my blogpal Daffy from Approaching 40, she has a delightful specimen in her garden too!

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PRIMROSE - I can't live without you, Early youth, Young love
POLYANTHUS - Pride of riches

I like to have some primroses or polyanthus in pots at this time of year, and I am not alone, the woodlice do too!

This year I opted for a mixed tray of white and a pink/orange colour, and I have made an interesting observation. The white flowers have been untouched and the pink/orange have been nibbled to death! Does this mean woodlice are repelled at the sight of white? I need to do more investigation? Has anyone else noticed this?



Great feast for the woodlice community in my garden, hundreds of them! Although extremely annoying in this instance, I really don't think woodlice do too much harm otherwise, so I will continue to invite them into my garden as a friend!

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BERGENIA

Also known as Elephants Ears, this perennial is naturally found in Siberia. The large glossy leaves become increasingly more purple at this time of year, and are a great contrast against the greens in the border.

A few years back a TV gardener doing a makeover programme, said he really disliked this plant, but I think it has a place in the garden. I agree that during the year the leaves can look a bit untidy, but at this time of year they come into their own, and look at the flowers to prove it.