In a vase on Monday: inspirational Kew

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Allium christophii Astrantia major, Bees, Dale Chihuly, garden visit, in a vase on Monday, royal Botanic gardens Kew, the Hive, Wolfgang Buttress

Good morning. I spent a very enjoyable day at Kew Gardens yesterday. The weather held and the gardens looked as ever, glorious. The spectacular grounds are currently hosting an extraordinary selection of glassworks by Dale Chihuly .

As an idea of scale this orange piece is in front of the iconic glass house

‘Summer Sun’ Dale Chihuly

Rather like a mad medusa each single piece of blown glass twists and turns.

There are twelve pieces on display, all equally incredible.

‘Turquoise marlins’ Dale Chihuly

I love how the organic shape mimics the twisting trunk and branches of the tree.

Another great sight is The Hive an incredible 17m installation by Wolfgang Buttress. Built as a visual tribute to British bees. Read all about it on the link above.

The aluminium structure is a thing of beauty and made me think of the structure of Allium christophii which are in flower right now.

The shadows of Allium christophii in my Monday vase.

Allium christophii even the colour is slightly metallic. Joining our lovely host Cathy with my Monday vase.

Added to my Allium are Cerinthe, Astrantias, Geum Totally Tangerine and blue cornflowers.

Take a look at some of the other vases on Cathys blog, link above. If you haven’t been to Kew recently, or ever, I suggest you go, it will not disappoint.

Have a good week, wherever you are and thank you for reading. D.

Suprise visitor

Tags

badger, in my garden

At around 2130 I walked down the garden to put the cushions away as rain is forecast. To my surprise a badger appeared from the side of the summer house.

I stopped in my tracks and watched him approach. I have no idea if it was a he or a she of course.

He was not put off by my presence, maybe he had not noticed me.

At this point I moved and he turned around and disappeared up the garden. I quietly followed but he had completely disappeared.

That was my excitement for the day. A close encounter of the beautiful kind. Thanks for reading. D.

On reflection this morning I have decided that for my gardens sake, I don’t want him back, just in case he starts making himself at home, digging or making a latrine. Yikes.

Such a beautiful creature.

Chelsea flower show

Tags

alliums, Andy Sturgeon, Bees, Chelsea flower show. 2019, d-day75, garden visit, green switch, John Everiss Design, Tom Stuart-Smith

Sloane Square, ready. Sun shining, tick. May 21st, it must be the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Alliums may not be top of the pops at the show this year but they are still number one for the bees.

Artisan gardens are hugely popular. Green Switch by Kazuyuji Ishihara rightly achieved an eleventh gold and drew the crowds.

Glorious acers and moss and room to park the motorcycle. A natural combination. Perhaps. The planting is exquisite.

The garden created by Tom Stuart Smith for RHS Bridgwater Garden, Salford Greater Manchester was full of wonderful planting combinations. Supposedly highlights of the 154 acre garden to be completed in 2020 this will most certainly be worth a visit.

Cornus kousa

The show gardens are covered in great detail by the BBC. I found their coverage somewhat obtrusive today.

Sure the film crews have a job to do but actually they were in the way on several gardens we were trying to view. RHS you seem to have forgotten that the paying public want to see the gardens not the back of the camera man and his equipment.

The D-Day 75 garden was a poignant tribute to the last surviving Normandy veterans. I am not sure if it has had any coverage. Designed by John Everiss it is hoped that the garden can be rebuilt on a site above Arromanches by 6/6/19 as a tribute to the veterans who now are approaching 100 years of age. DDay 75 is the link to the crowdfunding page.

M&G investments are once again sponsors of this years Show. Their garden by designer Andy Sturgeon was masterful. Described as green planting, I rather liked some of these planting combinations.

A brief roundup of my visit. Lots of glorious sights.

To finish

Ah.

Good night. D.

Six on Saturday: Trentham Gardens

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Amy Wight, Capability Brown, Charles Barry, garden visit, Nigel Dunnet, Piet Oudolf, sculpture, Stoke-on-Trent, Tom Stuart-Smith, Trentham Estate

Hello. This week I took a couple of days out to visit the Malvern Show and Trentham Gardens. I wrote a quick post about Malvern Here.

Trentham in Stoke-on-Trent is a magnificent green space with a mile long lake created by Lancelot Capability Brown. There are new meadow schemes by Nigel Dunnet and the original Italian gardens by Charles Barry have had a contemporary makeover by Tom Stuart – Smith. In addition there is a floral labyrinth created by Piet Oudolf.

According to James Alexander Sinclair Trentham is “the garden makeover of the decade” and certainly some of the best names in horticulture and design have been involved.

Highlights of my visit are my Six on Saturday, joining The Propagator .

1.

Balustrades and boats on Trentham lake.

I loved how they had filled the boats with tulips and floated them out.

2. Bulbs. There were the most magnificent pots of tulips, violas, pansies and muscari, primroses, grasses and heuchera.

Arrangements on steps and around benches. It surprised me how far behind they were compared to mine which have all finished.

3.

Scale. The scale of the gardens is very impressive. Looking across the Italian gardens towards the lake.

4.

Colour. Stuart-Smiths use of colour is fabulous. Orange, blue and lime.

The blue is from Camassias.

lime and orange from Euphorbias

5. Columns

I really admired the decision to give the Irish yew columns a flat top cut. This has the effect of stopping the eye from travelling up and up their height. They punctuate the frothy colourful planting rather like columns of a building. 6. Sculpture

Garden sculpture is a key addition to the gardens. From intricate willow woven into vast floral or animal forms

This is a dragon of living willow along the riverside walk.

Leaping bronze deer in the stumpery area of the lakeside walk.

My favourite were these fabulous gigantic dandelions by Amy Wight. These were literally blowing in the wind.

If you have the chance to visit Trentham, just do it. Enjoy your weekend. D.

Garden Visit: The Malvern Show

Tags

BBC coverage, Gabriella Pill, garden design, garden shows, garden visit, Jessica Makins, May, No 30 Design Studio, plant shopping, RHS Malvern Show, Sunray Plants, young designers

Yesterday I visited the Malvern Show. RHS members day, we arrived just after the show opened.

The weather was inhospitable but we gardeners have the right gear for all weathers. Undeterred, we headed in!

Gabriella Pill Mediterranean Terrace

Defiance by Sara Edwards at No 30 Design Studio

An artists studio at home. Jessica Makins Garden Design and Hartwyn Natural Builds.

These are garden buildings created from old shipping containers. Brilliant. The gardens all made use of raised beds and vertical structure which included a framework for climbers or shade. A sense of enclosure. Coordinated planting. These garden creations could be adapted or copied for new build houses with small plots and city gardens/ courtyards . Inspired creativity on more modest scale.

Alas the BBC coverage on Gardeners World this evening did not see fit to interview the youngsters who created these gems. A lost opportunity. Trying to attract young gardeners? Not sure I believe the RHS knows how.

In the floral marquee, the plant exhibitors were top quality.

Chrysanthemums

Succulents. A few of the spectacular exhibits.

My favourite plant vendor was this chap

Sunray Plants, selling a wonderful selection of sempervivums.

The Malvern show was really very enjoyable, despite the weather. If you are in the area or have time to travel to the show, it is a good day out with some inspiring gardens and top rate vendors.

Coverage by the BBC may have missed an opportunity for some fresh faces but the highly respected Carol Klein and Adam Frost were there.

The Malvern Show is on all weekend. Details at http://www.rhsmalvern.co.uk

Japan

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cherry blossom, Garden Visits, Japan, pink, Sakura, street signs, Tokyo

I have just come back from a holiday in Japan, timed perfectly for the blossom season. Japan is a place I have always wanted to visit, perhaps thanks to anecdotes from Dad Dorris about his business trips in the early 1980s and certainly due to the gardens and a dash of ‘Lost in Translation’ as well.

We started in Tokyo Shinjuku-Ku district (above) where it was bitterly cold and grey. A smart district, clean and high rise. No street eating, drinking or smoking allowed. There’s a good idea Mrs May. We then moved to Kyoto for ten days. Further south, we used Kyoto as our base to visit Hiroshima and Miyajima. We then returned to a different area of Tokyo, Ikebukuro before returning home.

Before we set off my sister and I thought we might need to book a guide to help us navigate the city but in practice it was not needed at all. Destination signs on the metro and train network are helpfully translated into English and announcements are also given in English. At various times locals stopped to ask if they could help us find our way, one lady even leaving her place in the bus queue to help guide us. Without exception the locals were friendly, polite and happy to help.

We used taxis, metro, buses, trams, a ferry, the bullet and our feet, walking over 75!miles and it was fantastic. The bits we saw were fascinating. I can only describe the trip as like a weekend city break but for much longer, so not relaxing but completely absorbing and delightful and very exhausting!

You may not be surprised to learn that I have rather a lot of photographs of blossom and I have posted some of these Here already.

One thing I hadn’t anticipated was how much the Japanese embrace the blossom season. They party under the trees and merchandise is blossom themed.

Stationary, worthy of a post in its own right, food and sweet products, cola bottles, entrances to shops, all distinctly blossom themed.

The cleaning team waiting to go through the bullet train before departure. Actually this could be their uniform all the time but, you see my point.

Even the cars are blossom coloured. Ok may be I am getting carried away.

There are castles, temples and shrines to see and enjoy. The cities are densely built and high rise, full of convenience stores and vending machines and sushi bars and restaurants. There are neon lights, millions of people and I loved it all. Tokyo National Museum was fabulous, full of exquisite treasures, beautifully displayed. As I am no travel guide I do not intend to talk about any of these in detail other than to say that they are very interesting and fascinating and I wished I had time to see it all.

I shall share some pictures of the gardens another time but here are just a couple of the signs which amused me.

And finally

On that note, I shall sign off here. Thanks for reading. D.

Six on Saturday: Oxford Botanic Garden

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Agave, container planting, garden visit, Oxford Botanic Garden, Pavonia, Saturday smile, six on saturday

Hello, my Six on Saturday this week are from a garden visit to the Oxford Botanic Garden on January 20th. The gardens are the oldest in the UK ( founded in 1621) with nearly 6,000 types of plants.

What strikes you about this first picture? The enviable dark brown soil or the vivid green grass? Or what about the bright blue sky, it was January after all. Then there is the obelisk, look at its height. All quite remarkable but what really struck me was the incredibly straight edges to the borders, so very crisp and smart.

2. The straight edges are a strong feature of this part of the gardens, dictated perhaps by the garden wall. It may appear as if there is little to see in January and clearly it does looks rather bare, where are those 6,000 plants I hear you thinking, yet I really enjoyed seeing the crisp form of the space.

3. On closer inspection there are things happening in the borders. Witch Hazels, Willow, salix and Rainbow Chard. There are also these willow structures shaped as apples here.

There were masses of snowdrops but I am no Galanthophile hence my next pictures are of the container planting.

4.

The combination of ferns and primula with Skimmia is lovely for Winter container planting. I especially liked the addition of birch which adds height, colour and catkins.

5. In the glasshouses the relief from the cold was very welcome and necessary for this exquisite beauty

Pavonia. Simply stunning.

6. I love cacti’s and succulents and always enjoy seeing the Agave.

This one is a beautiful specimen.

That’s it, my Six on Saturday about my garden visit to the immaculate Oxford Botanic Garden.

The propagator blog is our host for Six on Saturday. If you would like to join in please be sure to include a link to his blog. If you find yourself near Oxford I recommend a visit to the botanical gardens, an historical and beautiful space to walk around.

Have a good weekend. D.

In a Vase on Monday: tulip mania

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garden visit, Holland, in a vase on Monday, Keukenhof, the Netherlands, tulip Angelique, tulip Antraciet, Tulip Ballerina, tulip Brown Sugar, tulip La Belle Epoque, tulip Spring green, tulips

I fear I am having my own tulip mania thanks to my trip to Keukenhof last week.

It was my first visit and I was completely blown away by the beauty of the bulbs. The weather was warm which let’s face it, always helps.

Against a blue sky, the bulbs were beneath trees in full blossom which created a perfect haze of pink or in this case white. The warm air carried the heady scent of hyacinths which were planted in thousands.

I think I was expecting regimented rows of bulbs in blocks or bands of colour.

This was the case in some places but elsewhere the bulbs were planted in glorious colour combinations mixed with muscari or hyacinth or anemones.

Keukenhof plants about 7 million bulbs every year, admired by some 1.5million visitors, over the eight weeks that it is open. Mind blowing figures. Certainly it is a busy place to visit but its 32 hectare site copes well.

The bulbs are planted in nets as the soil is heavy clay and these are all lifted at the end of the show.

The lifted bulbs are sorted, the larger ones are kept for another year, the rest are disposed of. Mature trees cast shade once in leaf and the grass is reseeded each year for the show. The work that goes into this show is remarkable.

So this brings me to my vase. Tulips, a handful of tulips. They are pretty good in my garden this year.

I picked a selection to take to a friend.

Tulip Spring Green, Tulip Angelique, Tulip Ballerina, Tulip a La Belle Epoque, Tulip Brown Sugar, Tulip Antraciet

Joining Cathy with in a Vase on Monday. Should you like to join in add a link back to cathy’s blog and join in this popular Monday meme.

Have a great week. D.

Garden visit: Cambridge University Botanic Garden

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Acer grisium, Bergenia Bressingham Ruby, Cambridge University Botanic Garden, Cornus alba sibirica, Cornus sanguinea 'Midwinter Fire', garden visit, Helleborus foetidus, Rubus cockburnianus, stinking hellebore, weather report, white stemmed bramble, Winter garden

In the depths of Winter it can be hard to stay enthused about the garden yet if you know where to look there are some stunning examples of a Winter garden. One such place in the Cambridge University Botanic Garden and yesterday was the day I went to see for myself. I was not disappointed.

Winter Garden

First the factual bits for those who like to know these things: the garden opened in 1846 and has been a focus and stimulus for science and research in the University. The gardens comprise forty acres of gardens and glasshouses which hold Grade II* heritage landscape. It was the vision of John Stevens Henslow who was a professor of botany at the University and mentor to Charles Darwin no less. Henslow’s new, perhaps ground breaking idea, was that the Botanic Garden should be for the experimental study of the plants rather than just a physic garden for the medical students. Today the garden holds over 8,000 plant species.

I did not see any where near 8,000 plants but those that I did see were very beautiful, just look at the Acer Grisium in the picture above, surrounded by the stunning bank of Cornus ‘Midwinter Fire’

Acer grisium

The Dogwoods were in good colour and I liked the use of the smaller leaf Bergenia Bressingham Ruby as ground cover, such a good form.

Cornus alba sibirica with Hellebore

Bergenia Bressingham Ruby

If you really only like white in the garden and find all the colour rather vulgar, the next combination is rather spectacular:White stemmed bramble underplanted with snowdrops

Rubus Goldenvale

A vicious plant with long whippy thorny growth which needs an annual prune to encourage the new white stems for next year, gauntlets and chaps recommended.

After looking at the Winter garden on such a cold day it was necessary to warm up in the cafe. The food is very good and reasonably priced with a great selection of vegetarian dishes.

Stylish cafe area, note the trained Lime trees

Trailing hellebore, corten steel

A couple of things that I brought away from the visit is the idea of using Hellebore foetidus as a trailing plant and the cacti and succulents in the glass houses.  I will share those another time.

Anyway, if the weather is getting you down, don’t let it.  Grab your coat and hat and get out there to see some something beautiful,

Maximum? no reading.

whatever the weather.

Enjoy your weekend.

 

Garden visit: Turn End, Buckinghamshire

Tags

Brunnera macrophylla, Crown Imperial fritillaria, grade II*, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Lily flowered tulips, Lunaria annua var.albiflora, Monica Young potter, NGS, Peter Aldington, RIBA, spring bulbs, Turn End, white Honesty

Entrance to Turn End

Designed and built by architect Peter Aldington in the 1960s Turn End is one of three houses which hold an RIBA Award for Architecture (1970) and Grade II* listing; there are only twelve post-war houses so designated.  I however went to visit the garden which was open under the NGS yellow book scheme on the last bank holiday Monday.  Disappointingly the weather was typically bank-holiday wet but the garden was no less beautiful and perhaps enabled me to see it without the usual crowds.

crowd free viewing

The garden is a series of places, full sun, white washed walls, gravel with pans of houseleeks, armillary sphere and an arbour covered in climbers. Not looking so ‘hot’ in the wet weather I photgraphed the other areas of the garden most suited to the grey damp day.

wonderful use of lily flowered tulips

Many areas of the garden looked wonderful thanks to widespread use of Spring bulbs, in particular tulips and Crown Imperial Fritillarias.

Crown Imperial Frittallias

Bulbs with the less seen white form of Lunaria annua or ‘Honesty’

yellow crown imperial fritillarias and yellow tulips

Blues and yellows ran around the garden thanks to Bluebells, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Forget-me-nots, and Brunnera macrophylla. Tulips and Crown Imperial Fritillaria are used to inject the yellows.

Drawing you through the doorway to the knot garden, note yellow tulips and wall of not yet open blue Ceanothus thyrsiflorus

There is an impressive collection of pots in the garden and they demonstrate lots of ideas of how to place them successfully.

a grey day at Turn End

Trillium picking up the clay tones in the enormous pot

Pot by Monica Young

This particular beauty was made by the late Monica Young.  It brings to mind the unfurling of a hosta perhaps? The simplicity of the backdrop, wall covered in dark green ivy, appropriately does not compete with the beauty of the pot.

I really enjoyed the garden and intend to revisit later this year to see it in a different season.  I was so impressed by the use of bulbs and the thread of colour repeated around the garden.   The pots, well they were each a thing of beauty and their leafy surroundings were enchanting.