In a vase on Monday: welcome

Tags

Aster, Calamagrostis brachytricha, Hydrangea arborescens, in a vase on Monday, Miscanthus sinensis, September, Verbena bonariensis

A vase full of garden flowers to welcome U3A Haddenham to my garden this afternoon. All 26 of them.

Aster, Verbena bonariensis, Miscanthus , Cosmos, Hydrangea arborescens pink Annabelle not yet pink.

Their visit was to raise funds for the National Garden Scheme. A friendly bunch not deterred by the rain. Tea and homemade cakes consumed they departed as jolly as they had arrived.

Joining Cathy and the other bloggers with their vases of flowers.

Thanks for reading, have a great week wherever you are. D.

Wordless Wednesday: sights I’ve seen today

Tags

bales from the wildflower meadow, Grand union canal, squash Red Kuri, wordless wednesday

Grand Union canal

Bales of the Wildflower meadow

Ripening Red kuri squash

Six on Saturday: it’s August

Tags

Alex Moore, August, Echinacea Delicious Candy, Echinacea purpurea, Echinops ritro white, Helianthus salicifolius, madebymoore, sempervivums, six on saturday, Succulents, Vitis coignetiae, weather

It is August yet the weather seems to think otherwise. I took these pictures yesterday morning when they were blowing in the wind and covered in rain, rather than basking in any glorious August sunshine. Hey ho, it could be worse, it could be today! What a shocker. Truly atrocious summer weather.

Here’s the six:

Six succulents. Some are Sempervivums I hear you cry.

I don’t have names for any of these apart from Aeonium zwartkop (that’s the fourth one). These grow well in coastal regions in the UK but here in my garden on the Herts. /Bucks borders, mine survive, rather than thrive.

The succulents are precious to me and they are carefully placed in the house over the winter months as they are not at all hardy and they hate our wet cold winters. Don’t we all.

The Houseleeks or sempervivums are left outside but under glass to protect them from the worst or the weather. They are quite tough really.

I enjoy these every Summer and forget how annoying it is in the Winter to find space for them.

2.

This is the third year for Althea cannabina and it has hit its stride. Wonderful, wafting in the wind, oodles of soft pink, mallow like flowers, taller than me. I wouldn’t be without it. Here it has fronds of Molinia Transparent and Coreopsis Verticillata Moonbeam behind it.

3. Echinacea ‘Delicious Candy’

I purchased this last August, drawn to its luminous colour and name. It is beginning to bulk up. Cathy remarked that these do not do well in her garden ( frankly the only thing, everything she grows looks so good) after one appeared earlier this week in my IAVOM. Echinacea do like an open site and with room to bulk up, to thrive. They only lasted one year in my last garden.

3. Echinacea purpurea

This is their time. Flowering when the roses are recharging their batteries. Good with grasses. Just great for bees.

4.

This pile of green leaves may not look very interesting but trust me, it will be a stunner this autumn. Vitis coignetiae or Crimson Glory vine. It is climbing over the garage wall and has reached onto the roof. It will be in for a major chop soon enough.

5.

The willow like foliage is what I grow the perennial sunflower for. Helianthus salicifolius. It will have small daisy like flowers in the autumn and will reach 2.5m tall.

The yellow flowers I like less. I am even considering pinching out the flowers as they will detract from the shaggy texture which is so intriguing. Alas the wind is battering them today.

6. Echinops

These pale Pom poms are taking over. Echinops ritro white. I like them less than E Veitch Blue but these are better suited to my heavy soil. In case you are wondering what is in the centre of the picture, it is the bird feeder made by Alex Moore.

I love how it is fully surrounded by plant life now.

Joining our host The Propagator who is on his ‘olidays. Enjoy !

Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend wherever you are. D.

In a vase on Monday: bedside

Tags

espresso cup and saucer by Steven James potter Suffolk, garden pickings, in a vase on Monday, medicine bottle

A few flowers in the house are always a good thing, don’t you think? I guess so, unless you suffer from hay fever.

My two bunches are hopefully not going to make anyone sneeze. A hand-thrown espresso cup and saucer from Suffolk, in a soft dark denim hue contains a simple pick of Hydrangea, Ammi and Daucus.

Then as a complete contrast I have jewel colours in an old medicine bottle.

These are penstemon names unknown , grown from cuttings and Crocosmia Lucifer, Verbena bonariensis a couple of sweetpeas and a Dianthus. Orange and purple and pink.

I hope you have a few minutes to check the other Monday vases through Cathy our host.

Have a great week wherever you are. D.

Six on Saturday: everything but the kitchen sink

Tags

Ammi majus, Ammi visnaga, Cercis canadensis, Crocosmia Lucifer, Echinacea purpurea, hydrangea arborescens Annabelle, Hymenocallis, July, poppy seed heads, sempervivums, six on saturday, Spiderlily, Verbena bonariensis

Blast off! This is such an exciting sight for me, the Spiderlily is flowering. Granted not as exciting as man on the moon and it is not a Spider from Mars but it is a spider from me. I love it! Looking smart enough to be allowed in the house. The clay pot is my one special Whichford Pottery pot.

2.

A fistful of flowers for a friend.

There are verbena bonariensis, Hydrangea Annabelle, Echinacea purpurea, poppy seed heads, a pink lily, Ammi majus and Ammi visnaga both grown easily from seed and a Buddleja flower . All of these are from my garden.

3. Leading you down the garden path:

My favourite tree, Cercis canadensis has thrived since it was moved from its pot into the raised bed. I am enjoying how it is overhanging the path. ( I know I keep using this using this on my SOS but I don’t care, I think it’s fab.)

4. Successful looking succulents and sempervivums

Those of you who grow these know that little skill is required, just free draining soil and lots of grit. I think they are delightful, each one slightly different.

5. In your face, red

This is Crocosmia Lucifer. Such a vibrant red. It is very, in your face, dominant but I am quite liking them with the Stipa tenuissima behind.

6. This is Hydrangea time. Hydrangea arborescens Annabelle.

I do love a Hydrangea and they have become fashionable again so that’s good.

How could anyone could resist these.

How they graduate from lime to creamy white, getting fuller and bigger as they open. ( shown in reverse order here).

That’s it, my Six on Saturday. The Propagator is our host and thanks to him we share our favourites each week.

I hope you have a great week wherever you are. D.

Butterfly count

Tags

a butterfly book for the pocket, bigbutterflycount.org, butterflies, Edmund Sandars, Oxford University Press 1939

Today is the start of the Big Butterfly count in the UK. 19 July to 11 August 2019.

You can download an identification chart from Big Butterfly Count, there is a free App and you can also read about how to count them. Yes I know we can all count but we need to be sure we do not count the same Butterfly more than once.

Counting butterflies can be described as taking the pulse of nature: butterflies react very quickly to changes in their environment which makes them great biodiversity indicators. The count will help scientists identify trends in species.

Choosing the right weather ( bright and sunny ) is important.

I think today’s weather will not be suitable (rain) but there’s plenty of time to take part.

Celebrity endorsers, if you’re interested in such stuff, include Sir David Attenborough, President of Butterfly Conservation, Alan Titchmarsh MBE, and Joanna Lumley OBE.

I shall take part armed with one of my favourite little books: A Butterfly Book for the pocket by Edmund Sandars. ( Oxford University Press London: Humphrey Milford 1939). I found it on a market in Old Amersham many years ago.

The pictures above were taken by me in 2012. Time to get counting and to take some new pictures! I hope you will take part.

Thanks for reading. D.

Six on Saturday: summertime

Tags

Cercis canadensis, cornflowers, hydrangea arborescens Annabelle, July, poppies, seed heads, six on saturday, stipa tenuissima, Succulents

Hydrangea arborescens Annabelle is opening, surely a sign that it is summer. These are flower filled mops, in a creamy lime colour tone that looks as if it was lifted from one of those Farrow&Ball colour charts. Gorgeous.

This is my first of the Six On Saturday I’m sharing with our host The Propagator

2. Another sign of summer has to be that the succulents are outside

Not the best examples but loved nonetheless.

3. Forest pansy is a beautiful specimen and a real favourite of mine.

Back lit the colour is arguably unbeatable. Cercis canadensis.

4.

Haze. This haze is created by the delightfully tactile Stipa tenuissima. I love these grasses for their movement; the slightest breath of air is all they need to move.

5. Opium poppies

These are very short lived but so pretty and wonderful for bees . Today they have finished flowering and I am left with fat grey seed heads.

I love these almost as much.

6.

Cornflowers are such a wonderfully intense blue, not unlike a Sir Terence Conran shirt. Great for cut flowers, great colour in the border. An easy plant. Sprinkle some seed in the spring and Bobs your uncle.

Whether Bob is your uncle or not, you see that this selection includes some of the easiest peasiest plants to grow. What are you Six favourites today? Join us.

Have a lovely weekend wherever you are. Thanks for reading. D.

In a vase on Monday: All white on July 1st.

Tags

Ammi, Ammi majus, Ammi visnaga, Astrantia major, Daucus carota, in a vase on Monday, Malva moschata, musk mallow, opium poppy seed heads, Saponaria officinalis, Soapwort, white, white valerian

Good morning. Having survived the extreme heat of Saturday I am pleased to report that normal summer weather has returned here, a relief for most of us. The garden has perked up all ready.

As it is Monday I am sharing my bunch of (white) flowers with you and Cathy. I resisted using roses this week instead choosing seed grown whites.

Ammi visnaga, Ammi majus , the spectacular umbel of Daucus carota, a white Malva moschata or Musk-mallow which has appeared by magic ( birdies perhaps) white valerian, self sown Astrantia major, and seed heads of various opium poppies.

If you look carefully you may also see Soapwort, Saponaria officinalis . This is great for Hummingbird Hawk-moths but I have yet to spot one. The name is derived from the Latin word for soap and rubbing a leaf produces a slightly slippery froth which will absorb dirt particles. (Information from the wonderful book “Wild Flowers” by Sarah Raven).

Have a wonderful week, wherever you are. Be sure to take a look at some of the other vases taking part in this meme. Thanks for reading. D.

In a vase on Monday: bunches

Tags

astrantia, cerinthe, cornflowers, geraniums, in a vase on Monday, roses

I picked flowers for my friend to use at her garden opening yesterday.

A few Astrantia Roma and major

Geranium Johnson’s blue and Ann Folkard

Clover type flowers from Trifolium purpurascens.

Then roses

Lark Ascending

Gertrude Jekyll

A Shropshire Lad

Morning mist

With some alchemilla mollis and cerinthe I tied up three little jam jar sized posies.

One larger bunch

Oh and a few poppies and cornflowers thrown in for good measure.

These are joining fellow bloggers and Cathy. Perhaps you could join us, it’s simple: pick your flowers from the garden, arrange, discuss and add a link to Cathy’s blog as above. Simples.

Have a great day. D.

Six on Saturday: Winslow

Tags

Astrantia major shaggy, buxus, ferns, gardens open for charity, Hydrangea petiolaris, six on saturday, Winslow in Bloom

This morning I helped my friend prepare her garden for Winslow open gardens. There was not anything major needed, rather pulling forget me nots and weeds and nipping back any over leggy growth on the shrubs. While I tackled these jobs my friend trimmed up all the box.

The weather was foul, windy, rainy and chilly. Everything was sopping wet from yesterday’s rain so anything we touched, showered us with more water. My Soggy Six today, joining The Propagator are from her lovely garden.

1.

Hydrangea petiolaris in full lace. This grows on a deeply shaded wall of a neighbouring building and is at least 9ft up the wall. Birds are nesting so it will be tackled later in the summer when the birds have moved out and the flowers finished.

2. Ferns

My friend loves a fern and they do well in her walled garden with its deep loamy soil. This pair are in pots and we do not know the name but how delicate and ethereal next to the pot of Hydrangea .

3. Ferns ( again)

This is Dryopteris wallichiana a showstopper in colour and size. Growing amongst alchemilla Mollis and pulmonaria.

4.

Astrantia are delightful at the moment, unstressed, not too dry, looking perky.

We believe this to be Astrantia shaggy looking perfect against Hardwick white painted timber.

5. Clipped box

This group is looking very happy after its trim.

Peonies helpfully waiting to open, ideally for the open day.

6. Mint and drift

In a raised bed sits a large hunk of driftwood. At this time of year it adds interest to the large clump of mint growing happily in the dappled light.

That’s it, my Six to share.

If you are a local reader, Winslow in Bloom is next Sunday 16 June at 11am-5pm. £5 entrance covers you for up to 11 gardens. Funds raised go to local charities. Have a good weekend wherever you are. D.