Silent Sunday: flower shopping, Dutch style

Tags

allium sphaerocephalon. Symphoricarpos, bike, Dahlias, Delft, flower market, September, Silent Sunday, snowberry, the Netherlands, two wheels are better than four

Saturday smile: six bishops

Tags

bishop of llandaff, bishop of Oxford, bishop of York, Dahlias, March, Saturday smile, Woottens of Wenhaston

It is not often that you get six bishops under one roof at the same time, well certainly not in my house. There is perhaps a joke in there somewhere. Anyway.

These are my bishops: bishop of Llandaff, bishop of Oxford and bishop of York. Purchased from Woottens.

The bishops arrived safe and sound in net bags, sadly plastic but I shall reuse them in the winter when I lift the dahlias for safe store.

They were provided with clearly labelled plastic labels, useful whilst in pots but unlikely to be refused.

Each tuber resembles a weird bunch of desiccated brown bananas. Dry and firm they are ready for immediate planting.

I have gently placed the tubers in some fresh compost in plastic pots, making sure the stalk from last season is just poking above the compost. A little water and that’s it. Pop them under glass and wait.

Hey presto.

Well actually a bit more is needed to be done but it is simple. Keep them frost free, that’s essential.

Keep them warm and damp, not sopping wet.

Once the risk of frost has gone, plant them out in good garden compost, in a sunny spot. Stake them, feed them with a general garden fertiliser and Bob’s your uncle.

Lots of fab flowers until the end of Autumn.

Worth waiting for. Do give them a go if you have never grown them before. D.

Friday 3 November 2017

Tags

Dahlias, frost, Petersham Nursery, Thank goodness it's Friday

We had a cold night earlier this week, and a sharp frost took all my dahlias.  Although disappointing it was inevitable for this time of year. Without further ado I chopped back the evil looking, black foliage and mulched over the crowns. Three are to be relocated and those were dug up and placed under a fleece blanket in the garage in order that they can dry out and be saved for next year. 

Yesterday I visited the very attractive Petersham Nursery. London weather is milder than in my garden and so Petersham Nursery was untouched and their dahlias were still looking beautiful. Here are a few pretty snaps from the day.  

One for the cat lovers:

And for the foodies, how about this for presentation:

Bangers and mash don’t quite cut this in this looks department, do they. 
Have a good day.

Friday 3 November 2017

Tags

Dahlias, frost, Petersham Nursery, Thank goodness it's Friday

We had a cold night earlier this week, and a sharp frost took all my dahlias.  Although disappointing it was inevitable for this time of year. Without further ado I chopped back the evil looking, black foliage and mulched over the crowns. Three are to be relocated and those were dug up and placed under a fleece blanket in the garage in order that they can dry out and be saved for next year. 

Yesterday I visited the very attractive Petersham Nursery. London weather is milder than in my garden and so Petersham Nursery was untouched and their dahlias were still looking beautiful. Here are a few pretty snaps from the day.  

One for the cat lovers:

And for the foodies, how about this for presentation:

Bangers and mash don’t quite cut this in this looks department, do they. 
Have a good day.

In a Vase on Monday: petals

Tags

Cosmos sonata dwarf, Dahlia Labyrinth, Dahlias, in a vase on Monday, rose a shropshire lad

The wind is getting up as predicted. I suspect like many of you I spent a large part of the day yesterday in the garden. I picked these precious last few flowers.

How delicate petals seem at this time of year. Too soft and gentle to withstand rough weather. Too colourful, too pretty, against other plants which are drying out and brown. On my kitchen window sill sits a pot of Burts Bees almond and milk hand cream, it brought to mind an old TV advert for a certain cream where a brown dried out leaf sprang back to life. Now imagine if that were possible. 

Other petals are these Cosmos dahlias and roses. 

So colourful. 

So delicate. 

Pretty

This is Dahlia Labyrinth.

Let’s hope the weather is not too drastic. Pop over to Cathy to see what other vases are around this week. There are sure to be plenty of lovely flowers to see. 

In a Vase on Monday: Bank holiday snips

Tags

bank holiday monday, calendula, Dahlia Arabian Night, Dahlia mignon.mixed, Dahlias, in a vase on Monday, Verbena bonariensis

I hope you have had a good long weekend, the weather has certainly been lovely.  I almost forgot it was Monday. 

As I write this post at 8pm the colours of the flowers I picked are a bit like the sky this evening. 

Red sky at night….

Shepherds delight. Well Doris’s delight with these colours. Now if you haven’t done so already, pop over to Cathy. You know the drill. I suspect tomorrow I am going to be feeling Monday -ish for a Tuesday. 

In a Vase on Monday: crystal and velvet

Tags

crystal, Dahlia Arabian Night, Dahlias, in a vase on Monday, velvet

Before dashing around trying to get a flat sorted I picked some of my favourite dahlias. This deep dark burgundy flower is gorgeous. It has a pleasing depth of colour and a texture which appears like velvet. I can imagine a fabric in this colour and texture, a smoking jacket and draping trousers. 

In this crystal creamer it rather brings to mind the C word. You know the one, Christmas. 

I suppose I should tell you which dahlia it is, Arabian Night. Now take look over at Cathy s lovely blog to feast your eyes on vases full of home grown flowers. 

Have a good week.

In a vase on Monday: seeking shade

Tags

Achillea, Alchemilla mollis, Cosmos, Dahlia mignon.mixed, Dahlias, David Austin Roses, in a vase on Monday, poppy seed heads, Rose The Pilgrim, turquoise milk glass

 

 

All sorts

The heat is building up over the next couple of days and already the dog is flaked out on the cool flagstone floor.

I grabbed a few of the last roses, this one is The Pilgrim from David Austin. A buttery yellow old style rose with a strong rose fragrance I do like it but find that the weight of the blooms cause it to flop over. A chop to shorten the stem ensures the heads are supported by the sides of the glass. To the rose I have added yellow/ lime coloured Alchemilla mollis and Achillea which fades from dark to pale pink. 

In a turquoise glass jug I have put the strong pink coloured Cosmos with more of the Alchemilla mollis and Achillea.  I have also added the seed heads of a few poppies.

More Alchemilla has been added to the small Dahlia mignon.  This overwintered in the cutting bed which I am very pleased about.  Finally I have a few of the tiniest Dahlia which I chose because I do love the look of a daisy.

 

So there you have it folks my vases for Monday.  Do take a look at Cathys lovely blog https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com to see some more Monday vases, certainly more cheerful than world news.

Forgive me reader, it is many days since my last blog

Tags

Cerciscanadensis Forest pansy, Dahlias, Echinops bannaticus Taplow Blue, Euphorbia characias subsp.Wulfenii, Nymolle Denmark, Passionflower, Sambucus Nigra, Sweetpeas

So this month. blogging efforts have been hampered by laptop failure. Tedious but it has made me realise how much I am beginning to enjoy the sitting down and writing process.  So that is good. All fixed, I am now back to it and catching up with news from other bloggers.

October is about Harvest and I have already written about the fruit harvest but have recently been given a ceramic wall hanging which sums up October.  This is now hanging in my kitchen.  It is by Nymolle Denmark and simply called Oktober, thanks Sam, I love it.

October is no longer Summer and not yet Winter, but this Autumn has crept up on me as family life has been quite full on.  True there are signs that Summer is fading, the sun really has little real heat left in it although the daily temperatures are mild, remaining in the mid teens centigrade. The benefit of the warmth is that Sweet peas are still available for picking:

The mild October also means that the Dahlias are delightful and remain ready for picking

On my west facing wall, the Passion flower is still flowering and although I have yet to see any fruit, it thrills me with its exotic looks, each time I come through the front door.

Of course we all know that the mild spell cannot last , the clocks changed last night and the forecast is for gale force winds tonight.  To try to hold onto the beauty in the garden I dashed around with my camera to collect images of other plants looking good. Below is the wonderful Dogwood, Cornus  sanguinea ‘Midwinter fire’  which I have growing in a large half barrel.

  Aster species unknown

   Above is the magnificant Forest Pansy Cercis canadensis which is looking abolutely stunning at the moment.  This is a small tree which makes a spectacular feature in a small garden. Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii Echinops bannaticus ‘Taplow Blue’Dark berries of the Sambucus nigra

October is always a busy month in the garden and this year is no exception.  The mild spell has meant that the grass is still growing and yet heavy rain and wind has made it necessary to just grab the opportunity for cutting whenever it lends itself.  Then there are the falling leaves which are really only just starting to fall.  These are collected and saved to make a mulch for the garden, especially important on chalky soils. If you have never done this can I suggest you give it a go this year.  Stuff black bags with the collected leaves and tie a knot in the bag, pierce the plastic with a fork and hide your bags in a dark corner of the garden. That’s it! Leave for a year or more to rot away following which you will have a crumbly earthy mix ready to mulch your flowerbeds. Mulching in Spring 2013 

Anyway the forecast for gale force winds has caused a huge amount of debris in the lanes around where I live, but I moved all my pots into a sheltered spot and lay down the bird table so I am relieved to see that we have escaped without any damage.  This area of the Chilterns seems to have escaped the worst of the weather and I hope that you are all safe and that your gardens have remained in one piece, where ever you are.