Saturday smile: 29/7/17

Tags

agapanthus, Hydrangea paniculata limelight, Saturday smile, Shasta Daisy, summer flowers

The sun appeared briefly, illuminating the whites. 

Shasta daisies and Hydrangea paniculata Limelight

These are growing nicely in the gravel previously used for parking. Another white catching my eye is a single Agapanthus. 

No idea what happened to the rest of them. Such is gardening. Oh well there’s always next year!

Saturday smile: Summer

Tags

allium, Allium sphaerocephalon, euphorbia griffithii Dixter, Helenium Moorheim Beauty, Hydrangea paniculata limelight, Leucanthemum x superbum, Rose "Lark Ascending", Saturday smile, Shasta Daisy, Verbena bonariensis

This Summer is showing itself to be, dare I say it, good. Warm, dry and sunny. The garden this morning looked rather nice in the slightly cooler air and before the direct sun hit. 

Rose Lark Ascending 

Euphorbia Griffithii Dixter and drumstick Allium Sphaerocephalon

Hemerocallis and Helenium Moorheim Beauty, Verbena bonariensis 

Hydrangea paniculata Limelight, Box and Shasta daisies, Leucanthemum x superbum 

Whatever is making you smile today, enjoy it. 

Right I am off to paint yet more wood. More about that another day as it is not making me smile. 

Tuesday View: 24/01/17

Tags

Box ball, clipped Buxus sempervirens, Eupatorium Elin, frost, Hydrangea paniculata limelight, Ilex crenata, japanese holly, Joe pye weed, Pheasant's tail grass, Stipa arundinacea, Tuesday View, Winter

Cold Pheasants tail grass

The last few days here have been very cold but settled, frosty and still. Pretty to look at. The frost barely defrosts even in direct sunlight and so little actual garden work can be done.  Cathy at https://wordsandherbs.com hosts the Tuesday View.

dormant

There will be lots to do once we move into February and the weather begins to warm up. In the meantime there is lots of fireside planning, research, reading and drawing to be done. Just look at this:

 

west facing patio, the home of a feed store for the last occupants, the goats.

It would seem as if this would be a great place to have a seating area as it catches the very last of the sun.  In reality it gets covered in sticky stuff from the trees and the birds within the trees. I am presently working on an idea for a structure that will protect the area below the trees from the ‘stuff’ but that will not block out the precious light.  I do not want a Summer house (too twee) or a pergola (it will not stop the debris) but I do want something there.  Any ideas? So whilst I share my thoughts with someone who can make stuff, here are the close ups.

Eupatorium Elin 

Ilex crenata

This small leaf evergreen, otherwise known as Japanese holly is a  slow growing plant which lends itself well to clipping and is a good alternative to Box.  I have not grown it before but found a bunch of five, half price in my local garden centre.  Still in pots awaiting a home, I will let you know how they fare.

cold Box

Thank you to those of you who expressed concern/ sympathy about the leak outside my gate.  Thames Water advised me that they had fixed the leak despite my concerns that the hole in the ground had filled with water again.  Whilst writing this, the team to back fill the hole arrived.  On pumping out the surplus water the pipe cracked and the leak is back with a vengence. Efficient.

Back to the plants and breathe.

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’

 

In a Vase on Monday: memories of Summer

Tags

Allium Purple Sensation, Hydrangea paniculata limelight, in a vase on Monday, memories of summer

All that I have to share with my vase, and you,  is so last year.  

Shadows of their former self. 

Yet somehow they look golden in the low Winter daylight. 

Their former glory captured in a crisp skeletal shape.

The Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ may no longer be purple, the pale lime green of Hydrangea Limelight bleached away to a crisp brown shell, yet their beauty remains sensational.

So for my Monday vase this week my offering is rather weak, frail even. Perhaps some of the many contributors to Cathy’s meme from other parts of the world will have some rather more lively looking flowers to share. Take a look at https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com

Have a good week, wherever you are.

In a vase on Monday: Quick!

Tags

Dahlia Arabian Night, david austin rose Gertrude Jekyll, Hydrangea paniculata limelight, in a vase on Monday, Rose Lark Ascending, Rose The Pilgrim

The day has flown by, so quickly before I get dinner ready, I had better grab some flowers for a vase.

Roses are having a resurgence right now, dark pink is Gertrude Jekyll, yellow is The Pilgrim, peachy is Lark Ascending and the very pale pink one which was already here, name is unknown.

Added to the roses are Hydrangea Limelight. It has struggled in the heat as it is in full sun until about 2 pm and has browned in places.  I  had to add the rather dark velvet dahlia Arabian Night.

I especially like the lime against the pink and peach colours. 

So pop over to Cathy at https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com and see a host of other vases which are sure to help you unwind on a Monday.

Have a good week

In a vase on Monday: thanks Dad

Tags

apothecary jar, florist frog, Hydrangea paniculata limelight, ikebana, in a vase on Monday, molinia Transparent, Rose Just Joey, Rose Super Trouper

Super Trouper and Just Joey

The folks came for dinner on Saturday with a posy of roses from their garden.

Ready tied, the posy is a combination of the vibrant orange, in your face, rose ‘Super Trouper’ and the more copper than orange rose ‘Just Joey’.  Added to these are a few leaves from a varigated Hosta, variety unknown. It was the perfect size and colour combination for my old apothcary jar.

Dad is rather partial to his roses having about seventy in his garden.  This ensures a steady supply of Summer flowers for their house and occasionaly mine. Thanks Dad.

Now Cathy at https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com suggested we might like to try an ikebana style arrangement this week. For those of you who are unaware of the term, ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arranging.  An ancient art, the focus of ikebana is on balance, harmony and form. This is my attempt.

Into a small oriental bowl, my first mistake as yes I am pretty sure that it is chinese, I have placed a small frog.  No amphibians have been hurt in this this experiment as this particular frog is one of these.

A kind gift from Rosie at The Chelsea Flower Show this year, it is rather sharp but holds the most delicate of flowers or in this case grasses in place.

Molinia caerulea ssp. arundinacea ‘Transparent’ 

This is Molinia ‘Transparent’ possibly another mistake as it is rather difficult to photograph on a grey day, it is transparent after all.  Here with the first of my Hydrangea paniculata Limelight flowers.  

I love the lime-white flowers. So two completely different offerings today.  Have a good week.

Small Town garden, Twickenham

Tags

Acer palmatum, cercis siliquastrum, curved path, Hydrangea paniculata limelight, small garden

This garden has been in the same family for decades and was serving as little more than an outdoor space in which to hang the washing.  A great deal needed to be done and the owner felt overwhelmed by the task.  The primary request was for a new path as the existing one was tricky to walk on. The shed had to go before it fell down and the aim was to ensure that the owner would be able to see the garden from the comfort of an armchair which faces out the living room window, shown below.

The shed had to be sorted as it housed a collection of old tools, garden chairs, pots of paint and bits of old carpet.  The windows from the shed had disappeared many years ago and consequently wildlife had moved in during the Winter months. Once sorted and any useful items put on the ‘keep ‘ pile the rest could go.  Similarly all plants were scrutinised and a number were dug up as ‘keeps’ with a total of six mature specimens marked with blue ribbon to save for the new garden.

Costs were to be kept as low as possible and although the owner wanted plastic grass to avoid mowing, in the final plan grass was permitted.  

The latter part of the day sees the sun roll down the garden, from the house end to the bottom end by the gate.  To make maximum use of the sunshine, a small area of patio was agreed to give space for a small bench or table and chair, or perhaps a statue.  The owner liked this idea as it would mean less grass to look after.

Once the shed was demolished, any useful tools were to be kept in the empty coal shed or outside toilet as this left space in the garden and saved the expense of a new shed.

The area which for so many years had been home to the shed, was to have a small raised bed with stepping-stones behind it to enable access to the outside wall.

The path was to curve into the garden, to create an interesting area for planting, finishing at the gate.  Indian sandstone met the budget. Work took four days.

Planting which was ‘saved’ in-situ included  Weigela, Euonymus fortunei, Fuschia, Hibiscus, and Winter Jasmine.  Others were dug up and split including Sedum, and hardy Geranium Johnsons Blue. Cuttings collected from other gardens included Pulmonaria and Acanthus mollis.

New planting included three small trees, two forms of Acer palmatum and the slow-growing, Cercis siliquastrum with its heart-shaped leaves. Shrubs included the Hydrangea paniculata Limelight and a Sweet Box for winter scent.  Cercis siliquastrum  Acer palmatum Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’

Shown below are the plants in their new home.

 Hibiscus still wearing its blue ‘keep’ ribbon

The tree is underplanted with a selection of Allium, hardy geraniums and Alchemilla mollis which will cover the ground and tumble over the sides of the raised bed.  The home owner was rather pleased with the outcome but seemed even more pleased by the stream of friends and neighbours who called by to admire her new garden.