Goodbye April, hello May

Tags

Acer, April, cerinthe, friday flowers, Hornbeam, perennial poppies.papaver Patty’s Plum, Spring, Tulip Ballerina, tulip Brown Sugar, tulips

April collage

I cannot believe April has been and gone. The tulips came and thrilled me with their vibrant colours. The emerging foliage of Hornbeam all pleated and fresh never looked so good, well not since it looked so good this time, last year.

Cerinthe has emerged from the ground. Self sown and so very striking. Such an exquisite plant, flower and foliage so interesting and different.

Still emerging and opening into May are the perennial poppies. Patty’s Plum is still looking like crushed velvet or crumpled tissue paper.

April gave us some beautiful weather this year. Blue skies against the blood red foliage of the Acer was astonishingly striking.

Violas and mint to dress a birthday cake for daughter Dorris. Another year older. Best she start lying about her age as I cannot possibly have a 24 year old daughter !

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

Happy Easter to you

Tags

Easter, mixed tulips collection, sarah Raven, Thank goodness it's Friday, Tulip Ballerina, tulip Brown Sugar, tulips

Scented Tulips

Emerging tulips

Sarah Raven tulips
collection

A queer kind of Easter weekend for all of us under lockdown. For those without an outdoor space I really hope you are able to get outside for a walk.

As most people who are kind enough to look at this blog are garden lovers I guess you may have a garden of your own to enjoy. Tend your garden but do try not to spend all day working in it! (That is what I shall try to do, but well there is just so much to be done at this time of year).

Sharing tulip joy. Happy Easter. D.

Six on Saturday: pulling away

Tags

Brunnera macro Dawson’s white, carpinus betula, cerinthe major purpurascens, euphorbia griffithii Dixter, Hornbeam, philadelphus coronarius aureus, six on saturday, Tulip Ballerina, tulip Brown Sugar

After some time away I am looking at the garden afresh. So much has pulled away thanks to the light and warmer temperatures. My favourite six to share with you and The Propagator this week are these.

1.

Fresh foliage doesn’t come much fresher looking than Philadelphus coronarius aureus. Catching the sunshine it is luminous.

2.

Euphorbias are such good plants somehow always interesting looking. This is Euphorbia griffithii Dixter showing its orange bracts to the sunshine.

3

Cerinthe major purpurascens

These are self sown from last year. I like the glaucous, slightly fleshy leaves and drooping purple heads. They make a good cut flower.

4.

‘ Pleats please’ of the Hornbeam, Carpinus betula variety rather than the Issey Miyake creation. Such neat foliage.

5

A new combination for me Brunnera macro Dawson’s white ( yes I know the flowers are blue but the foliage is white) Tulips. I cannot find the note I will have made, somewhere, with the names of these two varieties. Sorry about that. So annoying when that happens.

And 6.

More tulips. These are the scented ones I had in my vase here this week. They are in a raised bed to help the bulbs keep out of the thick clay. It seems to work well as these are last years bulbs. In the foreground are Tulip Brown sugar and Ballerina.

Thank you for looking at my Six for this Saturday. Enjoy the long Easter weekend and some warm weather, perfect to enjoy the garden. D.

Top ten Blooms for March

Tags

allium schubertii, Anthriscus sylvestris ravenswing, Grape hyacinth, hyacinth, March, Philadelphus aurea, Prunus Nipponica Ruby, Spring flowers, Thalictrum Elin, Top ten blooms, Tulip Ballerina

Chloris invites us to share our top ten blooms with her on the 23rd of each month. Although today is the 27th I want to share my top ten with her and you as I know she won’t mind too much that I am a couple of days late. So here they are in all their blooming glory:

Prunus Nipponica Ruby. This is a new tree in my garden a dwarf form and I am delighted by its blossom.

Philadelphus aurea This mock orange was included in my garden as I love this foliage. A fresh bright lime which stands out amongst all other green leafed shrubs. Not yet fully grown the leaves are opening swiftly now.

Bulbs are in full show right now well apart from the tulips who are coming slowlyTulip Ballerina I think.

This is the crazy and eccentric Allium schubertii . Just appearing.

Blue and white Hyacinths are filling the air with their heady aroma. I have these in raised beds to avoid my very heavy clay.

The marmite of bulbs? Perhaps. Grape hyacinth growing happily under the Hornbeam hedge.

Then there is this:

A single blue beauty. I do not what it is Chloris. It piggy backed from a garden who gave me a couple of Hellebores. I hope it stays and makes a few friends.

This may look a bit like Aquilegia but it is Thalictrum Elin. I adore Thalictrum and this one will be around 1.2m tall by Summer.

As Cow parsley pulls away so too is this dark leaf version, Anthriscus sylvestris Ravenswing.

Euphorbia amygdaloides purpurea

There you have it, my ten for March. Not bad for starters? Thanks for reading. D.

In a vase on Monday: last of the tulips

Tags

in a vase on Monday, May in my garden, parrot tulip, Spring flowers, tulip Angelique, Tulip Apricot Beauty, Tulip Ballerina, Tulip Queen of the Night, tulips

I picked these yesterday morning before the day warmed up to its predicted 22 degrees.  Can you believe how the weather has become Summer almost overnight? Every where you look people seem to be enjoying this long weekend of weather and making the most of the long awaited sunlight.  Anyway the tulip flowers are open and a day out in the heat would have finished them off.

I popped the tulips in the large blue glass vase brother Dorris gave as a gift many years ago.  It always works well with tulips as it hides the somewhat messy leaf and stalk set up that tulips do have. 

From above the black table sets off the striking colours of Ballerina and Angelique while the dark near black of Queen of the Night seems properly black, she does seem regal.

So these may be the last of my tulips but I have been pleased with them as they all flowered in pots last year and were lifted and repotted in a raised bed this year. I think they may have done better this year than last.

I hope as it is a bank holiday Monday you will have a few minutes to spare and to pop over to see Cathy.  There will be lots of other vases full of wonderful flowers, maybe some foliage and some will have accessories to look at.  It is a lovely way to start the week, go on, take a quick look, it will not disappoint.

Now if you will excuse me, I am hoping to get some garden work done before it gets too warm for an English gal like me.

Enjoy your day, wherever you are. D.

In a Vase on Monday: tulip mania

Tags

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.

Saturday smile: the palest pink to the richest orange

Tags

apple blossom, Saturday smile, Tulip Apricot Beauty, Tulip Ballerina, tulip Brown Sugar, tulip Comet, tulip Graceland, tulip LaBelle Epoque, tulips

Apple blossom is covering the tree this year and it looks fabulous against the blue sky. I am a little fearful for the damage risk, posed by the forecast of cooler temperatures next week, but we cannot control the weather, can we.

We shall just have to enjoy it while we can. Another palest white with pink/ purple margins are these tulips

Named  Graceland they are part of a lovely mix of tulips with so called ‘Apricot Beauty’ and ‘La Belle Époque ‘.  Planted lasagne style they have not disappointed.

Close up La Belle Époque are very beautiful

Even their insides are attractive 

I am so pleased with these. 

I also planted a ‘scented’ mix of tulips.  Surprisingly to me they actually do what they say i.e. they smell. The colours are strong and rich, the scent rather similar to freesias. 

An eye catching bunch that are making me smile today. Enjoy your weekend.

Tuesday view: 18 April 2017

Tags

apple blossom, Betula albosinensis Fascination, Epimedium rubrum, euphorbia griffithii Dixter, Geum Totally Tangerine, Lily flowered tulips, Tuesday View, Tulip Apricot Beauty, Tulip Ballerina

 

Look up to the sky and see

This beautiful Spring day, I am joining Cathy with her meme to share a view on  Tuesday.  I did do this last year and found it a good way to record just how my new garden is developing. The apple tree is one of the few trees that survived living in a paddock full of goats.  Despite the abuse and notwitstanding having had chicken wire nailed into its trunk, the tree survived.  Following three careful prunings in as many Winters, it is now in pretty good shape and rewarding me with masses of blossom this year.  I had a pretty good crop of apples last year and this one tree generated enough juice for 27 bottles.  I just hope we do not get a sharp frost to knock back the blossom, a possibility as it is still only mid April.

Apple tree with early blush of blossom

Against the backdrop of Horse chestnut trees, the apple tree is coming into its own and follows the earlier blossom of the Victoria Plum.  This year I will look at a view on the opposite side of the garden to that which I shared last year.  We have not had much rain and the clay flinty ground is looking grey and hard.  I have resisted watering but the wind is drying and if we do not have a heavy shower this week I will have to give it all a good soaking.

Ground cover in the form of Tiarella and Epimediums

The border includes a multi stemmed birch, Euphorbia griffithii Dixter, and daylilies.  As the birch has an orange bark, I have used variations on this colour

Euphorbia grffithii Dixter

throughout the season.  A poor photo thanks to the strong sunshine, no grumbling please.

the first flower of Geum Totally Tangerine

The geums seem to do well on the heavy soil and Mrs Bradshaw is in bud having flowered from about April to October last year.

The Tuesday view 2017

So much is happening in the garden at this time of year as the ground has warmed a little and the light is stronger so the weeds are on the march.  The grass had its first early trim in March and cutting is now in full flow. The daffodils are beginning to fade whilst snowdrops and crocus are long gone.  They tulips however are having their moment.   I purchased some half price bulbs from Sarah Raven including Apricot beauty below and Ballerina.

Do you have a view to share? If you do be sure to add your link to Cathy

In a vase on Monday: Marmalade?

Tags

Aquilegia vulgaris, Astrantia Rubra, Geranium phaeum, Geum "Mrs Bradshaw", Geum Totally Tangerine, in a vase on Monday, Sparaxis elegans, Tulip Ballerina, Tulip Queen of the Night

Marmalade jar to link to todays colours

Cathy at https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com will be hosting a group of vases for Monday.  Today I have got my act into gear and managed to pick a few of the newly emerging flowers to join in.  I seem to have a number of shades of orange in the garden so I decided to use the old marmalade pot. The shot above includes the very strong orange from Sparaxis elegans

Tulip Queen of the Night, with Aquilegia vulgaris

The tulips are beginning to go over so to enjoy them I have picked the wonderfully dark ‘Queen of the Night’, and added the common but certainly not vulgar Aquilegias.  There is also a few dark purples from the Geranium phaeum and Astrantia.  The Astrantia ‘Rubra’ may be a smaller flowered than some of the astrantias and not as dark as ‘Hadspen Blood’ but I like it and know that it will flower pretty much until October.

Geum Totally Tangerine and Astrantia Roma

Geum Totally Tangerine with Geum Mrs Bradshaw behind

Have a good week.