gardens

Day 6 of my #AdventCalendar for gardeners 

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White flowers for a blue door. A cheerful welcome to all. 

In a Vase on Monday – 28th November 2016 

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Yellow flowers brighten even the gloomiest day in November. And my “Aunty Doris” chrysanthemum is still going strong. 


I would love to know more about Aunty Doris.  I’m searching family archives to find photos of her greenhouse and garden.  I’m sure we have a lot in common. We both love growing flowers and arranging them. And I think of her often. 


When I’m cutting and arranging these flowers, I think about her doing the same – only 40 ago. We would have taken cuttings, grown the plants and watered them. And would both be harvesting them at the same time of the year. 


I wonder if she loved them as much as I do. 


I’ve arranged my yellow chrysanths with dogwood stems, phormium and ferns from the garden. The creamy white button chrysanthemums are called Stallion and are growing through the sweet pea canes in the cut flower patch.  These flowers, as always, are for my wonderful MIL Joan.  She loves any signs of spring-  so I have added tiny hazel catkins. Together with the cheerful yellow chrysanths- they are guaranteed to make her smile. I just wish Doris could see them too. 


Thanks to Cathy for hosting this meme. Why not go over and see what the others are growing and how they are using  flowers from their gardens. Are you growing any plants passed down through the family, as I am? Or do any of your flowers remind you of friends and family? 

Wordless Wednesday 

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Still mild enough to sit in the summerhouse. Heaps of cosy woollen blankets to hide under. So I made an autumn wreath out of beech leaves, rosehips and cowparsley seed heads.


My wreath is made from a woven willow base. I learned how to make them from  Georgie Newbery at Common Farm Flowers. I can highly recommend the courses. I attended one for creating a cut flower patch and posy tying. I’ve never had to buy any flowers for my house and family since. I’m planning to attend one next year on growing flowers for weddings and special occasions. I’ve already bought my voucher for the course. It’s great to have something to look forward to as winter starts to bite.




The Persian ironwood shrub, Parrotia Persica still looks like a bonfire of colour.


Orange tulips, a present from a friend- the view inside the summerhouse today.

Have you got a favourite place you like to sit in the garden?

In a Vase on Monday 

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Our mild and sunny autumn has been a bonus for gardeners this year. Flowers usually past their best by the end of September have carried on into November. Here I am continuing my tradition of running around the garden once a week and picking whatever is in flower for my Mother-in-law, Joan. It’s a flavour of my garden that I am after – now my in laws are too elderly to visit us and see the garden for themselves. The flowers are loosely tied with string- and not arranged- as Joan takes great delight in making her own floral creations and placing them on the all the windowsills in the house.  


In the centre of the bouquet is some Verbena bonariensis grown from seed. It’s flowered virtually all summer and been a magnet for bees. Seeds for cut flowers come from Higgledy Garden.

There’s some spikes of  Persicaria Orange Field and deep red Persicaria Firetail. These flower July to October and are long-lasting in a vase. The spikes give a contrast to the daisy- like flowers of chrysanthemum Mei-Kyo.

 Chrysanthemum Mei-Kyo is one of the last to flower in my garden. It’s totally hardy here and doesn’t need staking. Flowers last for at least two weeks in a vase. 


My chrysanthemums grow at the base of the sweet pea canes on my cut flower bed. They do best in full sun, but these are growing on the north side of the hazel rod trellis. They grow to about 60cm high with a 50cm spread. Good quality plants come from Woottens plant nursery. I’ve been looking at their on-line catalogue for new additions to my plot and I rather fancy a chrysanthemum called Aunt Millicent- just for the name itself!  It’s a very pretty pale pink flower with a greeny yellow centre. More like a daisy than a chrysanthemum.


Bright pink alstroemerias are growing in large 40cm plant pots in my poly tunnel. These provide flowers nearly all year round. Flower stems are pulled rather than cut, and this encourages them to produce new flower stems. Tall stemmed varieties suitable for cutting are sold by Viv Marsh Postal Plants. I’m hoping to add a white variety called Blushing Bride to my collection next spring. The poly tunnel, bought second hand for £20, needs a good clean. Another winter job. It’s much harder to keep the polythene skin clear of algae than for a greenhouse. But it gives me a 20ft space to work during wet weather- and provides winter protection for a mini orchard  of peach trees.

Cathy at Rambling in the Garden started this meme three years ago, and it shows how gardeners from  all over  the world grow cut flowers and use them to decorate their homes.  I hope you’ve enjoyed this tour around my garden and the flowers grown for Joan. 

Tuesday View 4th October. The view from my garden.

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Step out of my garden gate, and cross the ploughed field at the back of the house and this is the autumn view.  Rich fertile farming land. Harvested now. And waiting. Ploughing sounds drone all around.  I can remember a time when the fields stood brown all winter. Now there’s barely a pause. Winter wheat, barley, oats and oil seed will be sown by November.


Hedgerows show the first  shades of autumn, while the oak and ash still stand as green as summer.


We stand and watch a kestrel quartering the fields. A rich hunting ground now the oil seed crop has been harvested. A set aside strip runs round the field margins.


Along the hedgerow walk, there’s a delicious smell reminiscent of apple pie. Crab apple fruit gently cook in the heat. It’s been 20 degrees here today. We collect the ripening fruit to make jelly. Whenever I open my kitchen cupboard doors in the winter, the jars of pink jelly will be there to lift my spirits. Little things  matter in the dark depths of winter. 

Goldfinch  feast on thistle and teasel seeds. The flash of yellow brings more welcome cheer on cold dark days. 

Rosehips galore. The blackbirds love them. We still make rosehip syrup. I grew up on a spoon of rosehip syrup each day before school. It tasted of summer. 


Viburnum opulus or Guelder Rose with sealing wax berries. As beautiful as any garden shrub. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed this walk along the hedgerows and the view from my garden. I have cheated really as Cathy at Words and Herbs asks us to share a view of our garden and  show how it changes throughout the year. My plot is mostly a wildlife garden with patches of brambles and stinging nettles. So as a first time contributor to this meme, I thought I would show you the setting for my garden. And hopefully then you will forgive my weeds and forgotten corners where I tread carefully and hedgehogs curl up in the leafmould with geranium leaves for a roof. 

Wordless Wednesday

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My favourite thing in gardening is finding unexpected treasures -or plants I’ve forgotten about. I planted this Eucomis bicolor  (pineapple lily)  years ago. Each autumn  it’s always a surprise- pushing up through an umbrella of geranium leaves. What plants have you “found” that have delighted you? 




Wordless Wednesday

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Hatchlings. 

I watched the spider weave this web. Watched the tiny dots hatch into tiny spiders. And then today, they emerged. It’s been a daily pilgrimage for me to check on the nest. I’m so pleased the web survived the farm tractors, dog walkers, stormy weather. I whispered good wishes to the babies as they drifted on the wind. And pondered on the things that make me happy. They are the simple pleasures in life. The things that money can’t buy. 

Wordless Wednesday

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Old fashioned  pink,  Dianthus Mrs Sinkins. Such scent! 

Wordless Wednesday

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Clematis Montana Marjorie. A delicate double-flower. Scented in the evening to attract moths.

Hoby Open Gardens

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On a still summer’s evening, the church bell sounded the hour, and a flock of geese took flight from the lake. 

I was standing on the edge of the ha ha at Glebe House,  looking over the pasture lands that would once have been owned by the clergy. It’s a sight that gladdens the heart. Undulating wildflower meadows with contented sheep asleep in the shade  of ancient oak and lime trees. 

This is the perfect place to stand and survey the garden. Scent drifts from the roses planted all along the old brick walls. And there’s a tantalising view through an archway, wreathed with honeysuckle and climbing roses. 


Rosa Shot Silk makes a glorious background for the drifts of allium Purple Sensation. 
The hypocaust wall would have once had peaches, apricots and figs. Food for the clergy at the rectory next door.  Owners Steve and Diane  Horsfield say the clergy would have had rather a nice life here. They dined on shellfish from fishponds in the meadows below. The couple have been digging up quantities of shells all around the garden ever since they moved in. 


Rosa Mutabilis with euphorbia, alliums and nepeta. There’s a first floor garden room to take in the views.

 


The views from the ha ha. 


Rosa Crown Princess Margareta in the foreground.

Crown Princess Margareta. 

Glebe House in Hoby, Leicestershire, will be open on Saturday and Sunday 18th and 19th June 2016 from 11am t0 5pm along with 11 other gardens to raise funds for All Saints Church. Tickets cost £5.  There will be lunch in the village hall and cream teas at Glebe House and Redwood. Pimms, ice creams and  a plant stall  can be found around the village, and an art exhibition in the church. The car park will be in Thrussington Road (LE14 3EB) 

I was lucky enough to have a preview of the gardens when I joined the BBC Radio Leicester Down to Earth gardening team. You can hear more on the programme today  (12th June) at 12 noon on 104.9FM and on i player. 

A favourite of mine was Clematis Cottage.The Montana clematis (I think it’s Marjorie) seems to be trying to climb in through the bedroom window. Just heavenly! Don’t you agree?


Chelsea Flower Show Highlights

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Here’s my photo highlights of Chelsea 2016. If you have limited time and energy to see everything at Chelsea. Just follow this route to see my favourites.

Start at Diarmuid Gavin’s Harrod’s British Eccentrics Garden. You have to see it really. You just can’t go home without spying those twirling bay trees. And remember that while we are all worrying about box blight, Diarmiud has got mechanical failure to contend with. He’s got no one to blame but himself. 


You can’t hide in there, Mr Gavin. Diarmuid heads for the potting shed as the judges inspect his creation. 

Just along the Main Avenue is Ann-Marie Powell’s Greening Grey Britain garden, sponsored by the RHS.The  planting is a glorious combination of pink and orange. Wins my award for most cheerful garden at Chelsea, and there are lots of ideas to “borrow.” I love the edible planting in pots, the scaffolding pergola swathed in climbing Westerland Rose, and the seating where you can relax and watch the wildlife. It’s a  welcome change to be allowed to walk through a garden at Chelsea. That’s what we do in real life- we don’t stand at a barrier and just look into a garden.


Cross over the Main Avenue – and be transported to Provence. James Basson’s L’Occitane garden makes you feel as if you are standing right on the edge of a lavender field in sunnier climes. The scent is something you’ll remember long after the show. Wins my award for most relaxing garden at Chelsea. I needed to stand there for quite some time after battling my way on the train and underground.

Also on Main Avenue, The Telegraph Garden by Andy Sturgeon takes you to the semi-arid foothills of the Andes in Chile. I love the orange isoplexis. Beautifully captures the spirit of the place. I stood in wonder.

Virtually next door on the Main Avenue is Cleve West’s M&G Garden, inspired by the ancient oak woodland of Exmoor National Park. I love the woodland-edge planting and the little pools of water in the rocks. 



Don’t  miss Rosy Hardy’s first show garden, on Main Avenue, the Brewin Dolphin Garden- Forever Freefolk. A reminder of the fragility of beautiful chalk streams- and a plea to value and protect them.


Turn the corner onto Royal Hospital Way and find Jekka McVicar’s first show garden, created for St John’s Hospice- called A Modern Apothecary. This is the garden  I most wanted to transport home. A place of calm in the midst of all the busy chaos.


And finally, on the Rock Garden Bank is Matthew Wilson’s triumph- A Garden for Yorkshire. It really is a sight to behold. Inspired by the Great East Window at York Minster, it simply transports you to God’s Own County. 


What are your highlights of Chelsea 2016? Let me know what you think of this year’s gardens. 

 Chelsea Flower Show 2016

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The words Fun and Happiness sum up Chelsea 2016- for me.

Diarmuid Gavin, as always, provides the fun. And Ann-Marie Powell has the word Happiness written in 10 different languages all through her paving. 

The moment I set eyes on those words, I thought Ann-Marie  had perfectly summed up the mood for this year’s Chelsea Flower Show.

For the first time, it’s not all about how much money you’ve got to spend- it’s about making the best of what you’ve got- and just enjoying gardening.

Ann-Marie’s garden- commissioned by the RHS – perfectly captures the message that gardening is good for you. It’s good for mental and physical health. And it’s not all about big budgets. Or big spaces.  The rose covered pergola -is made from recycled scaffolding poles. And the potting shed roof is packed with containers growing fruit and veg. I even spotted a beehive up there.

As for the planting-it’s a joyous riot of pink and orange. It shouldn’t work- but somehow it does. Maybe because the pink is lychnis flos-cuculi- a wild flower that has such happy childhood memories for me. I grew up on a farm with water meadows- waist high in those pink flowers, commonly known as Ragged Robin,combined with bright yellow buttercups. Ann-Marie has partnered the wild flowers with orange geums which give the same bright meadow look- mixed in with lots of grasses. 

It’s a sight guaranteed to lift the spirits- and sets the scene for the rest of the flower show. If you are heading to Chelsea this week, Ann-Marie’s garden is located directly in front of the new-look RHS Hub. But to be honest- you really can’t miss it.

Cheerful combination of pink Ragged Robin with Orange Geum Prinses Juliana and tufted hair grass Deschampsia cespitosa. The bird feeders are made by blacksmith Alex Moore, mooredesigns.co.uk  @MooreDesignsUK. The benches are also made by Alex. If you are like me, and notice beautiful small details, you can also spot his work on the Jekka McVicar garden. The pretty rose arch and twisty metal border edging is by Alex.

Ann-Marie working on the planting on Sunday. The flowers include alliums, lupins,salvia, geraniums and aquilegia. This is a garden to walk through,rather than just look at from a distance. 


I loved this bright pink geranium (possibly palmatum) waiting to be planted on Sunday. How do they get it to look so perfect by Monday.

All finished by Monday-and still smiling. Ann-Marie Powell in front of the scaffolding pergola with climbing rose Westerland. The garden was commissioned to promote the RHS Greening Grey Britain campaign. I think it succeeded. 

And finally- a photo of Diarmuid Gavin’s British Eccentrics Garden, inspired by the cartoons of William Heath Robinson. It’s wacky, a bit  bonkers, and mesmerising for 10 minutes. But don’t take it too seriously. Go on- smile! It’s good for you!