tulips

End of the Month View -April 2018

/ karen / 39 Comments

We leave cold, wet April behind, and May finally brings some warm, settled weather.

The potting shed window ledge soon has a jug of cow parsley and forget-me-nots from the wild garden.

We’ve waited for this display all winter. Wild cherry trees in the paddock. Alive with bees. An avalanche of white blossom.

Scented narcissi Geranium pop up in the long grass around the pond. I love the egg yolk centres.

Needing some work this summer, the pond is ringed with marsh marigolds and lady’s smock wild flowers- and brambles and stinging nettles! A bit of cutting back and control is planned.

Our front lawn is a blue haze. My Grandfather Ted Foulds brought the first wild violets here, seedlings from his garden. They spread over the whole plot, and I love them.

I’ve planted my sweet peas. The hazel rods are a bit ramshackle, but they’ll soon be covered with flowers. I planted seed in October. I’m growing old favourites: High Scent, Wiltshire Ripple and creamy white Mrs Collier, plus heritage varieties from Easton Walled Gardens .

Suddenly, these dog’s tooth violets pop up through cow parsley in the woodland. I forget I’ve planted them – and then they emerge. Sunshine on a cold, cloudy day. Erythronium Pagoda is the variety growing here.

Shining out from the shade, Tulip Purissima. Reliably comes back every year. Copes with everything the weather throws at it.

I grow Orange Emperor tulips in the daylily bed in front of the greenhouse. Another good do-er. Always comes up every year if planted deeply on a bed of grit for drainage.

Favourite shrubs in flower at the moment are daphne and quince. This one is Japanese quince, Chaenomeles Kinshiden. Double flowers open pale lime green and change to clotted cream as they age.

Pleased to see my plectranthus has survived the winter, tucked up in the greenhouse. A striking plant for summer containers. Easy to grow from cuttings.

There will be plenty of citrus fruit for summer preserves. This plant flowered all winter, filling the greenhouse with such a wonderful scent.

We do quite a bit of owl watching from the top of the garden. Delighted to report the barn owls and tawny owls have survived the freezing winter. We’re hoping they bring their fledglings into our garden again this summer.

Another cause for celebration. The hedgehogs- we think they are last year’s babies- also survived the cold, and have come out of hibernation, ravenous. They are doing a great job of clearing pests in the garden.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this slide show of my garden at the end of April and into the first week of May. Enjoy your Bank Holiday weekend. I’m hoping to spend some time just sitting in my favourite garden chair. If I can possibly ignore all the weeds growing rampant in the background!

Thanks to Helen Patient Gardener for hosting the EOMV. Why not go over and see how Helen’s garden looks at the end of April.

What are your plans for the garden over the coming weeks? Get in touch and let me know.

In a Vase on Monday- spring flowers for Mum

/ karen / 22 Comments

Flowers for my Mum this week. There’s nothing as beautiful as spring bulbs and ranunculus are among my favourites. They are easy to grow. Plant them 8cm deep and the same distance apart in bulb fibre or John Innes compost. I grow mine in pots, starting them off in the greenhouse for an early crop. But they can be grown outdoors in full sun and well-drained soil. Plant them with the “fingers” facing downwards. The RHS has a sale on – 12 corms for £1.60 instead of £4. Aviv Rose is an excellent variety. I also grow Purple Heart . They last for a week in a vase. I made a small posy for the kitchen table with mine.

Red tulips look fabulous with blue hyacinths. I’ve placed these with lots of twigs from the garden. I’ve got grey catkins, red dogwood, spirea, and field maple. Some of the stems came from my new “Hedge in a Box” kit from Hopes Grove Nurseries. I wrote about planting my new florists’ hedge Here.

In amongst the stems are daffodils from Waitrose, grown in West Cornwall. “Surprise Bouquets ” contain 30 different stems for £4. You can’t tell what they are while they are in bud. The mystery is only revealed as they open. I love something a bit different and new marketing ideas to promote British flowers. Greenyard Flowers have been supplying Waitrose with daffodils for 23 years and grow more than 1,000 different varieties.

Some of the daffodils open up with creamy- white outer petals and a darker lemon trumpet. They have a delicate scent too.

All my bouquets for friends and family contain some of this evergreen glossy-leaved shrub that originally came from my Grandfather Ted Foulds. It’s called Euonymus Japonicus. I loved his visits here each week. He would always bring a little pot of seedlings from his garden, or a cutting from one of his plants. It’s lovely to walk around the garden now and remember him from all the flowers and shrubs in my garden.

There’s nothing more cheerful than popping a few twigs in amongst the spring flowers and watching them burst into leaf in the heat of the windowsill. This one I think is common field maple. The lime green leaves are almost as beautiful as any flower.

Thank you to Cathy at Ramblinginthegarden for hosting this meme. Why not go over and see what Cathy and all the others are putting in their vases this week. It’s an international favourite.

In a Vase on Monday- a peek inside my potting shed

/ karen / 42 Comments

This week I’ve potted up some prepared hyacinths. I started them off in a cold, dark potting shed in September. The bulbs were put through a cold treatment before I bought them – to trick them into thinking they had gone through winter. Putting them in a dark cupboard for 10 weeks completes the treatment. They grow fabulous roots in the dark and form a strong flower shoot. Some hyacinths were brought on in warmer conditions to flower for Christmas. But spare bulbs have been kept cold and dry to stagger the flowering display.

I grow them individually in 3″ pots. To create a display, I simply choose bulbs that have flower spikes about the same size.

I love the green edge on these Carnegie white hyacinths and the scent cheers up the potting shed. It’s a joy to work in there at the moment.

My grandfather Ted Foulds gave me these terracotta Sankey plant pots. I love using them and always think of him. Happy memories – I had a carefree childhood. For which I’m very grateful. They were simpler times then, when we made our own entertainment. Mud pie gardens, surrounded with stones and topped with flower heads. Making gardens in a biscuit tin lid, with tin foil ponds and tiny twig “trees.” Keeping snails as pets and feeding them lettuce; and great delight when the snails produced eggs, hatching into a family of miniature baby snails with translucent shells.

Here’s some hyacinths that have been flowering in the greenhouse for several weeks. They are such great value. Below, I’ve used foliage from the garden, dogwood stems, salix catkins and hazel lambs tails, with a single pink hyacinth flower and some double snowdrops.

And finally, in my mother-in-law Joan’s posy, there’s white hellebores, and the first daffodils, surrounded with ivy, and twigs and some green foliage which is actually a weed. It’s known as shepherd’s purse, and has tiny hearts all along the stem.

Thank you to Cathy at Ramblinginthegarden for hosting this meme. Why not go over and see what Cathy and all the others are growing and using for their flower arrangements this week. As you can see, you don’t have to use a vase. Any container will do.

I hope you enjoyed a peek inside my potting shed. Get in touch and let me know what you are growing.

#wordlesswednesday -Jewel-like flowers

/ karen / 22 Comments

Haven’t the spring bulbs been gorgeous this year. They seem to have loved the cold April temperatures. March was mild and brought them into flower early. Then the cold weather and lack of rain made them last for weeks.

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This is Leucocoryne ixiodes purpurea -or purple glory-of-the-sun. originating from Chile, these are bulbous perennials with grassy foliage and umbels of star-like purple, white or blue flowers in spring. The flowers are 2.5cm across and scented. Plant 10cm deep in very well drained soil, or in containers with lots of sharp sand.

And the tulips have had the longest flowering time I can ever remember.

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Have the bulbs done well in your garden this year?

Words and Pictures

/ karen / 16 Comments

THE GARDEN PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP

Andrea Jones (Timber Press £17.99)

The postman arrived to find me wobbling at the top of a step ladder, peering through a piece of black cardboard with a square cut out of the middle. “I’m composing photos of my garden,” I heard myself saying. Oh dear. How mad does that sound! I rather sheepishly climbed down and made him a cup of tea while he chuckled away. 

Over tea and biscuits in the potting shed, I explained that my new photography workbook recommended using a piece of card to practise framing a view.  It works close up, as well as for landscape views. I just had to learn how to squint through the cut out square- while up a ladder, and while keeping my balance. The postman declared it could all end in tears.

Anyway, as he continued his round, laughing as usual, I went back to my new book. Andrea Jones has produced a fabulous masterclass giving hints and tips on the best ways of capturing the garden. 


 Some of the ideas were a complete revelation. I had never heard of making a viewfinder to try out different angles. And I had never thought of looking down on my garden- or looking up.  Most of my photos are straight shots, taken from a standing position. So I tried it out on these tiny species rockery tulips. Looking down: 


Looking up. A worm’s-eye view. 

I haven’t quite got the best shot. They are so tiny, I needed to move some of the stems out of the way.  But it’s still an interesting view. I shall work on the idea. 

And here’s another photo I took from a standing position. A glorious garden at Burghley House near Stamford, open for the NGS scheme. 


And the worm’s-eye view, crouching down amongst the flowers: 

Over the past 25 years, Andrea has built an international reputation for her photography of landscapes, gardens and plants. Among the many awards, she was voted Photographer of the Year by her peers at the Garden Media Guild. Her website for more information is andreajones.co.uk

Andrea suggests making a plan of action- rather than just casually wandering  around the garden taking random shots (like I do now). Some of the best ideas I gathered from the book include:

Use a compass – a smart phone has a compass app- to get an idea of the light direction and potential shadows.

The best light for taking photos is the “golden hour” the first hour after the sun rises and the last hour of light before the sun sets. Use an online sunrise and sunset app to estimate the time. 

Tripods make a world of difference for taking good photos. But if, like me, you are using a camera phone, a small piece of tack or Plasticine can be used to position a phone temporarily on a secure surface to avoid camera shake. I tried this on top of the garden gate. 

If taking shots in bright, contrasty light, use your body to create a shadow and reduce the amount of light reaching the plant or subject of the photo.

Other headings in the book include: Photography in all Seasons, Photographing Pets and Wildlife, Working with Weather, Light, Macro, Micro, and Close-up, Essential Kit, and Catching the Moment. 

I am working my way through the rest of the book. There are 10 inspiring gardens featured with step-by-step lessons on observation, storytelling, composing, and editing. Andrea’s book helps you take your photography to another level, whether you are using a smart phone like me, or have the latest DSLR. It’s a master course on capturing the magic of gardens. 

Unfurling. My Black Parrot Tulip. A favourite this spring. Except, my foot is also in the photo. Sigh. I still have some work to do then. 


Thank you to Timber Press  for supplying The Garden Photography Workshop-  in exchange for an honest review. I will leave you with my cat Grace who shares my home- and garden- and who sits very patiently while I practise my new photography skills. 


Do you enjoy taking photographs of your garden? 

#wordlesswednesday #tulip #love

/ karen / 14 Comments

Finola. So graceful. Haven’t the tulips been wonderful this year. Such a joy at the end of a long, cold dark winter.


I love the creamy buds and green feathering on this double late, or peony-flowered tulip. We are all growing this variety in place of Angelique. Finola seems to be a stronger tulip. Grows to 50cm high and flowers in April and May. I’ve planted mine in a sea of blue forget-me-nots. Brunnera  would be a good alternative if you are worried about the forget-me-nots seeding about.  Good quality tulips  and bulbs of all kinds are available from Bloms Bulbs and Peter Nyssen.

What tulips are you enjoying the most at the moment? 

End of the Month View 

/ karen / 42 Comments

Everything in my garden has suddenly gone whoosh! I’m running round the plot at breakfast, lunch and tea break – finding flowers that I’m certain were not there earlier in the day. Plants just seem to pop up overnight.


My favourite tulip, Burgundy, was only in bud for a day or two. Then by lunchtime, the flower was wide open. When the wind blows, they look like ribbons of silk scarves, dancing in the breeze. Lily-flower tulips have a certain elegance and movement. Much better than their stiff, cottage cousins, I think.


 Hellebores make perfect ground cover in fading shades of purple and pink. As a contrast there’s tiny forget-me-nots in the borders, and the lawn is edged with a frill of scented wild violets. Blue and cerise pink make very happy companions.


Looking up, banks of cherries make a white cloud over the wild garden. There will be lots of fruit for the blackbirds- and us. 


Hasn’t it been a fabulous year for blossom. Cold temperatures in January, followed by sunny, mild days in March, mean we’ve had the best year for cherries and magnolias for a long time. My planting is the wild cherry Prunus Avium. Simply beautiful- all year round. 


If we don’t have any frost, there will be a record plum harvest. There’s enough to pick for the house too. Blossom on the breakfast table and by my bedside. One of the joys of spring. 


Pieris  Flaming Silver is planted in an enormous pot. It wouldn’t like my heavy clay soil, so I cheat with containers and ericaceous compost. It’s beautiful all year round with  white heather, bell-like flowers and red new growth. 


My favourite narcissi is white Pheasant’s Eye. Reliably comes back every year, and naturalises in borders and under trees. 


White, highly-scented Narcissi Geranium  is another glorious treat. My children used to call it the poached egg flower. 


Brightening up a dark corner- Devon Red. The petals look sugar-coated in sunshine. A hardy flower which copes with hail and high winds in my garden. 


Narcissus Ice Follies, viewed from the summerhouse, replace the snowdrops and wild anemones. Cowparsley will soon compete with native bluebells. It’s an ever changing scene. 

I love these cheerful jonquils on the potting shed windowsill. A perfect match for forget-me-nots, and just the right size for jam jar flowers. Trees by the pond show a reflection in the window. And the last of the paperwhites, hyacinths and cyclemen are pressing at the glass. 

And I’ve got company again! Opposite the garden gate are these beauties, let out onto grass for the first time this year. They look on incredulous as I dig and weed. 

What sights do you love to see in your garden in April? Do get in touch and let me know. Thanks to Helen for hosting this end of the month view. Click on the highlighted words for more information. They are not advertising or affiliate links.