In Praise of Single Flowers
Rose Year 2018
In the UK it has been a fantastic year for flowers, no more so than an English favourite the Rose.
Parks and gardens have been over flowing with stunning blooms and scents.
2018 may be the start of a rose resurgence and I will be tempted to buy a few more bare rooted rose trees this backend.
Have I just been fortunate or has the weather restricted pests and diseases? No rust, negligible blackspot and only one plant suffering from mildew.
It may be too soon to say farewell to greenfly but I live in hope for the second flush from the HT roses.
After generally a good year for fruit and berries I wonder what to expect from rose hips this autumn. My Rambling Rector put on a good show and now I hope for a surfiet of hips. Rugosa roses needed more moisture and were one of the few poor performance in 2018.
British View of American Landscape
Some time ago in the pre-Trump era the west lawn at the British Museum showed plants from North Americas landscape. The plants were provided in partnership with Kew but the photographs were mine taken in September.
I now wish I had also visited to see and take pictures of earlier spring and summer flowers fro N America.
Amongst the more colourful flowers were a range of ‘tickseed’ which is the American name for Coreopsis. I like to grow these airy prairie plants even in darkest Yorkshire and you may see why from these photos.
Trust me to get a photo of mildew! Must try again.
The Museum garden had a lot going on in both leaf and flower forms.
The signage was good but it wasn’t obvious to me which of three zones each plant portrayed; Woodland, Prairie or Wetland.
I am sure the wetland was represented by the wonderful insect eating Pitcher plants.
Older Pitcher plants below.
I am sure it wasn’t intentional on the part of Kew to include these British Rockies. I am sure the real thing are more awe inspiring.
For me the September light set off these New England Asters a proper treat.
Cone flowers Echinacea purpurea held there own!
Orange Coneflower Rudbeckia fulgida. The seeds feed finches and Native Americans used a wash from the plant for snake bites, earache and for a variety of other medicinal purposes.
First known in England in 1789 when they were described by Wm Aiton the first curator at Kew and ‘His Majesty’s Gardener at
Kew and Richmond ‘.
Meadow Flowering Wild or semi-cultivated
One red poppy to add interest to this photo of a ‘sown’ wild garden. The effect is pleasing with the cornflowers just breaking into colour.
A spring bulb meadow in a tree line glade.
Blue bells and tulips make a good combination. The fritillaries are nearly over.
Sown seed in a field of meadow grass cultivated to help this floral display.
An unusual August Wild Flower Garden when most wild flowers are spring flowering.
Water and Contemplation at Waterperry Garden
Easter Pictures
Happy Easter 
No (snow) platforming this Easter
Moving in to Spring
Cottage Garden and Annuals Triptych
This is a series of 3 photographs of my favourite cottage garden on Main Street Menston. Late summer each year will see me leaning over the Yorkshire stone wall to admire the ‘gaudy’ collection of flowers that create one enormous display.
Design Features
- The hard landscape is suitably constrained and smacks of belonging to a true plantsman or plantswoman. The red brick from the family home and a small section of slatted paneling limits the borders of this front garden.
- The garden barely needs to borrow from the surrounding landscape but the old grey Yorkshire stone walls add a timelessness to a short lived period of glory from the plants.
- Like my garden this garden suffers from a drain cover in an inconvenient spot but it is as disguised as practical with the wooden hooped barrel used as a plant pot. (How else can they get more flowers on show?)
- The central bed is designed as a lozenge rather than a more normal oval or circle. It works well and allows the gardener access from all 4 sides.
Flowers on Display
- The main feature is not of structural plants or herbaceous perennials but the selection of bright cheerful annuals.
- Wispy Cosmos and Nicotiana edge over the roadside wall on which I lean to take these three photographs.
- Good strong yellow flowers predominate and link the whole composition together. I particularly like the Tagetes, Marigolds and Rudbeckia .
- It would be churlish to mention the grass which is in fair condition towards the end of summer.
Chelsea Blue
I like a good strong blue in the garden and not because Chelsea FC play in a blue soccer strip. With the 2018 Chelsea flower show on the RHS calendar I have selected a few photographs to highlight my favourite colour.
Hydrangea Macrophylla
The faceless pansy can be a substitute for a viola it plays well as a center forward or in midfield.
In goal we must have the African with the furry edged petals in Violet
The B team Allium is just getting back into form after a long layoff. A mid season injury saw a 4 week metatarsal break disrupt his training.
Anemone and Ranunculus in defense occasionally charging down the wings
Hydrangea Red White and Blue Photographs
Photographs from Our 2000 Posts
This is Gardeners Tips 2,000 extant post since April 2008. I have lost count how many photographs and images have been included but here are just a few repeats.
In addition to our own images we would like to thank creative commons and other organisations that helped with contributions as we were starting out.
Around 100 books have been recommended to highlight a subject such as The Garden Photography Workshop by Andrea Jones below.
We would also like to thank the million plus visitors to our website and hope the tips and humour demonstrate how gardening can have a lighter side.