Visual nature can be found all around in your garden, local park or field. Keep a look out for interesting or unusual shapes, patterns and textures and take a camera around with you. I like the contorted Hazel branches that weave their own pattern.
This log in parkland had an amazing pattern created by the symmetry of the old bark. The teeth shapes remind me of cogs on a rustic wheel. …
This could be an old variety old variety ‘Brigadier’ from pre WW ll. It has strong colouring with vivid pink-red flowers and a striking magenta eye. Like most paniculata varieties it has a good fragrance.
If the plant has been maintained for 75 plus yaers it will have been replicated from cuttings many times as most phlox are comparatively short lived herbaceous plants. Root clumps can be split with high levels of success. Alteratively stem or root cuttings should thrive.
Stately and statuesque, the blue Delphinium is one of the best tall features in a herbaceous border. I questioned my English teacher whether they should be called Delphinii as there always seemed to be several upright stalks like the chunky dark blue examples above. As regular readers will know spelling is not one of my greatest strengths.(nor is grammar).
The keen eyed will spot one of the secret ways of helping these 6 feet high giants stay upright. At Newby Hall garden a great deal of time and effort is expended on good quality staking and support and delphiniums are no exception. There is 3″ square mesh of fine filament placed at about 3′ high and the flower stems allowed to grom through. There is no need to support individual blooms.
There are many shades of blue from the dark almost purple to powder blue and even white.
Slightly gone over these flowers were displayed in a white border. Delphiniums have been a minor success in my flower vases this year and I will try again next year after feeding and water the plants extra sustinence.
Varieties courtesy of Old Farmers Almanac
We can all suffer from forgetfulness or in my case ignorance. This flower looks a bit like an antirrhinum but somehow that doesn’t seem to fit.
There is many a good gardener who wears a tie to work. Neat rows of vegetables, manicured lawns and a smart personal appearance are de-rigor in the best professional gardens.
Contrast this to the old (some may say very old) neckerchief worn by Adam the gardener in the informative 1940’s strip cartoon. His recommendation for the first week in August included sowing hardy annuals of eschholtzia, cornflower, nigella, larkspur, scabious and shirley poppy for transplanting in spring. I guess that is all tied up.
Can you name all the garden implements?
Yorkshireman statue at Newby Hall Garden near Ripon. A tie, waistcoat and flat cap, what every well dressed gardener should be wearing.
Ten images of different coloured Viola plants from our local nursery. Anyone with the patience to count the number of flowers is welcome to try. When planted out these small plants should romp away and each will produce loads more smiling faces.
Read about our favourite top ten violas to grow.
A rose is not a rose when it is a Lenten or Christmas rose!
This is largely from a post I did in 2013 with some updates. Seeing the colour in my garden and watching the single flowers close up for the evening I decided to buy some more seeds for next summer (I hope I can find the space to do them justice) I opted for ‘Copper Swirl’ by TM and for an extra 99p I got ‘Golden West Californian Poppy’ thrown in. I am tempted to sow half of each packet shortly although the blurb on the packet suggests waiting until Feb or March next year.
‘I like a brash colour in the garden and you can’t beat my favourite annual Californian Poppy. Eschscholzia californica is a bit of a mouthful but Californian Poppies and their family are well worth the effort.
The Californian poppy is an easy to grow hardy annual, which thrives in well drained sunny positions.
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Half Standard roses are grown on a 60-80cm stems. The selected flowering variety is grafted onto this stem. A spreading variety of polyantha or ‘fairy rose’ attains further height of 2′. Clusters of bead-like buds open to globular, scented flowers which are most effective en masse.
Very often Half Standards are a better choice than full standards as they do not get too tall. Note how the half standard has been secured to the top of the stake.
By contrast ‘Full Standard’ roses are grown on a 3 foot stem. The flowering variety is grafted onto the stem and depending on variety will grow a further 3-5 foot Most full standards flower at or above head height.
