Flowers from the garden: October
It’s the tenth month of flowers from the garden. Last January I decided not to buy flowers for the house for a year. The benefits would be two fold: I would save loads of money but also I would be encouraged to focus more on our herbaceous borders. It has been an absorbing challenge. When I started gardening here (fifteen years ago), I concentrated on flowers in this garden. Slowly, edible produce has diverted my attention and the herbaceous borders have declined. Since I made the decision not to buy flowers I have planned and planted...
read moreFlowers from the garden: September
This is the ninth month of flowers from our garden. I decided to stop buying flowers from the supermarket and wayside stalls in January. I worked out that including parties and festivals we were spending over five hundred pounds a year on flowers. Flowers have always been a regular treat and indulgence for me. They give me enormous pleasure. Especially a bunch on the kitchen table as this is where I sit and work when I am at home. Giving up buying flowers has not been a easy. The first three months were the worst when there wasn’t much...
read moreMonarda and Meercat Intelligentsis have brightened our summer garden
Last week I was amazed to discover that we now have the floral answer to Meercats. Nodding in the breeze and gazing across the pond. I’d love to know what this plant is called. Does anybody out there know? Until then it will be Meercat Intelligentsis v. Fascinated, as it appears to be absorbed by the view. Last autumn I decided to replant the border on the south west side of the pond garden, where nothing much thrives. I gave the border a deep make over and discovered enough stones to provide the hardcore for a small castle and mile...
read moreFlowers from the garden: August
This bunch has got us talking. A lot. It’s August and one would expect a vase of summery flowers. But we have chosen a combination that refuses to be photographed and shared with the world. I am pulling my hair out having taken at least twenty shots of the beast and every one is out of focus. The image shown here is just a detail but it gives you a sense of the overall effect. We have a smoke tree in the garden. Danny thinks it’s called a flame tree. Who am I to disabuse him? So that’s how we refer to it now (sometimes...
read moreFlowers from the garden: July
I still haven’t bought any flowers this year. Now there are loads of flowers in the garden it is not quite so hard to roll the trolley past the flower displays in the supermarket. Although when there are those large bunches of sweet smelling stocks the trolley often makes a small veer towards the buckets. I picked this bunch early in July. Sometimes I don’t worry about clashing colours I just want to smell roses when I open the kitchen door. The scent of these was so sweet. Most of the roses are modern roses that were here in the...
read moreOpium poppies (Papaver somniferum)
I went into the garden in the morning when it was sunny to check the keets and see what was happening in the garden generally. The rain has battered a lot of the plants in the herbaceous border but it still is looking lush. This opium poppy had opened in the kitchen garden and was attracting hover flies. I love the flowers of this anual herb. The papery petals and their fleeting flowering makes them so special. I have seen opium poppies in the hedgerows in the lanes around here. They are tough plants that thrive anywhere. The medicinal value...
read moreFlowers from the garden: June
I’ve been away in London for a couple of nights. Danny took over as Maternity Matron and attended to Mrs Boss’s castle. The first thing I did on my return was rush down to check if we had keets. They could arrive anytime from now on. Mrs Boss was looking pretty chirpy and the nest of eggs was still a complete nest of eggs. There is nothing like a trip to London to make me realise how much I love living in the country. When I poked my head out of the back door I could smell Hyacinths. An unusual waft for this time of year, as they...
read moreOld Roses: Rosa Complicata
Many years ago I worked in a London Day Centre for mentally ill adults. One day a pretty Maltese lady looked troubled. When I asked her what was wrong she replied, “I am feeling,” she jutted her chin as she searched for the right word, “. . complex.” Sometimes I too feel complex and Rosa Complicata is the perfect antidote. This is one of my favourite roses in the garden. I love the name and the simplicity of the flowers. It’s like a child with large clear eyes. One of my duties at the Day Centre was to organise...
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