The hellebore is one of the earliest blooms to be spotted in the garden, appearing from late winter to early spring. H. niger is a semi-evergreen perennial to 30cm, with pedately lobed, leathery, dark green leaves and, despite the name, the flowers are usually pure white or pink-flushed white, bowl-shaped flowers up to 8cm in…
Garden Portrait: Mrs Greville’s Rose Garden
Mrs Greville’s rose garden at Polesden Lacey in the Surrey Hills is set out in a simple cross pattern, with long, box-edged, wooden pergolas, adjoining seams of ‘Munstead’ and deeper ‘Hidcote’ lavenders, walls draped in clematis and a water tower festooned in an old Chinese wisteria, it is a mass of pink and white in the summer months. This…
things you have liked
I have been looking at the statistics on my blogs recently, in lieu of the report that WordPress used to send us all at the end of the year. It is interesting to see which posts have proved the most popular. Whether this affects the way I post is debatable, but may have a bearing…
Macro Monday #100
(click to enlarge to full size) This exotic looking Canna lily screams for attention with its rumpled vivid yellow and orange flowers amongst the spectacular green foliage with yellow-striped veins. A late summer / autumn flowering plant the Canna lily is a tender perennial which won’t survive the frosts, so dig up the bulb and…
change the way you feel
Recently there has been a lot of talk about the way in which gardening is helping people to change their lives: particularly people with mental health issues, disabilities or suffering from loneliness. Research has discovered that gardening can help reduce anxiety, improve cognitive recall, help with dementia, help combat isolation, improve physical health and stamina and…
Macro Monday #99
(click to enlarge to full size) Clerodendrum splendens (glory tree, flaming glorybower) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Clerodendrum of the family Lamiaceae, native to tropical Western Africa. It is a twining evergreen climber, growing to 3 metres (9.8 ft) or more, with panicles of brilliant scarlet flowers in summer. With a minimum temperature of 10 °C (50 °F), it…
Macro Monday #98
(click to enlarge to full size) Hemerocallis (daylilies) produce elegant, usually trumpet-like blooms in summer. They are rugged, adaptable, vigorous perennials that endure in a garden for many years with little or no care and come in all sorts of lovely colours.
Macro Monday #97
Indecision This bee couldn’t decide which flower to go for so ended up straddling two pretty blue Salvia plants.
Up the Garden Path
There are many different pathways through a garden, and I do spend a lot of time walking them as visiting gardens is my passion. Here are some I have trodden on over the years. Paths can lead us directly between borders on either side, or along terraced slopes, with steep or shallow steps, sometimes paved,…
Macro Monday #96
(click to enlarge to full size) Japanese Anemone (Anemone hupehensis) is a wonderful flower for the late summer and will grow in sun or shade so a good addition to the woodland border. The leaves are semi-evergreen and deeply cut and bring interesting texture to a herbaceous border. I just love the contrasting coronet of intense yellow…
