Once the lovely sunny weather arrived in June, everything started to explode into flower and we felt that summer had arrived at last. It lasted for about 10 days, now it is back to rain, which we did need, and cold winds once more. There are so many flowers to share with you, I’ll start with a meconopsis, this time not the blue one, but the yellow Meconopsis cambrica which seeds gently round the garden.
Meconopsis cambrica
It’s the time of year when I go looking for that delicious shade of blue in the garden. To start with, in February, looking to see how many plants of Meconopsis Lingholm have survived the winter, then when I can see a cluster of leaves with golden hairs on them, I know that once more we are going to have a splash of kingfisher blue in the border.
From the first buds forming and then starting to open, daily visits are essential.
Following on from my last post, after a quick snack at the Blue Vinney pub near to the Sculpture by the Lakes, we crossed to the north of Dorset to visit the garden, Chiffchaffs. We had visited this garden a long time ago, but as it has a woodland with shrubs flowering now, it seemed the perfect opportunity. Around the house is a lovely cottage garden which was started in 1978 by Mr. and Mrs. K. Potts . This garden is an affiliated garden to the RHS, members get in free. There was a coach load of people enjoying the flowers while we were there, but the garden was large enough to absorb us all.
Where have all the years gone, time has whizzed by so quickly, so now I have to admit that yesterday was the day for the big Seven O! When I was twenty, I thought people of 70 were ancient, now I know that they definitely are not! For one of my birthday presents our daughter sent us to a sculpture park in Dorset, Sculpture by the Lakes. Booking ahead is necessary as they only allow a few in at a time, so that you can enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the place, just one other family were there the same time as us.
Male pheasant
All the sculptures are the work of the very talented sculptor Simon Gudgeon, the ones in the gallery are smaller but this pheasant at the entrance was much bigger than me.
While walking round the garden, we all too often are looking down at our plants in the borders. Sometimes it pays to look up to see what is happening above eye level as happened to me the other day. Having been up to the top of the garden, I got a wonderful surprise when I glanced up and found my Clematis montana was in full flower once more.
I’m not sure exactly how tall my oak tree is, but I reckon that the clematis has climbed up about 50 ft before cascading down like a waterfall.
Not everyone’s favourite, I know and even considered a bit old fashioned by some, but rhododendrons and azaleas are coming into flower, all guns blazing! They certainly aren’t shy, retiring plants, their bright colours can be seen from a great distance, they are big, bold and brash and I can’t help loving them! Our soil is just the acid side of neutral so we are able to grow a good range of plants from across all soil types. The first few photos are of plants in a border that faces the house at the side and leads through to the bog garden. I have made a path through the centre, mainly for ease of weeding, but also it means that I can plant more of my favourite woodland plants and therefore call it my woodland edge border.
A few nights ago I had a dream and in my dream I was improving the planting in the gravel area round the back of the house which is, to put it mildly, a bit boring.
It’s amazing how the garden and surrounding countryside has changed in the last month. There are now so many different shades of green delighting us as well as other colours of foliage. Driving round the lanes here, the beech leaves are at their best, such a wonderful soft, pale green, just the right colour with bluebells underneath but in the garden it is the oaks and chestnuts that are making us feel that we don’t have any neighbours, they will be blocked out for the next 6 months. Low down in the garden there is a rich tapestry of foliage growing rapidly, this is Tiarella wherryi which forms a ground cover under some of the shrubs near the greenhouse. OK it’s flowering at the moment, but even when not in flower, it is an almost weed proof carpet.
By March 22nd things were beginning to happen in the front border that showed that Molly was on the move once more. The “molly” I’m referring to is Paeonia mlokosewitschii, commonly known as Molly the Witch. When the leaves first break through the soil, they are the most beautiful burgundy colour.
This is the last post from me about the Scillies. We were lucky with the weather on a few days while we were away and the good weather lasted into the evenings with some wonderful sunsets. Having dinner each night in our hotel, it was a question of rushing out quickly to find a spot before the sun went down. This first photograph was taken from the quay where our ship came in.
