Following on from the last post about foliage – one of the most fascinating plants that I have is a vine, Actinidia kolomikta, which is a cousin of the Kiwi fruit, Actinidia chinensis. I felt it deserved a post all to itself, I hope you agree.
Tapestry of Foliage.
Even though we are surrounded at the moment by wonderful flowers of all colours, it is very easy sometimes to forget the sumptuous tapestry effect that comes with contrasting foliage.
Tulip Time.
Tulips do not do very well here in our garden as the soil is too heavy,in spite of being improved by adding compost, leaf mould and grit, but I keep trying. This last winter was very dry so the few bulbs that I put in seem to have survived very well. This one is Abu Hassan and I like it so much, I must buy more next autumn – colours are a lovely dark burgundy and gold.
Off with the Hellebore Heads.
Now is the time here in the UK to be tidying your Hellebores if you don’t want to be over run with seedlings.
Heavenly blue of Meconopsis.
My love affair with meconopsis, or the Himalayan blue poppy, started years ago when reading about them. I first came face to face with them 5 yrs ago in the Ringve Botanic Garden in Trondheim, Norway (we were there celebrating our Ruby Wedding ) and have been completely besotted with these lovely plants ever since.
Weekend Safari to Knightshayes.
We gave ourselves a well earned break from weeding this last weekend and paid a visit to Knightshayes Court in Devon, one of our stately homes run by the National Trust, and famed for its woodland garden.
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Tagged Acer, Azalea, bluebells, Cyclamen repandum, Knightshayes Court, Magnolia, National Trust, Trillium grandiflorum, wood anemone, woodland, yew
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Who needs an alarm clock ?
Not me, when I have got this fellow to wake me up each morning ! He has taken to roosting overnight in our garden in one of our old oak trees, he must feel safe up there from the foxes. Foxes, like us are partial to a bit of pheasant !
What’s flowering in April.
At last the mad rush of blooms brought on by our sudden heat wave seems to be slowing down. We are working in T shirts and retreating into the shade with ice creams to try and cool off – not the weather we should be having at this time of year – still, mustn’t complain.
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Tagged akebia, brunnera, celandine, cowslips, Cyclamen, dicentraclematis, epimedium, erythronium, lamium, marsh marigold, muscari, tulips
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Blossom Time
We have been so busy looking down at all the fantastic spring bulbs that have been flowering over the past 3 months, now is the time to look up and see all the blossom at eye level and above. Everywhere looks so pretty and is accompanied by the fresh green of the newly emerging leaves. Spring is such a wonderful time of year…..enjoy !!!
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Tagged Amelanchier, Blackthorn, Blossom, CamelliaKerria, Chaenomolies, Cherry, Damson, Prunus, Spirea
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Splitting time for Snowdrops
If you want to have drifts of beautiful snowdrops, just like the photos we see of the collections at stately homes in England – then now is the time to get busy. This beautiful drift was photographed at Colesbourne Park in Gloucestershire when we were there in February.
