Sunday 27 September 2015

Feast of Flowers number 6

This is one from the summer, and one of my favourites.

They are such starbursts of true blue that go on and on blooming when everything else is getting a bit tired in high summer.


Happy Sunday evening.


Thursday 24 September 2015

Autumn inspiration

Yesterday was spent shopping for a client at the lovely Bodmin Nursery and their displays were inspirational. At a time of year when everyone is preparing for the end of the growing year they were stuffed full of colour, interest and fantastic combinations.

I can't name all the plants in these pictures (we were meant to be working!) but I'll try and identify the key heroes.


Lovely fiery Rudbeckia and cool Verbena Bonariensis (a short cultivar!) with spires of white. I couldn't get to these to identify them, if you can help I'd be very grateful.


Daisy-like Asters and spires of Agastache with an amazing variety of greenery, from tall and waving, upright and strappy, to soft and creeping.


A patchwork of dark Ajuga, silvery Stachys, starry blue Seratostigma and Echinacea seedlings.


Tall Agastache, Erysimum Bowles Mauve and Verbena Bonariensis mixed with Alchemilla Mollis, Cineraria, Euphorbia and arching grasses.


A lovely example of 'Prairie style' planting mixing herbaceous perennials with tall grasses. A glorious mix of colour and texture and informal, or even untidy, in the best possible way!


Drifts of Verbena Bonariensis, covered in bees.

Needless to say the double trolley system was in practice, one for the client, one for us!



Tuesday 22 September 2015

Apologies from the gardener!

I have been very remiss!
The summer has been busy but nonetheless I have been very remiss.

My blog has been left unposted upon, my garden has been left ungardened and my produce has been left unharvested. I have no meaningful excuse, just that of disorganisation and lack of focus. The weather certainly hasn't been so fabulous that we spent all the time on the beach, we haven't been away, we have had visitors but not lots, I've been working but not too much - ample time was left for doing all things garden. 

No, time has just got away from me. I'm not sure when things started to slip but it has to stop. There is a huge amount to do - clearing, harvesting, splitting, repositioning, repotting etc and the autumn is passing rapidly so I better get on with it.

So step one, the blog.
I'm back and I have various things to share but I'd thought I'd just ease us both in gently, to avoid the onset of blog shock!

My lovely neglected garden has got on with it's own thing marvellously, regardless of my unreliability and general flakiness. Some plants have been flowering non stop all summer so I thought I would share those lovely, hardy, and unstoppable plants first.



Jasmine Clotted Cream
It hasn't been overloaded with flowers but it has constantly had just enough to perfume our outdoor eating area all summer.



Osteospermum
Flowering constantly since May, come rain or shine and despite a distinct lack of deadheading!



Convolvulous Sabatius
Tumbling out of the pots either side of the back door, scrambling amongst the other pots and wide open to the morning sun, folding closed in the afternoon. 
Always covered in twisty buds and cheery flowers.



Magnolia Grandiflora Ferrugginea
Imposing and darkly shiny tree with larger than a dinner plate creamy flowers that appear as if from nowhere all summer. They still take me by surprise. Sometimes, in the spring, I miss that it doesn't have that overwhelming profusion of flowers like other Magnolias, but the slow drip of glorious blooms over months and months is ample recompense.

Now I must go and get started on the multitude of jobs on my list, and I have a list of posts to catch up too. 

Tomorrow we set out on a shopping expedition for one of our clients - the list is long and the tea is already brewing, so onwards and upwards with all things plant.