American Pillar Adorning a Fence
This reminds me, I still haven’t been to Mottisfont to see the roses…
everything that grows and stays put
This reminds me, I still haven’t been to Mottisfont to see the roses…
We planted the perennial honesty under a huge, dark beach tree last spring. They’ve flowered profusely this year with light purple flowers and are now developing seedpods. There’s no mildew on these plants, they are doing well in their dry, shady spot.
Well, there are some moths and butterflies depending on these, but there are plenty of brambles and groundelder around. I just was too busy doing my RHS course than weeding in that corner of the garden. If they weren’t such thugs, I would probably admit that I like the flowers.
People might say that Cotoneaster frigidus is not a very desireable plant. But it is a true bee-magnet. Just listen to that noise, the whole shrub is alive and buzzing. I should add sound to this post …
And the visiting flock of redwings will be very pleased with those bees and their diligent pollinating, when they come in December to gorge on the berries.
This is a thousand times better than bird feeders! It tops up itself and you never have to clean it. Perfect.
I had to wait outside the new US embassy in London for three hours and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The landscape design with a lake, waterfall, prairie planting and north-american trees makes the place feel like a genorous, open and very modern public garden. The latter adjectives haven’t been mentioned together with America for a while I guess.
May I introduce you to my favourite poppy: Papaver nudicaule “Champagne Bubbles”, paper-thin petals, very posh wrinkles as well as unshaved legs!
They can a bit invasive. But also the blue froth of flowers just has the most lovely shade of pale blue. So, what can you do? I leave them, where they don’t smother other plants and say goodbye before they go all brown and horrible.
This isn’t about ginger hipsters… the orange beard belongs to an iris, which is otherwise dark purple. The buds are pitch black before they open and this gorgeous flower unfolds.
For a few weeks in winter hazelnuts are wearing tassels. These are waiting until the fog has cleared and they can happily sway in the wind.
There is a pair of hazels in my front garden, “Butler” and “Gunslebert”, which yield descent sized hazelnuts and don’t grow too big. Passers by asked me, what is that plant?
They are not really considered to be ornamentals. Totally underrated.