This week it’s six on Saturday from Somerset. It’s a bit of a neglected garden but there are some flashes of loveliness.
The perennials are outgrowing the weeds thankfully.
Echinop
The Echinop is a real bee magnet and has grown really well again this year. The colour is vibrant in the summer garden and I must add some more.
Phlox
The white phlox seems to have spread quite a bit. There are patches of it in places I didn’t realise it was planted in. It’s a glorious almost iridescent white in certain light. Almost see through in bright sun.
Evening primrose
When we moved in over 25 years ago we had a lot of self seeded evening primrose with a pretty acid yellow flower. We now only have a few of these growing but they have never been lost in the years since we moved in.
It’s been an awesome year for roses. I pruned them late this year. The trouble with not being at the cottage as often this year is that we often miss the best displays. This is an absolute gem of a rose. Don’t ask me its name. I have never been a great one at labelling. It’s in my list to do better.
Buddleja davidii
Buddleja davidii,is a bit like marmite. You either love it or hate it. We started off with Buddleja globosa.
A lovely orange/yellow flower which we lost along the way and replaced with a lovely white.
The Garden
It’s easy to photograph bits of the garden in isolation and to avoid the weeds. This is through the honeysuckle arch and you can’t see the abundant bindweed and ground elder.
I’ve been in Somerset for the week. Primarily to garden. To dig out the ground elder and to generally tidy the neglected garden. But. Best laid plans and all that. It rained. No it poured down. The drive down to was wet. Very wet. I stopped off for a toilet break. And sat in the car for ages. Waiting for a break. Which never came.
I did manage to empty the pots at the front of the cottage and to replant with geraniums. This year it’s all a bit pink with a bit of lavender thrown into the pots right outside the front door. ‘Thrown in ‘ now that’s a horticultural technical term. Isn’t it? From a man who still calls Coleus Coleus and gets a row for mixing up my pellies with my geraniums.
Even though we aren’t there a lot I like to keep the front pots planted. Now all I need to do is persuade my godson to water them for me. I’m sure he will. I’ve perfected it over the last 16 years. It will give him an excuse to drive his tractor down the lane. Not that he needs one.
I dug and dug until I was almost in Australia in attempt to clear the ground elder and bindweed roots out. Ian arrived mid week and helped me clear large parts of the problem. There is still a long way to go. Not to Australia. That is a long way. But to be rid of ground elder and bindweed.
If you look closely you can see him under dark skies ideen in the midst of the greenery! It’s a side on view rather than the usual back of the head pic!
We all photograph the best bits in the garden. The most photogenic. The ones with a bit of colour. Behind the honeysuckle and to the right is a really untidy bit of garden. At the bottom there is bindweed trying to strangle the currant bushes. Nettles protecting the raspberry canes. But there are some lovely flashes of colour. A reminder of what the garden has and is hidden. In the weeds!
I planted this orange poppy two years ago and it’s flourished. It has flowered and flowered and there aré still more to come.
There are some straggly dark poppies to come through – found through the weeds and I have scattered seed of the Californian poppy throughout the garden. I’d been recommended the colours Copperpot and Ivory Castle so have used them as well as a general mix. I love the vibrant orange. They remind me of my parents garden c1970’s.
Phlomis
Can I admit it? I’m not a lover of this Phlomis. Was on the garden when we bought the cottage so had been around for over 20 odd years. ( some years were distinctly older than others) and it keeps returning. I prefer the pink one. No that’s not a theme of pink big I find this one a little dull.
There is only one self seeded foxglove in the garden. Two years ago they were abundant. The astrantia continues to grow like a weed – they obviously likes it here. I first bought Astrantia in the old Hadspen gardens. It was run then by Sandra and Nori Pope two inspirational gardeners and where I bought Astrantia Hadspen blood.
Astrantia
The Cornus this year has gone crazy. The tree is so top heavy with flowers that the rain has made it hang very low over the garden. I need to look how and when it should be pruned. It’s a beautiful sight especially at dusk and dawn where it illuminates the border.
Cornus
A the roses are awesome this year. This really pretty pink is smothered in buds. The rambling rector which we thought we had lost has literally hundreds of buds waiting to open and hundreds already open. Not easy to photograph though!!
Rambling Rector
I don’t usually have much luck with clematis. Rubbish at pruning they are generally left to their own devices. But in Somerset there are three that return year in year. This year it is the turn of my old friend Nelly Moser to go crazy. Big fat blooms.
Clematis
It hasn’t been all gardening. A message from a fellow Insta & witterer Harriet Rycroft to say she was in Bruton and was I around to meet for a catch up and a visit some gardens. Some. Well three.
Piet oudolf Field at Hauser& Wirth
Coffee and catch up first and then a wander around the Piet oudolf garden at Hauser and Wirth.
Great planting plan
As the garden is a 5 minute drive from the cottage it’s a garden I pop into whenever I can. The change week on week is startling. The flowers are coming into their own and the colours are striking.
Slower I suspect than previous years bearing in mind our spectacular lack of summer so far. But you can’t help but be impressed. can you? I am.
Foxtail lily
The pond
Phlomis
Common Farm Flowers
Next stop was for a quick cuppa with Georgie at Common Farm flowers. Often my last stop on the drive down before I get to the cottage for a cuppa and a catch up. I love the garden and the cut flower farm and even at the end of a busy picking week – deliveries for House party’s, bouquets and wedding flowers all picked and delivered – the garden is still a riot of colour.
The newt in Somerset
Garden plan
Finally a whirlwind walk around The Newt in Somerset. I still don’t like the name – but I’ll get used to it.
My second visit to the new garden and I absolutely love the colour gardens – a homage to Sandra and Nori Pope who gardened here when we first moved to Somerset.
There is so much to see. First lunch in the garden cafe. Beautifully set so you look out Over the circular walled garden. The walled garden has espalier apples adorning the walls. Each section is Mamés for the county or country where the variety of apple is from. It’s a gorgeous walled garden and unusual in that it is circular.
Circular walled garden
The colour gardens are red. White and blue. I liked the white garden which was beautifully planted. But can I be honest. I’m not a huge lover of totally white gardens. But there was no getting away from it we both agreed it was beautiful.
The blue garden was – well blue and again beautiful.
But for me it was the red garden that stole the show. I just think I’m a bright colour type. I have to admit I missed these gardens on my first visit but to be fair there is so much to see.
Wooden walkway to the gardens
We both agreed that we needed a selfie. It hadn’t happened unless we did. Looking at it sent me to have a haircut the following day.
London Garden
The rain drove us back to London. Not literally. But it was too wet to do anything more in Somerset and I needed to do some things in the garden before I headed off to Spain. The garden is planted in pots. Everything is is pots. The reason was that we hadn’t intended to stay long in the house and we could move the plants we wanted with us. 17 years later it’s still in pots.
is decided that lavender was in order for the window boxes this year and they are doing great. Attracting bees like crazy.
The back garden is small and these two salvia are a welcome colour. Salvia amistad is huge. A beautiful deep colour and as I’ve planted it ( in a large pot) and shoved it ( another horticultural technical term) at the back of the garden it has had to climb up through other stuff and is now as tall ( or as short) as me. Salvia hot lips is well hot and grows like crazy.
Ian’s a fan of tree ferns so we have had to have them in the garden. I love them too but as they are his favourite then it’s only polite to let him buy them. A win win situation.
I love this time of year as the fronds are opening up and are as green as they are. Mark from Todd’s Botanics recommended I put a handful of alpaca poo beans in the crown every 6 months. And to feed liquid feed fortnightly too. I have and it works. Always good to Poo your plants.
I love agapanthus. Easy to grow in pots in the garden and again this year they are.
Budding up nicely. All bar one. All fed on alpaca poo from Lou Archer Yep. I poo my plants.
There is good colour scent and shape in the garden at the moment. The honeysuckle, planted in a Victorian chimney pot blasts out a great scent now that the jasmine has almost finished. The banana is growing well but all would do better with a bit more sun.
If you have got this far then thank you. I realise it’s been more a marathon than a sprint.
Lesson learnt. Blog a bit more often. And shorter.
You know. They weren’t telling the truth when they said the rain in Spain stays mainly on the plain. We have decamped to the Costa del Sol for the Easter break. A friend arriving. Plans to do things. A garden to visit high up in The Alpujurra mountains. Costa del Sol. Where’s trade descriptions when you need them. Sol. Donde es Sol?
The rain in Spain
We are 610 m up in the mountains with a view to the coast. Unless the cloud has come down and you sitting in the middle of it and can only see as far as the hedge. This happens a few times of the year. Easter this year being one of them.
High up in the clouds
There has been sun. After the rains which have moved from the plain. Whilst the UK basks in sunshine and my social media is full of people enjoying the bank holiday in untraditional bank holiday weather. The garden visit didn’t happen. A two hour drive was too far to go to find it was chucking it down when we got there.
The view on a good day
We did manage a trip to Cordoba. A 2.5 hour drive from La Casa. We had been before on a two night stopover and had seen the run up to the patio garden festival. The Alcazar and the mosque cathedral. This time was to visit what we could in the time we had.
The Gardens of the Alcazar are a treat. I’ve found that the planting in these historic gardens are very British. British in that many of the plants we grow in the Uk. Roses. Antihrinums. Lobelia – which I last saw in borders in my parents garden back in the 1980’s. And in their hanging baskets.
Alcazar demolished Reyes Cristianos
I love the use of water in these gardens the long areas of water and the rolls that run along every where. They had a couple of beds which had largely huge snapdragons Really tall. Really colourful. Much taller than I have ever seen them grow in the Uk. And much earlier. The weather here has been patchy these last few weeks.
Another plant from my parents garden in the 1980’s! I’m always surprised at how well roses grow here in Spain. When we first bought the house I noticed the house opposite had a fabulous red rambler over its wall. It was spectacular. I had to go and check it was real. It was. There were a couple of beds at the Alcazar which had roses. Not much else but roses and whilst the planting was patchy the actual roses were stunning
I would like to grow Roses in an area of the garden but think I’ll stick to the only one I have. its a bit too British for me – and my plan here is Mediterranean with a bit of British!! So for now one lovely yellow banksia rose climbing the jacaranda tree. All of a sudden it’s burst into bloom and looks awesome.
Banksia rose -Competa
My only complaint is that for me the ideal rose is scented. Repeat flowering and if possible as an addition thornless. The yellow banksia is not.
Only being here part of the time means I can miss some of the flowering in our own garden. This year I have been lucky with the banksia.
Alcazar of Cordoba
The symmetry of these gardens is as you’d expect. Similar in style as the gardens at the Alhambra and the Alcazar in Seville. This year so far I have not been to the Alhambra. Maybe later in the summer. Tickets are like gold dust but are available last minute if you keep your eyes peeled. I love the planting there but again in the past has been very annual plant based.
The mosque Cathedral in Cordoba is an amazing space. I love the feeling of peacefulness and calm in the mosque and the simplicity of the architecture against the bling and pomp of the cathedral,set within it. A contrast to the walk through the Alcazar gardens further along the road.
The Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba
I did have time to potter about in our own garden. The sun. Rain. Sun. Rain effect has meant that it’s green. Very green. I can’t remember the agapanthus being as big as they are this year. The leaves appear huge. I hope that’s not a sign of big leaves. Small or no flower. I have started to feed them recently !
One of the sunny afternoons!
There is colour in the garden albeit a bit patchy. The ferns which we re potted a few weeks ago are growing well. There are six more spikes on the Strelitzia Reginae. The freesias from Peter Nyssen have been spectacular again this year and I’ve had success with succession planting. The last of them will have gone over this week. The dietes grandiflora – fairy iris has continued to flower and the new one I planted has also taken well now I know some people find the bottle brush to be a bit common. But I love it in a Mediterranean garden.
Last year I tried growing seeds direct into the garden with mixed success. Actually I am pants at seed sowing anyway and the results were as I expected. But. Flowers have appeared this year which have surprised me. Some Higgledy Garden sown calendula have appeared and look great next to the blues of the lavender. In a pot I have some Californian poppies. Both orange and white. They can only be Mr Higgledy sown seeds too.
Dietes. Bottlebrush. Calendula/lavender and freesiaHiggledy Seeds Calendula art shadesCalifornian poppy
So I am about to order more of each. The Californian poppies – Eschscholzia californica – remind me of my parents garden. There was always a patch of these in the back garden which self seeded like crazy. I should be so lucky. If I recall I didn’t like the smell of them if you touched them. Thinking back my parents had some cool plants as I was growing up.
We were lucky to inherit some fruit trees, a couple of fig, a loquat and three pomegranate trees when we bought the house. This year the fig looks like only giving a poor crop. But they are delicious. If your around the day that they are ripe. All of them at the same time usually. The nispero are interesting. Big leaves. Small fruit that look bruised even before they come off the tree. I will collect them and probably make jam and remember to photograph them!
The almonds are plentiful this year – probably to end up in the kitchen cupboard with last years. The olive crop in 2018 was non existent. This year the trees are full of flower buds. So fingers crossed. The quince had one fruit on it last year. Yesterday I counted 28. Whether they will all stay the course is anyone’s guess. If they do there will be Quince jelly. Maybe even membrillo. If I’m adventurous. Two of the three pomegranates have never flowered. Last year one flowered and started to set fruit. But we had none so this year I’m taking my tickling stick [ a tiny paint brush ) out to the tree when the flowers open.
Both orange trees are full of blossom and the scent as you pass by is absolutely amazing. These trees are only chest height and as I’m short ( short for my weight) you’ll realise that they aren’t that big. But we picked some of the last oranges this week to make a chocolate and orange cake.
The bank at the back of the house and the drive is one place full of colour. The rain has spurred the wildflowers and the yellow jasmine and the honeysuckle to flower like crazy. The yellow jasmine serves a purpose but as it has no scent it’s not one I’d probably plant is such a big area. But it looks good. The wildflowers are going strong. Along with the fennel which I’m cutting back like crazy.
The unruly bank.
The pelargonium I hacked early this year has started to flower again. I know I should have saved the cuttings. Next year. The grevillea stands at the gate. One is growing tall and elegant. Yet to flower properly. The other sits under a ball of privet – don’t say another word- and is full of flower. The white snowball viburnum – Viburnum opulus has started to flower but the heads are smaller this year and not as many. Maybe I cut it back at the wrong time.
When you look at the plants individually there is actually more colour than I thought. But spread across the garden. The white wall at this time of year is one of my favourites – Red geraniums and the scented pelargoniums both in flower at the same time.
Rain is forecast for the next three days. Then a period of decent sunshine which will bring the rest of the garden on in leaps and bounds. The dahlias I planted in pots as an experiment are doing well. The canna are a bit patchy so far. The colocasia black magic is yet to emerge but the colocasia mojito has three new leaves. Patience is a virtue. Not a virtue I have!
But wait I must. There is nothing Imcan do about the weather but wait and sit it out. Tomorrow’s another day. Another plant emerging. Another flower opening.
The sun has been out. There has been little rain. And the flowers are running away with themselves.
You can tell it’s warming up and the sun is bright. Though early mornings and evenings are still chilly. But the succulents are starting to flower. These are on the dry bank and in a small circular bed under the olive tree. I forget their name and as I’m in a hurry to meet the Saturday deadline I’ll have to leave it there! .
Pink succulent flower
The banksia rose is such a small delicate thing. But climbing through the jacaranda it’s lovely handing down with its small but pretty little roses. The bids are teeny tiny. And this year there are a lot of them.
Banksia Rose
Last year I had one quince on the quince tree. Just the one. This year the tree is in full flower so I am hopeful. The flowers start a deep pinkish as they are in tight bud and then open to this lovely pink.
Quince Flower
We have two orange trees in the garden. One produced some decent oranges this year. The other none. But. And a big but. The blossom this year is amazing. Both trees are full of blossom and the bees are a buzzing. Hopefully like the quince we will get a good crop.
Orange blossom
The bank and the campo are full of yellow. The mimosa is in full bloom now as is my hay fever. There is pollen everywhere. Sadly the trees are getting a bit straggly on our bank and will need to be cut back pretty hard after flowering.
Mimosa
I think the wild orchids we have at the back of the house are growing towards Oz this year. There are some leaves about but this time last year the flowers were out. Fingers are still crossed that they will flower. This is one from the banks of the access road to the house. There are also bee orchids suddenly showing their leaves.
It’s amazing how fast things grow when you turn your back on a garden. Weeds especially. I think we have the national collection of bind weed in Somerset.
I hadn’t done a winter clear as the ground had been too wet. We hadn’t been around much. And I’ve picked up a bit of mañana syndrome. But needs must and last weekend I knew I had to do one thing. Prune roses. They weren’t pruned last year at all. A fail I know but the year before was a good pruning. Especially as I had Mrs Shouty as a guide and mentor for pruning the apple trees and the roses. Mrs Shouty -= Sara Venn.
So I hacked the roses. Some are old. Some probably need to be replaced. I will review at the end of the summer to see what’s what after flowering. But I pruned. I got attacked by the curse of the thorns. I have had my tetanus jab.
I tidied up a bit – well I cut the perennials back to the ground and then the rain came. Lots of it. So it’s still there to be taken away. On top of the bind weed.
Yes. There is smoke. But it’s Ian burning paperwork. Old bills. There is a bonfire there ready to start next time. A great big bonfire.
We bought a mirabelle plum a few years ago. It has fruited. Now great at the beginning. Some years the frost got the blossom and there was little or no fruit. But they are delicious. This year there is blossom a plenty. But watching what ever storm was passing through on Saturday shaking the tree and scattering the blossom filled me with gloom. If it’s not the frost that gets the blossom it’s the wind. Hopefully there will be plenty of fruit this year.
There are benefits of leaving last years flowers through Autumn and Winter . The colour of this sedum is great. And I haven’t cut it back. Not yet anyway.
Oh. I was also distracted. By a dahlia talk at the local horticultural society.
It’s a different tale back in London. The only cutting back I’ve done is to the Melianthus major which was tall and leggy. So armed with information and a decent secateurs I cut it low. Fingers crossed I’ll get flowers.
The garden in London is different. It’s small. More a courtyard garden and is sheltered. We have a typical London micro climate. I still have geraniums flowering from last year and are gaining growth at a rate of knots.
The Bowles Mauve is budding up well and will soon have a lovely scent when it opens. It’s a solid little plant and does really well
I can’t believe we have blossom on the citrus in the garden. And lots of it. Hopefully a bit more sun. A bit more warmth and these lovely flowers will open and there will be an orange blossom scent above the chair. Not that I can sit and read there. It’s there for one reason. Well three reasons. It’s the cats chair. Well one of their chairs.
If I was surprised at the blossom I am even more surprised to see a couple of tiny small fruits developing. Fingers crossed they will get bigger. I’ve been out and poo’d my plants including the citrus. The first feed of 2019. Using Lous Poo – alpaca feed
There is growth on the clematis. Early I think but never the less welcome. It’s only in the last two years that it’s done well.
Ian’s not a gardener. But he knows what he likes. Tree ferns for example. It was Ian’s ides to have tree ferns in the garden. I didn’t expect to have 5. But we have and I love them. I need to feed these once I take out the straw from the crown!
But they have survived in the garden for about 12 years and last year I didn’t fleece them or put straw in the crown when the the beast of the east arrived suddenly. But they survived.
One of my plant loves is agapanthus and I’m lucky to have them in both the London garden and the one in Spain. Again they need a feed if I’m going to get a great big show off spectacle of flowers.
I have just bought agapanthus black Buddhist from Farmer Gracy for the Spanish garden which was delivered last week.
We have a lot of blue and white in the garden here and there. There and here depending where I am – but I’d like to introduce some different ones. The ones in the garden have self seeded here and there and spring up everywhere.
The tulips in the window boxes are through – I planted them late but are growing pretty fast. There are new colours this year. I didn’t grow any in Spain as the ones I tried last year were pants. That’s not a variety. It was the outcome.
The jasmine is almost to the top of the downpipe and is heavy with flower buds. You know those pinky red little buds that open to a fabulous white scented flower. Add a bit of Trachelospermum a bit later and you have a succession of scent. I lost one last year but the other two are doing ok. Add the scent of my straggly honeysuckle to next door’s rampant one poking over the fence and we have the summer scents sorted.
Spain is weeks ahead of London and Somerset. In Spain the jasmine is out already as the weather has warmed up. Though I see we have two weeks of rain coming. Last March was wet. Very wet. So far we have had a dry spell since October when the reservoirs filled to the top. Great for the garden. Great for the reservoir and our storage tank. But…..
The freesia are brilliant again this year. Bought from Peter Nyssen and shipped to Spain – they look and smell fantastic. I must try some in pots in London next.
It is such a contrast between the three gardens – which I will admit is one too many. Somerset is at the end of a season and the start of another. It needs a good cut back. London had a central city micro climate and its small and sheltered. There is no way I could grow tree ferns in Somerset or Spain.
Spain is obviously very different. Whilst we are 650 m above sea level in the cooler mountains the season is well under way with colour and scent in March already. Plus we have plenty of green with the agave dotted around the garden.
The almond blossom continues. Ours had been and gone and they were pretty heavy with flowers. The mimosa is starting to come out on our bank. In other gardens it’s over already. I’ve seen the leaves of the wild orchids poking through and the bee orchids in a neighbours garden. We had thought we may have lost some as we had
There’s enough to keep me going for now. There are lists. And lists of lists. My lists. Ian’s lists.
I have some more things to plant Colocasia Black Magic. Bessara elegans, Watsonia peach glow, Roscoea purpurea, Anomatheca laxa, Lycoris radiata to start and some Canna. These are for Spain and came from Farmer Gracy – great find.
I bought , on Ian’s instruction a big colocasia at the localmspsnish garden centre to add to the Mojhito that I bought last year.
Don’t tell Ian but I’ve got Canna on order from Todd’s botanics for London as well as some new white agapanthus.
So summers over and it’s a time to sit and reflect. A time to go through the mountain of photos I have taken over the summer. My own garden and the gardens of others. One thing I’ve been thinking of is the National Garden scheme visits that we have done this year. I’m a bit of a nosey one me. That’s why the NGS open gardens is a dream. I get to see other people’s gardens. Get ideas. See new plants. Take photos. Oh. And eat cake. There is always cake.
This year I didn’t manage many. I missed some which I have been desperate to see. The garden at Ulting Wick. I missed the tulips. The thousands of tulips which looked magnificent. Then I missed the later the openings as I was away both times. The 2018 dates will be in my diary. The one I bought today.
The ones I did see in London were all very different and all were in South London this year. Choumert Square in Peckham is a treat. The Peckham peculiar has 46 facts on the 46 cottages that comprise Choumert Square.
The square opens every year for NGS and despite living in the area since 1987 this is the first year I have managed to be here for the open day. On saying that can I admit to sneaking in and taking a peek occasionally. The open gardens is a bit of a fair day. There are cake stalls there is honey for sale. Plants. And a general feeling of great friendliness.
The entrance to Choumert Square
Lovely colours in the Square
Great herbaceous planting
The gardens are small and are all at the front of the cottages. At the end of the rows is a small communal space. It’s a lovely friendly place to live and the planting in the gardens is so all very different.
From Choumert Square we ventured to Camberwell Grove. One of the best if not the best example of Georgian houses in London. I’ve always wanted to live in this street. It’s a lovely wide tree lined street. The garden open here was very different to the Choumert Square gardens. A long oasis with a view of the spire of St Giles church at the end of the garden. The garden is covered in roses and colour with a lovely artist studio in the garden. Lots of lovely perennials in the borders adds stunning colour.
Altogether a very different garden to the ones at Choumert Square.
I have followed Jack Wallington ( not literally) but on social media for a while. Jack and Chris had taken part in the Monty Don series Big Dreams Small Spaces and I’d remembered their story. It’s still on you tube if you want to take a look. It’s really interesting – Series 2 episode 2. A small garden in South London crammed full of plants. With a fern wall. So I was excited to see the garden and to meet Jack and Chris. The weather in the run up to the opening wasn’t great but the Sunday was dry and fine. Oh. And what a garden treat. Yes. The garden is small. But the planting and the variety of plants is awesome. Jack was on hand to answer questions. Which I asked and he answered. The plants were labelled and there was a plant list. Oh. For. A plant list and labels in my garden. And clean nails.
I loved the Echium and I’m looking for some for our new Spanish garden. Everywhere you looked there was something different. Astrantia. Dahlia. The fern wall which I had seen Jacks father making the supports for in Big dreams Small Spaces was brilliant. I know Jack can tell you the number of varieties on the wall. Did I get any tips?. You bet I did. I think of Jack as Mr Dahlia. He grows some huge dinner plate Dahlias on his allotment the photos of which are amazing.
Ps. Jack. Perhaps there should be an open day for your allotment!
The opening of gardens for the NGS is synonymous with cake. You can always get a decent bit of cake. Now there’s decent and there is extraordinary. The cakes at Jack and Chris’s were a visual delight as well as delicious. If there’s a prize for the most beautiful cakes then this is the winner. Oh. And for taste.
The icing on the cake. The dahlia cake.
I loved Jack and Chris’s garden and my one disappointment was that I was unable to visit for the second days opening the following month when more of the Dahlias were blooming. But I’ve seen the photos. Lots of photos.
Jack mentioned another garden that he thought I’d like which was open a few weeks later. Another one local to us in Grove Park. The garden of Clive Pankhurst. When you look at the front of many of these houses you can never expect to find such delights behind them. A garden full of exotic plants. Bee hives. Ponds. Lovely seating areas. A huge garden with lovely walkways. The owners have been able to buy some of the neighbouring gardens when the flats next door were developed. Where I found out my own next door neighbours mother who I see almost daily lives. So she gets to see the garden all year long.
I loved the garden and the planting. The variety. The colours. I also had some ideas for our own garden. That’s the joy of the NGS open gardens. You get to see plants you don’t know. Planted In situations you wouldn’t normally think. I’d never have thought of Echiums for a small garden. But they work. Really well.
The cakes were lovely too.
Next year I will be taking a notebook when I visit any NGS garden. My brain goes mush and I forget the names of the plants when I leave the gardens!
Autumn weekends can be so lovely. This weekend was one of them. As a birthday – not just a big birthday – a massive birthday treat I was taken to Oxford for the weekend by two of my closest friends.
Celebration
Lunch at a mighty fine hotel, a day at Blenheim Palace and then supper with more friends in Woodstock.
Yes. Woodstock. And yes. The friends I went with soon got feed up with my childish comment ‘ you do know ‘ I’d say ‘ by the time we get to Woodstock there will be half a million strong’ …. it wore thin after a while. Unlike me.
Lunch was amazing. Glorious food. Plenty of wine. Too much cheese. Can you have too much? Yes. Definetly. The need for a walk around the garden after lunch at Le Manoir.
It’s interesting to see how the gardens at hotels with restaurants work. Here there is a glorious kitchen garden – an amazing array of veg which is used in the kitchens. Together with flower beds and lavender paths. I’m glad to say that my lavender paths in Spain could compete. They have trimmed theirs back which I will do when I am back in Spain in two weeks time.
Veg beds.
The greenhouses are open where you can wander in and look around. What I loved as well is that most things are labelled clearly so you know what you are looking at. A bonus for a novice gardener like me.
Indian Borage
There were some pretty interesting things around. I had never seen snake gourds before. These ones hanging down from the greenhouse roof like well. Snakes. I hate snakes. Though at first I thought they were cucumbers. But. They were clearly labelled!
Snake gourds
There was a great display of gourds and chillis in the garden teaching space. Amazing colours. Great shapes.
Amazing selection of chilli’s
The flower beds were interesting too. We had missed the best as you’d expect as Autumn falls. But there were still some intersting plants and grasses flowering. We didn’t fully explore the gardens to be fair but what we saw was great. An excuse to go back? A long wait until my next significant birthday.
Flower beds Grasses and flowers
It was a great contrast of a weekend. Lunch at a 2 Michelin star restaurant and breakfast at a Premier Inn.
A short drive after breakfast to Blenheim Palace. An imposing palace – birthplace of Winston Churchill and where he proposed to his wife. At this time of year the rooms on view of the palace are limited – in summer you can also view the private space. I will be back. I’m nosey. But the rooms are glorious. The artwork amazing. But I wouldn’t want their heating bills.
The estate is huge – great trees, huge massive trunks that look like feet, a rose garden, the Churchill memorial garden. A massive lake. I imagine the rose garden in full bloom is awesome. Planted with just a few varieties. Iceberg. Peace. Royal William. A pink I didn’t get the name of. The first two grown in my parents garden in the 70s. Not these roses obviously. But they grew these varieties. I suspect that the ones here weren’t bought at Woolworths gardening section though.
My mother would have had a field day. I’ve mentioned before. She was an avid deadheader. She would have been in her element. I know it’s the end of the season but there were a lot of buds still there and if the frost stays away … at some point I guess they will need to refresh the beds. A lot of dead wood. Hopefully the pruning will cut it all back.
It was a glorious walk around the Estate. A massive Estate. Amazing vistas. Awesome trees. Water. Wildlife. Tourists!
The feeling of a great TV blockbuster drama unfolding as you walked around. The boat house. The lake. But I wasn’t about to do a Mr Darcy and emerge from the lake all moody. And wet. I don’t do wet. I’m someone who has to change his swimming trunks as soon as I get out of the pool. I can be moody. But not in a Mr Darcy way. I guess more Grumoy than D’Arcy.
These were great big pots. Filled with black grass. As a friend on Instagram said ‘ I’m not sure about these. Look a bit like toupees’ – looking at them again. She’s right! But they did look great and I guess are pretty easy to manage.
Autumn is here. The leaves are turning. The colours are fab on the trees. Leaves are on the ground. For now. Crisp. Dry. Gorgeous.
By the time we got to Woodstock – I didn’t say it again. Honest. I won’t say it now.
We had our first visitor to the new house this weekend. Which was exciting. You know that feeling where you love something and hope others do too. Well that.
The joy of being here in Spain is the opportunity to look at new and different gardens. To look out for new ideas and new plants to weave into our new Mediterranean garden. It’s a huge learning curve and one where after only theee months I have lost a few plants on the way. The ground is hard. The climate harsh this summer. Hot. Dry. My visits here scattered.
So with our first visitor we headed off to the Alhambra We had been 18 months ago in April 2016 but it’s a stunning visit and one I will not tire of. Not yet anyway. An easy 1.5 hour drive away. The Alhambra is a series of buildings with the Nasrid palace the glittering jewel in the crown. One where you have an allotted time to visit.
The gardens when we were there in April were nice. I hate that word. Nice. It kind of means bland. Nice. So I was interested to see the summer planting. The colours. The smells, but slightly worried with this years extreme heat we may have missed it.
Tickets for the Alhambra are always sold out. There is no point deciding on the day to go visit. You need to plan. Your tickets. The entry time to the Nasrid Palace. Plan your trip. Thankfully we had. Tickets booked in May. The route planned with the assistance of my good friend Sally. Sally sat nag. We are rubbish as map readers so are happy to be dominated by the Tom Tom.
Water is a bit of a luxury here in Spain especially during the summer months. So I was surprised to see the gardens being heavily watered. At 10am. By watered. I mean Watered. Heavily. But when you walk around the vast and varied garden you can tell I’m not watering enough in mine. Even for drought tolerant plants. This years heat has been brutal.
But I have to say the planting is simply gorgeous. Stunning in parts. Colourful. Interesting. Plants I knew. Ones I haven’t seen in years. Simple. Interesting. A few I have to revert to Twitter for help in identifying. The planting so colourful that it reminds me of my parents front borders of the 1970’s.
There is structure. Carefully cut and structured hedging. Labelled. Please do not touch the plants. It’s yew. It’s poisonous. Something I’ve found a lot of the plants here are.
I was surprised to see roses. I don’t really know why – but I’ve been Surprised to see many things in the gardens here. Hollyhocks for one.
There has been an absolute stunner of a rose growing over the gates of the house opposite us. A gorgeous red. So full of bloom I had to go and check it was real. It was. This yellow rose in the formal structured beds was a stunner. I thought too yellow for Graham Thomas. But a beautiful rose dotted about over the gardens. There were a lot of standards. Giving height. Structure. Colour at eye level.
I haven’t seen Alyssum since it was planted down my parents front path in the 1970’s. Like lobelia a staple in gardens years ago – , which I have in window Boxes for the first time in years this year and has grown and looks well ,but like Alyssum seems to have fallen out of fashion for more blousy plan more unusual plants for the borders and window boxes. It was the standard bedding plant back in “the old days” along with lobelia, tagetes ,petunias, godetia, busy lizzies and begonias. Oh and red bedding salvias . Most of which were to be found in beds across the Alhambra. To be honest – it was a delight to see old friends.
Purple & white Alyssum Begonias at the Nasrid Palace Red Bedding Salvia amongst the bedding
The line for the Nasrid palace queues alongside some lovely beds. I love the orange colours in the garden but hate the smell of tagetes when you handle them. In a mass planting the orange of these are uplifting. Dotted under standard roses.
wqWe came across this gorgeous plant. Planted as a mass in some beds whilst in others there were splashes of colour and in some more a riot of colour. An explosion. After a shout of ‘help’ on twitter it was identified as an euphorbia- euphoebia marginata Kilimanjaro. Thank you twitter folk.
Eurphobia Marginata Kilimanjaro
.
They certainly know how to do colourful with their planting. More an explosion than planting. But it’s stunning. There were also beds of dahlias, statice and all manner of things. Salvias a plenty. What looked like a form of knautia.
Someone has been kept busy. The shape size and scale of some of the topiary was awesome. I have trouble trimming our hedges and I know if I tried to shape them I’d end up with such ugly shapes. Yep. I know. A bit like me!
Alone again – naturally
It wasn’t all colour. The agapanthus in huge drifts at the entrance were going over. Flower heads turning into big fat seed heads. I think I’ve taken enough photos of aggies this year. There were some tall architectural trees. But an abcence of succulents unless I was too mesmerised with the colours that I missed them.
How’s that for a bit of topiary Magnificent cypress The Joshua Tree
You can’t help but be in awe of the buildings here. The intricate craftsmanship of the decoration in the marble the woodwork and the history.
But the gardens are a surprise. A welcome place to wander and reflect the majesty of the palaces.
A reminder to me of the blaze of colour I grew up with in my parents borders – the planting of annuals where the concept of less is more was rarely understood. But it set me up for the love of colour. Of gardens and gardenning.
1970’s borders – my parents style
I can’t wait to go back again in the spring and to see what the bedding has been replaced with. I hope bulbs. Lots of them.
No it wasnt funny the first time said Ian. A grown man standing in the garden. Squeaking. Weed. Weed. I guess he’s too young to remember watch with mother. Bill and Ben the flowerpot men. With Weed . Behind the potting shed. Which looks nothing like the lovely potting shed of Karen Gimson. She knows I have potting shed envy. That I’m going to move into hers.
Anyway. As usual I thought it was funny. Obviously not. But I was here to weed.
Having bought our new Spanish house and having a new garden to manage and with spending more time there the garden in Somerset has been a bit neglected. Ooh. A lot of ands there.
It hasn’t helped that we have had sun. Rain. Sun. Sun. Rain. So the garden has grown. You can watch it grow. From the dryness of inside the kitchen window. Plants are taller. The weeds stronger. I maintain I have the national collection of bindweed. Hideous weed. The plant. Not the Bill and Ben character.
I’ve tried for weeks to get to the cottage. But every time I have a day or two it rains. It pours. Horizontal rain. Wind.Great British Summer. I’m a wimp. I’m a fair weather gardener. Don’t judge me. You know who I mean!
It’s sad to see that the garden isn’t as pristine as I usually have it. Pristine is the wrong word. It’s not a show garden. I’m not a gardener. I garden for me. I grow what I like. Where I like. But I usually have more time. The grass had been cut but there was work to be done. But yes. There were some lovely plants in bud. In flower. Seedheads. New beginnings.
The roses I pruned with Sara Venn earlier in the year were budding like crazy. The second flush of flowers coming through now. I had a great day with Sara and she taught me a lot about pruning fruit trees. Maybe I can persuade her to come to spain!
The apple tree we pruned is loaded with fruit. The best I’ve seen in years. We were a bit ( I say we – Sara ) worried about the tree with the red apples. But it’s done amazingly well. Some have been picked and brought home. The tree was supposed to be a Laxton superb. My mothers favourite apple. You can’t beat a laxtons she used to say. Well someone has beaten me. This ain’t laxtons superb.
Apples
Everyone knows I like a dahlia or two and I planted a couple of new ones this year – well more than a couple to be fair.
Bought and planted. Before I knew we would hopefully be on the move. Two have flowered beautifully. But. Hello. Cafe au lait where are you hiding? Not under the bindweed. Surely not. I first saw cafe au lait at Georgie Newberry’s Common Farm Flowers And fell in love with it. I have had so many suggestions over the last year for new dahlias I can’t keep up.
Dahlia shooting starDahlia peach delight
The dahlia bed was doing ok. The tubers I had left in had come through. Beaten off the slugs – and a couple were blooming lovely. Black Jack. Rip city. A couple of bishops.
There’s a couple of things I’m rubbish at. – gardening things. Staking is one. Always on my list. Rarely crossed off. Remembering when the plants get straggly. Or there is wind. The other. Labelling. I have had the intention of a plan. Labelling the plants. Putting them down on paper. A proper plan. So I don’t forget the names. It was a plan. But 23 years later it’s still a plan. I’m trying not to make the same mistake in Spain. I’ll tell you how I get on. In 23 years time
But thankfully I have the invoice still from Withypitts so have identified Peach Delight and Shooting Star.
The bees havent deserted me. The Echinops all a buzz. Two for the price of one.
The weeds are bad. So bad that I have a helper. Quite how Ian has decided to help I don’t know. Obviously there is no tennis on the TV But he has. I might have to turn a blind eye at his technique and the odd pull of a plant that is not a weed. Today he’s keen. Carry on regardless.
It’s amazing. Often there are plants which run away with themselves. This is one. I swear that this year it’s two foot taller than usual. I like them. Great for cutting but boy are they invasive or what!
The monbretia. Yes I know it’s all crocisima now. But my parents called it Monbretia and old habits die hard. This clump has never previously flowered. I mentioned it last year and moaned about it. Someone said that they always flower. This year the clump is flowering. Like crazy. Have indeed me anything different. No. Not that I can think of.
I planted an Emily McKenzie and it’s in bud. I’ll miss the flowers this year as I am away again.
The garden photographs well. Looks good. Even if I say so myself. But please don’t look too closely. Bindweed and groundelder are everywhere.
We have a grape vine at the back of the house. It catches the sun. But I thought that this year we had no grapes. They aren’t sweet and last year for the first year I picked them. Ate one. Even sourer than me. So I made grape and Rosemary jelly. Went down a bomb. So I started to hack the growth back – full of horticultural technique me – and lo and behold hiding under the growth were bunch after bunch of grapes. Larger than last year and hopefully with some Aug sun ( please ) they will get fatter and juicier. Chateau Pitcombe if wont be. But good old grape and Rosemary jelly again. And again.
Rhubarb. Not picked for ages. So I have. No need to force this rhubarb. Looks like I’d need to force it to stop. There will be rhubarb gin and rhubarb and star anise cordial. Some for next door for a crumble. The gin to add to the sloe gin supply gently brewing in the kitchen cupboard.
The poppies are over for another year. The seed heads are drying ready to explode and sow themselves for another year.
So now I ache. My back. My arms. I’m weeded out. But do you know what. Give it another three weeks and on my next trip and I’ll be doing it all over again. Whether I want to or not.
I’ve said it before. I got into gardening through my parents. They loved their garden and it was something they were proud of. Loved the attention when in full bloom. For years had borders full of roses. Gorgeous scented beautiful roses. Mum picked some. But not a lot if my memory serves me right. I recall her deadheading them. Every time she walked up and down the front path. She was obsessed with deadheading. No bad thing really. Dad did the planting. The pruning. Mum admired. And bought more.
I spent a day with Sara Venn last week in our garden in Somerset. The person who looked after our garden had sacked us the year before – yes we were sacked. Long story . A very long story and since I had retired ( early – keep repeating it Andrew) I had been doing the work myself. With some success. What I didn’t know I asked. But I was worried about pruning. The roses. The fruit trees. Some of the shrubs. But the Roses. I could hear my mother tutting. A lot. Her saying. ‘Your not like your father’ He would have pruned them all. On time. And properly. She said that a lot. ‘ your not like your father’.
Last year we were due to start an extension so I didn’t prune the roses. When the schedule was moved it was too late. Sara said. Leave them this year. We had roses. But not as good as in previous years. We were supposed to start the extension in the Autumn. And then the Winter. I could put it off no longer. If I had to dig them up later so be it.
Sara agreed to come and spend a day with me in the garden to give me advice on how and what and when. But it was more than that. It was the push I needed to get going again. I’d been in limbo with the garden. Would I have another year of the flower beds?. Should I move things. Should I wait. Should I extend the beds? Was this space the right one for my new greenhouse? Don’t mention the greenhouse to Sara. Please. Don’t mention my greenhouse.
So Sara arrived and we set to work. Talk of a practical. It was practical. Practically exhausted by the end of the day. Talk of a hard task master who encouraged me up a wobbly ladder – no elf and safety in this garden. But it was fun. Practical. Encouraging. And confidence boosting. I hadn’t made a total hash of the garden this last year.
I always say I garden. I’m not a gardener. The garden is well established. We’ve been here 22 years. But I am rubbish at staking. I don’t plant deep enough. But I’m getting there. Slowly. Like my train journey this week accompanied by Doris.
It hadn’t mattered I’d not pruned. The fruit trees were ok. Ish. The roses leggy but not dead. So We pruned. Cut back. Laughed. I fought with the rose prunings. They won and it didn’t matter I wore gloves. They just went for the jugular. We tidied up. Had tea and cake. She gave encouragement. Orders. Ate my cake. Took one home for Mr Venn. As promised.
To be fair if we were being filmed it would have been more ‘Carry on Gardening’! Than big dreams – It was gardening made fun. ‘What do you think you are doing!’ was said a lot. And do you think you can wobble less’ what said I? As in walking or up the ladder? Both!
The roses don’t look like this now obviously but now have had a severe short back and sides. A proper job. Like my Dad would do!
Thinkimg of my parents garden got me thinking of their roses again All were bought in Woolworths when Woolworths had a gardening department. All grew well. Flowered strongly. From the department at the rear of the store. Memory is a wonderful thing. Before mum lost hers she could tell you the names of the roses. Each one. Not from the label. So I want some new roses. I looked up to see if I could get the named roses from their 1970’s and 80’s garden as I’d like to have a few. Josephine and Ernest were therir names so I may start there. Along with Superstar. That was my favourite.
Who knew Woolworths won not one but five RHS Chelsea golds! I didn’t.
Woolworths history
Superstar; Iceberg; Ena Harkness; Blue Moon ! ; Peace; queen Elizabeth ;Just Joey; Josephine Bruce; Ernest Morse. fragrant Cloud; the Fairy. Compassion
Those are ones I remember. None of that David Austin stuff for them. It was the wonder of Woolies !
We both agreed that we needed a selfie. It hadn’t happened unless we did. Looking at it sent me to have a haircut the following day.
Ian’s not a gardener. But he knows what he likes. Tree ferns for example. It was Ian’s ides to have tree ferns in the garden. I didn’t expect to have 5. But we have and I love them. I need to feed these once I take out the straw from the crown!
The gardens are small and are all at the front of the cottages. At the end of the rows is a small communal space. It’s a lovely friendly place to live and the planting in the gardens is so all very different.
Gardens. Travel. Life. 