The NGS scheme is really good, we have been to a couple of gardens so far this year and plan to go again this Sunday. The gardens have been really lovely and you do get some lovely views of the countryside. To get real value for money look for group openings where you get admission to more than one garden in the area, they usually do teas and sell plants what more could you want.
Beautiful, Matty2. Well worth waiting for and very brave to move with it, I move mine around but in the same garden - they do take ages until they are happy again.
Snap Matty2! I don't know it's variety either, as I explained in another thread, I started with a single Mrs Perry and now have various clumps ranging from taller pale pink to shorter scarlet red. Annoying for a control freak like me who separated the clumps last autumn only to find a red one amongst my salmon pinks this morning
My Acanthus Mollis (foreground) is going nuts this year spreading beyond its allotted space and I'm especially pleased with the Thyme cuttings I took two years ago (low right of this pic and clearer view below centre) that were very slow to establish. Moving them didn't hurt either whereas most of my French lavender (below) died after being moved so my lavender path is pretty pathetic at the moment.
Still deciding on the design of my middle garden and it's planting scheme, too much yellow and not enough structure for my liking, but overall things are healthy so can't complain.
Sods law this morning in the garden when I happily discovered three flower spikes on my Cordyline after it spent the previous flowerless year splitting its trunk and then promptly snapped the leader off my standard wisteria that I'm growing from seed. Maybe I can make a new leader or else the thing is destine to remain a three foot midget (apologies to all three foot midgets who might be reading this)
Wintersong: your concerns over your 'misplaced' poppy have brought on another bout of philosophy.
The Japanese potters (or was it Chinese?) used to deliberately include, or allow to remain, an imperfection in their making of their pots - eg a thumbprint in the wet clay, a slightly crooked handle etc. They did this because it left evidence of the human element in creating art. I think they were also concerned not to allow 'accidental perfection' to cause vanity thereby 'angering their gods'. We can see that evidence of the potter's hand even today, thousands of years later, in museum pieces.
Your poppy could have seeded itself there but you now have evidence of your own input. The time scale is different of course but next year you may have a bunch of red ones among the pinks. You'll then be able to see evidence of your own previous year's work in the garden. Afterall, all we can do is imprint a little bit of our own plan on our gardens - nature does the rest. Its nice to see our contribution stand out sometimes.
(Not intended as a lecture - just happened by accident! )
Matty and Winter- terrific pix! It's easy to forget how big poppy flowers can be.
Someone yesterday asked about a poppy being a different colour etc on a new thread- perhaps you could enlighten them. She was concerned that it was completely different from what she expected.
Winter- 3' midgets....you are naughty
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
And this foxglove (?) , in the 'wrong' place, nearly got ripped out as I tried to sort plants from weeds aromd the raised bed earlier in the year. That near mistake reminds me to be circumspect about what should stay and what should go.
Birdy - lovely poppy too - that pic wasn't there when I posted a few mins ago! I think the structure inside poppy flowers is beautiful. Your foxglove is the common wild one so you may not want it in your garden as they seed everywhere! There are many better behaved varieties you might want to get if you like them. Very useful for a shady spots.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
This poppy - variety unknown - has been waiting to burst into flower. It came out yesterday.
It is one of the few plants I moved with and has been struggling until this year. There are lots of buds as well.
It is OH hand holding it to show the size
The NGS scheme is really good, we have been to a couple of gardens so far this year and plan to go again this Sunday. The gardens have been really lovely and you do get some lovely views of the countryside. To get real value for money look for group openings where you get admission to more than one garden in the area, they usually do teas and sell plants what more could you want.
Beautiful, Matty2. Well worth waiting for and very brave to move with it, I move mine around but in the same garden - they do take ages until they are happy again.
Snap Matty2! I don't know it's variety either, as I explained in another thread, I started with a single Mrs Perry and now have various clumps ranging from taller pale pink to shorter scarlet red.
My Acanthus Mollis (foreground) is going nuts this year spreading beyond its allotted space and I'm especially pleased with the Thyme cuttings I took two years ago (low right of this pic and clearer view below centre) that were very slow to establish. Moving them didn't hurt either whereas most of my French lavender (below) died after being moved so my lavender path is pretty pathetic at the moment.
Still deciding on the design of my middle garden and it's planting scheme, too much yellow and not enough structure for my liking, but overall things are healthy so can't complain.
Sods law this morning in the garden when I happily discovered three flower spikes on my Cordyline after it spent the previous flowerless year splitting its trunk and then promptly snapped the leader off my standard wisteria that I'm growing from seed. Maybe I can make a new leader or else the thing is destine to remain a three foot midget (apologies to all three foot midgets who might be reading this)
Wintersong: your concerns over your 'misplaced' poppy have brought on another bout of philosophy.
The Japanese potters (or was it Chinese?) used to deliberately include, or allow to remain, an imperfection in their making of their pots - eg a thumbprint in the wet clay, a slightly crooked handle etc. They did this because it left evidence of the human element in creating art. I think they were also concerned not to allow 'accidental perfection' to cause vanity thereby 'angering their gods'. We can see that evidence of the potter's hand even today, thousands of years later, in museum pieces.
Your poppy could have seeded itself there but you now have evidence of your own input. The time scale is different of course but next year you may have a bunch of red ones among the pinks. You'll then be able to see evidence of your own previous year's work in the garden. Afterall, all we can do is imprint a little bit of our own plan on our gardens - nature does the rest. Its nice to see our contribution stand out sometimes.
(Not intended as a lecture - just happened by accident!
)
Just noticed this came out today
Matty and Winter- terrific pix!
It's easy to forget how big poppy flowers can be.
Someone yesterday asked about a poppy being a different colour etc on a new thread- perhaps you could enlighten them. She was concerned that it was completely different from what she expected.
Winter- 3' midgets....you are naughty
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
And this foxglove (?) , in the 'wrong' place, nearly got ripped out as I tried to sort plants from weeds aromd the raised bed earlier in the year. That near mistake reminds me to be circumspect about what should stay and what should go.
Birdy - lovely poppy too - that pic wasn't there when I posted a few mins ago! I think the structure inside poppy flowers is beautiful. Your foxglove is the common wild one so you may not want it in your garden as they seed everywhere! There are many better behaved varieties you might want to get if you like them. Very useful for a shady spots.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...