Many of my favourites are cottage garden flowers, at their best when tumbled together. Some I like for their unusual colours, patterns or arrangement of petals…
others for particular characteristics, such as pinked edges or a bold, cheerful aspect.
Hardy geraniums are the garden plants I can least imagine being without. About now, many varieties are developing beautiful leaf tints. I initially found hard to believe that they will not grow in my sweetheart’s Mississippi garden, as they are so unfussy here, but sadly it’s true.
The plants that bring me most delight are bluebells and I’m fortunate that they are relatively common in my home town. At a distance, they look like a blue blur. Everything about bluebells fascinates me – their ungainly buds, their elegant shepherd’s crook necks, the backwards curl of their petals, their refined scent.
While I took this picture in a garden, we have patches of wild orchids growing in damp, grassy areas around the edge of the moors. This year I panicked because I thought they had all vanished, only to find I had been over-eager and was looking for them too early.
Forget-me-nots grow wild here too. Their biennial nature gives them a hide and seek quality, but at least I know not to be too surprised if I don’t see them in last year’s spot. I love their sky-blue petals, starry centres, yellow eyes and the hint of pink the buds often have. And, of course, the romance of their folk name.
Mum’s bearded collie, Moss, used to self medicate with campanulas if he felt off-colour, which makes them a form of forget-him-not for us all now. How he knew to eat them is one of life’s mysteries. These are a similar kind to his, perfectly content in a large pot, and always prolific. Try as I might, I could not capture their colour (they are more blue) although I tried at various times in the day.
Hellebores are another plant I hate to be without, although I am without them as the three fancy doubles I bought to cheer myself up during lockdown all died. Mum has long had a magnificent purple one.
These red amaryllises in my sweetheart’s garden provide one of many consolations for lacking geraniums. I was amazed the first time I saw them growing so prolifically outdoors, having only ever seen them coaxed to grow indoors on windowsills in Lancashire.
Mum loves seeing cherry blossom in frothy pink clusters against a blue sky, so this picture is for her. She has taken me to photograph (and admire) her favourite tree-lined street at their peak of flowering several times.
All kind of cliches offer themselves when I think of describing delphiniums – towering spires, quintessential, stately, aristocratic, regal… take your pick. When grown well, they are certainly one of my favourite flowers.
Regular readers will know of my love of roses. I’m ending with a small selection. The first is only missing a young Juliet to be perfect.
This Lady Banks’ rose has a literary connection as it is growing in Eudora Welty’s garden in Jackson, MS. Her cottage-style garden is still beautifully maintained and has a long season of interest.
Rosa glauca is grown as much for its chocolatey foliage and hips as for its single flowers. Its airy habit makes it very popular with garden designers who feature it in mixed borders. This is in the huge walled garden at RHS Bridgewater in Salford.
An early picture of mine, taken at David Austin Roses in Albrighton, shows The Lion Garden at its peak of flower with Rosa ‘Grace’ in the foreground. Mr A‘s house can just be glimpsed in the background.
You know I could go on, but I think I’ve been self-indulgent enough.
Shared for the Lens-Artists Challenge: Favourite Flowers. I recommend flower lovers set aside a few minutes to follow the link and check out some of the other posts – there are lots of beauties around.
Susan Rushton 
Beautiful set of flowers.
I’m glad you liked them.
Your cherry blossoms look just like a shrub I grew up with. We called it ‘flowering almond,’ but I have no idea what it really was. It’s flowers looked like these cherries, though, and the fragrance was wonderful.
I looked that up and found Prunus triloba (cherry-almond) or Prunus jacquemontii. Both do look like cherry blossom.
Very nice collection 👏👏👏
Thanks, Ted.
Some of my favourites here too. I love that balcony! I can just about grow delphiniums well in pots. I have grown blue poppies (from seed, yet!) but gave up on them when I realized they won’t grow in pots (they rot) and can’t be grown in my light soil infested with maple tree roots. Hellebores, on the other hand, do fairly well. So do hardy geraniums. You’re right about the leaves; I’ve noticed some recently turning colour. They look like red snowflakes.
You’re right that geranium leaves can be very bold. I have some that are going a mix of colours and are very pretty, but only a few of the leaves have changed so far. The balcony was a treat to see. The rose is famous for surviving being underwater during Katrina. Not that particular one, need I say?
Oh Susan, you´re one of the few Blogs that I follow about flowers and plant-love and this post is just exquisite. Great to know some of your favourite flowers. As I grew up, I only knew Roses and sunflowers and Hibiscus as they are natives in the tropics..but coming here in Germany I have learned so much from different and other flowers.I love that Blue Poppy…i think it´s a rarity, i haven´t seen such here..only the red ones.I would love to see it someday.
And yes…my Spring days wo´n´t be complete without the cherry blossoms.
Blue poppies are a bit finicky about conditions and tend not to be long-lived but they are very uplifting while they do – like fallen sky. These were in a streamside flower border at RHS Harlow Carr in Yorkshire.
A fabulous bunch of flowers Susan. I kept stopping and nodding yes I like that one as well 🙂
Seems we were both nodding Brian 😆
I’m glad you approve!
Excellent collection! Each one is beautiful! A great response to the challenge.
It was a very felicitous challenge for me and i enjoyed seeing the other submissions too.
Thank you for the blog that never ceases to amaze me!
Joanna
Thanks, Joanna. I suppose flowers amaze us all – if not, they certainly do me.
Remember what the Last Gardener of Aleppo said:
“Flowers are the essence of the world.”
Joanna
I can’t disagree with a single one of your choices. And yes, despite all the many wonderful styles of garden around, it’s hard to beat a ‘proper’ cottage garden.
Partly because there’s so much leeway. You’re just collecting some sweet, old favourites and mingling them in wherever you can. As many of the old favourites persist, it can be quite a passive style too.
Overwhelmed with beauty, but those white delphiniums! In awe…
Awe is a good word for delphiniums. I grew some from Delphinium Society seed during lockdown as it was good to have something to fuss over, but now they’re in pots, in part shade, which is a big ask.
Oh my, you’ve given us so much to enjoy in this one Susan. I must admit I’m partial to the image of the missing Juliet 😊 although your many images of flowers growing naturally in such abundance are all truly amazing.
After seeing so many other inspirational posts, including your own, I had to join in with the celebration.
Susan, this was the treat of the day – a magnificent parade of beauties! Impossible to have a favourite, because they are all favourites. I am glad you featured forget-me-nots too, I don’t think anyone else remembered to. Wonderful Delphiniums! I have tried them several times, but something or someone is eating them…The Lion Garden is a dream of roses, and the soft orange/pink/yellow is my favourite colour of roses.
I learned that bluebells have a pleasant scent, I did not know that, because we don’t have them here in Sweden. Thank you for joining in the flower show!
It’s very sweet of you to say so. My Spanish bluebells are scented too, although they are not supposed to be, and make wonderful cut flowers, if you can bear to cut them. There are quite rightly taboos against cutting our native ones, but I don’t know if the fairies are held to be equally protective of the Spanish ones. Those are more sturdy, like hyacinths, and hold up well in a vase.
♥ Cutting is a taboo on secveral of our native wild flowers as well.