California Style: Vespa, Helmet and Dog
Now if I was cool, you’d think this was my aquamarine Vespa, flowery black helmet and dog. As it is, y’all know I’m not and it isn’t.
But we can all dream, can’t we? Continue reading “California Style: Vespa, Helmet and Dog”
Six On Saturday: Spring at Holehird Gardens
Mum and I called in at Holehird Gardens in the English Lake District this week to see what Spring had brought so far. I’ve written about Holehird before, here and here, but today I’m joining in with The Propagator’s Six on Saturday. I had thought that the ‘Six’ had to come from your own garden, but the helpful participant guide says six things from a garden visit are also welcome, so without further ado:
1. Chionodoxa (Glory of the snow)
Blue and pink Chionodoxa were at their peak in and around the rock garden. We were a little early to catch the daffodil field in full flower – I’d guess it was a week or so off looking its best.
2. Fritillaria michailovskyi
A visit to a garden is always a treasure hunt, so I was happy to spot a few of these, hidden away just past the hellebores, not far from a small clump of Fritillaria meleagris. The bell-shaped flowers are an unusual colour combination – rich purple-brown with bright yellow tips. Continue reading “Six On Saturday: Spring at Holehird Gardens”
March Squares And Circles
Becky’s March challenge asks us to share some circles within squares. I’ve enjoyed watching others take part and decided to contribute a few of my own. This blue water bowl was part of a collection of garden ornaments waiting their turn to be rolled out to a client by a garden design company. My landscape architect friend Rick Griffin believes that every garden should have all four elements, earth, air, water and fire, in real or symbolic form. Even empty, I think he’d agree the blue mosaic bowl does a great job of representing the idea of water.
My second image shows a glimpse through a porthole shaped hole in the fence into a kitchen garden that is looking very green, bathed in sunlight. Continue reading “March Squares And Circles”
Visiting Prague, At Last!
I’ve wanted to go to Prague for longer than I can remember, although I couldn’t have said why that was. Perhaps all travellers to Prague come home transformed into fervent advertising features and I met one of them on a train years ago. That might seem a wild guess, but people on trains have often told me things. Continue reading “Visiting Prague, At Last!”
Four Floral Designs From Flower Shows
Variegated geranium leaves, yellow pompons, wool swizzles and twigs make up one of my favourite designs I’ve seen at a flower show. Yes, it’s tiny and the florist hasn’t spent a fortune on flowers, but it wows me with its colours, poise and confidence.
The judges’ card noted some fault or other – from memory, it lacked flowers or content. I could quote a poem that is equally brief and perfect, but I’ll forbear. The brief might have been ‘Pack ‘Em In’, for all I know, in which case, this would have been highly commended:
Ivory, pink and hints of green lift a white floral centrepiece that would be perfect for a traditional summer wedding. Orchids, rosebuds, peony buds, chrysanthemums and lisianthus feature, with tiny sprigs of gypsophila and hebe, at a guess. I think the clusters of flowers and tiny green buds are Kalanchoe ‘Calandiva White’. Silver-grey mohair yarn trails delicately over. I enjoy the expertise shown here: the ability to create such an even height and the tapestry effect that prevents open ‘black holes’ that can appear when floral designs are photographed. Continue reading “Four Floral Designs From Flower Shows”
Ness Botanic Garden Penguin: Grow Your Own
Placed like an invocation in a winter vegetable garden is a penguin with a story to tell. On last month’s visit, this part of Ness Botanic Garden was looking (I won’t say sorry for itself, as it was well-tended) out of season. It wasn’t going to feed a family of four any time soon, though nature being what it is, I’m sure magic was taking place under the soil.
For plenty, we had to look to the surrealist style painting of fruit, roots, leaves and tubers that covered the surface of the bird. I spotted onions, cauliflowers, garlic, parsnips, garden peas, carrots, sweet and hot peppers, grapes, lemon, marrow, fennel, cabbage, broccoli, aubergine, lettuce, gourds and an assortment of mushrooms, but that’s not all, by any means. I’m glad nobody needs to find shoes to fit our penguin’s sweetcorn and celery stick feet. Continue reading “Ness Botanic Garden Penguin: Grow Your Own”
Susan Rushton 