Celebrating gardens, photography and a creative life
Burgundy canna leaves and the bright green crocosmia provide an interesting contrast to the lilac phlox, particularly as the sun is highlighting the leaves. In the background, arching polygonatum leaves are interspersed with a few heart-shaped hosta leaves. This is an example of companion planting for sequential flowers at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens in Romsey, England.
This is a slice of New Orleans street pie. Throughout the picture you’ll see order: those neat rows of windows; the rooflines; the repeated elements in that lighthouse-style tower; the stepped effect of the facades and where one part of a building meets another… need I go on?
I stopped to take the picture because I loved the way golden, evening light was harmonising the reds, terracottas and neutrals of the buildings, adding warmth and softness. Reviewing the image, my eye is drawn to many patterns which I only half-saw at the time.
Each building has been conceived by an architect’s creative, disciplined mind, giving it character and style. As each mind is working independently of the others, the whole is shaped as much by chance as by design. Look for an overall pattern and you’ll draw a blank. It’s like playing with a special kind of Rubik’s cube – one without a solution. Continue reading “Order and Creativity”
The UK’s Royal National Rose Society (RNRS), which was dedicated to preserving a wide variety of roses for future generations, has gone into administration. Its rose garden, home to over 5,000 varieties including hybrid teas, climbers, ramblers and shrub roses, was due to re-open for June-July but will remain closed to visitors for the foreseeable future. The society’s long heritage dates back to 1876, making it the oldest specialist plant society in the world, but in recent years it had struggled to recruit new members. Continue reading “Plant Heritage At Risk As Rose Society Enters Administration”
Though I’ll not be able to visit the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show, my thoughts always swing back to it at this time of year. This is a glimpse into one of my favourite gardens from a few years ago: The Arthritis Research UK Garden, designed by Chris Beardshaw and Keith Chapman Landscapes.
I love mixed, herbaceous borders – especially twin ones like these that echo each other, pulling the eye in all directions until all but the most disciplined visitors start to flit from one plant to another like large bees, unsure which nectar they should sample next. Continue reading “It’s Chelsea Flower Show Time Again!”
I’ve been trying to write a post for the weekly photo challenge but it’s all been going ‘orribly wrong. Various drafts and ideas later, I have a plea for help awaiting the attention of the WordPress Happiness Engineers as I’ve somehow succeeded in losing the attachment pages for some of my most recent rose pictures. That means if you click ’em, you get a non-too-entertaining-after-a-while ‘Oops’ error message page.
Safari has piqued my sense of irony by suggesting I short cut the process and skip direct to the error page in future, by helpfully(?) listing it among my favourite internet pages. Safari has a point. I need to change tack. I need something cheerful.
So I’m sharing this picture of a smiling flower. It may not be my best picture, but you have to admit it’s cheery. Continue reading “Weekend Whimsy: Smiling Flower”
Susan Rushton 