In its few days of glory each year, when heavy with fresh, fragrant, pea-type flowers, few climbing plants are more spectacular.
Shared for Cee’s Flower of the Day.
The Last Days of Ebullient Ralph Sowell’s Daffodil Collection
My sweetheart was sorry to hear that his affable gardening friend Ralph Sowell of Jackson, Mississippi, had died and, because his printing company’s property was to be repurposed, his raised beds brimming with many dozens of award-winning daffodils and hybrid daylilies had to go.
It turned out that the garden needed to be emptied more quickly than expected, and unfortunately the daffodils were at the peak of bloom or just about to flower. Bulbs physically empty out when they produce flowers and need a few weeks of sunlight energy hitting the growing leaves to re-fatten for next season. The size and diversity of Ralph’s collection added an extra challenge. Continue reading “The Last Days of Ebullient Ralph Sowell’s Daffodil Collection”
Using Birch in the Garden for Light, Rhythm and Texture
Today, I’m featuring gardens that use birch trees to great effect. Flower lovers sometimes overlook trees, but if you can imagine these gardens without their chalky trunks, you’ll take away more than you might anticipate. Our eyes would hunger for them, were they absent. Continue reading “Using Birch in the Garden for Light, Rhythm and Texture”
Flower of the Day: Crocus
An Oddness of Lady Slipper Orchids
Becky is asking for odd squares throughout February and I believe that these lady slipper orchids qualify.
‘Lady slipper’ is the name familiarly used for orchids in the Cypripedioideae family. Popular plants, they appeal to gardeners and photographers because they play infinite variations on a well-known tune. Continue reading “An Oddness of Lady Slipper Orchids”
Details of Foliage Left Uncut in a Winter Garden
Many gardeners cut back perennials during the winter, but we don’t have to. RHS Bridgewater has left their extensive tall prairie style plantings essentially uncut as you can see from these pictures, taken at the end of January. Continue reading “Details of Foliage Left Uncut in a Winter Garden”
Corncockle in a Wildflower Border
I almost missed out on the week of flowers, hosted by Cathy of Words and Herbs, but am scraping in with this froth of wildflowers for day 7.  The pink, raindrop-covered flower is corncockle, which is now vanishingly rare in the wild in Britain but still appears in annual wildflower mixes. Continue reading “Corncockle in a Wildflower Border”
Susan Rushton 