Category: Gardening

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Sunshine’s Macro Monday: Geranium Phaeum

Geranium phaeum with paler flower
A paler form of Geranium phaeum, backlit

Geranium phaeum commonly has dark blooms as its folk name, dusky cranesbill, implies and the dark splashed foliage that can be glimpsed in the foreground. Jazzier varieties include Geranium phaeum ‘Alec’s Pink’, Geranium phaeum ‘Kora’ and Geranium phaeum ‘Lavender Pinwheel’ – this looks like a mix of all three. I photographed it under the close direction of John Bent in his private garden, Weeping Ash, a few years ago. Continue reading “Sunshine’s Macro Monday: Geranium Phaeum”

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Variations on a Theme: Forget-me-not, Heartleaf or Green Alkanet?

Why is it that we like to identify plants? To check whether it is safe or to eat or not, perhaps, or as a first step in working out how to buy one. To check if it is generally regarded by tastemakers as a weed or as a fit plant for a garden. But there’s also a great satisfaction in being able to name a plant just because we can. We feel closer to things we can name.

In April and early May, walking through fields and woods and peeking into gardens, we’ll often see plants with tiny, blue flowers that lift our spirits. They can be solitary, but more often, they are spreading.

Their pure blue flowers are classic forget-me-not style, the simplest of flower shapes with a starry look. Tiny, open flowers about as big as our smallest fingernail contain five rounded petals around a yellow, orange or white centre. But is it a forget-me-not? Perhaps it is, perhaps not.

Myosotis (forget-me-not) with a few pink flowers
Myosotis (true forget-me-not) with a few pink flowers

Continue reading “Variations on a Theme: Forget-me-not, Heartleaf or Green Alkanet?”

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Friday Fancy: Fairy Places

Statue of a child riding a lion in Chatsworth Kitchen garden
A child riding a lion under a fruit tree arch in Chatsworth’s kitchen garden

Look away now if you never entertain a fanciful thought. Or just ignore the words and see what you make of this odd assortment of images.

For those who are still with me, this post was inspired by a smattering of comments left recently by people who sense the faerie world around them – you know who you are! Since then, I’ve thought of fairies when looking at some of my pictures. Continue reading “Friday Fancy: Fairy Places”