Pink and blue hydrangeas on the edge of a cottage garden in the English Lake District encourage passers by to linger a moment to enjoy the view. Continue reading “Hydrangeas With A View”
Rudbeckia Summerina ‘Orange’: Garden Plant Plus Prairie Native Equals A Heavenly Daisy
A plant with bold colours and daisy-style flowers effortlessly commanded my attention in the marquee at the recent Tatton Park Flower Show. Several plant nurseries had chosen to feature it prominently on their display and this is not a plant to hide its light under a bushel. Identified as Rudbeckia Summerina ‘Orange’, it’s a relatively new hybrid and one to watch. If it seems deeply familiar, that’s perhaps because both of its parents, Rudbeckia and Echinacea, are so widely grown. Continue reading “Rudbeckia Summerina ‘Orange’: Garden Plant Plus Prairie Native Equals A Heavenly Daisy”
Heleniums at Bluebell Cottage Gardens
We’d been meaning to visit Bluebell Cottage for a while and weren’t disappointed. There were some signs of flowers going to seed earlier than usual due to the long hot and dry spell, but the overall effect was glorious and the pollinators were having a field day – literally. I can hardly believe I managed to take this picture of the garden without a butterfly or bee in the foreground (there is a blurry bee a few rows back). Continue reading “Heleniums at Bluebell Cottage Gardens”
Fingers Burnt By Plants (Or Is It The Plants Getting Burnt?)
Love isn’t always requited between humans & plants, but we shouldn’t allow the lamentable failure of a relationship to thrive to put us off one type of plant entirely. Easy to say, but harder to venture a tender heart the second time around.
I was first acquainted with a brownish heuchera that lived in a hanging basket in an out of the way place, seemingly never watered. Most of the soil had fallen out and only a spindly root system prevented the heuchera from going the same way. The plant never looked great, but you had to respect its toughness. I can’t claim to have fallen in love; at best we were on nodding terms.
Inspired by that one, I went on to grow several heucheras, tiarellas and their hybrid, heucherellas, using their mounds of patterned leaves as ground cover. They really are plants you can paint land with, in England, at least. Unsurprisingly, I found myself getting fond of them. Continue reading “Fingers Burnt By Plants (Or Is It The Plants Getting Burnt?)”
My Top Twelve Picks from the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show
- Award-winning fruit (and veggies)
2. Bees for Manchester
3. The Young Designer Competition
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the competition, five finalists have been invited to create gardens rather than the usual three. This is always one of my favourite parts of RHS Tatton Park Flower Show.
Continue reading “My Top Twelve Picks from the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show”
Wordless Wednesday: Cottage With Sunflower
Floral Lookbook: RHS Hampton Court 2018
Susan Rushton 