Celebrating gardens, photography and a creative life
The Hopeful Herbalist reminded me today that tending a decent sized garden is time consuming: most large, contemporary gardens are cared for by far fewer gardeners than would have been the case in the past. That’s a real challenge, especially as gardening the right way often takes a little more time. How tempting it must be to cut corners!  Continue reading “Protecting plants: careful!”
It may seem unseasonal to post pictures of daffodils in the autumn, but far from it: if you live in the northern hemisphere, this is a great time to plant bulbs for flowers next spring. Meanwhile, the gardens of my Australian blogging buddies seem to be full of life all of a sudden, so I imagine it’s daffodil season there.
Either way, I’d only need the flimsiest of excuses to belatedly share pictures from our visit to Brent and Becky Heath, including some taken in their private garden, trial grounds and growing fields. I’m not a daffodil expert so please don’t ask me for their names!
Fragrant lilies in a corner of the garden at Wollerton Old Hall against a backdrop of hedging,  roses and clematis. Wouldn’t a tumble of lilies make a great collective noun?
Dusk was falling when I saw these sweet little roses tumbling amongst some kind of daisies. I wouldn’t have imagined they would make good plant companions, but I thought they looked a pretty pair – the ornate, fully double blooms seemed to contrast well with the simple candour of the daisies. Continue reading “Pink roses with white daisies”
This clematis was a head-turner of a plant. I felt like one of the paparazzi as I lined up with jostling amateur and professional photographers at a recent flower show for my chance to take its picture.
The attraction? Masses of white flowers with showy, fully double centres in shades of purple and green hanging gracefully from a compact vine. I captured these blooms open, in their best finery, but if you search online, you’ll discover a rather strange assortment of pictures. They’re testimony to the way the flower changes as it opens from a gawky youngster to something much more regal. Continue reading “Clematis florida Viennetta”
It’s a terrible pun, but The Wellbeing Of Women garden was the one to wow me at this year’s RHS Hampton Court Flower Show. I wasn’t alone: it won the prestigious People’s Choice in the Small Garden category. Continue reading “Hampton Court Flower Show’s WOW garden”
Susan Rushton 