These daffodils looked sweet peeping out through the foliage of taller ones. I saw them at Brent and Becky’s Bulbs. I can hardly believe it has three years ago since we were enjoying their company and hospitality – and, of course, their flowers.
Their show gardens must be at or around their prime now and are so very worthy of a visit. If you fancy a peep, check out this post to see what I mean.
Yesterday’s trip to Gresgarth Hall Garden for the March hellebore open day is always pencilled into my calendar. One of my favourite bits is the table of floral goodies prepared for visitors to hang over, all neatly labelled. These crocus flowers were part of this year’s display.
On the far side of the river, the crocuses were flowering in their natural surroundings. Slender, arching leaves, each with its silver stripe, made a lovely contrast with moss and fallen beech tree leaves. Continue reading
Blue and white striped irises are especially lovely, their colour accentuated by a blue pot. I would have guessed these are ‘Katharine Hodgkin’, but they lack the characteristic yellow that suffuses the lip of the lower petals. In compensation, the tips of the crest-like upper petals have artistic streaks of delft blue. Continue reading
There are many plants I know I like. If you come here often, chances are, you could name a few of them too. Roses. Peonies. Blue poppies. Hellebores… I could go on. They don’t even need to have showy flowers – I love demure shade plants as much as anything. But colchicums? I’ve never given colchicums much thought. Not even the double forms I’ve seen, those waterlilies of the earth. As flowers go, I’d have said they were just alright.
Colchicums are flowers out of season: living mixed metaphors. Their appearance heralds Autumn, with its rich ripeness and decay, but by putting out fresh, soft growth. Their ankle-high colours seem to cry out ‘Spring!’ in error, oblivious that all the leaves on the trees way above are considering whether it would still be premature for them to twist, redden and fall in their yearly ritual. Continue reading
Life is fragile enough for large mammals like us, so what security can these dainty flowers have? Quite a lot actually – these particular ones, that is. And I’m not referring to that attractive looking layer of bark mulch. Continue reading
Regular readers know I’m a sucker for double flowers, so won’t be surprised to hear that I’ve fallen in love with a relatively new type of flower – the roselily. Named for their similarity to multi-petalled roses, these pollen-free Oriental lilies are available in shades of pink and white. Continue reading
Northern garden lovers may already be familiar with Harlow Carr. Its long streamside garden is an almost irresistible lure for me when the swathes of candelabra primulas or blue poppies are in flower, but it’s well worth a visit at almost any time of the year. Continue reading
