Celebrating gardens, photography and a creative life
We were fortunate to be able to visit Bridgewater after a night of snowfall this week. As we didn’t win the garden visit lottery by having a bright blue sky too, my pictures are a little sombre – some, even Gothic. Continue reading “Winter Gardens: Visiting RHS Bridgewater on a Snowy Day”
x Alcalthaea suffrutescens, as the name kind of suggests, is a result of crossing Althaea, herbaceous perennials that include Althaea officinalis (the marsh mallow), with Alcea species (hollyhocks).
Now we’ve got that out of the way, we can relax and enjoy the floral fantasy they were creating outside one of the tea rooms at RHS Garden Bridgewater a few weeks ago. Continue reading “Alcalthaea: Crossing Hollyhocks with Other Mallows”
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”
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”
Liatris is one of many showy American natives that British gardeners have taken to their hearts. Fluffy, rose-pink flowers open from button-like buds that circle a slender tower of narrow, lance-shaped leaves.
Where groups of liatris corms are planted naturalistically, the flower plumes are dramatic, reaching up and out like grounded fireworks. Continue reading “Liatris (Blazing Star)”
Susan Rushton 