Jewellery showcase in the Garden

Did you ever think of the garden resembling the inside of a jewellery box? With racemes of golden chains swaying in the breeze from the Laburnum  watereri Vossii.

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and heart locket pendant necklaces suspended from stems.

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(1)Epimedium Rubrum whose heart shaped leaves are flushed red when young turning red and bronze in the autumn along with (2)Cercis Canadensis forest pansy  with its deep purple heart shaped leaves turning to golden hues in autumn.

Foliage rings set in gemstone colours of  obsidian, amber, coral, garnet, citrine and peridot to name a few.

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(1) Spirea Goldflame, (2) Acer Dissectum type (pillar shape one -  lost label), (3) Berberis thunbergii Aurea (4) Berberis  thunbergii Admiration (5) Epimedium Rubrum (6) Santolina Lemon Fizz

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(1) Heuchera Palace Purple, (2) Heuchera Spotlight, (3) Hakonechloa, (4) Aucuba Gold Dust, (6) Heuchera  frosted violet, (7) Euphorbia Polychroma, (8) Heuchera Marmalade, (8) Heuchera Winters Beauty.

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Pearl drop earrings resembling the flowers from Leucothoe fontanesiana rainbow and gold ribbon bands from the blades of golden grass Hakonechloa macra Alboaurea.

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Corsages, brooches and pins in the shapes of colourful blooms.

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(Top) Azalea Mollis. (Middle) Geranium Johnstons Blue, Limnanthes douglasii/Poached Egg Plant and Euphorbia Martini. (Bottom) Ballerina Tulips amongst Primula denticulata and Hellebores and Hemerocallis (still to bloom).

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Did you recognise the area I was showing you yet? – let me take you back 1 month when it looked like this.  My project for May is now complete.

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The Jewellery Showcase

Now lined in smooth pebbles and edged in brick………………

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with other keepsakes like Pieris forest flame, Skimmia, Euonymous, Hypericum tricolour (which is alive!) and Hamamelis Diane.

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Have a lovely weekend everyone, the weather is ever so poor now with terrible heavy rain so I think it will be a day of housework for me.  One of my boys is on an expedition in the Scottish Highlands all weekend for his Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award and guess just what is sitting here at home only his waterproof trousers – he’ll wish he’d listened to his mother especially in his tent tonight!  I’ve no doubt he’ll be wiser by the time he gets home tomorrow evening.   Its falling at a rate of 2 inches an hour just now.

You can see more of my Laburnum Tree here

and for more hot colours this month please visit  Noel's meme at Aplantfanatic in Hawaii

2010 leavesnbloom

 

Prov. 1:8  Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching. 9They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.

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Chains of Golden Blooms

For Macro Flowers Saturday here are some photos of my Golden Chain Tree  Laburnum x watereri Vossi which Maia herself wrote about a few weeks ago.

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A tree that I always as a child had great respect for and was told not to eat the seeds or chew on a leaf, flower or twigs as every part of the tree is highly poisonous if ingested.  The variety I grow produces few seeds and I usually try to remove them once they’ve formed on the tree except for those at the very top!
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I’ve grown this tree in the last 2 gardens I have cultivated as its such a favourite of mine and a reminder of the ones my granddad used to grow.  My children used to get the same warning each year when it came into blossom.
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I hope you enjoy its blooms here as much as I do and I wish they lasted much longer on the tree.  I’ve also written about this tree in my Jewellery Showcase this weekend. (where I find plants in the garden that look like pieces of jewellery).

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 " Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD ! " Psalms 150:6

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Cloths of Gold and Floral Chintz: Wildflowers

A few days ago I brought you with me as we waded through a sea of bluebells and today I bring to you  cloths of gold and floral chintz from along the Perth lade.  It’s a place steeped in the history of the Scottish textile industry where once cloths were placed to dry in those same fields.  Now native wild flowers like viola, poppies and  field forgetmenots (myosotis arvensis) weave their way through the fields of Oil seed rape (Brassica Napus).   Luring the attraction from the male orange tip butterfly as he flutters and dances non stop in the breeze while his partner (with no orange colouration) lays her eggs on the flowering stems.

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(orange tip butterflies amongst a field of Oil Seed Rape)

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Along with some of the Oil seed rape  unraveling from the field;  meadow buttercups, dandelions, marsh marigolds (caltha palustris), broom (cytisus scoparius) and common fumitory intertwine the hedgerows.

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From the top

Common Fumitory, Forget me nots

Marsh Marigold, Cystisus Scoparius

Dandelion, Papaver

Brassica Napus, Meadowcup Buttercup

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Cascades of hawthorn flowers hem the lade bank resembling  sheets of linen that once were hung out to dry in vintage years.

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A little path threads  its way along the meandering banks  flanked with Queen Anne Lace  (Cow Parsley).
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along with stiches of Great Stitchwort, Daisies, Water Avens, Lamiums, Garlic Mustard, Veronica, Plantains and Watercress.
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From the top

Greater Stitchwort, Daisy

Water Avens, Lamium

Garlic Mustard,Veronica

Ribwort Plantain, Watercress

A fringe of Vetch just like a purple haze froths up from amongst  the many long grasses. Where once the lade itself used to froth up from the bubbles of bleach and coloured dyes.

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From the  top

Vicia Sativa

Vicia Sepium

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And finally a floral chintz patterns the little pathway made from Claytonia Sibirica, Columbines, Geraniums, Erodiums and  Red Campion (silene diocia).

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From the top

Claytonia Sibirica (Spring Beauty)

Aquilegia Vulgaris (Columbine)

Erodium cicutanium

Geranium dissectum

Silene dioica (Red Campion)

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What native chintz patterns are weaved in your locality or garden?

For more wildflowers  on Wildflower Wednesday please visit Gail over at Clay and Limestone.

Related articles
Follow the Yellow Brick Road – April’s Wildflowers along the lade
So whats a lade ? – our little green corridor
Awakening the dawn over Huntingtower Castle




2010 leavesnbloom

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"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it" (Psalm 24:1).

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Wading through a Sea of Bluebells

The gentle waves of a sea of bluebells ebbing and flowing as far as the eye can see greeted us as we waded through an ancient woodland one evening this week. 

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A heady aroma wafted through the air permeating even the old mossy tree stumps that lined the way.

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Their scented violet blue coloured bells nodding to us in recognition as we passed by.

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While many shy buds  were still in quiet contemplation.

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Drifts of  bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) lined a little meandering path that once was used by men, women and children as they walked to and from work at the local mill during the days of the industrial revolution.

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A path that in places has glimpses through the tree line of dramatic drops down to the River Almond.

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At its shoreline a glade of wild primroses intermingled with wild violas, red campion and  forget me nots awash the woodland floor. 

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A lade starts to flow along here towards the old mill. (A lade is a watercourse that carries water to a mill) Side by side with the carpet of woodlanders the dippers dip, red squirrels gather, roe deer roam and buzzards soar high high above the tree line.  

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What an awesome walk on the wild side!

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For the latest Bluebell sightings in your area of the United Kingdom please visit  Bluebell Watch.

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Some Important Facts

The UK has up to half of the world's total bluebell population. Sadly our bluebells are now becoming an endangered species due to the Spanish bluebell escaping from our gardens and hybridizing with our native species.    Its illegal to dig up the plants from the wild in any part of the UK for resale. If you don’t own the land it is illegal to dig up the bulbs for any purpose.  In Scotland its even illegal to pick the flowers, leaves or seedheads.  

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Though we did spot some Pink Spanish Bluebells along the lade at Cromwell Park.

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Thankfully most garden centres no longer sell the Spanish bluebell. 

Related Post
My afternoon stroll through Bluebell Woods May 2011

2010 leavesnbloom

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“Some people, in order to discover God, read books. But there is a great book: the very appearance of created things. Look above you! Look below you! Read it. God, whom you want to discover, never wrote that book with ink. Instead He set before your eyes the things that He had made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that?”
— St. Augustine (354-430)

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Dibleys Streptocarpus - New at Chelsea ‘10

I just love Streptocarpus – they are such a delight to grow and give so many months of pleasure from their beautiful blooms. Many will flower for about 10 months of the year. Now how’s that for a plant investment!  

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Choosing a plant is really like being back in a candy store……. there are so many to choose from.
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Can I tempt you with Harriet, Susan, Blue Leyla or maybe even Charlotte or Carys just to name a few….   We’ll see if you’ve caught the “Streptocarpus bug” by the time you’ve read this!

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Streptocarpus/Cape Primrose grow in lightly wooded areas in South and East Africa.  They need dry winters and high levels of rain during the summer months to flourish in their native environment.  They belong to the Gesneriad family of plants which includes African Violets, Columneas and Achimines.

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While in the African continent they are native woodland plants here in the UK they are treated as houseplants or as shaded greenhouse plants as they are not hardy in our climate.

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Dibleys Nurseries

For those of you that have never heard of Dibley’s Nurseries (Efenechtyd Nurseries) they are a Welsh nursery  specializing in Streptocarpus, Saintpaulia and foliage Begonias along with much more rarer plants like Impatiens niamniamensis, Solenostemon (Coleus to you and me!), Aeschynanthus, Codonanthe, xCodonatanthus, Columnea, Nematanthus, xAchidonia, xAchimenantha, Achminene, Kohleria, Sinningia, Smithiantha, Chirita and Alsobia (Episcia)….. phew thats quite a list isn’t it! 

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They have the best selection of Streptocarpus hybrids available in the world and are the holders of the UK National Collection.

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So far they have been awarded a gold medal at every Chelsea flower show they have attended for their impressive display in the Floral Pavilion.  They have 20 gold medals up their sleeve already and I’m sure they will receive another one next week.    By the way they won a gold medal at Malvern nearly two weeks ago aswell.

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New At Chelsea 2010

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Shhhhhhhhh I’ve got a special one to show you here -  its a little early peek at one of the newest ones from Dibleys  that is being launched at the Chelsea Flower Show which opens next week and runs from 25th – 29th May.  I feel quite privileged to have one of those plants before the show even opens.  Its called Scarlett.

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This bloom is the only one open and its starting to fade  but the plant is full of buds.  As usual I find it hard to capture the red pigment on the photograph very well. 

They say that it has…………

Amazing rich blood red flowers blending gradually into a darker eye. A very floriferous variety with mid green leaves and a medium sized habit.

Here’s one of Dibleys own photos of Scarlett

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Here’s how I look after mine

They don’t like south facing windowsills as they get sunburn on their leaves and their beautiful little blooms fade so an east or west light source is preferable.

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I water from below and let the plant leaves start to droop just ever so slightly and let the soil be dry to the touch before I fill up the saucer with water. Within a few hours those leaves are ever so perky again. 

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If you don’t feed them the right type of food or keep them too much in the shade you will just grow big leaves and few flowers. 

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I feed with  a high potash solution which definitely makes a difference to the length the flowering period. There also are Streptocarpus Feed Tablets on the market that are  pushed into the soil around the roots of the plant each month. 

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Did I tell you that these plants are ever so easy to propagate aswell?

Detailed instructions on how to look after your plant and propagate from leaf cuttings can be found here.

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Are you smitten by the Streptocarpus bug yet?………………. watch out – its catching.. You just won’t be able to resist those gorgeous blooms! Once you’ve one plant you’ve just got to have another…………… and another.  My favourite just now is Harriet in the top picture.

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If you would like to read an article by Lynne Dibley recounting her hunt for Streptocarpus plants in South Africa during January 1997 please click this link

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Are Streptocarpus popular in your part of the world? 

2010  leavesnbloom

"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it" (Psalm 24:1)

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Bearded Pollen Tentacles in the garden

From papery bracts to bearded tentacles laden with pollen – to me the Iris has a beauty that only an orchid can surpass.

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Many years ago  I bought 2 plants with just the name “Iris pumila” on the label  in the bargain section of my local garden centre.   No hint even of a colour of bloom on the label but they were so cheap I could not walk by and leave them there.  They needed a new home and I had just the spot.

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The spot was near the public footpath in my scree bed where they could  bathe and later in the season get baked in sunshine most of the day.  I made sure that the tubers were not covered with gravel and that they were not planted very deep in the ground.  

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For years they just sat there and did little and I wondered if my bargain was really a white elephant.  I nearly dug them out a few times but each time at the last moment I thankfully declined.  Finally they established, started to bloom and  multiply.  It was a great surprise when I found out that I had 2 different colours of Iris mauve and yellow. Every year the amount of blooms just gets better and better.    I’m glad I was patient with these 2 little plants.  I think the mauve one could be “Cherry Garden” but I’ve no idea what the name of the  yellow one could be.

Art In A Bloom

This is my favourite  – the flower is just like a still life watercolour.  

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The thick outer petals (The Falls)  flaunt their pollen grains as they glisten and shimmer in the afternoon sunshine.  You’d think that someone had just lightly sprinkled some gold dust over them! 

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While the inner petals (The Standards) are lavishly ruffled with champagne coloured veining and flushed with a little hint of lavender blue.

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I don’t think any plant can rival an Iris at this time of year do you?

Can anyone solve my 8 year mystery and tell me what they think the yellow one could be called?


2010 leavesnbloom

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“I want creation to penetrate you with so much admiration that wherever you go, the least plant may bring you the clear remembrance of the Creator. …One blade of grass or one speck of dust is enough to occupy your entire mind in beholding the art with which it has been made.     St.Basil the Great (329-379)

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It started with a Plum Royale

A little inspiration came my way over the past few weeks and it developed just like a  recipe with a little bit of this and a little bit of that added into the mix. 

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My friend J. gave me another new plant for my garden (remember he’s the one who gave me the Scoliopus).  Its a Heuchera called Plum Royale. What a delicious name for a plant don’t you think!   

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Now just where  would this delicious new addition to my ever expanding  Heuchera collection go?    I mulled over it  for days  and finally  thought of one area of the scree bed in the front garden that was not performing for me – it was dull and needed some revitalisation. 

I already had a young burgundy leafed Berberis Helmond Pillar along with a purple Pulsatilla  (pasque flower) and a yellow leaved Spirea but nothing else in that little area was interesting to look at.

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My Granddad used to quote this saying to me….. (the “R” short for rooting potential).
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If the month has an ‘R’ in it’s spelling then you can move a plant – if it doesn’t leave it well alone.

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Oh dear I know I should listen to my elders but Spring was 3 weeks late arriving here and just now  there are perfect conditions for transplanting perennials -  cool and showery.  So I did a little bit of shuffling as we gardeners are prone to do on many an occasion and took a plant from here and one from there. 

 

The Ingredients

Berberis Helmond Pillar

Geranium phaeum 'Samobor' - Mourning Widow

Dicentra Spring Magic

Lamium Beacon Silver

Viola Sororia Rubra and Viola Odorata Freckles

Brunnera Looking Glass 

and Heuchera Plum Royale

The Method

I placed  them  in that part of the scree bed where one would contrast with the other in leaf texture, added a little handful of fertilizer into each planting hole, some good compost around the roots and a good helping of water along with some weak liquid plant food to reduce transplant shock.  Then finally drizzled my top dressing of pea shingle over the soil and came up with this:

The result

You can see the planting beyond the pansies and to the left of the golden Spirea. Though the new planting is not in focus as you scroll down you will see the detail.

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The Detail

I love the different colours of leaves from the burgundy and silver  in the Heuchera Plum Royale and the burgundy Helmond Pillar with a dash of very dark burgundy in the Geranium leaf.

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In contrast to this is the silver from the Brunnera Looking Glass..

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The Geranium flowers are tiny but still lovely when seen from a bees point of view. Makes you wonder why such a little flower was called the “mourning widow” – it doesn’t look that sad to me!

 

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The Dicentra has lovely delicate looking flowers and its very different in form to the other Dicentras in the garden with their tall arching stems.  Spring Magic is clump forming and grows no higher than 8 inches with  finely cut silvery leaves which is a lovely contrast to the Lamium leaves.  I also like the dark pink blotches  on the Lamium leaves.  It was those blotches on the leaves that originally caught my eye in the garden centre where I purchased it.

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 and finally..........

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There are the 2 little violets planted in amongst the other plants above -  Viola Odorata Freckles and Viola Sororia Rubra.  No matter what garden I’ve had I’ll always have a freckles planted somewhere as I love its little blooms.  Sororia Rubra is a new addition this year to the garden.

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I’m hoping that as the little plants mature that end piece of scree bed will become a feast for the eyes!

If anyone is transplanting during the month of May please make sure that you regularly check the plants for water during the summer months as their root systems will still be settling into their new homes.

2010 leavesnbloom

God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars.  ~ Martin Luther

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