Fragrant plants

Blue

Categories Abstract Photography, Alpine, annuals, Architectural Plants, Autumn garden, Bedding, Bulbs, Clematis, colour, conifers, container gardening, Cottage Garden, Cutting Garden, Dry Garden, Fragrant plants, Garden Design, General comment, Grasses, herbaceous, Hydrangea, Iris, late summer border, Mediterranean Garden, Seasonal colour, shade, Shrubs, spring flowering, Spring Garden, Wisteria2 Comments on Blue

OK, so there is a touch of rose-making-the-blue-purple going on here too though I have weeded out the more obvious not-blues, but the theme, from palest to the boldest, with some blue-grey foliage too, is a cool blue palette. Fruit, leaf and flower all contribute and I refer you once again to Gertrude Jekyll. In…

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Yellow

Categories Abstract Photography, Alpine, annuals, Architectural Plants, Auricula, Autumn garden, Bedding, Bulbs, colour, Cottage Garden, Cutting Garden, Dahlias, dark foliage plants, David Austin roses, Dry Garden, Evergreen shrubs, Fragrant plants, Garden Design, General comment, Grasses, herbaceous, Japanese Maples (Acers), late summer border, Ornamental trees, Roses, Seasonal colour, shade, Shrubs, Snowdrops (Galanthus), spring flowering, Spring Garden, Summer garden2 Comments on Yellow

  From the palest blush, soft cool primrose, sulphurous, acid, gaudy, bright, golden, and adorning the garden right the way through the year - this is a richly diverse palette and can be used to many an effect. I've been reading Gertrude Jekyll's book on colour schemes in the flower garden and she is extraordinarily…

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Orange

Categories Abstract Photography, annuals, Architectural Plants, Autumn garden, Bedding, Bulbs, Climbing plants, colour, Cottage Garden, Cutting Garden, Dahlias, David Austin roses, Exotic, Fragrant plants, General comment, herbaceous, late summer border, Orchids, Ornamental trees, Roses, Seasonal colour, Summer garden1 Comment on Orange

A little orange on a dull, wet day. Bring  back the sunshine ... In the meantime, this

Floating Flowers …. almost igniting this huge bronze bowl at Petersham Nurseries (a new institution!)

Categories Abstract Photography, annuals, Architectural Plants, Art in the landscape, Autumn garden, Dahlias, David Austin roses, floristry, Fragrant plants, Garden Design, General comment, Grasses, Hellebore, herbaceous, Hydrangea, late summer border, Magnolia, Open to the public, Petersham Nurseries, Roses, Seasonal colourLeave a Comment on Floating Flowers …. almost igniting this huge bronze bowl at Petersham Nurseries (a new institution!)

We have really enjoyed floating all manner of seasonal flowers in this wide, shallow and beautifully scrolled bronze bowl, which we began in February. Then it was a huge brass urn from the Bank of Rome (it was one of a pair, one since sold, the other, available...) but we swapped to the lower, pedestal-less…

Continue reading ➞ Floating Flowers …. almost igniting this huge bronze bowl at Petersham Nurseries (a new institution!)

Petersham House Gardens – formal gardens, generous borders and a vibrant Cutting Garden

Categories annuals, Architectural Plants, Art in the landscape, Climbing plants, colour, conifers, container gardening, Cutting Garden, Dahlias, David Austin roses, Evergreen shrubs, floristry, Fragrant plants, Fruit Trees, Garden Design, General comment, Grasses, Hellebore, herbaceous, Hydrangea, Kitchen Garden, late summer border, Open to the public, Organic Gardening, Petersham Nurseries, Roses, Seasonal colour, shade, Shrubs, Vegetables, Woodland Garden1 Comment on Petersham House Gardens – formal gardens, generous borders and a vibrant Cutting Garden

After a cycle ride along the towpath and the Thames sparkling in the sunshine, and nearly being late for taking so many photographs, a look in the Kitchen Garden first, which was the vegetable garden but has been co-opted into an additional Cutting Garden, as well as having the peony beds, Hellebores, many old roses…

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Kew Gardens, Part One (there will be more tomorrow now I’ve actually booked for the Great Pagoda)

Categories Architectural Plants, Art in the landscape, Bedding, colour, conifers, Dahlias, dark foliage plants, David Austin roses, Dry Garden, evergreen perennial, Exotic, Fragrant plants, Friends, Garden Design, General comment, Grasses, herbaceous, House plants, late summer border, Lawn Care, Mediterranean Garden, Open to the public, Ornamental trees, Roses, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Seasonal colour, shade, Shrubs, Summer garden, Trees for smaller gardens, Tropical, Water gardening, Wisteria, Woodland GardenLeave a Comment on Kew Gardens, Part One (there will be more tomorrow now I’ve actually booked for the Great Pagoda)

A first look at the newly restored and be-dragoned Great Pagoda. Of course I didn't think to book, so shall be returning tomorrow at 10.30am for that pleasure. I have ascended the Pagoda before, pre-restoration about what, five years ago? But the Dragons are new, 1.8m long on the lower level carved in wood, greatly…

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Hampton Court Palace Flower Show – Part 1 (Show Gardens)

Categories Architectural Plants, Art in the landscape, Cottage Garden, Flower Shows, Fragrant plants, Garden Design, General comment, herbaceous, Open to the public, Ornamental trees, Seasonal colour, Shrubs, Summer gardenLeave a Comment on Hampton Court Palace Flower Show – Part 1 (Show Gardens)

Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire – summer, this time around

Categories Architectural Plants, Art in the landscape, Clematis, Climbing plants, conifers, Cottage Garden, Cutting Garden, Dahlias, Exotic, Fragrant plants, Fruit Trees, Garden Design, General comment, Grasses, herbaceous, Magnolia, Open to the public, Ornamental trees, Seasonal colour, Summer garden, Travel broadens the mind, WisteriaLeave a Comment on Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, Hampshire – summer, this time around

The Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, run extraordinarily well by Hampshire County Council, is an exceptionally varied, beautiful, diverse, botanically curated landscape with so much to recommend, at pretty much any time of year (their winter garden is a beauty and possibly the best in the UK). An extended stay at Mottisfont and then the charms…

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Mottisfont Rose Gardens

Categories Architectural Plants, Clematis, Climbing plants, Cottage Garden, David Austin roses, Fragrant plants, Friends, Fruit Trees, Garden Design, General comment, herbaceous, Iris, Mottisfont Abbey, National Trust Gardens, Open to the public, plants for roses, Roses, Seasonal colour, Summer gardenLeave a Comment on Mottisfont Rose Gardens

Overblown, blowsy, beautiful, fragrant, lush, a little ragged, absolutely in need of some serious dead-heading - but equally glamorous and hopelessly romantic, there are no rose gardens quite like Mottisfont. Soulful, they inhabit the walled gardens of this ancient priory, clambering through the many venerable apple and pear tress, hopelessly constrained by box or lavender,…

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