Author: greenbenchramblings

On a chilly overcast day in mid-March we decided to use the morning to wander around the garden at Oakgate taking photographs and identifying changes from the previous month.

Low growing herbaceous plants were giving such cheerful bright colours, especially those related to our native Primrose. There was such a variety of colours and several different forms of this family of plants.

Other low growers added interest beneath the many shrubs and trees. several flowering bulbs grew alongside pulmonarias and hellebores.

Of course these low-growers only look good when situated below interesting shrubs and trees, and Oakgate has a healthy supply of those.

Spiraea are such versatile little shrubs and being deciduous means that fresh growth appearing about now is so colourful. Hence we grow several different spiraea at home for just this reason and here at Oakgate they do the same.

I must admit that neither I nor Jude the Undergardener are fans of cammelias, their flowering period being so short and often shortened even more by a frost which turns them brown and forces them to drop. Once they have flowered the green glossy foliage is totally static and uninteresting. However I think we are in the minority so I shall feature some of those flowering at the moment at Oakgate.

In the hedge along the outside of the garden different cultivars of flowering quince, Chaenomeles superba were flowering along side a solitary winter flowering honeysuckle.

March has proved to be a colourful month for the gardens at Oakgate Garden Centre and Gardens, which bodes well for the spring and summer.

We always enjoy walking by the sea and wandering along promenades and piers. The North Wales coast gives plenty of opportunities to do this. In the middle of February we drove north and then west for a couple of hours to the seaside town of Llandudno, a place we visit often.

We began our day at the seaside by wandering along the promenade assisted by a strong wind making our way to the pier. The two photos below illustrate just how dark a day it was.

Typical of seaside towns created in Edwardian times, Llandudno has a front created out of huge hotels built in response to the surge in interest in seaside holidays made possible by the improved transport systems. These hotels are all impressive at the front to impress but behind this frontage they are really badly built.

The promenade was across the road from the hotels so we just saw the tidy neat fronts. The wooden sculpture piece of the White Rabbit has been there for as long as we can remember. He looks quite a character!

Towards the end of the prom as we reached the entrance of the pier we found these giant red poppies left in that position after Remembrance Day.

We then entered the pier and were greeted by the usual sweet sickly aromas of doughnuts being cooked and candy floss being spun. Sales booths and entertainments sit along both sides of the pier at this end. Everything for sale here is bright and mostly plastic. Music played from most booths so we had to listen to different songs all around us.

The huge building alongside the beginning is the Grand Hotel, still being used despite looking in need of some tlc in places. Iron beams decorated with fussy patterns form the structures from the original pier entrance.

Once beyond the bright noisy sales booths and the children’s rides the pier became quieter with wooden benches lined up along each side, many dedicated to people who loved the pier. The cast iron “fences” along the sides were painted in white and a rich blue, discoloured in places by rust.

The annual upkeep of the pier must cost a fortune with the constant repainting of the woodwork and metalwork and sometimes having to repair the wooden boards of walkways as well as the main iron framework.

I shall now finish off with a gallery of my photos.

We always enjoy our days at the seaside and this was no exception!

As I began my journal entries for March Jude, my Undergardener, wondered if I had posted the February journal. I hadn’t – so here goes!

This is the second report on our monthly visits to the garden at Oakgate Nursery. We wondered how much had changed between our January visit and this our February wanderings.

As usual, our first port of call was the excellent cafe for a latte for me and a cappuccino for Jude, my Under Gardener. From there we took the path over the bridge that took us over the pond where we enjoyed a few moments fish watching. We also took a close look at the wisteria now that it has had a recent prune.

As we entered the garden from the outdoor cafe seating area this Acer, presumably Acer p. ‘Sango Kaku’, immediately caught our eyes. Nearby an Hydrangea was at its last winter stages with its bone white remnants of its seed head.

Several trees and shrubs were showing signs of their buds fattening up.

While these buds were preparing to spring into life several shrubs were already in flower.

The most obvious perennials of all at this time of year here at Oakgate are hellebores but now there were a few more joining them.

Hydrangeas were admired when in flower last year now share with us their more subtle biscuit coloured dried flower heads.

So that is my report on our February visit to Oakgate Nursery and Garden, showing how the garden is getting itself ready for exciting fresh growth and flowerings.

See you soon to share our March visit to Oakgate.

January usually feels such a long month so it always seems such a relief when February arrives. This year being a leap year means that February gets an extra day which means it lasts 29 days rather than the usual 28.

As February arrived I wrote, “February arrived bringing with it more rain and wind, making gardening difficult and on some days impossible. However the garden took little notice and looked interesting. Early bulbs and shrubs gave us lots of colour.”

I also noted that, “A few winter aconites remain in flower from January but other new bulbs have joined them – crocus, cyclamen, fritillary, muscari, iris and last to join in the family of daffodils.”

I then shared photos illustrating these flowering bulbs.

On the page opposite I considered shrubs that flower in the winter, when I wrote, “Throughout the winter months, a few shrubs give us flowers attracting moths and early bees. The number of pollinators we notice in the garden increases day by day.”

Onto the next double page spread I considered work we did during February and a sketch of a leaf skeleton. I began by writing, “We had very few dry days during February so we had to take advantage of any that came. We spent long days enjoying being in the garden and we loved every minute.”

My sketch was created in fine fibre tip pens. Beneath it I wrote, “Leaf skeleton found when tidying the borders of dead leaves and weed seedlings.”

The final two pages in my entries for February were all about our garden wildlife. Concerning this element I noted that,“Once past the middle of the month light values improve. We feel better and many aspects of wildlife step up a gear. Many birds change their calls to song, notably Song Thrush, Dunnock, Blue Tit snd Great Tit. This reminded us to replace old damaged wren pouches and bird nest boxes. We cleared out old nests from last year from nest boxes and repaired those that needed it.”

As a link to the opposite I wrote, “Sparrow terraces are loved by wasps as much as by sparrows themselves. Two wasp nests took over one space in two of the terraces.”

And so to the opposite page where I continued to write about wasps and nest boxes. “The two wasp nests belonged to two different types of wasp and this showed up when we removed the nests. Our common wasps, Vespula vulgaris, built their usual spherical nests, built of their own spittle mixed with fine strips of wood from our fences and sheds. The other type of wasp, a much smaller type, built their nest to fill one section of the sparrow terrace, so it ended up as a cuboid . These wasps were small and calm.”

Next I wrote that, “Our wildlife pond is like a cauldron of mating, very noisy frogs. these two below spent time on our door mat.”

That is it for February, another wet, windy and frustrating month for gardeners. Soon we will move into March and I hope I don’t have to complain about the weather yet again early in that month as well.

Carrying on from Part 1 of my posts about Dyffryn Fernant Garden, Part 2 will gradually move aware from the cottage towards and into the wilder areas. I hope this post, which I wrote in September, will remind us of better weather at the beginning of autumn.

First though we need to look at ‘The Fernery’ an enclosed quiet spot in the shade. This well sheltered garden area sits alongside a tractor shed. The ferns looked very healthy here and seemed at home.

The xeriscape garden looks equally at home close by with its specimen succulents beautifully arranged.

And so next we moved out into the wild!

We walked around in the woody area following a stream which finally lead us towards the grass paths and onwards to the area called ‘Nicky’s Field’. Here there is a formal layout where the 30 beds are rectangular and full of ornamental grasses and sedges. Each area features mass planting of different types of grass.

Every area in this garden seemed to have its own seating, and ‘Nicky’s Field’ was no exception. Here the benches were arranged around a tree and looked a very social space.

From here we accessed the gravel track which took us back to the car. Another great day in Pembrokeshire!

As promised in my first post about Oakgate Nursery and Garden, we can now look at the second half of the garden. After crossing the lane we noticed that the grass paths were much narrower than on the other side.

To our right this perfectly shaped birch looked so good against the blue sky background. A completely different silhouette was presented by the pendular, fastigiate beech. Many of the trees and shrubs here are evergreen both broadleaf and coniferous.

In the first photo below we have two evergreen shrubs, one broadleaf, one conifer which look similar enough to sit together well. The second photo is a golden conifer, one of the brightest we have come across, but needs sunlight to look at its best, as seen in the third photo.

Flowering shrubs and perennials, can be seen with dried up flowers from last year, especially hydrangeas and also buds getting ready to to burst.

There are a few shrubs that are winter flowering and they are also scented to help attract the few pollinators that appear on milder, brighter days.

Below from left to right – Cornus mas, Viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’, Mahonia media ‘Charity’.

I will finish this report of our new monthly post of our visit to Oakgate Nursery and Garden with a handful of interesting photos that didn’t fit into the main text. We will return in February.

As we enter a new year, 2024, we are hoping that the winter weather will be more conducive to gardens and gardeners. Perhaps we will be able to wander around the garden, have a look at what is going on and actually get some gardening done.

I began my entries for January 2024 with a look at plants flowering in our garden, writing “I am always amazed that even in January, as the new year begins, flowers still give dashes of colour. This colour can come from trees, shrubs and perennials!”

To support my introduction I shared ten photos of flowers in our patch.

On the page opposite I moved on from flowers to foliage. I noted that, “Even more important at this time of year is foliage. Foliage plants grouped together can be so effective.”

I then shared some photos of such plant pairings.

“Arum are one of the most important plants due to the incredibly varied leaves – shape, colour, silver markings and splodges of black or purple.” Their varied markings go well with any other foliage plants to create striking combinations.

On the page opposite the arums I specialised in some orchids, phalaeonopsis coloured in rich yellows and oranges.

Concerning our moth orchids I wrote,”We grow just one hardy orchid outside, in amongst our ferns in the ‘Shade Garden’, but we have a few more orchids inside, a small batch of citrus coloured phalaeonopsis, the Moth Orchid. The outside orchid is called Bletilla striata Shi Ran.

Below are photos of the brightly coloured yellow and orange phalaeonopsis. The orange blooms are of P. ‘Bologna’ and the yellows are P. “Goldion”.

Onto the next double page spread I looked at another pair of Moth Orchid one of which is scented. Then the final page for this month shows another of my sketches of seed heads found while working in the garden in January.

About the orchids I wrote, “Two more phalaeonopsis go together really as they both have dusky pink flowers. One is also scented! And it also has spotted leaves.”

Below; Phalaeonopsis ‘Exclusivo Monaco’

Below; Phalaeonopsis ‘Odorion’

The final page for January in my Garden Journal 2024 concerns one of my sketches featuring seed heads found while we tidied up some perennial plantings.

I noted that, “Even in January we still come across these delicate seed heads on dried stems in a range of natural, neutral colours.”

The next time we visit my Garden Journal 2024 will of course be in February, our shortest month of all. Perhaps I will be able to report on some better weather for us gardeners and our plants.

We decided to feature this small garden as a monthly feature throughout 2024, as we visit regularly anyway for a wander, coffee and cake and a look at the nursery itself. The garden here is right by the cafe and is the private garden of the owners’ home, which visitors can enjoy.

This is a beautifully planted ‘wandering garden’ with grass paths meandering around the many mixed borders. Trees, both deciduous and evergreen, mix with climbers, shrubs, again evergreen and deciduous, as well as perennials and flowering bulbs.

The welcome sign is sited on the driveway and is designed in a calm grey with black writing with the quotation “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow”. Next to its name is its logo, a beautiful line drawing of an oak leaf and acorns in their ‘thimbles’.

The drive sides are long mixed borders.

Turn left at the top of the drive and follow around the cafe into the main garden itself, which is divided into two by the exit driveway. One of the best foliage plants with their strappy, sword-like leaves in many colour combinations.

Close by is this wonderful tree decorated with mosses and lichen, illustrating how healthy the air here must be.

Other trees and shrubs display similar coverings of lichen, mosses and ferns. We do not grow such plants specifically for these wonderful lichen, mosses and ferns but it feels so satisfying to find them.

Shrubs give points of interest at this time of the year, some for their winter flowers, some for interesting foliage. The following shots show shrubs growing in the first half of the garden which is close to the outside seating area of the cafe. After enjoying our cafe we cross the bridge over the pond and enter the garden.

There are a few perennials that give interest in mid-winter, displaying interesting flowers, flower buds and foliage.

From here we need to cross the lane to enter the second half of the garden. We will visit that part of the garden in the second post. We plan to visit this garden once a month to record what we see and to discover how the garden changes through the year, 2024.

One of the most important foliage plants in the garden in winter must be the Arum in its many variations. In all honesty I am not sure exactly how many different ones we have growing in our Avocet garden simply because they seem so promiscuous!

They mix beautifully with other foliage plants such as carex and ferns.

Below are two photos of one of my favourite arum called ‘Chameleon’ growing with Carex ‘Ice Dance’ creating a lovely combination, with each enhancing the other. Both of these plants appreciate growing in shade or semi-shade.

The next pair of photos shows arum combined with ferns.

The two photos below show one of my favourites with large almost triangular leaves well marked in white/silver with the addition of splodges of black or purple randomly across the face of the leaf. Each leaf is a good 6 inches long and shaped like an arrow head.

Another of my favourites has virtually no markings on at all just beautifully shaped leaves. When I first acquired this particular arum it had really small leaves just a few inches long, but now after a couple of seasons growing the foliage is much larger. It grows amongst a piece of my Corten Steel sculpture.

We have several with almost plain green foliage, often with just thin pale yellow-green or white lines with each leaf being unique.

One particularly special arum has large, undulating foliage which is marked in a silver -white pattern.

This is probably the most impressive arum that we have in our garden.

“The most inspiring garden in Wales?” This is how it was described in a magazine I read. It certainly is inspiring and full of ideas and creative cameos. It really is a garden to explore and discover!

The gravel driveway leads to the salmon pink cottage and short distance away is a rustic library building where we enjoyed freshly brewed coffee and browse some of the hundreds of books lining the walls.

We parked in a field on the opposite side of the lane to the garden and here we were delayed while I looked a hedgerow Hawthorn dripping with red berries giving it the look of a red waterfall. We crossed the lane and entered the ‘Quarry Garden”. From there we followed the lane up to the cottage and its front garden. We stopped to look at this strip of stone which reminded us of the work of Richard Long, landscape sculptor.

The “Front Garden” is a small patch with plenty of points of interest.

Acers in September provide so much colour marking autumn’s beginnings.

The old ‘Kitchen Garden’ still shows signs of production but it also is home to stock plants. There were interesting places to sit and consider and even spot wildlife.

Off to the Library next for our coffee break, comfy chairs and time to look at a few of the hundreds of books. The view from the library doorway takes in ‘The Courtyard’ and ‘Bog garden’, which was the next place to enjoy.

Leaving ‘The Library’ and feeling well refreshed we continued our journey of discovery – discovery of interesting plants and how they are put together to give the best possible pictures.

The areas we still had to look at were various planned borders and garden rooms gently fading into more wild areas.

Some brilliant plants and planting combinations on our way to ‘The Fernery’!

And so we reached ‘The Fernery’ and close by a ‘xeriscape’ planting which are strongly contrasting conditions. These areas and the wilder patches will be in the second part of my post about Dyffryn Fernant.