Category: grasses

A Garden Bouquet for December

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 14, 2013
1 Comment on A Garden Bouquet for December

Already we are almost at the end of the year so here is my December bouquet from our garden,the final chapter in 2013.

It is only mid-December and while in the garden we are treated to the beautiful repetitive piping call of a Song Thrush, already making his territorial proclamation. He must have found a mighty fine territory which he is making sure no-one else can take possession of.

The skies seem full of passing flocks of Redwing and their larger noisier cousins the Fieldfare on migration, escaping their cold food-less summer homes in central Europe. Below them exploring the trees and shrubs of our garden mixed foraging flocks of finches seek out the last of the seeds and berries while amongst them groups of Titmice, Great, Blue, Long-tailed and Coal arrive in hurried flight to explore every nook and cranny of dried stems, tree bark and shrub branches for insects especially spiders.

A few delicate looking soft coloured flowers still hang on determined to be the final blooms of the year. It seems amazing but the odd big bumbling Queen Bumble Bee appears to feed on them.

Berries on shrubs and small trees add extra sparkles of colour but the resident Mistle Thrushes guard them from the migrant thrushes. They are the larder for the colder days to come. The red fruit of the Cotoneasters, Hollies and Rowans will be eaten first and most will have been devoured by the thrushes and Blackbirds before the month is out. The creamy-yellow berries of the Cotoneaster rothschildiana will stay longer being mere second choices. The last to go without fail will be the white berries of the Sorbus, so we can get to enjoy them against dark winter storm clouds before the birds eat them.

At this time of year we can enjoy the dessicated seed heads and old flower heads that have managed to survive the wet times that autumn invariably brings. This year has been so wet that we seem to have fewer still standing than ever before. But a few are putting on a display for us and when covered in a frosty layer or when donning a hat made of snow will look even better. Within them are the remnant autumn leaves as yet to be blown from their branches by blasts of wind.

Signs of next year’s growth are already in evidence like this adventurous bud found on a clematis snuggled between stem and petioles.

Patterns become important in winter as they emerge from seasons hidden away behind plants. So that is the end of my year of garden bouquets for 2013. Perhaps they will return for 2014.

Tags autumn, autumn colours, birds, clematis, dogwoods, fieldfare, foliage plants, garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, ornamental trees, redwing, seasons, song thrush, thrushes, trees, wildlife, winter, winter gardens

garden design garden photography garden wildlife gardening grasses hardy perennials spring bulbs

A new border for Avocet.

We decided it was about time to give one of our borders here at Avocet a totally new look. Originally we had planted a tropical border in this patch as it is south facing and sits snuggly between the conservatory, the kitchen wall and the wall of the utility room. So we were confident that we could get some of the hardier palms, gingers and other exotic looking large leaved plants growing happily. However we soon learned that our garden was at the bottom of a slope where the frosty air settled after rolling down from the hill behind us. Thus our tropical plants were turned to mush in the first harsh winter.

Hence the rethink. We decided to strip the area bare, add copious amounts of our garden compost and replant with plants that hinted at the tropical look.

So the first task was to remove those plants that had survived including a large Black Bamboo. Hard work!! Next we had to replace the wooden edging board to hold back the gravel on the seating area alongside. Otherwise the gravel and soil slowly manage to get totally mixed together. Our selection of plants waiting to be planted can be seen in the picture below right.

We then laid out the plants and played around with positioning them until we were satisfied with our new look. When we finished planting up our new friends we added hundreds of miniature daffodils and brightly coloured tulips in orange, red, yellow and purple. Purple Tulipa “Havran”, Ruby flowered Tulipa “Pallada”, and aptly named Tulips “Orange Brilliant” were planted in clumps between other clumps of Narcissus “Hawera”.

We chose three varieties of different coloured Phormium with their tall sword shaped leaves. These are shown in the photos below – Phormium tenax Joker, Moonraker and Alison Blackman.

The final look! Yes, we are quite pleased with that. We can’t wait to watch it develop from next spring onwards.

In between the Phormium you can see Fatsia japonica, Leucothe walteri “Zeblid”, Geranium palmatum, Heuchera “Obsidium” and Heucherella “Solar Eclipse”.

Tags foliage, foliage plants, garden photography, gardening, heucherellas, phormium

autumn autumn colours birds garden design garden photography garden wildlife gardening grasses hardy perennials migration ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs photography trees

A Garden Bouquet for November

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 24, 2013
4 Comments on A Garden Bouquet for November

I began writing this post in mid-november when we should have been surrounded by the blaze of autumn colour, the hedges and trees should be on fire with the reds and oranges and the autumn migrant thrushes should be gorging on the berries in the hedgerows and gardens. At that time there was little sign of these things happening.

As we move towards the end of November things have changed greatly. We now garden to the sounds of migrant thrushes passing high over head, Redwings, Fieldfares and Mistle Thrushes and a few small flocks are settling in our berried trees. They see us as a stopping off point where they can gorge on the berries and fruits of our Crab Apples, Sorbus and Cotoneasters.

But what will they see when they drop in? Come with me and my camera for a wander.

Tags autumn, autumn colours, autumn leaves, autumn plants, birds, foliage, garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, grasses, ornamental trees, sculpture

allotments autumn community gardening garden wildlife gardening gardens grasses meadows wildlife

The Final Cut

At last a half day of dry weather allowed us a window in which to cut our last meadow on the allotments. This meadow is situated close to our very mature oak tree and within the grasses we grow wildflowers and cultivated plants that we know attract bees, butterflies and moths, hoverflies and all sorts of beneficial insects. It is home too to amphibians, small mammals and even grasshoppers and crickets. The flowering plants here this year just have not stopped flowering their hearts out so we have left cutting the meadow down until last.

So early in November four of us set to with strimmers, mowers and rakes and we made sure we had our water proof clothes at the ready. An hour into our work and we needed them. But we persevered and got the job done. Beautiful rainbows came out to wish us luck.

A few weeks earlier lots of members worked together mowing, strimming and raking away on the other meadows while the weather held. We were lucky to get so much done, finishing off all but one of our many meadow areas. It is really important to look after the meadows around the site as they are such an important habitat for wildlife and of course help us with our pest control by harbouring predatory insects.

The meadows grasses beneath the fruit trees in the orchard get very thick so take a lot of sorting out. Luckily, Ian one of our committee came along and he is a builder so he made light work of it.

The turf spiral is a very fiddly job but John came along and got to work with his strimmer. He loves strimming so we left him to get on with it! It looked really smart!

When we had finished we had time to appreciate the wonderful colourful fruit of the Crab Apples which we grow in the orchards to improve the pollination of our main apple trees.

When we stopped for our coffee and cake break we discovered that our resident Little Owl had been using the picnic bench before us. He had left a pellet for us to examine. We learned by studying it closely that he had been enjoying meals of beetles and mice.

Tags allotments, apples, autumn, autumn colours, community gardening, fruit and veg, fruit., garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, meadows, organic gardening, wildlife

autumn autumn colours climbing plants colours fruit and veg garden design garden photography gardening grasses half-hardy perennials ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs Shropshire

A Garden Bouquet for October

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 25, 2013
7 Comments on A Garden Bouquet for October

October this year is a very confused month, with some plants thinking it is already well into autumn and others believing they are still in mid-summer. And some, judging by the number of berries dripping from the trees must be getting ready to feed the winter migrant birds. Come with me for a wander and you will see what I mean.

In the Freda Garden opposite the front door this beautiful Crocosmia with its flowers in orange with an unusual hint of pink continues to flower profusely. By the front door the pots are filling up with bright orange violas giving a cheerful welcome to visitors.

The leaves of the yellow winter flowering Ribes are turning all shades of pink and red while beneath it the perennial wallflower, Bowles Mauve, continues to flower even though it has barely had a rest all year. The lovely yellow Crocosmia sits comfortably alongside the Cotoneaster which is already heavy with berries.

In pots alongside the wood store sit these two Michaelmas Daisies which we bought from the Picton Garden recently and they still sit in pots waiting for us to find a spot for them. On the left is the variety “Coombe Fishacre” and on the right the species “elegans”.

Down the drive the berries of Cotoneasters and Rowan await the arrival of the winter thrushes but we will enjoy their rich red colouring while we can. Opposite them this beautiful blue Aster looks extra blue with the golden hues of the little grasses alongside.

In the Chatto Garden, which looks good every day of the year, the whispy strands of the Stipa tenuissima move in the slightest of breezes behind the rigid dried heads of Bherkeya and the mauve flowers of Verbena bonariensis

Glaucous leaves of this Euphorbia afford a good background for the seed heads of Amaryllis. Close by another Euphorbia, griffithii “Dixter”, dies to a bright pink in stem and leaf.

The sword-like Iris leaves are similarly glaucous and they enrich the deepest pink of Huskers Red Pentstemon. A beautiful combination!

The white stems of Betula utilis jacqemontii “Silver Queen” glow against the evergreen background afforded by the Red Robin. In the same bed two varieties of deciduous Euonymus are changing into reds and pinks and busy white bell shaped flowers of Arbutus, the Strawberry Tree hang in full bunches. We have never seen so many flowers on our Arbutus before so we are anticipating a profusion of “strawberries” later on.

On the grass giant fungi sit like plates, dining plates for the slugs that feast on them.

Autumn colour is particularly well advanced on the Cercis “Forest Pansy”, Stransvesia and Amelanchier. The strange pink flowers of Lobelia tupa appear in a different place each year as they migrate around the Hot Border.

Moving into the back garden via the shade border we find the contrasting leaf shapes of Inula and ferns.

Arriving in the Rill Garden we can appreciate how the remnant flowers of the Pelargoniums match the berries strung out along the stems of the Cotoneaster.

These Ornithogalum are a new plant for us this year – we are so glad we grew them. It seems an awful long time ago we planted the bulbs in their big terracotta pots. In the border behind them the leaves of the Witch Hazel are colouring up nicely in patterns, the Hypericum berries are now shiny black and the Echinops flowers sit stiffly on rigid stems like silvery blue spheres.

Looking down the central path of the back garden the glowing red fruit of Apple Scrumptious still decorate the arch over the path.

I shall feature a few special favourites and then create a gallery for you to enjoy to illustrate what else is going on in the back garden. Schistostylus are a real late autumn flower but can flower at any time, some responding to the first frosts before they show. We have just bought this pale pink one but have enjoyed the red one for years now.

How about this for a Salvia – you can’t get blue much richer or deeper than this! The Persicaria is P. aucuparia Firetail which produces its poker-like flowers for months through the summer and autumn. Some of the flower heads at the moment are a good 3 inches long and an inch wide.

These two umbrella shaped flower heads are very different in habit. The glowing pink Sedum sits low to the ground on floppy glaucous stems while the Vernonia stands proud aloft tall 4 foot rigid stems.

An archway leading to the pool and Japanese Garden is covered in the red leaves of Vitis purpurea and alongside the pool is this willow. The stems of the Violet Willow are covered in a white bloom from now through to the spring when the winter rains return them to deep violet-black.

Now enjoy a wander around the back garden to see what October has in store for us to appreciate.

Tags apples, autumn, autumn colours, autumn gardens, foliage, fruit and veg, garden photography, gardening, ornamental trees

autumn autumn colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials nurseries ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs trees

Pride of Picton – Michaelmas Daisies

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 21, 2013
6 Comments on Pride of Picton – Michaelmas Daisies

Near one of England’s most beautiful landscapes, the Malvern Hills is the village of Colwall, where we found the National Collection of Asters. The Picton Gardens and nursery which snuggle in beneath the hills is the place to go if you like Michaelmas Daisies. If you are already a fan you will become a bigger fan when you realise the vast range of flower colours, and how many different sized and shaped plants there are. If you were not a fan and went there you would come out a lifetime fan!

Even the gate welcomes you with a daisy!

Now follow us around as we explore this 2 acre autumn garden. The first set of photos were taken within ten minutes of starting out and already we had discovered the huge range of colours asters are painted in. But this garden is not just a collection of Michaelmas Daisies but a beautifully designed illustration of how good a garden can look in October. The yellows of Helianthum, Kniphofia and Rudbeckia all contrast with the pinks and purples of the Asters and grasses such as Miscanthus provide a perfect foil.

We had already come across Cotinus and Rhus which gave rich jewels of deep coloured foliage adding structure to the borders. Shrubs and trees featured more as we moved on, enticed by this gently curving pathway. Acers, deciduous Euonymus and Cornus fwere the stars here before the path led us out of the trees, with the woven apples sitting in the border, to the next section of the garden.

This area featured smaller shrubs punctuated by taller trees such as a rich gold and bronze Sorbus amid areas of perennials, a large percentage of which were of course Asters.

Beneath the peeling trunk of an Acer griseum these two woven youngsters were enjoying leisure time in the garden, the young girl quietly absorbed while her brother concentrates on perfecting his hand stands.

Even though we were emerged in Asters we could not help but be impressed by the incredible variety of texture in the bark of the trees.

The only way to finish this post is to indulge in a rich mix of Asters.

Tags asters, autumn, autumn colours, foliage, foliage plants, garden photography, gardening, grasses, Michaelmas Daisies, outdoor sculpture, shrubs, trees

autumn autumn colours climbing plants colours flowering bulbs fruit and veg garden design garden photography gardening grasses grow your own half-hardy perennials hardy perennials light light quality ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs succulents trees village gardens

A Garden Bouquet for September

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date October 1, 2013
5 Comments on A Garden Bouquet for September

September is the month when the first signs of autumn creep in and there is something special happening to the light. Misty mornings give the garden a fresh atmosphere. Darkness comes too early each day. Fruit picking is the order of the day and we get out our pruning kit, secateurs, pruning saws and loppers large and small to tackle the trees and shrubs.

Grasses begin to change colour, some flowers and seed heads are turning redder and more purple others towards the pale tints of biscuit.

The Blackberry vine is so heavy with fruit that it blocks the pathway and apples hang in thick bunches but seem slow to ripen. At last colour is creeping into the greenness of the grapes. Fingers crossed that the weather is kind to them and therefore kind to us.

This Buddleja is a special one with purple flowers at the tip of each arching branch. The out side of each individual flower is dusty purple-grey but the rich bright purple inside provides a beautiful contrast. Buddleys lindleyana is a very special shrub. A real favourite! And it looks even better alongside a bright orange neighbour in the guise of a Crocosmia. While we are on the subject of bright flowered Crocosmia the yellow one nearby is gentler but still a true bright beauty.

Shrubs and trees are thinking ahead to the winter and painting their leaves in reds, oranges and yellows. The first two photos are of a special Ribes which will give us yellow flowers in the winter. These are followed by deciduous varieties of Euonymus and Cercis “Forest Pansy”.

On the gravel garden, our Beth Chatto Garden, grasses are starring alongside the autumn stars, Michaelmas Daisies.

Bulbs usually mean late winter or early spring but these cyclamen and tulbaghia are showstoppers right now.

So off we go into autumn!

Tags apples, autumn, autumn colours, foliage, foliage plants, fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, fruit., garden photography, gardening, grasses, grow your own, grown your own, harvest, September, shrubs, trees

garden design garden photography garden wildlife gardening gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials meadows natural pest control ornamental trees and shrubs recycling walled gardens wildlife

Boughton House – The Gardens

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date September 15, 2013
9 Comments on Boughton House – The Gardens

Back to Boughton as promised and this time we are off to the more intimate gardens closer to the house. These contrast strongly with the large scale landscaping with the huge land forms.

Refreshed with a good coffee and a slice of lemon drizzle cake from the restaurant in the stableyard we wandered off to the walled garden.

On the way we passed through a couple of old gates, presenting an odd juxtaposition with one so grand and one rather normal. Finding an old orchard was an unexpected pleasure. The old apple trees are being sensitively renewed through careful and very skillful pruning.

The gateway that led to the walled garden was most welcoming and we accepted readily its generous invitation to enter.

And what a sight met our eyes! The area enclosed by the old honey-coloured stone walls was far larger than we expected and contained a sensory garden, a wildlife garden, herbaceous borders and old greenhouses surrounded by interesting plantings in a selection of eclectic containers.

The garden designed to attract wildlife contained some interesting insect shelters and great plants for beneficial “critters”. We were most impressed by the insect home called “Creepy Crawly Cottage and the impressive bird bath.

The old gardeners’ bothy was full of character. I loved the bell!

At the far end of the walled garden the sensory garden satisfied our noses with sweet herby scents.

I shall finish this report on Boughton with a couple of interesting features that caught my eye throughout the garden.

Tags apples, garden photography, gardening, insects, meadows, organic gardening, wildlife

colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography gardening grasses hardy perennials light quality ornamental grasses photography village gardens

Taking advantage of the light.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date September 8, 2013
9 Comments on Taking advantage of the light.

Early September sees the light values changing in subtle ways. As the sun dips against a blue sky and evening takes over from the day, light comes into the garden from much lower down. This angle has a magical effect on the prairie planting in our Beth Chatto Garden.

I couldn’t resist taking my camera with long lens out the first time I was lucky enough to spot these first signs of Autumn. Please let me know what you think of these photos. I have included every shot I fired off in a brief ten minutes of special light. Catch the moment!

So here is the gallery warts and all, no interference from Photoshop. As usual click on any photo to get going and then click on the arrow.

Tags agapanthus, flower photography, garden photography, grasses, hardy perennials, light quality, light vales, photographing plants, photography

garden design garden photography gardening grasses ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs photography Shropshire village gardens

A Garden Gallery

After posting my “Bouquet for August” a few days ago I was wandering around our patch with camera in hand taking photos for our son Jamie and his fiancée, Sammy as they had asked us to go over to help redesign their garden. They have lived with their cottage garden for 6 months or so now and are beginning to feel they need to add their own touches to it. From what they had said I felt I knew what sort of planting they were after so I decided that the best way to show them was with a series of photos.

These photos give a snapshot of our garden plants. Please enjoy my garden gallery. As usual just click on any image to get started and click the arrow to progress through.