Category: ornamental grasses

Aiming for a year round garden – late spring.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 6, 2014
3 Comments on Aiming for a year round garden – late spring.

It is only a few weeks since I published my post looking at our garden in early spring, but it is time for another look to see how we are doing where our aim of trying to establish a year round garden is concerned. It is amazing how much has changed in that time.

Come for awalk with me and my camera!

Let us start in the front garden with a look at our gravel garden, The Beth Chatto Border, where we find the brightest of colours radiating from various Euphorbias. In sharp contrast a near black Iris crysophagres has flowers of the darkest indigo.

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In the other borders in the front garden the last of the spring bulbs mingle with the earliest of the herbaceous perennials.

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The Shed Bed also rings with the colour of Euphorbia and the newly revamped water feature gives a gentle bubbling sound for us to enjoy. This water feature is created from metal objects we dug up when we first made the garden and we have now planted miniature Hostas and different varieties of Tricyrtis around it. The view down the path to the chickens is framed by the richest of blues of the Ceanothus. The little slate border by the shed is displaying the first flower on our Tulbaghias along with the tiny pink blooms of the Erodium. In the insect hotel a pair of Dunnock have built their nest just a few inches above the ground and about 6 inches from the path.

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The Freda Border is full of every shade of green punctuated by the pale blue of the Camassias. Nearby in the alpine troughs and crates the Saxifragas flower like myriads of tiny red gems.

On the opposite side of the house the Shade Garden, the only part of the garden which is shaded, looks lush and lively.

Moving along from the Shade Garden towards the back garden we wander through the Seaside Garden and into the Rill Garden.

From the Rill Garden we can take the central path past the greenhouse, where Jude aka Mrs Greenbench or The Undergardener, is busy tending her hundreds of seedling veggies, annuals and perennials. It is a very productive place!

Turning left just past the greenhouse the borders surrounding our small lawned area are bursting with late spring colour and fresh growth.

Just off this lawned area we enter the Japanese Garden with its pool which is an essential element of any oriental garden but here it doubles up as a wildlife pool.

We can wander along a gravel path back towards the central pathway and along the way we can look at the Prairie Garden on our right and the Bog Garden on our left.

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In the Bog Garden foliage predominates with Hostas, Ligularias and Rheum purpureum. One flower worth a close up look is this stunning Primula which sadly we don’t know the name of.

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A glance over our shoulder gives us the chance to look back over the pool towards the Summerhouse.

On the opposite side of the central pathway we find the Chicken Garden and the Secret Garden both now still full of colour from spring bulbs but bursting with the burgeoning growth of the herbaceous perennials.

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Wandering back along the path towards the shed we can appreciate close up the beauty and complexity of the Camassia flowers.

Our little Slate Garden is colourful now with Auriculas and Primulas in full bloom.

So there we have it – a gentle wander around our garden in early May. It all looks very different now just a few weeks after my early Spring post. The next post in this series will be in early Summer when I guess we can look forward to even bigger changes. I shall finish this post with a photo of the Ceanothus that kept getting blown out of the ground root and all during the gales of Winter. But just look at it now! It illustrates just how resilient plants are. It has a sweet scent that welcomes us whenever we go to the shed to pick up the tools we need in the garden each day. Sadly I am not sure I like it when it flowers so heavily.

Tags ceanothus, foliage, foliage plants, garden photography, gardening, grasses, greenhouse gardening, greenhouses, ornamental trees, poppies, shrubs, spring, spring bulbs, spring flowers, spring garden, trees

flowering bulbs garden design garden designers garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials Italian style gardens meadows ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs Piet Oudolf spring bulbs spring gardening Staffordshire Tom Stuart-Smith trees

A Garden in April – Trentham

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 4, 2014
2 Comments on A Garden in April – Trentham

So here we are on our April visit to the gardens at Trentham, already the fourth in this series of posts looking at Trentham Gardens throughout the year.

We immediately notice that the fresh growth of Spring is well underway. The grasses in the River of Grasses are no longer brown and dead but putting on strong bright green growth. The herbaceous growth huddled in the grasses is looking vigorous with Trollius adding splashes of gold. Euphorbias look vibrant under the river of birches. Leaf buds are bursting on all the deciduous trees.

As we move into Piet Oudolf’s perennial prairie plantings some plants are well into growth where others have barely started. Thalictrum and Amsonias are looking particularly vibrant.

Leaving the Prairie area we immediately notice that the Hornbeam arbor has grown vigorously and is now looking like a big shaggy sheep. The bench is a great place to get a shaded, secret, quiet moment. The arbor looks like it could get up and walk away!

As you may remember from our earlier visits we move through grassed areas with shrub borders towards the Italian Garden, passing through an avenue of Hornbeam on the way. The tulips in this part of the garden are nothing short of startling! We are not sure at all of some of the colour combinations but they are definitely cheerful.

From here we take our usual look over Tom Stuart-Smith’s garden where bursts of colour mostly oranges and blues greet us. When we get closer we realise they are the colour is provided by Camassias and various Euphorbias.

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Let us now have a closer look at some of the individual plants of interest.

Firstly the strange Primula like flowers of Dalmera peltata looking like pink lollypops on tall sticks. The flowers come before there is any sign of the leaves and the flower stem appears out of the rizomes which sit right on the surface of the soil. The leaves when they do appear are equally dramatic – big circular leaves held right off the ground.

The flower shoots of Eremurus robustus, the Fox Tail Lily are appearing at the base of the whorl of leaves. These were the mystery leaves in last month’s visit. The grey-pink blooms of the Giant Red Deadnettle, Lamium orvala wrap themselves right up the stems between the leaf clusters.

The yellow pea flowers of the Thermopsis montana, variously known as False Lupin, Golden Pea, Revonpapu and so on, are just freshly out and blend nicely with the silvery green leaves.

As we leave the Tom Stuart-Smith gardens we notice, as we follow the gravel pathway to the display gardens, that the daffodils in colour on our last visit are still presenting a haze of yellow.

On our return journey through the garden we notice the newly emerging flower bud of this Allium, sitting like a table tennis ball in the centre of the three leaves. The fresh leaves on a deciduous tree stand out in sharp contrast to the dullness of its evergreen companion even in dull light.

Tulips adorn the Rose Walk where the roses are budding strongly. From here we can look back on the team of gardeners beavering away heads down in their waterproof jackets.

Looking through the rose pergola we can see the green growth in the River of Grasses. Alongside this path Corydalis is flowering at ground level whereas at a higher level the red leaves of the Acer manage to look cheerful in the rain.

So we leave Trentham in the rain yet again and look forward to our May visit when maybe we will see a little sunshine and a blue sky!

Tags foliage, garden photography, gardening, grasses, meadows, ornamental grasses, ornamental trees, Piet Oudolf, spring bulbs, Staffordshire, Tom Stuart-Smith, trees, Trentham Garden, Trentham Gardens

colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography gardening gardens grasses hardy perennials ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs spring bulbs The National Trust trees Winter Gardening winter gardens

Three Winter Gardens – Part Three – Anglesey Abbey

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 27, 2014
2 Comments on Three Winter Gardens – Part Three – Anglesey Abbey

This, the third in my series of three posts looking at winter gardens, sees us at the most well known of all winter gardens, Anglesey Abbey.

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Situated near Cambridge within the larger gardens and grounds of this National Trust property the winter garden here is often considered to be the best of all and a big influence on all others that follow. We shall look at further aspects of the gardens at Anglesey Abbey in future posts.

We visited the winter garden at Anglesey Abbey many years ago the first year it was open to the public so it was like meeting an old friend but one who has changed a lot in the intervening years.

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This set of gates welcomed us as we arrived at the start of the winter plantings.

We soon met the friends we had seen in our other two winter gardens, the dogwoods, rubus and willows grown for their stem colour underplanted with hellebores and ivies. There was some wonderful pruning techniques on display here too.

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Grasses featured strongly with their wonderful warm colours and strong structural shapes.

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We were once again interested to see which plants the gardeners from Anglesey Abbey used as ground cover to help reduce weed growth. Various low growing grasses teamed up with Arum and Bergenias to perform this role.

All these plants acting out their roles as ground covering plants encouraged us to look down as we were seeking ideas for our allotment Winter Garden, but we were struck also by specimens higher up.

The Viburnum pictured below didn’t just look good it smelled sweetly too. The Pulmonaria has not just flowers of two colours but unusual foliage to catch the eye.

The fresh foliage of the Cercis had leaves of a delicate bronze which was a strong contrast to the much more brash reds of the Photinia “Red Robin”.

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The white bark of the trunks of Betula utilis although now used in every winter garden still deserve to be centre stage. Here at Anglesey Abbey some had been “dressed” in bright colours for added humour.

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This golden stemmed ash is rarely seen in gardens but in the winter its black pyramidal buds strongly contrast with the golden stems. It is one of those plants that are simply too big for the average garden but when space allows it can be really attractive.

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I have concentrated so far on the attributes of individual plants but we need to see how they fit in to the whole to fully appreciate their impact and the atmosphere of this amazing winter garden.

We entered the winter borders through interesting sculptural gates and we left through another. A quick look over the shoulder gave us a final chance to appreciate this brilliant garden.

So there we leave the series of three posts concerning winter gardens. Although Dunham Massey is the newcomer it looked good against the other two, but in the end it has to be said that the “original” winter garden at Anglesey Abbey remains my firm favourite.

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Tags betulas, birches, dogwoods, foliage, garden photography, gardening, grasses, National Trust, ornamental trees, salix, trees, willows, winter, winter garden, winter gardening, winter gardens

colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials irises ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs spring bulbs trees Winter Gardening winter gardens

Three Winter Gardens – Part Two – Cambridge Botanic Gardens

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date April 16, 2014
1 Comment on Three Winter Gardens – Part Two – Cambridge Botanic Gardens

We had never been to Cambridge before. Lots of people told us it is just like Oxford its parallel university city. We decided to put things right and find out for ourselves so spent a few days there. One day we spent in the University Botanic Gardens where we were keen to explore the winter garden as we had heard good things about it.

We were pleased we decided to visit both Cambridge and its botanic garden as we enjoyed both immensely. The Botanic Garden was good enough to make us plan to return in different seasons. If a garden impresses in winter then it will at any time.

So for part two of my “Three Winter Gardens” we shine the spotlight on Cambridge. Look out for a post in the near future looking at the rest of the garden in winter too.

We knew we were in for a treat for within the first 20 yards of our walk after passing through the gate we were mystified by a couple of plants we did not know.

Luckily they were both labelled and I shall say what they are in my post about the gardens in general but first off to the Winter Garden. We were particularly keen to see this seasonal patch as it had been created in 1989 so now it is well established. Many gardens now boast winter borders or winter gardens and we have even created one on our allotment site in the communal areas, but these are mostly immature.

Trees and shrubs give the impact in any winter garden often as here at Cambridge they are birches and willows.

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We were particularly impressed with the use of ground cover, an aspect we have not used very well in our allotment version. We were to learn so much and go home full of enthusiasm to develop effective ground cover in our allotment’s winter garden. Ivies, periwinkles and hellebores added so much. We already use hellebores but not ivies and periwinkles but they present so many opportunities, with all the varieties in leaf colour, variegation and shape in ivies and flower colours in the periwinkles. Bergenias and grasses together worked well in other places, because of their unusual foliage colours and contrasting leaf shape.

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This was a very effective colour combination which in any other season probably wouldn’t have worked. Daphne mezereum and Forsythia Lynwood. Of course the daphne also provided that other essential of any winter border – sweet scent. The sweetest scent of all came from another Daphne, Jacquelin Postill.

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The coloured stems of coppiced and pollarded Cornus (dogwoods) and Salix (willows) have to star in any winter garden and they certainly did here along with Rubus.

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Two gems worth a special mention are the winter flowering iris and the wonderful leaves of Arum italicum marmoratum.

I shall finish with this photo looking back at the gently curving path through the winter border. The third of my winter garden visits will be to Anglesay Abbey, probably the best known and most polular of all the winter gardens in this country. We shall see if it deserves this accolade.

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Tags Cambridge, Cambridge Botanic Gardens, cornus, dogwoods, foliage, foliage plants, garden photography, gardening, grasses, greenhouse gardening, shrubs, spring bulbs, trees, winter, winter gardens

climbing plants colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography garden wildlife gardening gardens grasses hardy perennials ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs Shropshire spring bulbs trees Uncategorized Winter Gardening winter gardens

Aiming for a year round garden. Part One – The Winter

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 22, 2014
5 Comments on Aiming for a year round garden. Part One – The Winter

Over the last few years we have worked hard planning to make our garden look and feel good all year round. So today I took a wander with camera in hand to see how well we had done so far. See what you think. Are we getting there?

Of course flowering bulbs come into their own at this time of year and we now have a wide selection of crocus, muscari, miniature narcissi and Iris reticulata throughout the garden. Grasses are of equal importance but only recently have they been accepted as an essential element of the winter garden. The first photo shows how well our Pony Tails Grasses contrast with the foliage of Hebes. In the second crocus team up with grasses to create a great combination of colours and textures.

A have a soft spot for celandines, enjoying the glossy yellow native plant that lights up our hedgerow bases as well as the cultivated bronze leaved Brazen Hussey and the “Giant Celandine” in the photograph below.

Euphorbias are another of those families of plants that are all year round essentials in our gardens but at this time of year their new bracts glow on overcast days. Foliage is perhaps more important than flowers in the winter garden as it provides variations of colour, pattern and texture. Phormiums, Heucheras and grasses are most effective.

Scent can play its part as it pervades the calm air and delights us as we wander with the thought of brighter warmer days. Daphnes, Sarcoccocas, Cornus, Mahonias and Viburnums all perform well in our garden.

Textured bark on our trees in our Spring Border looks especially good in winter light. The peeling orange bark of the Prunus serrula and the birch is like slithers of brittle toffee.

Hellebores star in most gardens in winters since so many wonderful easily grown specimens have become available in most garden centres and nurseries.

Here some of our many hellebores are twinned with coloured stemmed cornus and salix.

Any flower brave enough to appear in the winter is worthy of mention be they primulas, witch hazels, pulmonarias or bergenia. They would perhaps seem quite ordinary if they flowered among the stars of the summer garden but in the winter they are extraordinarily good garden plants.

A recent discovery is the shrub Drimys with its red stems, glossy green foliage and buds looking fit to burst into life.

Structures such as our cloud pruned box hedge that lines our central path become much more important and noticeable in the emptier garden of winter. But we hope our garden is now richer in this the coldest and darkest of our seasons.

We must not forget the role our feathered friends play in adding colour, sound and movement to our garden in winter.

Part Two of our search for the all year round garden will consider our garden in Spring. Signs of that season are already giving hints of what is to come such as in the buds of the quince fruit tree.

Tags dogwoods, foliage, garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, grasses, greenhouse gardening, organic gardening, ornamental trees, shrubs, winter, winter garden, winter gardening, winter gardens

garden photography gardening gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials light light quality ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs roses Winter Gardening winter gardens

A Garden in February – Trentham

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 26, 2014
5 Comments on A Garden in February – Trentham

As promised we made our promised return to the gardens at Trentham, near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, right on the edge of The Potteries.

The day promised good weather which would make a welcome change. On our last few visits to this garden we had been subjected to rain and often cold winds. For our February exploration the sky was blue and the car’s dashboard read out told us the temperature was 9 degrees. The aim of this return visit and indeed all the following monthly ones was to see how the garden had progressed, how things had changed, which plants were looking good and which ones were the stars.

As we passed over the gentle arch of the suspension bridge we could see the “River of Grasses” with the golden stubble of the grasses which had been trimmed down low. In contrast the close mown grass areas along the riverside were bright green decorated with strips of sparkling white snowdrops. I realise the life buoy is a safety requirement and realise it has to be red so that it is easily spotted in an emergency but it is really distracting!

As always the gently curving line of River Birches looked wonderful, with the bark peeling more than when we saw them in January. I liked the meandering line where the dried grass area joins the deep green foliage of the evergreen Euphorbia robbiae with pale green highlights created by their flowering bracts.

Once beyond the birches the perennial borders designed by Piet Oudolf looked very flat having been trimmed tight to the ground. This was in strong contrast to all the interesting seedheads and stems that decorated it in January. But with the clear view over the area we did spot this lovely wooden seat which we had totally missed in January. The bright green new growth of the Hemerocallis has progressed well since our January visit.

We enjoyed seeing that the rings of cyclamen were still flowering away happily beneath the Yews. They looked good in the sunshine, their colours seeming richer.

There was little change to be seen at the Hornbeam arbor but we did notice a few white sparkling Snowdrops around the base of their trunks. The trimmed box alongside is most noticeable at this time of year when such green sculptures become one of the stars of the garden. Some other stars of the Trentham gardens on this visit waited for us close by -Hellobores and Cyclamen in full colourful bloom. The Hellebores impressed with more than the colour range however, for they had really proud upright habit. They lit up the shade beneath an allee of Hornbeam.

Leaving the Hornbeam allee we entered the old Italian Garden, with its rigidly symmetrical patterns of short cut grass, white chipping and smartly trimmed box edging. The low winter light emphasised this structure. It is not our favourite part of the garden but we always admire the skill taken to keep it looking so neat.

From here we could look out across the huge Italian Garden, re-designed by Tom Stuart-Smith. Since our last visit the perennials and grasses have been neatly and closely cut ready for the new growth that is sitting just below the soil surface ready to burst out.

Then after walking through these borders in waiting, we went off into the parkland where mature trees tower above the grassed slopes. Under the trees sits the coffee shop where we stopped for our statutory break. Some slopes appeared a bluer green than others and we discovered that the leaves here were of daffodils already with flower buds fit to burst.

Near the coffee house are areas for children and it was noticeable how busy they were. When here in January this area was deserted but on this visit there were lots of families with young children. It was the school half term holiday.

On the lake the swan sculptures presented sharp silhouettes taking off over the water.

Over in the display gardens the low bright light made the colours in foliage, flowers, stem and bark look extra bright.

We returned through the Tom Stuart-Smith gardens and walked along the rose pergola. The gardeners were busy pruning the roses, weeding and freshening up the soil surface.

The shrub borders at the end of the rose pergola were showing signs of interesting things happening, the Witch Hazels were shining yellow and the scented but subtle winter flowering honeysuckle sitting along side it looked rather drab. So that finished our February visit to Trentham. The next blog in this monthly series will be in March. Things should be really livening up then.

Tags garden arches, garden photography, gardening, grasses, hellebores, Italian garden style, ornamental grasses, Tom Stuart-Smith, trees, Trentham Gardens, winter, winter cyclamen, winter gardening, winter gardens

garden design garden photography garden pools garden seating gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials light light quality meadows natural pest control ornamental grasses outdoor sculpture trees water in the garden Winter Gardening winter gardens

A Garden in January – Trentham – Part Two

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 28, 2014
4 Comments on A Garden in January – Trentham – Part Two

Welcome back to Trentham in January where we find ourselves in the part of the garden featuring the Italian Garden re-designed by Tom Stuart-Smith.

From the raised terraces of the Italian Parterre we can see how symmetrical and rigid the structure is. Tom Stuart-Smith has designed a brilliant garden within this structure using grasses and perennials similar to those used by Piet Oudolf. If anything the planting is more varied. The impressive thing about his design is the way soft flowing plant combinations can look so good in a formal setting.

I always particularly like these corner beds with their plantings of low grasses, sedum, phlomis, marjoram and knautia. The little box edging is a most effective foil for the softness of the planting.

Our walk around Tom Stuart-Smiths plantings was interrupted by a shower of freezing rain accompanied by cold winds. We sheltered in the loggia conveniently located nearby. This afforded us a good view over much of this area.

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We managed another five minutes exploration of this garden when the heavens opened once again. Conveniently by this time we were close to the coffee shop which is always our half way stopping point so we retreated to enjoy a welcomed beverage and slice of something sweet. The cafe is housed in a beautifully designed modern building based on a semi-circle. It sits snuggly within a clump of trees. The seating fits all around the floor to ceiling windows giving great views over the Tom S-S gardens.

The wind was moving the grasses around and skewing the water in the fountains. It illustrated how important grasses can be in any garden, as even the slightest breeze sets them waving.

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Within the grasses the seedheads of the perennials were the stars of the show.

The garden team were busy cutting down the perennials in the beds which had been worst effected by the winter weather. If you look carefully you may spot the one gardener’s amusing headgear! When she bent over it looked as if it was Yogi Bear doing the work!

We made a diversion into the area beyond the cafe and tall trees where the show gardens are. We found a few new gardens including a “Stumpery” (a favourite garden feature of Mrs Greenbench) and this row of colourful dogwoods, Cornus Midwinter Fire.

The glass panels in one of the gardens looked brilliant alongside the russet coloured grasses.

Close to the cafe is an area for children’s play with climbing frames, a maze, a bare foot walk, road ways for sit-on toys and these superb sandpits. Because of the poor weather they were sadly deserted today but they are usually very popular. It is so good to see children absorbed in play that does not involve screens or batteries!

As we neared the end of our wander we walked beneath the metal archways of the “Trellis Walk” running alongside the David Roses border. Here there were roses still trying to bloom and others with hips on. The gardens are maintained organically so within these borders we found lovely insect shelters and clumps of Phacelia plants both designed to bring in beneficial insects. Four beautiful relief panels were spread out along the border depicting different garden movements from the past. We could see through the trellis walkway back to the “River of Grasses” and in the ever-darkening late afternoon light the grasses really seemed to glow. We now look forward to re-visiting in February to see what is going on.

colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials light light quality meadows ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs photography trees Winter Gardening winter gardens

A Garden in January – Trentham – Part One

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 26, 2014
4 Comments on A Garden in January – Trentham – Part One

Since I began my blog a few years ago I have written monthly features with photos about our own garden on Greenbenchramblings but for a change this year I decided to visit another favourite garden, Trentham. So every month throughout 2014 we shall take you on a journey around these unique gardens so that you can enjoy them in all their different guises. Different plants will become the stars throughout the year.

So enjoy a visit with us as we enjoy a winter wander in mid-January. The garden’s major features are huge areas designed by two of my favourite garden designers, Piet Oudolf and Tom Stuart-Smith, both of whom have appeared before on Greenbenchramblings. These two new areas fit well within a huge parkland area created by Capability Brown including a mile-long lake with woodland all around, open grassland and specimen trees. There is also an Italianate Parterre designed by Charles Barry and an area where small show gardens display good modern designs full of ideas for visitors to take home with them. A huge maze with a viewing mound, a rose walk featuring David Austin roses and areas specially designed for children make Trentham one of the best days out in the Midlands where it is possible to indulge oneself whatever your age.

A beautifully designed modern suspension bridge welcomes you into the garden where Piet Oudolf’s “Rivers of Grass” greets you. Massed plantings of grasses dotted with patches of perennials are full of the colours of all sorts of tasty biscuits. Wide mown grass paths wind sinuously throughout providing plenty of choices of ways through. The atmosphere is one of complete calm, a place to be quiet and listen to the rustling of the grasses as they move in the slightest breezes.

Seedheads on perennials cleverly left by the gardeners draw the visitor in for a closer look where the rich gingers, browns, greys and russets can by fully appreciated. No doubt the resident finches enjoy the seeds too and bugs such as ladybird and lacewing larvae shelter in their hollow stems.

A row of River Birch act as an open barrier cutting across between the River of Grasses and Oudolf’s “Floral Labyrinth” which we entered next. The pink, silver and peach coloured bark of these Betula come to life with its peeling strips of orange paper.

The Floral Labyrinth is explored from winding gravel paths and wider expanses of mown grass. This is in the style now called “New Wave Perennial Planting” featuring tall prairie style plants mixed with grasses especially miscanthus and pennisetum. Again the seedheads are key elements at this time of year.

Where many plants have fallen or suffered from rotting in the winter deluges the gardeners have cleared up and signs of new growth are appearing. Here Day Lillies look raring to go!

This fallen leaf has curled up into the shape of a Woodlouse or Pill Bug.

Many of the seedheads when studied as individuals are like constellations of tiny stars.

Others are like thin church spires.

Many of the taller stems are now falling after all our strong winds.

Under large mature Yew trees, cyclamen have been planted in circles. The leaves shine in the low sun and the little swept back petals of the flowers give so many shades of pink as well as a few white.

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Moving on from Piet Oudolf’s pair of gardens we wander through an area of open lawns with features of the older gardens and get views of the derelict buildings which must at one time have been impressive and dominating in the landscape. Pioneer plants such as Buddleja and Cotoneaster are gaining a foothold on the masonry as it crumbles. Try to spot them near the top of the ruins.

As we finish the first half of our tour we can look forward to more startling planting creations but these have been created within the old structure of the Italian Gardens. These will be featured in part two, my next post.

What a wonderful way to spend a cold January day!

Tags betulas, birches, Capability Brown, foliage, garden photography, gardening, grasses, landscape movement, meadows, ornamental grasses, ornamental trees, Piet Oudolf, Staffordshire, Tom Stuart-Smith, Trentham Gardens, winter cyclamen, winter gardens

garden photography gardens grasses light light quality ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs photography winter gardens

Looking a little closer.

Recently I purchased of a pack of close-up filters by Polaroid. I longed to use them but the weather thwarted me. After days of waiting the light was good enough so I rushed to attach them to the standard lens of my trusty Nikon DSLR.

These are my first attempts, after the worst were deleted. My failures were mostly trouble with focus. It is difficult to get distance to subject right but trial and error resulted in the following shots. Let me know what you think. I need to do some research now and find out a bit more about using them effectively and efficiently. I shall dig into my photography books and copies of the wonderful “Outdoor Photography” magazines.

First a couple of shots of a Hamemelis “Jelena” followed by looking at the spent seed heads of Echinops, Clematis and Eryngium.

A close shot of this Buddleja illustrates the soft texture of the surface of the leaves. The texture of the Cotoneaster berry with its hard glossy red jacket is in strong contrast with the matt black berries of the Hypericum.

The leaves of the variegated Osmanthus are in every shade of yellow and bronzed green. The similarly spiky edged leaves of Eryngium are dry and grey as old bone.

The next few shots are of the old dessicated flowers of asters. They are so delicate – it makes you wonder how they stand up the strong winter winds.

Taking close up shots of fennel seeds within their seed heads shows the restricted depth of field of the close up lenses. Look closely at the differences and you will find the subtle changes by altering slightly the central point of focus.

The flowers of Mahonia japonica are usually seen in long racemes but a close up lens lets us appreciate them as individuals. I had not realised until I looked at these pics that each little flower is a double form.

We grow several trees for their interesting bark and in winter the low angle of the sun allows us to see golden light brightening it up.

Tansy is such a common flower we rarely take time to have a close look and appreciate its beauty. I tried to show them at their best here but sadly not too well.

Looking at the light playing on sticks and stems brings out their beautiful structure and delicate colours.

Grasses look stunning in any bright light and when studied close up their beauty increases further.

These little shaving brush flower heads expose their softness of texture when viewed in close up with each fine thread catching the light.

I shall finish this selection of my close up photos with the soft pink blooms of our Prunus subhirtella autumnalis. I shall keep trying and play around with the close ups and post again when I get more of a handle on them.

Tags close up photography, grasses, ornamental trees, trees, trees and shrubs, winter, winter garden

allotments birds community gardening fruit and veg garden photography garden wildlife gardening gardens grasses grow your own hardy perennials kitchen gardens light light quality meadows natural pest control ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs photography roses spring bulbs wildlife Winter Gardening

What’s on the Plots? An end of year wander around the allotments.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 23, 2013
4 Comments on What’s on the Plots? An end of year wander around the allotments.

Mid-December often sees the allotment site under snow or at least coated in frost, but not this year. We wandered around today with camera in hand and we were appreciative of the bright clear blue sky overhead. The midday sun cast long sharp shadows and it had enough strength in it for us to feel its warmth.

Having checked the post box for messages, and left a few magazines in the communal hut for others to enjoy, we started our tour at Wendy’s lovely plot. There is always something of interest to see and new things going on. We were not to be disappointed today. The sun caught the bright fiery colours of the willow hedge surrounding her compost heap.

On an obelisk where the soft bark paths cross the striped flag glowed alongside a sparkling glitterball, while this character decorated her shed door. A cranky old monk? Brother Cadfael perhaps when he was dropped by the BBC.

We next moved to the Autumn Garden and our newly planted section alongside our young fedge. The tree here is a Crataegus prunifolia which gives rich red autumn colour and deep red berries which is underplanted with bulbs. The border is planted up with sedum, asters, ferns, some perennial native flora and small shrubs. The cones and catkins of alders are beginning to get their purple hue. Cotoneaster leaves are as red as their berries.

On many plots old crops sit forgotten in places whilst others await being picked throughout the winter. The sprouts will grace a plot holder’s Christmas dinner spread.

Chard leaves on a sunny day are delightful. The reds, yellows and purples of their leaves and stems glow with the sun behind them.

Further along the borders of the Autumn Garden we passed Trevor’s plot where there is always an interesting development to find. Today we discovered his new shed number. He must have problems remembering his plot number or needs to arrange to visit an optician.

In the final section of the Autumn Garden the grass Calamagrostis acutifolia “Overdam” stand tall and to attention and gentle honey scents flow from the lemon flowered Mahonia.

On the shed roof of Plot 68 the massive scarecrow is looking worse for wear after our recent weather featuring heavy rains and strong winds. In the summer he won our annual scarecrow competition. It is hard to believe how he wowed our visitors on our Open Day.

In the first orchard the last fruit hangs on, a golden crab apple. Fennel is already sporting new foliage on Alan’s plot and the last of the Raspberry fruits sit awaiting a hungry Blackbird. Close by in the first Buddleja Border a Shistsotylus bravely blooms on with an early Primula.

The Globe Artichoke in the second Buddleja Border will soon burst and finches will flock in to feed off them, especially Goldfinches and Linnets.

We then took a detour to see what is happening on our own plot, Number 37. The last of the flowers in our wildflower mini-meadow are bravely hanging on and a few of our parsnips have gone to flower producing chartreuse umbrella heads. A few autumn raspberries provide welcome food for Blackbirds.

We moved on towards our old oak tree past plots where winter grown crops await Christmas dinners in members homes, leeks with their glaucous strappy leaves and sprouts behind netting protected against marauding Wood Pigeons.

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This little scarecrow bravely guards overwintering alliums.

The Oak invariably looks wonderfully majestic but on a winter’s afternoon it excels with its long sharp shadows and silhouette of bare branches. In the spring Garden nearby the first bulbs are coming into flower, a pale Muscari, pushing their way through fallen oak leaves.

On Sharon’s plot her frog thermometer shows it is mild for December and near by a lone apple hangs waiting to give sustenance to the Blackbirds.

Glyn’s plot is well covered in a mat of green manures, so no heavy rain is going to leach away the goodness from the soil. Now that is good gardening!

In the Sensory Garden the rose hips sparkle away in the winter sun which glows through the last of the rose bush’s foliage. Grasses here always look good but add extra movement in the gentlest of breezes.

In the big meadow the last of the Red Campion and the Honesty are gamely flowering still. A lone bloom of Rosa Shropshire Lad casts a beautiful fruity scent across the picnic area.

The bunting on Brian’s shed looks faded now but still adds cheer. The sunlight beams through the Dedge and intensifies the flat plate flower heads of the late Achillea.

The Winter Garden is beginning to come into its own with peeling bark, powdery white stems and fluffy grass seed heads.

Moving on into the site extension we find our newest insect hotel still standing after recent strong winds. As usual I have string and my Opinel garden knife in my pocket so tie it back to the fence. The bamboo looks settled in its new home at the end of the proposed Garden of Contemplation. From here we can see the mass of “keys” adorning every branch of our ancient Ash tree.

Our long shadows look out across the site.

In the second orchard the crab apples still have much fruit left on and these give bright patches of colour visible from all over the site.

The stems of the coppiced willows in the Withy Bed shine as they start to show their late winter colour. This is something we are looking forward to. We have 17 different willow here in every colour possible.

We are just beginning to prepare the ground for our new Prairie Garden which we shall make in the new year. This big patch of bare ground promises to become a riot of year round colour. We can’t wait to get started. On nearby plots we spot a patch of another green manure, Grazing Ryegrass and another lone apple on a tree.

On Ian’s plot a big pile of farmyard manure waits the time when he digs it into the soil to add nutrients, humus and structure. It won’t take him long – he is a strong chap.

Returning to the communal hut along the wide path we spot this old beer can acting as a cane top rattling away by the old sweetcorn stalks. On Mandy’s plot this little insect home will be looking after hibernating friendly critters who will emerge in the spring to eat pests such as aphids. Dave’s flags hang sadly atop their poles.

As we returned to the car we noticed the first signs of growth on our spring bulbs. The first leaves of the daffodils have just made their way through the bark mulch. A promise of golden flowers to come. Our wheelbarrows give a big splash of colour in low sunlight.