greenbenchramblings

My Garden Journal in May

Just as I completed my journal for June I realised that I had not yet posted “My Garden Journal for May”, so here it is now for you to enjoy! The June journal report won’t be far behind!

Summer creeping in can only mean that our May garden is changing by the day. Exuberance in every border with things growing before your eyes. A month of excitement! I began my May entry in my garden journal by writing,

“May means exuberance! It is the month when our garden shows us the ability it has to surprise. It shows off its strength and its artistic talents. Growth is so rapid and colour so exciting, that we are aware of what our garden means to us and also aware of its power that Mother Nature possesses and uses with pride and to excess!”

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I then turn to looking back at my original garden journey recording the first few years that we have lived and gardened at Avocet.

“Looking back in my garden journal that recorded the early years at Avocet, I read a paragraph that shows just how similar May is now.

“The garden is bursting with life – butterflies including Holly Blues, bees and so many birds. Suddenly the garden is alive with birds giving extra colour, sound and movement. There seems to be so many finches – Goldfinches, Chaffinches and Greenfinches. Swifts, Swallows and House Martins swoop overhead especially in the evening.”

Sadly though there are far fewer Swifts, Swallows and House Martins overhead. So many have not survived their long migrations. What does the future hold for these beautiful acrobats?”

Turning over the page of my journal and we see the next two pages feature Acers and Roses.

“Acers are one of the many stars of the May garden, a month when their foliage and stems are delicate and colourful.”

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“May means Roses and by the middle of the month we have many buds and pioneer blooms. Reds and pinks dominate at the moment. Yellows and oranges are still to come.”

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I moved on to look at one of the climbers we enjoy in our garden and at the grasses that have now started to grow rapidly.

“Think of climbers early in the summer garden and Clematis is the first plant to spring to mind.”

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“Grasses are growing quickly now and the myriad shades of green move skyward in our borders.”

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Turning over again and succulents are discussed. These are a recent interest and I have only been growing them and propagating them for a few years.

Succulent plants are an interest that has grown over the last few years. Beginning with Aeoniums and Echeverias I soon branched out.”

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“Troughs of succulents grace the Rill Garden in May and on into October when the risk of frost mean that they retreat to the warmth of our greenhouse.”

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When we turn over next we see that I talk of Hostas and in particular those growing in our Bog Garden. The bog garden is so full of life at the moment with plants growing appreciably by the day.

“Hostas are one of the more subtle of our garden favourites both their foliage and later in the year their flowers. The Bog Garden next to our Wildlife Pond and snuggled up to it is a place of rapid growth in May.”

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White is not a colour I particularly appreciate in the garden and as a result I do not use it much.

“White is not my favourite colour in the garden. I particularly do not like white painted garden furniture or white painted fences, trellises or walls. We tend to paint our seats in ivory or cream which are much softer colours particularly on bright sunny days. Our fences we paint in browns and trellis work in gentle shades of green which acts as a great foil for our plants. I think this dislike of white is to do with our weather as it can work so well in other countries. Where flowers are concerned I appreciate them most in May when white can look good with the brightness of fresh foliage. Below are photos of a few particularly good white flowers, Viburnums, Cornus, white Bluebells, Iberis and Camassias. Some of these are the purest of white where others have gentle hints of colour. The Camassia has a green tint to it and the Iberis the gentlest hint of pink.”

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As we leave May behind we can look forward to the longest day, the time when day and night share equal number of hours.

Tags acers., aeomiums, bog garden, bog plants, clematis, climbers, climbing plants, Echeveria, echeverias, gardens in May, hostas, May, ornamental grasses, roses, succulents, the garden in May, white flowers, white in the harden

ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs

Our Delightful Dogwood

Cornus kousa chinensis “China Girl” is one of those shrubs that we look forward to with great anticipation every year. It gives its special performance almost every year but does occasionally have a year off. It is as far from the house as it can possibly be so we have to wander down to see what it is up to.

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It is a shrub that keeps on performing with wonderful white bracts early each summer followed by raspberry-like fruits in early autumn and red leaves each autumn.

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In this post I want to share the special show that the bracts give. The two pics above and the first batch of pics below shows our own shrub in our Japanese Garden.

When the bracts first appear they are pale green with deeper green bosses of flower in their centres. Slowly the green changes as it prepares to transform to cream, then to the purest of whites.

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On a visit to Winterbourne House Botanical Gardens in Edgbaston Birmingham we came across two particularly beautiful specimens of Cornus kousa, a pink bract variety known as var. chinensis Miss Satomi and one of the best white bract-bearing varieties Norman Haddon.

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Tags bracts, cornus, cornus kousa, cornus kousa var chinensis, dogwoods

garden photography gardening succulents

Special Succulents

I have a special interest in succulents and have grown a good selection over the last few years. My interest in them has been a recent one and began with the purchase of an Aeonium arboreum Schwarzkopf which we nurtured for a year and it began to become tree-like. A couple of Echeveria joined in and I haven’t looked back. In this post I shall include some cacti as well for fans of those spiky cousins.

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At a recent visit to Winterbourne House Botanical Gardens in Birmingham we discovered a greenhouse full of succulents. After a look at what the displays outside had to offer, things began to look promising.

I decided to concentrate on the textures, patterns and colours of their fleshy leaves. Enjoy my gallery of succulent pics.

When we paid a visit to Ashwood Nurseries recently I was taken with the raised bed displays either side of the entrance as they were mostly planted up with succulents, including several Aeoniums and Echeverias. So here is a gallery of shots all taken in the raised beds.

Tags aeomiums, aeonium, cacti, Crassula, Echeveria, echeverias, glasshouses, succulents, Winterbourne House Gardens

garden design garden furniture garden photography garden seating gardening gardens Shropshire Staffordshire

Are you sitting comfortably? Part 10 in a very occasional series.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 25, 2016
2 Comments on Are you sitting comfortably? Part 10 in a very occasional series.

Here we are back with another selection of garden seats that we have discovered on our visits to two gardens last weekend, one small village garden and a larger garden attached to a nursery. Whatever size your garden is it deserves seats and so do the gardeners. A good gardener chooses seats that fit in where the gardener chooses to place them. Sometimes they simply look good as a point of interest but the best ones provide great places to sit and admire the patch.

This first batch of pics were taken in a Shropshire NGS garden called Ancoirean a small village garden with a big heart.

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A short twenty minute drive away is Ashwood Nurseries where the owner John Massey has developed his own private garden alongside. We were priveleged to be shown around by John and he shared his ideas behind hid creation and explained what it all meant to him. A great couple of hours – inspirational!

The next post in this very occasional series could take us anywhere! Only time will tell. It will definitely be to a selection of beautiful seats in beautiful gardens!

Tags garden features, garden furniture, garden seating, garden seats

climbing plants garden photography gardening ornamental trees and shrubs shrubs

The many faces of Honeysuckle

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 17, 2016
1 Comment on The many faces of Honeysuckle

We found a shrub of a beautifully flowered Honeysuckle, Lonicera, while visiting a city garden recently and noticed it had buds at every stage of flowering from early bud to fully open flowers. I hope you enjoy these shots I took.

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Tags flowering shrubs, honeysuckle, lonicera, ornamental shrubs, scent, scent in the garden, scented plants, scented shrubs

flower show flowering bulbs garden photography garden ponds gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs roses Shropshire shrubs Staffordshire trees woodland

The Dorothy Clive Garden in May

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 8, 2016
3 Comments on The Dorothy Clive Garden in May

Today we returned to the Dorothy Clive Gardens to see what was going on in May and to see what had changed since our last visit in March. We had to miss out on our planned April visit due to commitments of giving talks to garden groups and opening our own garden. It was worth waiting a little longer because we really enjoyed our visit discovering so many changes and new things to see.

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But an extra element for this visit was our arranged meeting with friends from college over 40 years ago. After meeting up again as a consequence of one of our college friends spotting me during my TV appearance in a gardening programme last year we now meet regularly at cafes and gardens.

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The mystery patch being developed this year is now beginning to take shape and we think it may eventually become a scree bed or gravel garden. We shall see. Time will tell.

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The first views of the garden showed a much greener scene. Deciduous plants were beginning to show colour in their leaves and the last of the spring bulbs continued to flower.

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The area around the pond was gradually coming to life and the Camellia Walk shone pink.

The first leaves were bursting from their buds in the Rose Garden and the productive areas showing promise.

However the real star of the Dorothy Clive Gardens at this time of the year has to be the area called The Dingle, a woodland garden full of azaleas, rhododendrons and ferns, an area of bright colours and rich fresh greens. Enjoy wandering through the narrow winding gravel paths of The dingle with me, the Undergardener, our friends and of course my camera!

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We will return in June for our next excursion to the Dorothy Clive Gardens.

Tags azaleas, camellias, Dorothy Clive Garden, Dorothy Clive Gardens, rhododendrons, Staffordshire, Staffordshire Gardens, woodland garden, woodland gardening

flowering bulbs garden design garden ponds garden pools gardening gardens hardy perennials irises National Garden Scheme NGS ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture sculpture Shropshire spring bulbs Yellow Book Gardens

Another NGS Yellow Book Garden – visiting a friend’s garden.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date June 2, 2016
3 Comments on Another NGS Yellow Book Garden – visiting a friend’s garden.

Our friend Mary and her husband Bob open their garden for the National Garden Scheme just as we do, so we were determined to go and see her garden this year. A few weeks before her open garden she told us she hoped her tulips would still look good. She had no reason to worry – they were a treat for the eye and lifted the spirits!

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It was a perfect day for garden visiting, bright, warm and so sunny.

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We began our visit with big hugs from Mary followed by our usual tea and cake and found a seat where we could enjoy views over Mary and Bob’s garden. From there we could see interesting plants that deserved a closer look and inviting winding paths and archways. We watched with interest the reactions of other visitors and which plants they made a beeline for. Once suitably refreshed we explored!

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We found tulips throughout the borders some in exciting unusual colours. We enjoyed them all.

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These purest of white tulips were beautifully displayed in their containers which raised them up and gave the afternoon sun the chance to light them up.

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There was a lot more of interest here though than these beautiful tulips. Neither Jude the Undergardener or I are particular fans of evergreen coniferous plants and indeed have just a single alpine Pinus mugo “Mumpitz” in our patch, but the cones on Mary and Bob’s trees caught our attention.

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I think the best way to see the rest of this lovely garden will be to enjoy the following gallery. As usual click on the first picture then navigate using the right hand arrow.

Tags betula, bulbs, conifers, container gardening, flowering bulbs, garden containers, garden sculpture, National Garden Scheme, NGS, NGS gardens, spring bulbs, tulips

fruit and veg garden design garden photography gardening gardens hardy perennials kitchen gardens National Garden Scheme NGS ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture South Shropshire succulents village gardens Yellow Book Gardens

Another Yellow Book Garden – Tea on the Way

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 31, 2016
3 Comments on Another Yellow Book Garden – Tea on the Way

We enjoyed a visit to another garden which appears in the National Garden Scheme’s Yellow Book, the scheme which our own Avocet garden is a part of. We spend many an afternoon visiting our fellow gardeners who open their gardens for charity.

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In mid-May we set off through the Hope Valley near our home and on through South Shropshire through the village of Clun up a narrow lane that got more and more narrow and rougher and rougher until we reached a field designated as a car park for the day. The garden of Guilden Down Cottage awaited a short walk away. We soon realised that we knew of this garden already in its other guise as “Tea on the Way”. The cottage owners serve refreshments to walkers passing by. But on the day of our visit they were open to raise funds for the charities of the National Garden Scheme.

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At the entrance to the garden we spotted produce for sale in a lane side stall.

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We waited to pay our entry fee and order our usual tea and cakes to prime us for our garden exploration! I noticed a beautiful woodstore and beside it a sleepy old sheep dog.

We soon began to realise that this was gong to be an interesting visit, perhaps not so much for the plants but more for its quirkiness and cheerful atmosphere. As we wandered towards a seat on which to enjoy our refreshments we spotted the first quirky artifacts. Even the seat we sat upon was home made and full of character.

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Once refreshed we took off on our exploration and first off found this well planted container. The planting around the front lawn looked lush and was set off by the bird bath.

A flight of stone steps with rustic trellis either side welcomed us into the main garden. Being an organic garden we were on the look out for unusual ideas and gardening methods. As always though we were searching out the plants!

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Some plants were planted in interesting containers or within collections of artifacts.

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The kitchen garden was beautiful with a network of paths made from woodchip entered via handmade gates created using wood harvested from the garden.

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Close to the kitchen garden we found a polytunnel and a fruit cage and some signs of organic principles in action, an insect home, comfrey liquid fertiliser and worm pee fertiliser.

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A few more artifacts and craft pieces spotted at Guilden Down Cottage will end this post nicely.

Tags Clun, container gardening, garden containers, NGS, NGS gardens, organic gardening, organic gardens, plants in containers, South Shropshire, wildlife garden, Yellow Book, Yellow Book Gardens

gardening National Trust outdoor sculpture

A few words of garden wisdom

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 29, 2016
5 Comments on A few words of garden wisdom

We always enjoy reading plaques in gardens when they contain words of wisdom. There are so many plaques around aimed at gardeners that are simply too twee and really of no use in the garden.

I thought you may like to see the few we have displayed throughout our patch.

First off is this simple phrase. If “Life’s Good in the Garden” is not true in your patch then you are probably due a rethink!

This next plaque was bought from Prince Charles’ garden when we visited last week. It is certainly true of his garden at Highgrove and we hope our garden at Avocet is also “a garden which delights the eye warms the heart and feeds the soul”.

This larger plaque was discovered in the shop of a National Trust garden we recently visited and we both warmed to it. We love its sentiment, “A garden is a friend you can visit anytime.” We love the idea of our garden being a friend and we visit it every day.

The final plaque is a terracotta piece created by my brother Derrick and I believe the text is from an Indian philosopher. “If you would be happy for a week take a wife. If you would be happy for a month kill your pig. If you would be happy forever plant a garden.”

I definitely agree with the the third idea but definitely not the first two!

Tags garden plaques, garden sayings, gardening

birds colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography garden wildlife gardening gardens hardy perennials light light quality ornamental trees and shrubs Shropshire shrubs spring bulbs spring gardening trees

My Garden Journal 2016 – April

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 25, 2016
4 Comments on My Garden Journal 2016 – April

Here we are with my April look at my garden journal. I began as I often do with a look at the weather that was affecting our garden.

“April is known for its showery weather and we hope it is the first frost-free weeks of the year. This will allow us to begin hardening off our delicate plants that have hidden away in our greenhouse and summerhouse. Looking back at my first garden journal I notice that in early April birds were then showing signs of nest building. I wrote …“Spring is here! Sometimes at least. Birds are collecting nesting materials, blackbirds, greenfinches and all the Titmice family.” This year birds are singing and calling well but we have seen no signs of nest building activities. The Titmice have given up their earlier explorations of our many birdboxes. We hope Spring will catch up and get wildlife stirring again.”

Over the page I continue by looking at one member of the Titmice family, the Coal Tit, and I included one of my gouache paintings of these active little birds.

“One of our members of the Titmice family that we enjoy sharing our garden with is the tiny Coal Tit, growing to only 10cm or so in length. They are very lively little birds and most entertaining in the garden. They are frequent visitors to feeders where they enjoy peanuts and mixed seeds. They never stay long on a feeder but remove a morsel of food by rapid beak banging and take it off to eat in a nearby tree or shrub. They hold a nut or seed between their claws and chip away at it, eating tiny pieces.”

On the page opposite I take a look at the bright Tulips in our garden and what they add to it.

“Early April right through to late on in the month the greens of fresh growth are so bright but our multitude of Tulips add contrasting colours. They add their special charm to every part of the garden. Hundreds were planted throughout the Autumn so now we reap the rewards.”

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Tulips and other bulbs continue to be featured on my next couple of pages.

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“The delicacy of these little white species Tulips with their egg yolk yellow centres are so different to the big bright cultivars.”

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“But it isn’t just Tulips! Many other bulbs look equally beautiful scattered throughout the borders.”

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Turning the page we find a much wordier look with an odd photo to illustrate the words, followed by a look at some of our Acers.

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“April is the month when we discover the joy of working in the garden into the evening hours. We are no longer forced indoors at teatime by the poor light. Some days also allow us to shed jackets and even jumpers as the temperatures feel more comfortable. But April can bring surprises such as overnight frosts and this year a very late snow shower. Hail storms chased us indoors on many occasions. But Spring still marches on and gives freshness of growth, new bright foliage on trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials.”

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“The freshest foliage of all must be from our Acer shrubs. They unfurl their buds and give a multitude of shades of yellow, orange, ruby and green. Even though this happens every year and we look forward to it, the new life of our Acers delights us.”

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I then look at yellow in our garden.

“Throughout the Spring months yellow is the colour that picks up the bright light of the sun best of all the bright colours. This may be why we love Daffodils so much, but many more flowers show off in the brightness of April.”

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“There are also a few pinks that look special in the Spring garden and these are at their best with interestingly coloured and textured foliage as partners.”

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Blossom and the plants of cool shade appear on the final couple of my journal’s pages for April.

“Shrewsbury, our nearest town, is famous for its Spring blossom which lines many of its streets and lanes. In our garden we can equally enjoy the blossom of both ornamental and productive trees and shrubs.”

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“We love the sunshine in the April garden when all around us the garden sparkles and shines. But dip into the cool of the shade and there are gems awaiting us. Foliage is the key where sunlight fails to infiltrate.”

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