Sometimes two plants flower side by side and enhance each other so much. The whole is far greater than the sum of the parts.
Complementary colours blue and yellow present great partnerships. A blue Anemone blanda teamed up with a native Primrose stops me in my tracks every day as I wander along the grass path by the Spring Garden, they are simply perfect together.
They mingle happily with old garden tool bits we dug out of the ground when we first developed our garden.
What an unbelievably subtle and beautifully understated little flower! Checking over the greenhouse today and there on one of Jude’s mixed Primula auricula seedlings was this one little beauty. How clever Mother Nature is, thinking of pairing cinnamon and lemon yellow. she then considered texture and added a dusting of castor sugar and a light sparkle of frost crystals. Into the centre she dropped a trio of circles in shades of green forming a little bull’s eye.
Taking a peek behind the Auricula’s bloom the same colours appear but in a very less organised fashion. The light on the stems catch the whiteness of the farina which turns it into silver dust. Simply beautiful!
We enjoy growing Hostas in all shapes, sizes and colours many in the garden and almost as many in pots. We simply love them! We often reach the time when we think we have room for no new ones. Until! Until we spot a special one that calls to us!
Our latest member of the Hosta family to join us is called H. Purple Heart. It had beautiful rich apple green leaves but the what made this Hosta special was the purple colour of its leaf stalk and central vein.
In the autumn the plant becomes totally different. Simply beautiful! The beauty is short lived as the autumn foliage soon rots and the glossy purple stems soon follow. All we have then is a pot topped off with its grit.
Half way through the year and we are also at the half way point of my garden journal. Here is my journal for June – I hope you enjoy it!
“It is June and the sky is blue and the sun warms us as we garden. These summer days mean relaxed hours in the garden and it is tiredness or aching backs that stop work rather than the dark.”
I added four photos of general garden views below the first paragraph.
On the opposite page I featured a tiny simple grass, a favourite but also a bit of a nuisance. It is the Common Quaking Grass. It moves in the slightest breeze.
“We have a grass growing on the Chatto Garden, our gravel patch. It is beautiful and looks so delicate but unfortunately it is a thug!”
Turn over the page and we find two pages mostly of photographers.
“Individual plants in our garden give points of interest, encourage interest and admiration but it is putting plants together in a sympathetic manner gives our garden its character and special atmosphere and creates different moods.”
“Flower colours can contrast with or compliment other colours on other plants both flower and foliage. Good combinations can come from different plants’ foliage working together. These combinations can be restful or even startle us!”
Over the next page I talk about two yellow flowering plants, the Welsh Wanderer, the Welsh Poppy and an aquilegia.
“Welsh Wanderer – Meconopsis cambrica, decides each year where it will set up home. It is a champion self-seeder!”
“Aquilegia chrysantha is a beautiful tall aquilegia with flowers of various yellow tints.”
I finish off my June entries in my Garden Journal with a look at some of the tiny creatures who live in our garden with us.
“Tiny critters who share our plot with us are mostly made warmly welcome and we enjoy seeing and hearing them as they explore our borders. Slugs and snails of course are the big exception to our welcoming attitude!”
I painted the caterpillar of the Grey Dagger Moth in watercolours and artist colour pens. It was a big challenge to show how hairy and brightly coloured it was.
For the final page in June I painted some of our common snails, the Banded Snails that come in a mixture of colours and the Garden Snail. Again I used a mixture of watercolours and artists pens.
For my next visit to my Garden Journal we will move into the second half of the year and into mid-summer.
A Vegetarian | Nature Lifestyle Blog
.....and nurturing my soul
Journeys In St. Louis Gardening and Beyond
Consult the genius of the place
A blog full of humorous and poignant observations.
Notes from a wildlife-friendly cottage garden
...an emerging social science
'The most important and informative publication on wildlife of our times' - The Independent. This blog is a member of The UK & Ireland Natural History Bloggers group: www.uknhb.blogspot.com
Inspire - Cultivate - Grow Native Plants - Restore Landscapes
To create and protect a semi-natural wild space for the people of Farnham to enjoy and experience an array of British wildlife in our town
The www.gardeningwithchildren.co.uk Blog
birding through the seasons, why birds matter and how to conserve them
with a camera in hand
Transform your outdoor space
My allotment, cooking and other interests
my gardening life through the year
Trying to live a creative life
trying to live as lightly as possible on our beautiful planet
Nature lovers from Leicester living the good life.
Finding the beautiful in the everyday
Michelle's Allotment
thoughts from and about my garden
Big plans for a small garden
A Walled Country Garden in South East Scotland
Life at the fruity chicken
Off grid living. Self sufficient. "PERMAGANICS RULE".
Nottingham's Grade 2* Listed Allotments and Community Orchard
a journey in suburban vegetable gardening
The madness of growing your own
A novel approach to vegetable gardening
Sustainable living in the Irish countryside.
Master Gardener, amateur photographer, quilter, NH native, and sometimes SC snowbird
Recent work and work in progress and anything else that interests me
a chaotic cottage gardener
a weekly blog that creates a personal philosophy through photographs and words
Stories from a sassy and classy Southern farmbelle.
Simple Organic Gardening & Seasonal Living
turning dirt into dinner
today the world is created anew
Notes from a Devon garden
Life Through The Lens
A photography blog showcasing the best photography pictures and videos on the internet
Just another WordPress.com site
personal observations from the natural world as the search continues for a new approach to conservation.
The Wonders of Life through my Eyes, my Heart, my Soul
greenbenchramblings 