Tuesday 20 August 2013

in an English country garden..

clematis comtesse de bouchard
achillea wild eve
I have an uncanny knack of choosing plants of a similar colour
and then planting them next to each other.
It's not something I'm proud of!
On my return from anywhere away
my first port of call is always the garden...
even at 11pm like this year.
Well I discovered a shrubby green welcome
something which had to be fixed.
With birthday money in hand
I set about buying mainly lilac things,
which wasn't my intention...but hey ho!

 delphinium 
As you know I lost all my lupins during the hard winter,
so I thought I would try delphiniums.
And I have to say I'm a convert.
The problem with lupins lovely though they are,
when the flowering is over you are left with a large mound of 
uninspiring leaves; not so with delphiniums.
This plant was eaten by slugs in spring
but look at her now!
I think I shall go for some darker blue ones next year
now that I know they grow so lovely.
 cosmos
If you grow anything from seed
grow cosmos.
They produce lovely strong seedlings and flower all summer.
I am in love with this one
which came from a mixed packet.
discovery
There are a lot of fallers this year,
which I leave some out for the birds.
It is one of the first things we planted 
I just wish we had done some research however
as the apples do not keep.
Not the best discovery!
 buddleia royal red
The joy of  a largish garden
means I get to create largish amounts of mess!
It does also mean I can move things about,
something that I get a lot of stick about.
(especially from my Mum)
I tell people that the plants outgrow each other,
but truth be told 
I don't know what I'm doing
and I'm always changing my mind!
 larkspur
Shopping for plants is an addiction
so I get to know a plants worth.
The buddleia for example in the last picture
was £4.99 from the range
I had previously seen it selling for £10 and upwards!
The larkspur was an even better bargain
Four packets of seeds for 99p!!
This is my first time growing it.
Its the same family as the delphinium
but grown as an annual.
Not bad for 25p!
 lavandula alba
From new to old.
This lavender which is white and not purple
is festooned every year with bumble bees.
I'm not sure why they love this particular one
but it is quite pungent.
I may not have a showy garden
but I do have a buzzy one
which is what I was aiming for.....
....just dont let me buy any more lilac plants please!!

10 comments:

  1. yes I put things in the wrong places, a white plant against a white wall for example. You had some great bargains, love the larkspur, I am going to try some next year!

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  2. What else could you buy that give you as much enjoyment and is so attractive for 25p!
    Your garden looks stunning to me and the buzzy thing seem to agree.
    That achillea reminds me of wallpaper I used to have in my bedroom when I was younger, happy memories of being a little girl.
    Lisa x

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  3. I've got a buzzy one as well, and my lavender has been awash with Bees....my MIL keeps saying 'you should cut that back' and yet it is absolutely glorious full of lavender and of course the accompanying bees....cut it back and what would they have to feast on?

    Your garden is looking great - my lupins got rather decimated as well so might try your suggestions.

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  4. I love your garden. Your plant choices are gorgeous, I think. My Mum always says that the best way to become a good gardener is through trial and error. And boy, do I make a lot of errors in my garden. I have a tendency to buy the same colours a lot too. This year it has been dark pink...it's everywhere.
    Rosie xx

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  5. In my book you do have a beautiful, showy garden!! So typically English....I can truly understand why you like to spend so much time there! Thank you for sharing it!

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  6. It's good to inject new plants into the garden, spruce things up, even better when they are bargains! I'm the same, shoot straight for the garden! :) x

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  7. Beautiful garden Clare! I love delphiniums too. I think my favorite plant is foxglove, though. Your garden is lovely! Want to come and work in mine...it could use some attention!

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  8. Love that clematis, we see a lot Buddleia (davidii) growing wild on the road side in New Zealand - it is considered more of a pest than a garden plant. Love your larkspurs and delphinium too.

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  9. Your garden is looking lovely too. How is that we get attracted to one colour? I find I do it with clothes too. I decided this year to feature my favourite flower each month on my blog. As I was updating it the other day I realised they are nearly all purple or lilac. It looks like that is your preference too!
    Sarah x

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