The garden isn't looking too bad at the moment although in places the grass seems to be taking over a bit. I've been busy removing the seed heads from the Aquilegias that have finished flowering but leaving others as the bees are still buzzing around and popping in and out of the little bonnets.
Pink seems to be the dominant colour at the moment
Tamarisk Tree
Lupins
Clematis
Valerian - the bees love this and sometimes to is covered with them.
Of course, there are other colours too.......
Flag Iris
Yellow Rose
Climbing Hydrangea
Blue Hardy Geranium
Perennial Cornflower
Chives
We were awakened early this morning around 4a.m. not by the dawn chorus although that was beginning but by four little fox cubs running round and round the paths in the garden, jumping and playing being watched over by father fox. It was such a wonderful sight to see.
Of course, there are other colours too.......
Oh such beauty!!!! -happy sigh-
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun thing, to wake up to. They must have been precious to watch. And so nice, that Papa Fox felt it was safe for them, to romp around in your garden. :-)
Thank you. The Foxes made waking up that early due to the heat worthwhile, we wouldn't have seen them otherwise:)
DeleteWhat a lovely lush garden Rosie. I’m still struggling to grow aquilegias, only three flowers this year. I’m not sure we have the right soil. Love the blue geraniums and climbing hydrangea. B x
ReplyDeleteThank you. Aquilegias grow all over here, hence the taking off of seed heads but they still spread anyway, we have heavy clay soil and they seem to like that:)
DeleteSo many beautiful flowers Rosie - glad to see your Climbing Hydrangea and Valerian are doing well too although your tamarisk is much much better than our weedy specimen. We seem to grow similar plants :)
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to watch the fox cubs.
Really recommend Where Poppies Blow but if you loved Meadowland and haven't read it would also recommend The Running Hare by the same author. All his books are so excellent :)
We do seem to have similar plants in our gardens:) The Tamarisk tree was here when we came twenty one years ago and it was quite sturdy then, we have had to trim it quite a lot over the years as one year the branches were so heavy one cracked and came down in the pond in snowy weather. I'm going to try both JLS's books, I keep getting caught up with murder mysteries though!:)
DeleteLove that geranium, what a beautiful color.
ReplyDeleteThey do look lovely across the top of the garden but the flowers don't last very long:)
DeleteWhat a fine Tamarisk tree! I've grown, at one time or another, most of the other plants and, like you, I always let my chives flower as I prefer the look of it to the taste!
ReplyDeleteChive flowers are lovely aren't they? I'm not sure how old the tamarisk is certainly about twenty five years old, I love they way it changes colour over the spring and summer:):)
DeleteWhat a delightful thing to wake up to! The Tamarisk tree looks interesting too.
ReplyDeleteWe were awakened by the heat and Max, who is 22 now and had to get up to sort him out, if we hadn't woken then we'd have missed the show:)
DeleteYour Tamarisk tree looks quite substantial and is a sight for sore eyes, a treat to look forward to each year, I'm sure. What a lovely garden. 😊
ReplyDeleteThanks you, yes it is lovely especially through the spring and summer when it changes colour about four times:)
DeleteYou have some lovely plants and trees in your garden. I love the tamarisk with that feathery look. I remember we had one in a garden where we used to live. Your lupins are doing well. We have two plants that survived the seedling stage and I'm delighted to see them beginning to flower! Wishing you a good week.
ReplyDeleteThank you Linda, when the Tamarisk turns pale pink it looks a bit like a feather boa. The lupins are kept in a pot and checked for slugs and snails regularly,if we put them into the borders they just get eaten away. Hope you too have a lovely week:)
DeleteI always look forward to your posts about the tamarisk tree. I have never seen one anywhere except in your garden! It looks so exotic. The pink lupins are so pretty and interesting too. I have never been able to grow them as slugs and snails over populate my garden and would munch them away! It must have been a special moment to see the fox cubs jumping around! x
ReplyDeleteThank you Simone. I'd never seen one until we first came here and we saw how it changed over Spring and Summer, I've spotted one just as tall a couple of streets away but I haven't seen many. We keep the lupins in pots so it is easier to spot slugs and snails:)
DeleteI have the same Cornflower in my garden too, it's beautiful :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pam. I love those cornflowers, so very pretty:)
DeleteBeautiful flowers!
ReplyDeleteThank you William:)
DeleteWhat a beautiful garden you have Rosie. I love all those plants and what an amazing sight your little fox cubs must have been. We've plenty of birds that visit, but definitely no animal wildlife, as it is too built up here now. I must admit that I've just done a "bird" post. Take care.
ReplyDeleteThank you Susan. It was great to little foxes no bigger than a smallish cat dashing around. I will pop and see what birds you have been spotting:)
DeleteYour garden looks lovely, Rosie. I am envious of your fox cubs, although we had a hedgehog last summer which we regularly saw in the evenings and brought me much joy. I asked her to eat as many slugs as she could. x
ReplyDeleteThank you Mrs T. It is lovely to see the fox cubs, we saw one of them again around 10p.m. yesterday evening. When we first came here we had hedgehogs and made them a log pile at the top of the garden. A couple of years ago our neighbours saw a badger and then we had badger damage in the garden so now we ho longer have hedgehogs which is such a shame. Idon't know but there seems to be fewer slugs around this year, they usually eventually get the lupins:)
DeleteI have never seen a tamarisk tree before, what a sight! Do you find the hardy geraniums tend to spread everywhere... I keep trying to keep them in their place but they keep popping up all over the place. I don't mind really, they are such pretty flowers.
ReplyDeletewww.Norfolkscribbles.blogspot.co.uk
Hello Edwina, yes the hardy Geraniums do take over especially the pale pink ones. The blue aren't so bad at spreading but the flowers don't last as long as the pink ones do. We have another variety called Ann Folkard which we keep in a small brick built bed which keeps the plant contained. They are lovely flowers and seem to keep some of the weeds at bay:)
DeleteI liked the mental picture of your foxes, they should come back when it is light and you can take photos. The garden looks lovely, Rosie, that tamarisk tree is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Thank you Amalia, the cubs visited us last night just after 10p.m. but it was too gloomy for photos especially through windows. It was a joy to see them though:)
DeleteWe visited four gardens on Sunday afternoon here in Beeston, all open as part of the town’s annual Gardens Trail. All wonderful, each in their own way, and always in the back of my mind your garden as a reference point. Having watched you and Paul working in the your garden over the years I love it for its sanctuary feel; it’s calmness and sense of solitude. Come the day you finally decide to move on make great play of the garden. I suspect someone out there would buy the house to get the garden!
ReplyDeleteWith all the lovely deserved comments I feel very privileged to experience it as often as I do. See you soon I’m sure.
The open gardens sound like a wonderful comunity venture and would bring people together and stimulate ideas as well. I like our garden for its hedges and trees which offer the feeling of not being overlooked in some parts of it and also for the fact that the birds feel sheltered here. Many of the gardens are paved over and have fences - not good for the wildlife - but sometimes I feel our garden is too large and overwhelming and soon a courtyard with a few pots, seating and no hedges will be preferrable:)
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