Great Grass

I think grasses are one of those things you grow into as a gardener. For me, it took a couple of years and then I suddenly realised their worth and beauty. They're a wonderful compliment to other plants, but you won't find many that aren't absolutely beautiful in their own right. Even carexes, which I know some people think are ugly and coarse, hold a certain charm. I counted how many different species of grass I had the other day...it was a worryingly high number...but here are some of my favourites, including Calamagrostis emodensis, Stipa tenuissima, Miscanthus malepartus and nepalensis and Calamagrostis brachytricha...

Moments of Weakness

You'd think one day I'd decide I finally had enough plants in my garden, but so far that day hasn't arrived! This year I've made a number of naughty purchases in moments of weakness (or moments of great wisdom, as I really feel they are!) Crocosmia Marjorie and Aster Little Carlow (which has been on my wish list for ages) are both new additions. And why stop at plants, when you can add garden accessories, like the rather lovely metal stake at the bottom..?!

Little Helpers

They're all important in the garden and completely fascinating - bees, hoverflies, spiders etc are the little helpers that keep everything ticking over. Whenever I spot them at their business, I can't help but take a moment to observe, sometimes with camera to hand...

 

 

Potted

As all small garden owners will know, you don't always have the right space or conditions for everything you want to grow. But, when did any of us let that put a stop to our horticultural plans?! 

Pots are my answer to this most troubling of life's little problems, though to be honest I now have too many of them as well! I've got everything in them from shrubs, to annuals, to perennials that just don't like my soil; some of them are themed, around wildflowers or prairie planting etc. I'm going to be turfing some of these out to put my tulips in any day now, so it's nice to look back and see what they looked like earlier in the year...

Wild about Wildflowers...

Had a spree the other day and headed out to British Wildflower Plants in North Burlingham, which - as the name suggests - has the most fantastic selection of British wildflowers. I'm fast becoming a bit of a wildflower nut, though my knowledge is very thin on the ground. Still, I absolutely love them and it was breathtaking to see such a profusion, all in one place. I bought a great range of plugs and bigger plants while I was there. The plugs mostly ended up in a couple of wildflower pots I made. The plants are now dispersed here and there about the garden.. 

              

CRESTED DOGSTAIL GRASS                                       MARSH WOUNDWORT

CORN COCKLE

BETONY - PLANTED ALONGSIDE PULMONARIA

DROPWORT, FILIPENDULA VULGARIS

              

HAREBELL                                                                 ROCK LAVENDER

If you go down to the woods today...

So, our 'woods' (really just a collection of old fruit trees) got a makeover when I was on holiday last week. Both bark and gravel had gotten a little tired and groundcover had gone rampant. So we had a bit of a freshen up. Now it looks like a completely different place!