Friday 24 July 2009

Garden gems!

This garden post is for Evie at SunnysideUp and for my birding friend Maggie as I know she likes her garden flowers too! (-: I had promised Evie some time ago that I'd photograph and post some of the flowers in my garden, so here they are at last even if some of them have now gone over!
This lovely Hosta is now a shredded mess. I did quite well at the beginning of the season with the 'safe for pets and wildlife' slug pellets and then the slugs and snails snuck in without me noticing!This Cenanothus has been great value, brightening up our view from the kitchen and conservatory.A close up of the lovely long lasting blue flower. This Fremontedendron is a favourite of Chris. It should hopefully be kept in check by being in a pot. I'll have to keep an eye on it as they can grow quite large given the chance!The winter flowering heather in the middle of this pot lasted well into the late spring. I planted some Verbena around the outside to add some colour.I haven't the faintest idea what this flower is, but we both loved it in the garden centre so bought some for summer colour.This is the veg patch a few weeks ago. I've dug up half the potatoes and the Runner beans are all the way up the canes now and flowering well. We're looking forward to Runners beans with butter and pepper shortly!Here are a couple of close ups of the Verbena I put around the Heather. I love this peachy colour and.........it went beautifully with the rich purple Verbena.Poppies are a favourite of both of us and as we've kept dead heading, they are continually sending up new flowers. They look particularly good next to the pond.Another favourite of Chris is the Harebell (I'm pretty partial to it too)!A close up of the Harebell. I love that white stamen.Our most recent purchase was just two days ago. Again, we both love Lantana (as I know Evie does too) and this standard was just too beautiful to resist. I shall try and keep it over the winter for next year by putting it in our greenhouse.

15 comments:

Eve said...

Wow Jenny! Who knew Lantana came in a standard!!! Not me! Your garden is lovely! I love the hosta and am sad it got shredded! But it'll come back! I think that orange one has the common name Million Bells here. I can't remember the latin name. They are one of my favorites. These are all beautiful. I must get the poppies! Thanks for posting. Hope your computer is working properly.

Dog Trot Farm said...

Hi Jenny, your flower's are lovely. Your veggie garden is growing nicely. I wish mine appeared as healthy as your's. I agree with Eve, Million Bells. I plant Million Bells in pots with Lantana, the two plants look great together!

Shelley said...

It sure is beautiful over at your place!! So many lovely flowers - great photos!!

Kelly said...

You have such a beautiful garden!! I think my favorite is the Harebell. It is such a beautiful color and looks so dainty on the long thin stems.

Anonymous said...

Lovely, lovely flowers Jen, nice patch of spuds as well.

Mary said...

Your flowers are gorgeous! You really make good use of pots and the space around the house. I have so much grass, that I would much rather have be gardens full of plants. Very typical for America, alas. I love poppies in any color, but never seem to get them to grow. Several of your plants are new to me. I just read another blog that was saying how invasive lantana is....but I love how it looks and have bought plants before and they don't spread or survive the winter.

Jenny said...

Hi Evie, I know, Chris and I could hardly believe our eyes when we saw this Lantana and it was a good price to. It was obviously meant to be. Yes I remember is was called Million Bells now.

Hi Julie, thanks for confirming the Million Bells name. I liked that particular colour I think they had yellow and pink ones too. The veg plot isn't looking quite so neat now. The spuds have all fallen over and the runner beans have run wild! (-:

Hi Shelley, thanks for that. It's a small garden, but that's a plus point sometimes I think as it is all quite condensed and intense.

Hi Kelly, That Harebell is lovely. We have them wild over here at this time of year too, though I think the wild ones are slightly different to the one I have in the garden.

Hi Roy, yes, those spuds are lovely. A new potato called Anya. Delish!

Hi Mary, I have plants that I love that don't seem to grow in my garden. Primulas for example. I am now trying to grow them in pots to see if that helps. We shall see.

Quiet Paths said...

You have such a nice variety of color and each one so lovely.

Kelly said...

Hi Jenny...I love your blog, so I passed on the award. Drop by to pick it up if you're interested. :-)

NatureStop said...

Jenny, you have a lovely garden with beautiful blooms.Love the lantanas.Thanks for showing us around:)

Shantana

Jenny said...

Hi Christine, thanks for that. I'm glad that Chris has got more interested in the garden too. It makes it more fun to plan. (-:

Hi Kelly, thanks very much for the blog award. Do you know what I have to do to 'pick it up'? I'm such a nerd when it comes to knowing what to do with that sort of thing!

Hi Shantana, can you get Lantanas over where you are? They're such lovely bright plants and they last a long time too which is a bonus! (-:

Rural Rambler said...

Jenny what a fun pretty garden post! The colors are beautiful and I thought the hosta was looking good! Shoot, it got all shredded! It is always so much fun to see each other's gardens!

myonlyphoto said...

It is always fun to be proud of your own garden. You have beautiful things in your garden and on the blog. Anna :)

NatureStop said...

Hi Jenny,
We do get lantana's in the parks here but since we stay in a desert area it is very difficult to grow stuff:)You had asked about the butterfly surrounded by the Painted Ladies in our post.Well, that is a Striped Albatross (male).This was taken back in India(Shillong):)
Have a great day!
Shantana

Jenny said...

Hi RR, it defintely is fun to see eachothers gardens. You know, it just seemed that I took my eye off the ball or rather off the ruddy slugs for a minutes and then there was no more hosta!!!

Hi Anna, many thanks for looking in on my blog. After replying I'm off to go and take a peek at yours! (-:

Hi Shantana, thanks for filling me in on the striped Albatross, very handsome. I didn't know there was a butterfly called an Albatross!!! (-: