The sweet smell of success

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I am reconciled with the weather, the recent days have been full of sun but a light breeze has made work very pleasurable.

Spring sown sweet peas are now putting on a superb display and as there is no one at the school to admire them, a big bunch had to come home with me. After all, the more you cut them, the better they flower.

In praise of Gaura

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There's lots to admire in the various gardens and if the weather brightens up as forecast for next week, I have to make taking better photos a priority.

For now I am delighted with the way Gaura lindheimerii 'Whirling Butterflies' lightens up a dull day:

Orange Princess

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Shame about the rainy weather when I took this photograph as it really does not do its object justice.

This gem of a tulip is 'Orange Princess', a sport from the fabulous 'Princess Irene'. It is a frilly, double tulip which flowers in April/May and has a gorgeous warm nasturtium-orange colouring with garnet markings.

Weekend Eye Candy

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Recycling (and keeping the critters at bay)

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Happy New Year!

Thanks for reading my blog, your comments and contributions are very welcome. I hope you are not expecting a recap of last year or some resolutions for the new year, as you won't find them here.

My contributions on the gardening side have been woefully absent of late; it is of course a seasonal thing and there are only so many melancholy shots are stark branches bereft of leaves I can stomach.....if there was a nice hoar frost, I'd be delighted and would rush to share the best pictures with you and but we have fine and mild weather with overnight rain, so the gardens look decidedly drab.

I did venture out for a spot of work today which included some recycling of the green kind.

High summer favourites

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I got a chance to walk past the front of the local primary school today and noticed how the purple and yellow bed is looking up.

The bed is behind a wall, so I was looking for tall plants that can be seen by parents and children alike.

The verbena bonariensis, tall sunflowers and rudbeckias are fitting the bill just fine. School has just broken up for the summer but these beauties should still strut their stuff when school opens again in September.

Another bed has a mixture of rudbeckias. Two years ago I discovered a new cultivar, Rudbeckia x hirta 'Cherry Brandy'.

It was supposed to be an annual and after a failed germination attempt I bit the bullet and bought plug plants. They gave a great show throughout summer and autumn and whenever I worked in the school garden, a passer by would invariably enquire about them.

When it came to tidying the bed, some of the plants looked in good condition, so they got away with a haircut. So glad I left them in because they now form good sized clumps.