2016 in close up.

Welcome to Our Garden@19 in 2017

This is the time of year when we think about the new year and reflect on the old one.

The pictures below are close up photographs from Our garden@19 taken during the year.

Corylus avellana 'Contorta'

Iris foetidissima seeds.

 Dicentra 'Stuart Bootman'.

 Geranium sambor and Bumble Bee.

Aquilegia alba.

 Viola heartease and an unknown variety.

 Iris palliida subsp. pallida.

 Polygonatum x Hybridum Striatum.

 Epimedium x Rubrum.

 Asplenium scolopendrium Cristatum Group.

Athyrium Niponicum Pictum.

 Paeonia 'White Wings'.

 Cirsium rivulare 'Trevor's Blue Wonder'.

Hydrangea quercifolia Burgundy.

Acer griseum.

Where would we be without the 'Web'?

A frozen spiky metal Lily!

Birds are an important part of my every day life in Our Garden@19.

This is the first film I have tried to post, taken through the dinning room window, Gold Finches feeding on Sunflower Hearts.

 I hope it works!

The new years come, the old years go,

We know we dream, we dream we know.

We rise up laughing with the light,

We lie down weeping with the night.

We hug the world until it stings,

We curse it then and sigh for wings.

We live, we love, we woo, we wed,

We wreathe our brides, we sheet our dead.

We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear,

And that’s the burden of the year.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, “The Year” (1910)

I hope all your dreams and plans come true for 2017.

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Summer Tour (Part One).

Blogging has been a little sparse lately what with the open gardens in June, neither of us enjoying the best of health this summer followed by a holiday to help recharge the batteries.

Summer has now arrived at Our Garden@19, I have taken the camera around to record what is flowering, there is enough for two posts, this is part one.

The first to greet us as we go out through the dinning room doors is the Geranium 'Rozanne' growing in pots, it flowers non stop as it is sterile...

...the Dahlias in the raised beds edging the patio are now responding to the warm weather, this is my favourite, David Howard...

...along side is this lovely red Pom Pom D. Tam Tam...

...also D. 'Twynings After Eight', with its delicate pink veining...

...and the red 'Bishop of Llandaff.

Through the arch into the Blue Border is an unknown apricot dahlia with Lychnis coronia, surrounded by Persicaria 'Firetail' and right at the back Veronicastrum 'Fascination'.

Veronicastrum 'Fascination'.

The Viola cornuta 'Alba' is a wonderful value plant, grown from seed over ten years ago, it flowers non stop from June through to autumn, only requiring shearing off before winter...

...also in the white garden is Astrantia major, much loved by pollenating insects.

The colourful shrub Lycesteria formosa 'Golden Lanterns'...

...is accompanied by, Clematis 'Mme Julia Correvon', one of several Clematis now flowering...

...C. 'Perle d'Azur'...

...climbing high into the Prunus serrula is the Japanese Clematis fusca, with its furry small bell like flowers...

...in the white garden, new this year, C. 'Mrs George Jackman' is announcing her arrival...

...as is C. ? from next door's garden, (they don't know its name), it obviously has no respect for the colour theme!

I hope you have enjoyed this first part of Our Garden@19 summer garden tour, what is representing summer in your garden?

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The Fruits & Flowers of an Indian Summer.

John Keats described this time of year as the "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness".

This year we have also been blessed with an 'Indian Summer'

In Our Garden@19 the Crab Apple 'Golden Hornet' is covered with fruit..

...the Pear 'Invincible' has not been as prolific as in previous years.

The Fuchsia 'Mrs Popple' is brightening up some of the more shady areas of the garden...

...leaving the Dahlias to strut their stuff in the sunshine.

D. Bishop of Llandaff

D. Thomas A. Edison

...along with the Cannas

One of the stalwarts of the autumn garden are the Asters, who have now undergone name reclassification, I think I will just call them 'Michaelmas Daisies'

This, I think is one of the best, Aster 'Little Carlow'...

...with A. 'Harringtons Pink' just coming into bloom.

No Autumn garden should be without Verbena bonariensis.

The annuals that I planted for summer/autumn are just beginning to bloom, this is Cobaea scandens, the cup and saucer plant, draped in fine cobwebs...

...with a Nasturtium from last years saved seed...

...and N. 'Black Velvet'...

...Convolvulus Major, Trumpet Mix is flowering in several different positions around the garden.

What I like about growing this plant is if someone mentions you have Bindweed in your garden you can reply, "No its Convolvulus" 

The other annual climber is Ipomea lobata, Spanish Flag.

Viola 'Heartsease always has a place in Our Garden@19

We finish with a true flower of autumn the Cyclamen hederifolium.

What fruits and flowers have you been enjoying in your garden during this 'Indian Summer'?

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Black is Black (Almost).

Henry Ford is reputed to have said you can have it in any colour so long as it's Black.
The plant breeders have been trying to develop black plants without much success.
Here are some of the plants in Our Garden@19 from the 'Dark Side'.


The Black seeds of the Myrtus communis growing in the sunshine in the front garden are on a special plant.  I purchased it during a visit to Great Dixter and foliage from it was used by Mary in Rachel's wedding bouquet. Myrtle has long been used in wedding bouquets to symbolise love.
 Queen Victoria had some in her bouquet which was then planted and sprigs from that bush have been used in all Royal wedding bouquets since.

 Phyllostachys nigra greets you as you enter the Oriental Garden...

...with its shiny  black stems...

...under planted with Opheapogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens'.

Acer palmatum 'Pixie' glows with lovely red young foliage turning almost black as it matures.

 Lunaria annua 'Rosemary Verey' leaves have now lost their spotted look and turned almost black.

A similar strain is L. annua 'Chedglow' which can be seen by visiting Anna at Greentapestry:
http://greentapestry.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/seedy-business.html

Euphorbia 'Blackbird' grows in pots along with Violas...

...and the Tulip 'Queen of the Night', something to look forward too.

Ajuga reptans 'Atropurpurea' provides dark ground cover with pretty blue flowers in the spring.

A new shrub last autumn is Hydrangea quercifolium 'Burgundy', which is certainly living up to its name.

Pittosporum 'Tom Thumb' with its 'bad-dose-of-the-measles' look was the inspiration for this post which came from Cathy at Rambling in the Garden...

 ...please click on the link for Garden Bloggers Foliage Day: A bad dose of the measles.
https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2015/01/22/garden-bloggers-foliage-day-a-bad-dose-of-the-measles/

I hope you have enjoyed reading about Our Garden@19, please leave your comments, I look forward to reading them.

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