Saturday 12 June 2010

Sunday Safari

A little early this week…

Foxgloves are out!
The Bees love them.


I love this colour…


Yarrow will join us soon, I’m so impressed how well it’s done this year. I’m tempted to divide some of it.


An unknown self-sown Poppy, I’ll assume it’s a wild field poppy??


Dwarf Bean flowers


I have a few clumps of Primula Vialii, this is the first to begin flowering


’My’ Aquilegia is still going, it’s amazing how much more you love plants grown yourself…


Some type of Allium, there are a few opening up around the left and right borders.


Clover is taking over, as mentioned previously…

But it is safe for another few weeks, as the Bees love the flowers…



I daren’t walk across the patches because of the volume of Bees drinking…


The Alliums are going to seed… A shame as the Bees also loved them!


The Bees do love sunbathing on the fence though!


The seedlings in the new border really loved the rain we had earlier in the week!



I even found this Angelica seedling! Yay.


The Black Lilyturf seems to be sending out some flower spikes now.


And the Monkshoods are donning their hoods!


I am particularly loving the combination of the electric purple and brown of the Carex.


Campanula bells are opening, so pretty.


Alpine Strawberries are ripening…


Centuria is flowering in the front garden along with the wonderful Geranium mentioned in my last post.


As you can see, it’s also favoured by the Bees.


I am loving Roseraie de L’hay. Its perfume is to die for. I feel sorry for all you readers unable to appreciate how amazing it is. I can’t, not have one in a vase in the house.


This rather enormous (not far off dinner plate, size!) Rose as face down in the lawn, I went to investigate and it was clear the stem was unable to support such a massive head. So it too is in a vase. It actually has quite a nice perfume too, I didn’t think any ‘out front’ were perfumed. Well, this is our 4th summer here and I learnt something new!

13 comments:

Cheryl said...

Lots and lots of lovely blooms Liz. We had the rain to and what a difference it has made.

YOu are right, we do love the things that we have grown just that little bit more. The time and care we devote to them stays with us.

I love yarrow.....I love the flat head of flowers.
I am hoping my roses will bloom soon. They are not doing as well as I expected but it is their first year.
I have managed to source some of the nettle-leafed bellflower. I am looking forward to seeing it bloom.

Your garden must look very very pretty at this time. June is a lovely month.

Enjoy your Sunday

Cheryl said...

Liz....meant to say, love the primula.....very tempting but I must resist, the rabbits will devour them.


The yellow flower on my post is aquilegia dragonfly, if you want some seeds let me know at some point.

Nutty Gnome said...

Ey-up, tha's dun well wi t'photos lass....them bees is dead gud! :)

debsgarden said...

I love when the bees are happy in my garden. They make me smile. Yours have a lot to enjoy! I love your primula; it's a flower I can't grow, but I so admire it!

Liz said...

Hi Cheryl,

I’m beginning to be a little down thanks to all the rain… I don’t like grumbling about the weather but I am starting to worry that we’re going to have a wet summer again, I know I know, it was lovely only a week or two ago but last week was mostly wet and dull. Yesterday was promising but then at around 3/4pm it began to rain and didn’t really stop at all.

My previous experience of Yarrow was poor, it died straight away… I bought a very cheap one from B&Q and it’s grown like wildfire! Goes to show, buying from nurseries doesn’t always mean best quality plants…

Most of the roses in the garden were here when we moved in. All the ones in the front were, and this is the first one I’ve found with a scent to it. Most of them are not colours I would buy – there’s a scarlet red and some yellows… But I will sort the front out once the back is finished, so for now the roses will stay! I am no big fan, for me there is nothing worse than seeing bare stems with only a few flowers on the top. Tea Roses aren’t for me!

It’s a shame the Rabbits will eat the Primulas… They’re so pretty, perhaps you could keep some in a pot where they cannot reach?
It’s funny how they look red, but then purple flowers appear! Very nice.

I think I might just have to take you up on the offer for the Aquilegia seeds, as you know I am no fan of yellow but they do look very nice!

Liz said...

Hi Liz,

Cheers our lass, glad yer like t’ photos!

Ah luv ta see thim buzzing arrahnd the gardin, ah’d never thort ah’d miss em in winta. Gardin seems ded wiout em.

Liz said...

Hi Debs,

I’m the same, I really miss the Bees and Hoverflies over winter and it’s always very exciting when they wake up in Spring!

The garden just doesn’t seem right without them… It seems dead somehow.

It’s a shame to hear you’re unable to grow the Primula’s, is that because of your temperatue zone or because you too have Rabbit problems and they would get eaten?

Carol said...

Liz, These are such lovely and poetic photos... each one a jewel. What beautiful blooms grace your garden! ;>)

Curbstone Valley Farm said...

Beautiful photographs, as always Liz. Clearly you have some very happy bees in your garden!

Meredith said...

How wonderful that you can render beautiful even alliums going to seed! I love your photography, Liz. The monkshood and clover/bee closeup were my favorites this time around.

Your garden is definitely safari-worthy. :)

Liz said...

Hi Carol,

Thank you very much, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos!

I cannot imagine life without flowers in a garden… As a student and living in houses with little or no area for plants I began to feel down and it took me a couple of years to realise why – because there were no trees, flowers, grass etc. It’s amazing how much of a difference it can make.

Liz said...

Hi CV,

Thanks :)

Yes I like to think the Bees are happy, there doesn’t seem to be as many this year as last, perhaps the harsh winter was just too harsh for them… I will have to prove more hibernating spaces for them this year.

Liz said...

Hi Meredith,

Thanks for the lovely compliment :) I do think the Allium seeds are pretty in their own right too, just not quite as colourful. They are wonderful when they’ve turned brown though – even if they are dead! Lol.