Colour on Dull Days

I show a lot of my large leaved plants on my blog and I think my garden can appear to be very green, Over the years I have gradually introduced more colour.
I chuckle to myself when I think back to helping mum and dad in their garden. Dad being a seafarer really enjoyed working in the garden, he had a veg patch and grew lots of dahlias. In those days I hated dahlias they always seemed to be full of earwigs, so here we are at least 50 years further on and what am I growing.....

Lots of dahlias lol!

This group of dahlias is from Thompson and Morgan 'Harlequin Mix' they come as tiny plug plants which you bring on and then plant out.

I love the different colours and shapes,

not an earwig in sight..

some just simple and plain

others pretty and blowsy

 including pastel colours too

I have more in the rest of the garden that have not yet flowered, so I can show you those another time.

These have all been planted in the large trough down by the pond. I know it still seems pretty green, to be honest my camera doesn't do it justice, plus there are still loads of buds to bloom.

What it does do is disguise the fence and makes the seating area very 'cosy'.

I think the best is still to come.

At the very bottom of the garden I have a large trellis which I have sent a couple of clematis up. This helps hide the greenhouse.

These clematis have gone mad this year, absolutely smothering the trellis with masses of flowers.

I keep having to cut it back as it stretches to take over anything in its reach, whilst also trying to stop my neighbours Clematis Montana, planted on a small trellis from trespassing and taking over my trellis and my garden!

She 'my neighbour' also has a very vigorous Euphorbia which I am forever having to dig out of my beds as it tries to invade. Ironically it can hardly be seen her side, preferring mine!!! Not that I don't like Euphorbia just not in the beds it invades!!

Now Begonias!!! My mums favourite. I have never really liked them, its the flowers I don't like, but since I have planted them, they have flowered and flowered and flowered. So I now get why they are so popular, doesn't mean I like them.

The hanging basket is amazing, Begonia Apricot Shades  also from Thompson and Morgan. Stunning colours, simple to look after, I water daily, feed once a week and don't even really dead head. The window box is behind, as I ordered extra plants which failed to turn up due to unprecedented demand.

So would I order them again, unfortunately yes. You may laugh even though I don't like the flowers their colour right from day one has been amazing. 

There is an elderly lady in the village who has huge begonia displays year in, year out, they always look so good, no matter what the weather does.

Hubby went to buy a fish the other day and came back from the garden centre with this..

A hardy Hibiscus, the colour is stunning and it looks gorgeous on our patio. Now whether it is hardy or not in my garden we will see!

Now the tomatoes, in the Vivigrow,  well what can I say , they are growing... lots

The roots have gone mad and I have to top it up very regularly as the guzzle water. I think my only worry is how close the all are.

I have missed a few of the side shoots, so I have a couple which are huge and have tomatoes on, I never know at this stage whether to take them off or not, so currently the are still on!

See you next time x

#thompson&morgan  #harleqindahlias  #begoniaapricotshades #greenhousesensation #vivigrow 

What Kills a Plant??

Quite puzzled after a wander down the garden this afternoon, it has rained so much the last few days so I have been busy inside.
Anyway I found this...... quite flabbergasted, this was a healthy green the other day, lovely pink flowers with bees a buzzing. So what has happened

right next door to the above shrub is my clematis, which is also dieing?

I have no idea what is going on or even why? We had a discussion and I will dig out both, the clematis was getting a bit unruly, so it gives me an opportunity to re secure the archway and plant some new climbers. Although I may hold off planting till I am certain there is nothing untoward in the soil which is killing the plants.

On the plus side I got some cracking pics of my Agave today

not the usual view, what really fascinated me was how fat the central spike was

ad the markings.........

then add the colourful thorns and you have a beautiful plant.

Don't let anyone tell you there is no colour in an Arid bed..................

I love this bed so much, need to do some work to the outside of it, replacing the wood with something before it totally collapses, add more gravel, maybe make it a little bigger. I still have lots of Agave in pots that are looking for a more permanent home. Well that is for another post on another day.

Lots of Colour Everywhere! (pic heavy)

I surprise myself with just how much colour there is in my garden. Baring in mind I go for the big leaved tropicals and the spiky arid bed.

Whilst sat eating dinner outside on the patio, hubby asked me why I was growing marijuana?

I said you daft bat thats not marijuana thats a Cleome and they have the most amazing flowers with a fabulous scent!

 I was trolling round the garden this evening after another beautiful day and took one or two photos!
Lots of Nicotiana  in varying colours.

Day Lily and Agapanthus just about to bloom.

A white Cleome, I do love white flowers, but 'him indoors' has banned me from having them!! Behind is a tree spinach, beautiful pink on the leaves!

Now here are some of my big leaves

Pink China, elephant ears, has proven quite hardy and has over wintered for 2 winters now think I may have to split it next year!

Now this is jungle

A bunch of Cleomes. I grew these from seed about 3 years ago, then last year I grew them from seed I had saved, but due to my mum having a fall last year I wasn't here to be able to collect the seed, so these have been bought in!
They are such a pretty flower, I highly recommend them.

Canna sending out a flower bud!

One of my Dahlias in flower

Phlox

I know some white flowers, I bought them as pink but I think some white where mixed in so I have got away with it!

An Alium, I thought I planted more of these, I love them sooo pretty, but sadly only one has bloomed.

Isn't tmy Zebra grass magnificent

I had no idea when I bought it just how tall it grew

A couple of years back I thought I had lost it so bought another, just in case!!

My globe thistle, can't decide whether I love this or not. I love the thistle heads but where it is planted it grows easily to 6ft and flops everywhere so is currently held upright with a bunjee rope!

Clematis who doesn't have at least one clematis in there garden?

Thalia Dealbeta flowering in the pond, these flower stalks are at least 6ft tall! Wish I had made the pond double its current size. When it was re-dug in 2011, we increased the pond by just over double its then size. I realise now, even if I dug up the whole of the bottom of the garden, it probably wouldn't be big enough!!

and we finish with Green Goddess, she is spectacular!