Sunday 27 September 2015

Teetering magnificence

The garden continues to get lusher and more jungly. Post opening we haven't really needed to do anything to the garden beyond deadheading and enjoying it which is great, but winter seems to loom ever closer. This is the first week I have noticed Christmas beginning to show its face...there was a pub with a 'book now for Christmas' promo, a billboard with Father Xmas and I had my first mince pie!

This all makes for a reminder to plan ahead for next year and to try and remember what works and what doesn't, take a hundred pictures and take notes! However, until then lots of nice plants to ogle at













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Sunday 20 September 2015

Leaves

 
Things are still getting bigger and bigger bringing some great leaf combinations such as this Ensete with Brahea palm. The unfurling fronds on the Cyathea are also particularly entrancing


 
In the past Ive always cut the Begonia luxurians flowers off, but this year have realised how magnificent they are, flowering for ages!



Eucomis (pineapple lilly), not flowering but still giving a lush effect





This is the flower of Utricularia sandersonii, a carnivorous plant...I always call it the bunny Utricularia as the flowers look like rabbits!





Sunday 13 September 2015

Will Giles

I was very sad to see how Will Giles died on 2nd September. Will was very much an exotic garden extraordinaire and it was his book that has probably inspired me the most on my current exotic gardening course. 

I came across his book when I first started to develop my first garden. Before then I had already been inspired by exotica (I had my first tree fern and hardy banana) but I didn't really know what was possible. His book Exotic Plants for Temperate Climes was (and still is) very inspiring and for a long time was my well thumbed bedtime reading. Together with Christopher Llloyd they have been my favourite gardeners.

Sadly I never met him, but we were lucky to be able to visit his garden in 2011. It was amazing to see and really helped show what was possible.


















Monday 7 September 2015

2015 NGS Garden opening: DONE! pictures of things at their best

 We are done! and exhausted! thank you to everyone who came and HUGE thank you to everyone who helped out In total we had 203 visitors and made over £1500 for charity!

This was our fifth year of opening, and in total we have had 1033 visitors and made over £5790 for the NGS! HURRAH!





















 
Thank you!