Hollyhock with Achillea "Cloth of Gold." I have this growing in the garden, so recognize it.
I have borrowed this flower picture from J Parker's site - www.jparkers.co.uk - and hope it shows the strong similarity clearly enough. The little spikey "fronds" are exactly the same, as are the flowers and stems. I had a Bronze Fennel growing outside my window all last year. Looks very like apart from Bronze Fennel being a darer colour stem.
A lovely juxtaposition but I haven't a clue what the tall creamy-white flower is.
Aren't these plantings lovely? I just adore big borders like these. Must get some Lythrum salicaria next year. That's the purple spikey flower.
Echinops just coming into bloom.
Eryngium (Sea Holly). I bought one last year but it was a winter fatality.
Sigh. I am aiming for one border like that here so greatly need to widen the present border I dug the first year. I have my trusty grass cutter/gardener lined up for that.
Now for the kitchen garden. Above and below: Note the masses of various Marigolds planted to attract insects for pollination.
Just look at that happy Rhubarb! Mine has really struggled this year - bitterly cold several nights in winter and then two months of draught.Caged for good reason as the only butterflies about the garden were Cabbage Whites!
Above and below: Globe Artichokes, and a red-tailed bumble bee having a feast!
This is one of the many apples they had planted in a double row the other side of that wonderful double border. This is Adam's Permain. Permain apples are identifiable because they are wider at the top than the bottom. They had some espalier fruit trees against the holly hedge at the top of the garden.
And step-over apples at the bottom end.
The house (tea-room side) with that fabulous border of Agapanthus.
Below: the wonderful period greenhouse.
Inside the wonderful greenhouse. Oh was I ENVIOUS of that!
So, that was a nice break and very enjoyable walking round the Gardens, though the highlight for me was that double border. So beautiful.
Another blessing I should have added to my list yesterday was friends - you folk who comment on my blog especially included - and the blogs of people who have become my friends over the years. Your kind words and friends telling me about their gardens, what they've been making, cooking, where they've been. It all helps me get out of the house, in my mind.
Today's weather forecast isn't good but I think Elsewhere is having the worst of the rain and gales today. I hope it's fine where you are.
Gorgeous gardens. Everywhere I've lived I wanted a border like that - it's never happened!
ReplyDeleteAren't they lovely? I planted the Verbena bonariensis at the back of the border outside the kitchen sink window just now. I bought it because it was such a sturdy plant with so many wands of flowers to come on. It will fill a gap. I've always had far too slender herbaceous borders - somehow you need the depth and the real soaring height at the back to make an impact.
DeleteWhat a glorious garden and thank you for bringing it to us. I admire you greatly, out and about, here and there. You bring this new area where you now live to life with its churches and byways.
ReplyDeleteWell, some of my journeys are of necessity - cat-food from Brecon for instance, so I do the weekly grocery shopin Brecon that week. The scenery - oh, seeing the Brecon Beacons from the Eppynts takes my breath away, especially with the sunshine out.
DeleteMy other - sanity-outings - are a few hours out each week so I have a break from caring. I'd like to go further afield but don't like to leave him too long.
Could the cream flowers be a type of baptisia? The gardens are lovely. It's been very dry here. We could use some of your rain! My flower garden is smaller this year. I almost got rid of it, but decided I coul manage a small area. That is an impressive greenhouse. There was a large fancy glass greenhouse near my home, mostly private but they did sell some plants. About 15 years ago it was destroyed in a terrible hail storm. Most of the area's homes, including mine, got new roofs as a result. But the greenhouse wasn't rebuilt. A sad loss.
ReplyDeleteI shall have a look-see. I should have taken a close-up. We had two months of very hot and dry so a relief not to have to water round. What a shame about the smashed greenhouse as it means no local plants to buy.
DeleteIts such a lovely garden. We've been just the once as its quite a way from us when we're in Herefordshire so thank you for letting me re-live my memories of the place. The kitchen garden was such a delight as were the borders in the main garden. There is a lovely wood too with a Japanese style garden.
ReplyDeleteWould Powis Castle be any closer? That has the most drop-dead-amazing gardens and plantings.
DeleteIt is 54 degrees here this morning! Feeling of fall in the air...in August! The cool nights are wonderful for sleeping though.
ReplyDeleteIt's been cool and wet here all of July and felt like autumn, I have to say. Let's hope we get another warm spell to last into October .. .
DeleteOh, my goodness. What a gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous garden that is, and I'm right there with you in the envy stakes on that greenhouse. This has to be one of my favourite of all your blogs.
ReplyDeleteSo glad this post gave you such pleasure. It is a lovely garden, but I intend to visit Powis again next week (have a friend staying), so you will really be stunned then.
Deletep.s. blowing a hoolie here!
ReplyDeleteIt obviously ran out of puff before getting to us.
DeleteWhat an amazingly lush and beautiful garden [s], so inspiring. I love big English garden borders like these.
ReplyDeleteAh, after 5 weeks of rain, we can do lush all right! I just adore borders like this.
DeletePS Rem hollyhocks are biennials, so they may not bloom for you next summer. Tho w your climate, if you get the seeds in now, they might start and think this is year one. Also until established they must be seeded in every year for a few years to fill in the two year cycle. Some may be starting in my least attractive wildflower pot, I am quite excited to have them. Or that plant maybe/ prob is wild [and evilly painful] dune cockleburrs...
ReplyDeletelizzy
Indeed, the one I have in bud is a baby from last year. I strewed some of last year's seeds along the front of the house but no sign of germination yet. I hope you have them in your wildflower pot and they aren't dune cockleburrs . . .
DeleteAbsolutely beautiful Thank you for taking me
ReplyDeleteThank you JennyP - it quite took my breath away.
DeleteWhat lovely gardens and those hollyhocks are gorgeous. Mine never stood so tall or straight, they were always falling over.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I think they need staking sometimes. Mine just got rust!
DeleteThat kitchen garden … wow! So pleased we’ve cleared up the confusion between achillea and fennel. I have eryngium but it’s very prickly so not my favourite. If you watched GG on the telly yesterday you will know how dreadful it was in the South Downs. Luckily it cleared up for our drive to Chichester in the evening to see The Sound of Music at the festival theatre. I drove us home the country route with an almost full moon lighting our way - magical. I am going to move some hollyhock seedlings to a more sheltered position. Last year in the drought they were fine growing alongside the side of the garage and exposed to all the elements, but this year they got flattened by the wind and rain and I must look out for some almost black hollyhock seeds. I love how marigolds colonise any bare soil, a bit like verbena officianalis here which has taken over the herb parterre despite culling earlier this year. Nature certainly does abhor a vacuum. We had a lovely walk around our local patch this morning in the sunshine and I was in the bookshop this afternoon and now after catching up with the racing I am enjoying a glass of wine while S prepares our supper of lamb cutlets (2 for him and one for me from the Petworth butcher) which he roasts with garlic, rosemary, lemon, lpotatoes, shallots and lots of courgettes - everything bar the shallots and lemon from the garden. Just in case you thought I kept him on vegetarian rations! The garden is growing abundantly after all this rain. The squash are sprawling and growing up the asparagus and sweetcorn and the borlotti and French beans and courgettes are all growing like Topsy. I gave the pergola a thorough deadheading before lunch today and filled a wheelbarrow, so that’s all ready to go again. And hardly any weeds after mulching the pergola beds deeply with my five year old grass and leaf mixture. Day off tomorrow so I plan to make a jar of blackberry jelly to have with homemade scones and clotted cream. Sarah x
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