Monday 17 August 2009

ARGHGRUHGRHGRHUH















I've just this minute noticed that my eucomis picture is actually out of focus. SORRY. I don't know what is wrong with me lately, it must be the heatwave [in France].

Anyway I am going to go away and sort another one out. But in the meantime, I have noticed that I hardly ever blog about my own garden, even though I really do love it. And I ALWAYS miss garden bloggers bloom day. It's partly because actually I do not know the name of a freakin' thing growing in my garden, apart from the Euphorbias which of course I am on first name Latin terms with, and I think that probably GBBD does need to be labelled. But everything else is just there cos it's pretty, I lose the labels five minutes after buying the plants and I can never remember what anything is, but also, don't really care. 

So in some sort of token but completely unlabelled effort, here is a sort of late garden blogger's bloom day thing. Top left is a wildish canna indica I bought from a garden sale somewhere in Croydon about ten years ago at least, which has flourished happily in my front garden ever since, and which has small orange flowers and large leaves, sort of the way I like it. It is now in five big clumps that all survived the snow, so, rock on. Next round clockwise is Emma T favourite Euphorbia mellifera that I grew from seed. Next a eucomis, but I don't know which one because I lost the despatch note... or should I say more truthfully it was consumed by molluscs. 

Next round is Phygelius, cape fuchsia, which came from a garden sale with my mum last summer and which has been rocking the whole summer long and is still going, I heartily recommend. Then a huge blue moptop hydrangea I got from Cottesbrooke, where it was white, but I was told it was going to go blue so that's okay. (I am absolutely in LOVE with it so don't say a word!)

Then another wildish, good fuchsia which lives through every kind of bad weather outside in my garden and comes back each spring after a harsh prune. GOTTA love those fuchsias, for late summer performance shut up your weedy Piet Oudolf pie hole about any of those rubbish lazy daisies and get me some fuchsias. 

Then bottom centre, a startling scarlet geranium I also got from Cottesbrooke and have been really enjoying. I think it came from Derry Watkins but predictably the name tag has already gone to Run with the Wolves. 

Next, Euphorbia cornigera, a pretty and good-performing euphorbia with lovely lime green bracts right now, to give you spring zing in late August, which is energising in a flower bed. 

Then last but one, Lobelias tupa, of which I have a huge stand but which I can't get a good photo of, here's one bloom leaning out into the road. Another one new to my garden this year, but a total star performer I wouldn't be without, and i SUSPECT one of the VERY FEW plants in my garden that you might also find in James A-S's.....

Last but not least, in the middle, some B&Q Indian Pinks bedding I bought in May which has been growing strong ever since. NEVER, never knock the carnation family. The lot of them are dudes. 

Anyway there you go, that's what was looking nice this weekend, I'm hoping for some more canna flowers before the end of the summer and two ginger lilies too; I've also got some agapanthus but the photo was a bit lame, and possibly a datura to flower yet too. 


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

May I just say that I love your attitude - it matches mine perzackerly!
Anonjan

emmat said...

i will always allow, nay encourage, people to say they agree with me

Rob said...

What is it with London gardeners that makes us go for exotics in such a big way? It could be the multi-cultural-ness of the city, but I blame it on excessive consumption of stuffed vine leaves, thai green curry and the like.

I'm enjoying your blog after being directed here by Victoria.

Oh, and I'm glad you're keeping it real with the pinks and hydrangeas...

emmat said...

See in my case, it could be that, but I think mostly it's a vain effort to recreate the gorgeous gardens of my Cornish summer holiday childhood. Which, incidentally, explains the hydrangeas too! nice to see you will come over and check you out one of these days, Victoria's been telling me all about you too!

Helen/patientgardener said...

VP and I were only commenting the other day that since we have started garden blogging we have had to make a conscious effort to learn plant names! I often dont include those I'm not sure on in my GBBD posts!

HappyMouffetard said...

Ah yes - I too have become a more assiduous label keeper since joining GBBD. The problem is, I tend to keep the labels but forget which plant they belong to, so if I have several similar, I can't remember which is which and mis-name them.

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Euphorbias at the moment - a couple of weeks ago my arms would have been a contender for the garden injury award over at Emsworth but now the blisters have subsided. And I thought I was being careful :(

VP said...

Tag, you're it over at mine. There's no obligation to play if you don't want to, but I'm interested in seeing what you 've got to say :)

Unknown said...

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