Bits & bobs

Lovely photos - hasn't your Paeony done well! :-))

I don't think that's a foxglove, though - it's a snapdragon (Antirrhinum). I love the way they seed themselves and pop back up.

Not surprised nothing has tried munching your Aconites (Monkshood) - they must realise they're poisonous.

Of course it is, Spritz, was having a daft moment I think.
The paeony is the best I've ever seen it.

I used to have the rose compassion in my little cottage garden before we moved here two years ago. It is a lovely rose for a pillar and such a pretty colour and a wonderful sent. I have a few roses here now and my favoured has to be Munstead Wood which is a David Austin Recommended Variety.

Category English Roses
(English Rose Collection)

Bred By David Austin

Flower Type Double/Full Bloom

Size Medium Shrub

Hardiness Hardy

Fragrance Strong

Repeating Excellent

New deep crimson roses are always a welcome addition to our collection. The flowers of this variety are in fact light crimson in the bud but, as the centre gradually reveals itself, it becomes a very deep velvety crimson while the outer petals remain rather lighter in colour. They are of large size and cupped at first, becoming shallowly cupped with time. As the flower ages we get glimpses of the stigma and stamens amongst the petals.

The growth is quite bushy, forming a broad shrub with good disease-resistance. The leaves are mid-green; the younger leaves being red-bronze to form a nice contrast.

There is a strong Old Rose fragrance with a fruity note. Our fragrance expert, Robert Calkin, assesses this as ‘warm and fruity with blackberry, blueberry and damson’.

Munstead Wood was Gertrude Jekyll’s own garden in Surrey where she worked on her many gardening books.

3 ft. x 2.5 ft.

It all looks very nice even the Hosta is not badly damaged and agree the Paeony is superb.

Well everything in the garden is coming up roses as the saying goes :) even without much attention as you said but nature is a wonderful thing .

I had that Clematis in my old garden (but it did suffer with mildew occasionally) but can't think what it was called(I have a feeling it was a lady's name but not sure) when I get home, I'll have a look in my bag of labels.I had them all bagged up and left in the potting shed for the new owners but when we got to our new house, I noticed the removal men had picked the. Up and put them in a box!
The birds are obviously grateful to your for leaving the shrubs to do their own thing for a while.

Teds, I love the English roses best & had many when I used to have about an acre of garden once upon a time.
My then husband built me a pergola walk for our anniversary to take us from the patio down to the wild life pond & wild flower meadow & I planted a climbing rose at each post (about 24) mostly from David Austin & Peter Beales.
One of my favs was Ena Harkness which has a fault in that the blooms are heavy but the neck is thin so the blooms hang down but on a pergola it is perfect.
Deep red velvety flowers with a most delicious scent.

I love the yellow & lemons too, Mermaid (Cl) Large, bright yellow, perfumed, single blooms with amber stamens. Flowers throughout the summer. Has interesting thorns and lush, glossy foliage. Flowers well on a north wall. Vigorous. Invaluable and unique.
Pauls Lemon Pillar: Massive blooms, off-white suffused with lemon of unusually high quality in most weathers. Scented. A vigorous climber with very thick branches and large leaves.
Lady Sylvia, New Dawn, Mrs Sam McGredy & so many more.

Brian, this Hosta seems to have some slug resistance, leaves are quite leathery, not so my others tho. Can't find Fire & Ice :(

Kidsgran, you are so right.

Paul, the blackbird was in same spot last year, she even hopped into the kitchen when I had left the door open - don't know who was most surprised.
I'd be grateful if you do find the label. It's not a huge flower (about 4") but there are lots of them & the colour is such a clear shade.

Yes, I'm pretty sure it's the same one. The shape and colour are the same .i'll look through the labels next week and if I find it you can look the name up on the Internet and see if it's the one.

Thanks, Paul, I'd appreciate that.

Could your Clematis be C. x durandii? It looks just like the one I have scrambling through a Philadelphus.

Not according to the description which says: Rich indigo blue flowers are semi-nodding and have contrasting pale yellow anthers. Semi-herbaceous, non-clinging, semi-climber or scrambler.

Mine is a clinger & more mauve than blue. It's much more like Lasurstern except flowers not as large.

I'm beginning to wonder, GF, if it's Arabella.I have a feeling that is one I had, but I'll check when I get home and see if I still have to label!

Paul, just looked up Arabella & although the colour is the same as mine she's a non clinger.

Hello "Green Finger", nice to meet you . I have that same Clematis and have never known its name ! It has travelled around 4 gardens with us up to now and still going strong ! You have some lovely things there too! We used to have a long narrow garden and divided it into separate gardens with arches , so that there was always something different to see.

Hello Rose, I am thinking if someone makes a suggestion that the name will ring a bell for me but I've had it for about 6 - 7 yrs & no bells ringing yet, lol.
My last garden was long & thin & I divided that into 3 areas using trellis panels, it worked well.
Here it is wide but not very deep with an enormous ash & a willow tree at one end & a huge country field hedge that runs the whole length - makes gardening a challenge .
Oh, yes, & we live up the hill so it all slopes upwards.

That is a challenge then ! Best of luck ! At least you should have a good view of the countryside from the top of your hill !

I meant to add...I don't think you mentioned a foxglove, did you ? Unless I've missed it ! lol

Foxglove, Rose? Originally I had written foxglove meaning snapdragon but Spritz kindly corrected me so I edited it.
We do have foxgloves tho, self seeded one here & there.

Hi GF...Home now and have looked through my labels....I wonder if this is the one I was thinking of (I said I was thinking of one with a woman's name and this has) The picture on my label isn't brilliant but this may be the one 'Margaret Hunt' although the picture shows it as more pink but as I remember it, it was more lavender coloured!

I don't think it is, Paul, as Margarets stamens are cream and red. Colour wise info says "dusky mauve-pink flowers have a deeper half-bar when first open. She pales to a delicate pearly-pink as her blooms mature". Also flowers are bigger at 4 -6 ".
It's a lot like "Jenny" except mine doesn't have the lighter bars.
......but thank you so much for looking for me. Hope you enjoyed your time away.

That explains it then ! I must have read your blog after you had edited it !

Yes,it's frustrating because I'm certain yours is the same as one I had in my old garden (quite small flowers) but, no label it seems.
Yes, we had a great weekend including a visit to Merrimemts garden yesterday which I will blog in the next few days with photos.

Frustrating indeed,Paul, I must have spent hours on the net trying to id it - still it's pretty & happy & not bothered at all, lol. Maybe I'll find out one day.
I'll look forward to your next blog.

Your plants look colourful and interesting. A pleasure to see them :)

Thank you, Hywel, I'm glad you enjoyed seeing them.

Yes I did - a bit late but I am trying to catch up :)

Well, Hywel, I've only been a member for nearly 1 month so I've got plenty to catch up on. I start looking at something which leads me to a blog then I spot another item & that sends me off in another direction & so on & so on.The next thing I know is the time has whizzed by & I haven't actually done a thing, lol.

Sorry Green Finger, I have absolutely no idea! It looks a bit like Arabella as Paul said, but clearly it isn't that as its self-clinging which Arabella is not. The only suggestion I can come up with...as you say it is more mauve than blue, is 'Baby Doll' which is a Patens Group clematis, but yours looks too deep a colour to my eye.

The flower about 4" across you say ....not HF Young?

...sorry, no flowers of HF too big.

It's not Jackmanii is it?

Karen, Jackmanii is the closest match although the sepals on mine are much more pronounced than the J I see on Thorncrofts page. It could be a possible tho, thanks.

I'm not finished yet.....c. Wisley?

..I think I'm done now! lol! ;)

I did wonder about Cezanne, but you know, in the photo you've used here, the flower looks very small. It looks about an inch and a half compared to the leaf, which is why it looks so like Arabella. But you reckon the flowers get to about 4"? That's quite a large flower....could you put on another photo of it with more flowers and more of the plant please?

Yay, well done you, Karen, Wisley it is. I just saw a pic of the full plant & its exactly like mine. The descriptions vary depending what site you look at. I saw this explanation which makes sense.

"Descriptions of this plant vary because it is a jackmanii type with some viticella in it, giving it a long bloom period of June to September. It’s sometimes called a late large-flowered, because it doesn’t bloom until June."

Thank you so much for your help & taking the time & trouble for me.I have my labeller now so will make one for it. :)

Posted a pic it's the last one above.

Hurray!!!!! I'm so pleased we found it for you! :))

Me too :)

You have taken some lovely photos of your flowers.
A very pretty garden :o)

Thank you TT. It's looking very green at the moment with few flowers due to the constant rain we've had lately.