BLOOMIN' OXFORD!

Fascinating blog... is Ken still holding up that tree ? ;o)

Thanks Tet, you do get around don't you, very impressed with your photos of Oxford, so much to see and do, charming buildings and not bad gardens too!! fav pics were the arch, and the spires, and the bridge of sighs.

Looks a lovely place,Tet,and I have always wanted to visit Oxford.Fantastic buildings and Architecture..so glad you had a lovely time there..

Lovely blog, lovely place, great photos!

No Terra. Not when he discovered there were ripe berries on the Mulberry Tree...!

We do DD, and Im pretty pooped for a few days after..but there is still so much we havent seen or need to revisit after 30 years. When Ken and I first met, we used to go out every Sunday..I used to plan the day like a military campaign in order to pack it in lol! We are more sedate these days. I agree about the arch..it was beautiful and so unexpected..I think that is wisteria on the left..must be ravishing in May/June!

Thanks Sheilar. Bloomer you MUST go there, everything within walking distance, Travelodge was cheap, the Park & Ride free to Seniors, the tour bus £10 for 24 hours and we used it a lot.

Yeah, thanks Tet, an interesting blog about Oxford.
Oh I SO would like a Gypsy caraven at the end of my garden, always fancied one!!

The catkin tree is an itea ilicifolia. I wish mine woud buck its ideas up and grow a bit. Perhaps if I showed it your photo of what it's supposed to do...

Thanks Andrew. Praps you should take it on a day trip to Oxford and shame it into growing like this one lol!

Lulu, this one I reckon is just your ticket, but you might have to sleep sitting upright lol! Thought of you while we were in Burford and driving down thru Tetbury...

Great blog, Tet, you're very good at getting out there and making the most of a visit. :) Loved the catkin tree and Pennisetum rubrum. Did you go to Blackwells? That's my weakness . . . if there's a bookshop I can't walk past!!

I get the wanderlust Sheilabub. But always glad to come home. Yes I did go into Blackwells..like you I love books..came away with The Oxford Sketchbook..full of stunning watercolours and some lovely mignionettes of corners of Oxford

What a spectacular and magical place to visit! It's beautiful!

Lol Tet, but I'm quite short!!!

What a lovely visit, thanks Tet, some amazing plants and I love that ceiling.
No bat plants then?

Thanks Delonix! We have a lot of American students at Oxford and for many its the start of a lifelong love affair with the city. I must admit I can understand it, for next to Venice its my favourite city.
Lulu, you may be quite short, but its those looong legs lol!
Sticki, if I had the energy I would be there for weeks AND wear out the camera..in 3 days I took nearly 300 pics!! Meanie described the size of his bat plant..glad he didnt bring it tho..wouldve had nightmares.

I shall look forward to more lovely photos then - thanks! Glad you had such a good time.

lovely blog and tour. thanks :o))

Thanks Helen. You are an old timer I see..pleased to meet you.
Sticki, I dont think I could get away with another blog on Oxford...not really gardens..tho I do have more flower pics I didnt post. Didnt want to bore everyone to death!!

what a brilliant blog, hope Ken has let go of the tree by now, fantastic photos, well done tet

Isoplexis canariensis is the name of the Canary Island Foxglove.
So I see that you went home the long way round and found the "Very Expensive Garden Centre"! Very ho hum as far as garden plants go, but they do keep a good range of indoor plants. If I'd have known you could have popped in to meet the Bat Flower, as you passed within spitting distance.

Enjoyed the tour around Oxford ... you do make a good tour guide ... love the architecture ... thanks for sharing this, Tet ... :o)))

Thanks for that Meanie. Yes, lots of things VERY pricey, but bought a couple of sizeable Heuchera Creme Brulee for £5 each which wasnt bad value..and altho it was £9, I really couldnt resist the Pennisetum Rubrum..good rootball on it so will split..it is sat on the patio awaiting a decision where to plant..and I dont regret a penny of it!
As for the bat plant, you will forgive me if I tell you..the pictures alone gave me the willies, let alone a real live one!!!! But Im sorry I didnt know you were so close, couldve saved you a journey. Saying that, we sort of wandered here and there on the way home..so didnt know in advance.
Thanks Shirleytulip...architecture, books and traditional art run gardening and horses close in my obessions! Glad you enjoyed it.

Tetrarch - don't forget that pennisetum is not hardy and will have to come inside for the winter

OH ******!!!! Thanks for the warning Andrew..I didnt know that and dont recall it on the printed card either. I will have to sink it in the garden in a pot. I will see if I regret buying it next spring lol!

Neither did I.Tet..and I had been thinking about getting one..I always imagined grasses to be hardy..still learning aren't we ? but great we have some experts to guide us :o)

Too right Bloomer..Im really grateful to Andrew because it so nearly got planted out! I got my City & Guilds in Horticulture 30 years ago..but so much has changed in the plant world since then..even in the past 10 years there have been thousands of new plants and varieties we never could imagine back then. Qualifications are only the beginning..the rest takes years of experience and leads to only one conclusion..there is ALWAYS something new to learn.

Read a bit more on the Pennisetum Rubrum. It does not make viable seed unless you live in a true Zone 9 or better. It does not survive ANY frost (tho guess miracles can happen), so Ive split my plant and put half in the garden to take its (not very good) chances, and the other half I will bring in and put in the office window during winter. I will also buy some plug plants in the spring to bring on, but guess they will have to sit in a warm greenhouse until about May.
It has to be good value if in mid-late summer you find a 2 litre pot in a garden centre for about £7.99 or less (£9 I paid..must be nuts..but love it), which you can split in two so it should sit in the garden fully grown from about July to the first frosts.
I must say I only like a few grasses but this for me is a must have very year!

What a lovely blog Tet...years since I was last in Oxford..the children were quite young. Such a beautiful place and imagine being a student there...what a privilege to have all that beauty around you and the attention to the grounds etc....it would be heaven...shame that after the three years, most of them will have to go back to reality isn't it! What about that ceiling....WOW!! and that gypsy caravan...in total contrast, but just as attractive! Another idea for my 50th birthday.....a 'tour' of the river Thames!..I really should start writing these ideas down! :))

I agree Karen, I would love to have been a student there..no wonder lots of them want to become dons and spend their lives there! Good idea..some lovely places to visit down the Thames.