Roses, Clematis and Cosmos and a visitor

 We are bracing ourselves for another heatwave.  I do not like the heat, so am not looking forward to the next week.  So far, the garden appears to be coping although I will need to be very careful with my watering.

The rest of the roses have now started to flower.  Above is Ferdinand Pichard who has a lovely perfume.

Emily Bronte, with her pink and creamy yellow flower.

Blush Noisette, with its sprays of smaller flowers.

The clematis are also doing well.  I used to have many more but over the years, they have come and gone.  Above is Venosa Violacea, whch is sprawling over the winter flowering honeysuckle.

This is Prince Charles, making his way over the trellis.

Arabella is a herbaceaous clematis who doesn't cling.  She is tied in to an obelisk.

Blue Angel is draping itself along the fence and wall.

Neptune is a smaller variety in a pot.

I have been growing different varieties of cosmos and this one is Cosmos sulphureus Polidor.  I haven't seen an orange cosmos before, but I like it!  I need to get these into larger pots.

Finally, I saw this amazing dragonfly in the garden.  These are not usual visitors and luckily, this one posed for me beautifully while I rushed to get my camera. Isn't it wonderful?

A Walk round the City (part two)

Continuing my walk around the city to find interesting patterns and architecture, I was up by the Cathedral, where there are lots of patterns in the stonework.

Leaves made some lovely shadow patterns on the paving.

More granite setts caught my eye.

As did the brickwork and the grill on this window.

A stone archway with its crenellations.

Looking down some steps through another arch.  I do like an arch!

Lots of lovely patterns of more arches, windows, panes of glass, brickwork, and mouldings.

This dome is on a very run-down, but architecturally interesting building.

This pattern of fallen plaster against the brick caught my eye too.

As did this Art Deco inspired decoration.

These small mosaic tiles were in a very unprepossessing doorway.

I liked the rounded bay windows and the griffin/gryphon decoration on this building.  The more I looked at this one, the more I noticed, like the little stone canopy under the round window.  

This fabulous stone work was above a bank doorway.

Even the railway lines have some interesting curved and straight lines and patterns.  I was quite surprised by how many things caught my eye and these two posts are just a fraction of the photos I took.  I really enjoyed seeing bits of the city in a new way! 

A walk round the City (part one)

 I was watching an art journal workshop the other day and the teacher said that they made their own collage papers from photographs they took in their home town of things like wires, architecture etc.  This prompted me to take a walk around the city and look for interesting patterns, architecture or anything which caught my eye.  I thought I would share some of the photos I took.

This is just outside in the street. I like all the lines. 

Here it is in black and white. I can also crop the images further if I want just a small part of the image.

The decorated arch from a medieval building on the High Street.

Lovely statues on an arch in the High Street.

I think they represent the Annunciation.

Looking up is important and I noticed the columns on the window surround.

Another doorway on an ancient building.

Looking down resulted in some interesting patterns too.

I like the different patterns made by the different materials.

A very beautiful timber framed building.

The Cathedral to finish this part.  The front has been cleaned over the last few years and it does look very beautiful in the honey-coloured stone. There are patterns galore here! 

The rest of the walk to follow in the next post.

Jacques, Mary, Geoff, Constance, William and Gertrude...

( I created these collage grids using BeFunky )

I love roses. When I was little, I remember there was a lovely 'Albertine' rose in the garden.  That love has stayed with me and over the years, I have amassed a collection in my small back garden.  Some have come and gone, but others have stayed. Some are in the border, but most are in large pots.  With the uncharacteristically hot May weather we have been having in the UK over the last week, they have rushed to bloom. (While they may enjoy the sun and heat, I am struggling!)

Above, top line, left to right: Jacques Cartier; Mary Rose; Eyes for You.

Middle line, left to right: Cottage Rose; Olivia Rose Austin; Dannahue.

Bottom line, left to right: Geoff Hamilton; For Your Eye Only; Constance Spry.

Above, top left, going clockwise: William Shakespeare 2000; Gertrude Jekyll; Roald Dahl; Susan Williams-Ellis (the white one, bottom left corner) and Desdemona (my newest purchase, earlier this year.)

They are doing well and I am enjoying their perfumes.  This isn't the whole collection, as there are a few more yet to flower (Bring Me Sunshine; Ferdinand Pichard; Emily Bronte; Blush Noisette and New Dawn), so hopefully there will be more for us to enjoy. 

Chelsea Week 2026

 I have enjoyed the TV coverage of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year.  I have never been in person, nor am I likely to go either (too expensive, travelling to London, tickets sell out very fast and too many people!).  I do like to see what can be done in these relatively small spaces.  All the photos are from the RHS Chelsea website here and they are the gardens/features/planting which caught my eye.

This massive wooden sculpture of Gaia, or Mother Nature, is the feature in the Campaign to Protect Rural England Garden: 'On the Edge' designed by Sarah Eberle, which won a gold medal and the best show garden.  

It will be relocated to a regeneration project in Sheffield.

I liked the use of the different materials.

The planting was cool and calm.

This was the Woodland trust: Forgotten Forests garden designed by Ashleigh Aylitt.  The garden will be going to a primary school in Newcastle upon Tyne.  Trees are so vital for our wildlife and our wellbeing.

The Parkinson's UK Garden: A garden for every Parkinson's Journey, was designed by Arit Anderson, whose sister lives with Parkinson's Disease. There was a snaking handrail which contained a rill, so would give some support as well as the cooling water.  This garden is going to the John Radcliffe Centre for Parkinson's Disease in Oxford.

I liked the cooler planting at the back of the garden. The front had a riot of colour.

The Cleary Gottlieb:Time for Creativity garden designed by Christina Cobb, encouraged people to put down their phones and do something creative. (It is preaching to the converted for me - I believe that doing something creative is vital for all of us.) 

It had a lovely carved bowl water feature.

The planting was beautiful too.  The relocation hasn't yet been decided.

I liked the rill in the Tate Britain garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith.  This included a sculpture by Barbara Hepworth and will be relocated to outside Tate Britain.

The Whittard of Chelsea garden designed by Ollie Pike looked very inviting and shows what can be done with containers.

I liked the blue/green patina on the water features.  It will be donated to a community centre.

Back to my own garden now!