Clematis (and a penstemon)

This year, the clematis are looking wonderful.  I have some in the borders and some in pots, but the majority of them have been flowering so well.  They are looking a bit more battered as we have had several rainy days in a row this week. Above is Clematis Venosa Violacea, growing through Rosa Ferdinand Pichard.

Here it is again.

This is Clematis Perle D'Azur growing with Rose New Dawn.  The clematis has grown a lot since I took this photo.

Clematis Prince Charles, growing in a large tub.

Clematis Princess Kate also growing in a tub, but which needs to be potted on into a larger one - next Spring perhaps.  I had planned to do it this year, but lockdown and a lack of compost postponed this,

Clematis Arabella in the border.

Perle D'Azur and Rose New Dawn on the metal arch.

Penstemon Garnet was looking rather lovely too, so here it is.

Hydrangeas, Hibiscus, Clematis and a Raspberry

(photo collage created using picmonkey)

It's that time when the garden just pauses before launching into the late summer and autumn plants. Stalwarts of the garden at this time are Hydrangeas and Hibiscus.  I have had a bit of a love/hate relationship with hydrangeas in the past, but am loving them again, possibly as there are some really interesting varieties now.  Above is a selection from my garden, all in pots with the exception of the middle picture on the bottom row, which is lucky enough to be in the border.
From top left, top row: Hydrangea Coco (I think, or it could be Fireworks); Hydrangea Sundae Fraise (which is starting to turn pink now, but began this lime green/white); and an unnamed Hydrangea
Middle row from left: Hydrangea Merveille Sanguine (which is really beautiful); Hydrangea Everlasting Summer Pink; Hydrangea Everlasting Summer The Bride
Bottom row from left: Hydrangea Dark Angel; Hydrangea Arborescens Annabelle; Hydrangea Dark Angel again. As you can tell, Dark Angel is my current favourite, closely followed by Merveille Sanguine, then Annabelle.

 I always feature the Hibiscus - Oiseau Bleu above and Woodbridge below.  They look so exotic but I have found them to be trouble free and reliable and when in full flower, they make quite a statement.

I couldn't resist another look at Hydrangea Dark Angel as I am fascinated by the creamy flowers/bracts which turn pink, then purple, surrounding bright blue flowers in the centre.  

Some of the clematis are still flowering such as Clematis viticella Purpurea Plena Elegans, which is in a pot but which I do need to pot on. However, despite this, it is reliable and just stunning, with the velvety purple petals like pompoms.

Clematis Princess Kate has done really well for me as I only bought it this year.  Maroon stripes along white petals on an elegant flower.

 Good old Clematis Piilu - it has finished flowering for this year but flowered well.  There are other plants gearing up to flower, such as crocosmias and asters, as well as Helianthus Lemon Queen, so the show will go on.

I picked (and ate) my first raspberry this year and delicious it was too.  I have two Joan J canes in a large tub and they seem to be very reliable autumn fruiting plants.  If I had more space, I would definitely grow more of these.

More Open Gardens 2015

It was Open Gardens at my mum's village last Sunday, so we went along to support them.  We had lovely sunny weather in which to enjoy walking round the village.  These first three photos show the amazing clematis at one of the gardens (it was my favourite, partly because it was very romantic and exuberant, with lots of roses and clematis).  

 The clematis plants were so healthy and full of flowers.  The owner said that she didn't feed them and hadn't done anything to them except prune annually.

 They must be exceptionally happy in her garden.

 Another garden had a border full of delphiniums,  I always admire these plants, but can't grow them in my garden, due to the slug and snail population.

 This was the verge opposite one of the houses, full of wildflowers.

Chris and I both enjoyed the wooded area in this garden.  It was a rented house and the current occupier told us he would love to buy it.  The main part of the garden led out onto a meadow and then to this wooded area, with wild roses dotted amongst the trees.

 It was a magical place.  I loved the way the shadows were cast by the trees in these photographs.

As a contrast to the informality, this garden displayed the owner's care, attention, hard work and love of formality with an impressive vegetable plot.  He was growing an enormous number of peas - obviously his family really enjoy them!  On the other side of the garden, to the right of the photograph, there was a flower garden too, which again was extremely well tended and cared for.
It really struck me how much the gardens reflected their owners - I wonder what my garden says about me?!

More Open Gardens (part 2)

 This was my favourite garden.  It was romantic, full of plants with an abundance of roses and clematis and was beautifully planted.  Everywhere I looked there was another stunning view.

 I could imagine myself sitting in here with a book...

 The rose covered pergola acted as a divider in the garden.

I really liked the mix of topiary, shrubs and herbaceous plants in the border planting.

 Another lovely view through into the garden.

 Looking down the rose covered pergola...so pretty.
There was just one negative to the garden and one which wasn't obvious when you were actually in it.  When I was choosing my photos ready to crop them down a little, I noticed that in most of them, there were other houses in the background.  Although these were hidden, they were there all the same.  Even the most perfect garden has some problems (which makes me feel much better about my own untidy plot!)

Moving on to the penultimate garden on the walk, which also had some lovely planting with a wild flower feel to it.

 On the way back to the village hall, we both smiled to see the 'Open Garden' on this building site.  Someone with a sense of humour either works on the site or owns the site (there was a house being built).

It just shows you can have a garden (albeit a tiny one) anywhere!

More Open Gardens (part 1)

 It was a glorious Sunday, so we set off again to a village not far away from where we live where there were more Open Gardens.  Chris is very long suffering with my garden visit wishes but he said he'd really enjoyed it, so that was good. As always, there were lots of different sizes and style of gardens to see. The vegetable plot in the photo above was beautifully tended and the summer house looked very comfortable - perfect for a G & T, I thought!

 The next garden had the most beautiful clematis over the gate...

 ...and some beautiful delphiniums jostling with the other plants in this tightly packed space.

 This small garden could only be glimpsed through the window in the shrub - it was one of five gardens opened in a row of terrace houses.  The owner of one of these gardens was so welcoming and her garden was full of souvenirs, seating areas and masses of plants in containers and in the borders.

 I liked this colour combination in one of the little gardens - reds and pinks - very vibrant.

 The forge in the village is owned by the Council and is run by volunteers.  They were just firing up the furnace and showing how to make a horseshoe when we arrived.

 One of the gardens had a formal garden in front of the house with pebble swirl mosaics which Chris really liked.

 I liked the look of this seating area with pink and white roses and pink and white pelargoniums.

The same garden also had a wonderful display of hydrangeas at the entrance.  My favourite garden will feature in part two...

A Floriferous post

 Here are a few of the current stars in the garden.  Above is anemone multifida rubra which I bought from a market stall last year. It just had seed heads on it so I was curious to see what the flowers would look like.  It has lovely ferny foliage with tall stems, topped by these small but beautifully formed, brilliant cerise flowers.

 This was sold as gladiolus byzantinus, but I am not sure it is.  It is a graceful plant and I put a few of these in last autumn so am pleased to see them flowering now.

 A crumpled cistus flower.

 Two clematis flowers (I can't remember which variety this is, but I do know it is a patio type).  I really need to pot it on a bit!

 Allium Oreophilum, which was included in a bulb pack and which I really like.  It isn't very tall and was unceremoniously planted in a pot last autumn with grape hyacinths and crocuses.

 My first Gertrude Jekyll rose of this year.  It smells wonderful!

 The astrantias have done really well, despite such a cold spring and being planted in a dry spot.

 Allium Christophii, just starting to flower.

 Allium Gladiator.

A self seeded love in a mist.

Clematis Ice Blue.

Oriental Poppy Checkers, which is tantalisingly close to flowering, but just needs a bit more sun (but then, don't we all?) 
I do enjoy watching and recording the constant ebb and flow of the plants.

Just a little addition (17th June 2013):
As I don't know what will happen with the list of blogs I follow in July when Google is going to retire something or other, which may or may not cause problems for us bloggers - you may be able to tell that I'm not really technology minded(!) and I really don't know what effect, if any, it may have - I have finally decided to join Bloglovin'.  Several bloggers I follow have done that too and said it was easy and was a kind of insurance policy against Google's changes.
I had some techno-phobe challenges to be overcome on the way, but I think I have done it. The link is here, if you would like to follow feltabulous with Bloglovin'. I think I have also managed to add a follow button down to the left under the housework image. Hope it works! I am not on facebook, so if something pops up about joining when you go to the Bloglovin' site, please don't feel you have to sign up.
(This slight worry about blog lists may, of course, turn out to be totally unnecessary, but I won't know until after 1st July.  Google really haven't made it clear what the effects will be.)