...and flowers inside

I was in town last Saturday and there was a market in the square.  I noticed a nice plant and flower stall and treated myself to some pink chrysanthemums (to me, chrysanthemums always have such an 'autumn' scent) and a little fern.  I popped the chrysanthemums in a vase once I got home and then Chris came back from the allotments with some beautiful jewel-toned dahlias from a fellow allotmenteer (thank you so much).  I ended up with a lovely display of autumn flowers.

Here are my pretty pink chrysanthemums...

...and here are the beautiful dahlias.

The colours are so sumptuous, aren't they? Pinks, apricots, oranges and deep reds.  I keep thinking that I should perhaps grow some dahlias next year, maybe...

In the Pink

I have been growing cosmos for a few years now and for the last couple of years, I haven't had much success. However, this year, I bought a cosmos 'kit' comprising a tiny seed tray and lid, compost and about eight seeds.  I duly planted them, not expecting much but they are doing me proud. These are Candy Stripe and I love the different combinations of colours on the flowers.  

These are in pots at the front of the house and greet us with a lovely splash of colour.

I think this may also be Candy Stripe, but very different.

This is not Candy Stripe, but one of the Sonata mix, I think.  It has a much richer colour than the photo suggests, and is in a pot in the back garden.  The flowers are good for pollinators too and if I keep deadheading and watering, they should go on into October/November (depending on the weather, of course).

What a lovely surprise!

The other day Chris arrived back from shopping with a large bunch of flowers for me 'just because'.  He doesn't tend to do that very often because he knows that really I prefer flowers from the garden but it was a thoughtful thing to do.  He said he wanted me to know how much I was appreciated by him. They had very suitably autumnal colours. 

This is what the lilies look like now they are opening. They have a strange scent - the top note is a typical lily scent, but underneath is a more musky fragrance which is a little odd.  I have been really enjoying seeing the splash of colour they are providing.  He also brought us come chocolate eclairs to enjoy, which we did. Thank you to Chris - what a lovely surprise!

Artist's Trading Card (ATC) - July

 I decided that for this card, I really wanted to create something simple.  A lot of the other cards have been much more complex and while I have enjoyed that, this month I needed a change.  The background is acrylic paint and the butterfly and flower have been stamped in black and embossed  and then painted with gouache.  The flower centre has a bit of added glitter.

I had to check what 'gillyflowers' were as the rhyme mentions them and found they are members of the dianthus family.  While it is probably stocks that the author was thinking of, my dianthus in  the garden will do just as well, so I took some photos, cut them out and glued them on.
The gemstones are aquamarine, sky blue apatite, neon blue apatite, kyanite, tanzanite, sodalite and lapis lazuli.  The gemstone charm is ruby, as it is the birthstone for July.  Simple but pretty, I think.

Chelsea week 2018 (a biased view of my favourite things based on the TV coverage)

 One year, I would like to visit Chelsea Flower Show in person, just to say I have been.  However, I do watch all the TV coverage that I can and in fact, I probably see more through the coverage than I would if I actually went.
I can't take any credit for the photos as I have found them courtesy of the RHS Chelsea website and I have chosen the ones of the gardens or planting or features that I really like.  It is a totally biased view!
The first is The Claims Guys 'A Very British Garden' designed by Janine Crimmins.  It is indeed what a formal British garden conjures up - dry stone walls, roses, box bushes.

This would have made a beautiful fountain.

I also like the cool greens of this garden, The Warner Edwards Garden by Kate Savill and Tamara Bridge. More lovely dry stone walls here too.

I liked the pietra dura mosaic of the British Council Garden, India: a billion dreams by Sarah Eberle and thought the embroidery on the cushion echoing the beautiful stone work was really clever.

 This is such beautiful workmanship.

 The David Harber and Savills garden by Nic Howard featured some dramatic sculpture and striking colours.

 This view of the same garden shows a more gentle side.

 The 'Welcome to Yorkshire' garden by Mark Gregory again showcases beautiful dry stone walls and a great attention to detail, with wool stuck on the fences and a cow pat in the field.

 It has a vegetable plot and I like the water feature.

 I think this is my favourite garden.  I would love to sit by the wisteria and enjoy a cup of tea and piece of cake.  Edited to add: this garden won The People's Choice award this year, voted by viewers and visitors.  It seems we all appreciated the atmosphere of this garden.

 The Wedgewood tea garden by Jo Thompson showcases purple and orange planting with a dramatic sculpture.

You couldn't fail to notice the bright colours in the Supershoes Laced with Hope garden by Laura Anstiss.  It shows the progression for a child diagnosed with cancer, going through the treatment with hope and coming through.

 I do like the sculptures in this garden.

 The planting in the Viking Cruises Wellness Garden by Paul Hervey Brookes looks  really inviting.

 The Silent Pool Gin garden also appealed to me (probably to do with the word 'gin' in the title!) but also a quiet, enclosed place with more stone walls.

So, there are my favourites from the TV coverage I have seen.  I wonder if I will ever visit in person?  Seeing all the hoards of people on the TV coverage does put me off a bit as I think it would be a bit claustrophobic.  However, I am going to RHS Chatsworth in a couple of weeks time, so will let you know how I get on there.

My favourite Chelsea Gardens 2017

I always watch the BBC coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show, but have never actually visited the show.  I think that when I see the crowds, it does put me off.  The TV coverage always gives a much more detailed view of the gardens too, although it doesn't give the whole atmosphere that being there would.  The RHS Chelsea Flower Show website is a great resource and  that is where all these photos have come from.  Thank you to them!
So, onward to a round up of my favourite gardens - a completely biased view, naturally. Above is the 500 years of Covent Garden by Lee Bestall, which got a silver medal.  I like the planting and the zingy blue/green of the metalwork reproduced in the planters.

 The Morgan Stanley Garden by Chris Beardshaw was given a silver gilt medal (I think it should have been a gold).  Again the planting is beautiful and the exuberance represents Mozart's music, whereas the shady area in the right of the picture represents Bach (I think).

 The Linklaters Garden for Maggies by Darren Hawkes also has some lovely vibrant planting (there is a theme here...) and won a gold.

 The Zoe Ball Listening Garden by James Alexander Sinclair offers a contrast to all the vibrant colours, with peace and shade.  The three water features all have different ripple patterns which give different sounds and apparently, if you put your foot on the gravel at the front of the garden, you can feel vibrations.

My favourite garden is the Anneka Rice Colour Cutting Garden by Sarah Raven.  Just look at those colours!  

 I would love to have a garden like this myself.

 It is filled with annuals and I particularly like the formal paths with the floofy (my word for exuberant and effervescent) planting.

More stunning planting with cooler colours in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Centenary Garden by David Domoney which got a silver medal.  I really like the railings, made to represent the 154 countries in which the War Graves Commission operate.  If you have ever visited one of their cemeteries, you'll know how beautifully they are arranged, planted and cared for.

 The Poetry Lovers' Garden was given a silver medal and was designed by Fiona Cadwallader.  Lovely dry stone walls encase the garden, with a shady seating area and rippling water feature - just the place to sit and read.

Finally, I had to include the World Horse Welfare Garden by Adam Woolcott and Jonathan Smith . The horse sculpture made from donated horseshoes, including one from one of the Queen's horses, is amazing.  The left side of the garden shows an uninviting area for horses, with a falling apart stable and some poisonous to horses plants, such as ragwort and on the right, the horse is free, in a field. 

From my choices, I think I am a romantic gardener, in the cottage garden style and that is the way I garden at home.  Hard edges, angles and minimalist planting is just not appealing to me.  

The gardens at Chelsea always show a great attention to detail and demonstrate a  wonderful celebration of gardening.

Plant of the week - Rhododendron 'Tinkerbird'

You may remember, back in January, I said that I had bought a new compact variety of rhododendron.  Here's what I said about it then:
"I have also just bought a rhododendron 'Tinkerbird' which is meant to be happy in a pot as it is a dwarf variety.  It is supposed to be very hardy, having been bred in Scotland and is also said to have a jasmine scent in May.  My plant is looking healthy and has lots of buds.  I will let you know how I get on with it."

As you can see from the photos, the buds have been opening into lovely white flowers with a touch of blush pink. They are very pretty and very photogenic. 

However, what you can't tell from a photo is that they are scented, particularly strongly when the sun is shining on the flowers and the perfume does smell like jasmine, as was promised.  So far, I have found it to be a lovely plant and I am hopeful it will come through next winter unscathed, being bred in Scotland, but I will let you know.

Polymer clay flowers and knitting

I have been trying out some new flower moulds I recently treated myself to - they were originally designed for sugar paste but work beautifully with polymer (although you would need two sets if you wanted to use them with both).  They gave some lovely results and I produced lots of flowers in a short space of time. I used translucent clay with colours added, blue translucent and pearl.  They were all highlighted using mica powder, to add a bit of shine.

 The moulds I used were double sided and there is also a cutter to cut the flower shape first, then place it in the mould, add a small ball of contrasting colour for the centre, press the two sides together and voila!  A flower! They are versatile as the sizes of the flowers can be varied. I need to work on the colours a bit more but I can see a Spring flower necklace taking shape in the not-too-distant future perhaps.

The other thing I tried was pretend knitting in two different ways, both using the extruder tool.  One involved twisting two strands together, then another two in the opposite direction and then placing them side by side to create the pattern.
The other technique was more complicated and involved small loops of clay overlaid with a line which was indented between the loops with a cocktail stick.  I'd like to try these again to look like variegated wool, but I really enjoyed making them.

Colour in the garden

To help to forget about the rather unseasonably cold weather, here are a few photos of plants flowering happily outside.  This bright orange (I'm gradually starting to think orange might be a good thing in the garden) flower is Tithonia Torch which I grew from seed this year and which has finally started to bloom.

It is a very cheerful thing. 

 Here's another success from my seed sowing.  This is Malope Triffida Vulcan (a relative of the mallow).  This particular specimen is rather spindly and leggy because I left it too long before planting it out, but the flowers are fabulous.

 The colour is so bright.

 Even the buds are rather lovely. However, this plant is a magnet for slugs and snails and I only have a couple of these plants left, but I am really enjoying them.

 Hibiscus Syriacus Red Heart is flowering well too.

 I like the swirling pattern the unfurling petals make.

 Anemone Bressingham Glow is flowering really well this year with very tall stems.

My latest clematis (Clematis Heracleifolia Wyevale) is one which I absolutely love.  It is a herbaceous variety with tall strong stems and lovely bluebell-like flowers, which have a beautiful scent.

 Such pretty blue flowers.

 Finally, Crocosmia Princess for another burst of fiery colour.  I bought this at Newby Hall and it is a smaller variety but still packs a colour punch.  Yes, I am definitely coming round to the idea of orange...