What's looking good in June 2015

[grouie]

This banana bunch - have already plucked a few bananas from there - has appeared in our garden after a long long time. We used to have several varieties before.

 

[zigs]

Love a banana

 

[grouie]

Foggy June 19.

View attachment 7375

Love a banana

Sorry Zigs. They all got ripe together. I therefore made 'halwa' out of them.

 

[Bootsy]

All beautiful Bootsy. Could you tell me the name of the pretty blue one first in your display, please? It's just lovely

Sorry about the delay in replying but I've been away.

It's Nigella (Love in a Mist). It's very easy to grow from seed, as an annual. Each seed pod produces thousands of seeds and flowers, here, from May throughout the summer if you grow them in succession. Just left to drop seed (or be distributed by wind or wildlife) they tend to flower from May until mid to late July.

Ours self-seed all around the garden and we're happy for them to do their own thing. If any are in the way or we need the ground we just pull them up. They are also good for using as cut flowers in vases and when the seed pods form they go well in dried flower arrangements.

The most common colour is light blue but they come in various shades of blue as well as white and pink. You should be able to buy a packet of mixed colour seeds.

A darker blue

and a white

 

[Bootsy]

Some of our baskets and pots.

These are hanging baskets that have been placed into the top of pots

And a corner where we have some small pots

 

[grouie]

Everything fades into insignificance when Bootsy walks in!

I do cut flower arrangements but this is - now what shall I say!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[grouie]

This is not the Amazon Rain Forest but that is how our garden - systematic wilderness - looks in June with heavy rain. (lol)

 

[Bootsy]

@grouie Thanks for the very nice compliment.

Your garden is looking very lush and tropical. Actually, it looks quite Amazonian

It's not too difficult to get things to grow here. As the climate is very conducive to the well being of a lot of plants (except tropical) it's just a matter of deciding what to grow and then looking after them.

The hanging baskets have just had a variety of plants put into them and they're nurtured through their early stages and then just watered and fed regularly.

We've been away on holiday but have some very good friends who are happy to come in and water the plants that are in pots, baskets and the greenhouse every day. It takes about an hour a day to water them with a hose.

The rest of the garden has to manage without help.

As we haven't had much rain for the last few weeks the plants are suffering so, now we're back, I've been using the sprinkler on the garden and moving it around every couple of hours. They've forecast some rain for today so I'll leave the garden to enjoy it.

When I have the sprinkler going the birds love it and run in and out of the spray

A selection of plants:-

This Cistus drops its petals every day and new flowers open each day

This is a variegated elderberry. A very nice cordial can be made from the flowers and wine can be made from the seed heads

This is Euphorbia Mellifera. It grows quite tall (over 6ft at the moment) and the flowers smell of honey

Some clematis

Double Philadelphus - highly scented

Can't remember the name of this plant but it's 8ft high and 5ft diameter - and the bees love it

This Freemontedendron starts off as a shrub but, if left to its on devices (as we have), grows into a tree. It flowers profusely from the end of May until mid-July and then steadily through to the frosts - about the end of October.

The Stachys lananta is only just starting to flower but the bees are already all over it

Cytisus Battandieri (Pineapple Broom plant) is 8ft high and now producing plenty of flowers

Oops! I realise I hadn't expended this next photo>

It's the first flowering lily of a plant that has dozens of them coming along

 

[grouie]

@grouie Thanks for the very nice compliment.

Your garden is looking very lush and tropical. Actually, it looks quite Amazonian

It's not too difficult to get things to grow here. As the climate is very conducive to the well being of a lot of plants (except tropical) it's just a matter of deciding what to grow and then looking after them.

The hanging baskets have just had a variety of plants put into them and they're nurtured through their early stages and then just watered and fed regularly.

We've been away on holiday but have some very good friends who are happy to come in and water the plants that are in pots, baskets and the greenhouse every day. It takes about an hour a day to water them with a hose.

The rest of the garden has to manage without help.

As we haven't had much rain for the last few weeks the plants are suffering so, now we're back, I've been using the sprinkler on the garden and moving it around every couple of hours. They've forecast some rain for today so I'll leave the garden to enjoy it.

When I have the sprinkler going the birds love it and run in and out of the spray

A selection of plants:-

This Cistus drops its petals every day and new flowers open each day
View attachment 7413

This is a variegated elderberry. A very nice cordial can be made from the flowers and wine can be made from the seed heads
View attachment 7414

This is Euphorbia Mellifera. It grows quite tall (over 6ft at the moment) and the flowers smell of honey
View attachment 7415

Some clematis
View attachment 7416

View attachment 7417

View attachment 7418


Double Philadelphus - highly scented
View attachment 7420

Can't remember the name of this plant but it's 8ft high and 5ft diameter - and the bees love it
View attachment 7419

This Freemontedendron starts off as a shrub but, if left to its on devices (as we have), grows into a tree. It flowers profusely from the end of May until mid-July and then steadily through to the frosts - about the end of October.
View attachment 7421

The Stachys lananta is only just starting to flower but the bees are already all over it
View attachment 7422

Cytisus Battandieri (Pineapple Broom plant) is 8ft high and now producing plenty of flowers
View attachment 7423

May your tribe increase thought it will be difficult

 

[Bootsy]

May your tribe increase thought it will be difficult

Are you talking about my old pal Abou Ben Adhem?

 

[grouie]

Are you talking about my old pal Abou Ben Adhem?

I never knew the existence of Abou Ben Adhem till now. You deserve this llink

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173698

 

[Bootsy]

It was one of my favourite poems as a young child.

Do you think we may be in danger of starting a mutual admiration society?

 

[grouie]

It was one of my favourite poems as a young child.

Do you think we may be in danger of starting a mutual admiration society?

No problem. Let others join in too!!!

 

[Sheal]

Your baskets are absolutely stunning Bootsy, I'm extremely jealous!

 

[Bootsy]

Thanks, Sheal.

The hanging baskets just have every flowering plant available just jammed into them. There's no organisation of colour or even plants that like dry or wet conditions. They just have to survive together.

The two baskets in pots that have the pansies are our winter pansy baskets with, also, just some other plants that were available being shoved in there. The pansies have been unbelievably well behave this year and we expected to return to all of the petals to have died during the week we were in the Lakes. I took these photos without even having to deadhead them!