Flowers in my garden

July 25, 2014 by Elaine 2 Comments

It goes without saying that growing vegetables is a bit of a hobby of mine but I do also like to see flowers around the garden, not only for their pollinator attraction qualities but simply because I love flowers. This year for some reason my butterfly mix hasn’t taken but there are still some flowers putting in an appearance and so this post is especially for them. I will state at this point that I don’t know a whole lot about flowers, I tend to plant/sow what I like or what appeals to me and so if I make any errors then please do feel free to correct me and so without further ado, here are some of the flowers currently brightening up the garden:

Geranium

This plant was given to me by a friend just a few weeks ago and has spread out to cover the pot that it is in. The white looks quite striking against the blue of the pot. My friend came across this particular specimen in the ‘Plant Sale’ section of our local garden centre, which is an area where the dead or dying plants are sent to see out their last few days.  She selected a few plants from the sale area and took them to the cashier but this one was looking so bad that the cashier actually gave it to her free of charge! Fresh compost, a drop of water and ALL the plants she bought (priced for just a few pence each) that day have recovered and are doing well.

Lobelia ‘Crystal Palace’

I grew these from seed about three years ago to put into hanging baskets but they were so painfully slow to grow and then flower, that I decided not to try them again which was a shame because they look so beautiful and I particularly love this colour blue. Then to my surprise a few weeks ago, I noticed dozens of little Lobelia shoots in one of my hanging baskets – they had obviously self seeded and were doing brilliantly well. I dug a few of the shoots out and popped them into another of my blue pots and left them to it. I now have a beautiful cascade of dark blue along one side of the pot, as well as in the hanging basket from which I removed them.

Unknown pink spray

I have absolutely no clue what this is or where it has come from but it sure looks pretty against the greens in my flower bed. If you recognise it then please tell me what it is and you may also solve the question as to whether or not I planted it or have the birds brought it in.

Fuschia

 I got this from a local plant sale about 4 years ago now but it had no label and so all I knew about it then (and now) was that it was a Fuschia. I popped it into the garden and it did absolutely nothing, died back and didn’t come back the next year. So I forgot about it until two years ago when it suddenly decided to put in a reappearance. It has come back each year since and this year is earlier than normal but then I didn’t get around to pruning it, so it didn’t have as much growing to do. I will prune it back this year but in the mean time we’re enjoying its’ lovely pink and purple blooms.

 Hosta

This is probably Muds’ favourite plant in the flower beds and for a few years he’s been disappointed because the slugs have destroyed it before the flower spikes have emerged. This year however, it grew back stronger than ever, although you can see that the slugs have had a good go at it, and we were able to enjoy the spectacle of 6 flower spikes.

Jasmine

This was the plant I bought for not very much money a few months ago, when it was covered in buds which soon opened and filled the house with the heady sent of Jasmine. Eventually it went out into the greenhouse to begin climatisation for life out doors and was then planted into the old car wheel that has been used as a planter for several years now. I thought I’d lost it at one point because it was looking pretty poorly in its’ new home but the warm weather and sunshine has really turned it around and now it is starting to twist and turn its’ way up the old engine hoist.

Wildlife pond

In one corner of the garden is ‘The Pond’ or what Eldest Mudlet refers to as ‘The Puddle’. It isn’t very big and in recent days has been a bit dry but it has a healthy selection of plants, adding a wild and unkempt feel to that part of the garden. We have toads, frogs and newts in our pond and, judging by the numbers we see, it is a successful breeding ground for Damselflies and Dragonflies. It also provides a safe and accessible place for the hedgehogs to drink and the blackbirds to bathe in.

…… and finally

There are also flower seedlings in the greenhouse! Yep, we have dozens of Giant Pansies, Evening Primroses, Dianthus, Amaranthus ‘Josephs Coat’, Candytuft and even a Buddleia seedling, all waiting to be potted on which is my job for later today……. after which I will no doubt feel the need to sow some more vegetable seeds.