Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum

General Subjects => Blogs and Diaries => Topic started by: WSGR on April 26, 2020, 09:18:54 AM

Title: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on April 26, 2020, 09:18:54 AM
I hope this new thread will be a bit more inclusive ..

What you see is not what you get! I thought this plant was called Salvia Madelaine and paid about £4 for it. Look how small the floret is! ??? ::)

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To fathom the scale, use the aphids please! LOL!

Cirsium Trevor's Blue Wonder! First flower this year. No idea why it's called Blue Wonder!
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Clematis Gillian Blades

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Clematis Josephine! Isn't she bold and beautiful!

Cornus Kousa Rubra - such joy to see the flowers first time. Bliss!
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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on April 28, 2020, 05:53:11 AM
I removed the dead bits of my Cistus and planted out dahlias, penstemon, Stipa giganteas and .. Thank heavens that they have opened and we have now proper rain.

Of all the alliums, I like Purple Sensation most. The colour is just vibrant, different and striking!
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Lovely blue bearded iris
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T Grandiflorum
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Cornus Kousa Wolfe Eye

Shiro Kapitain Silky Wisteria First time flowering in my garden.

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on April 30, 2020, 06:57:56 AM
Just a few choice repeats

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Euphoria Martinia - very cute!

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Trillium Grandiflorum - seems to be such an anti-climax!

Honeybell

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Icecream tulip
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Clematis Josephine!
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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: Maggi Young on April 30, 2020, 02:44:45 PM
Trillium Grandiflorum - seems to be such an anti-climax!

We  don't  think that .....

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 some  of  ours  are   just   MEGA-grandifloras!
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on April 30, 2020, 03:42:14 PM
Whoa! That's GRAND! And your photo actually shows off the markings on the petals. Now you're really showing off! ;D I am really showing my age here. Need a conversion to inches to appreciate how GRAND that is!

Amazing!
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on April 30, 2020, 03:45:29 PM
6 inches plus! I hope it lives to that size! What is the big one big the man in Beechgrove Garden talked about. He kept saying that flower was supposed to be Trillium Chloropetalum. Anyone has a picture to brag about! I an totally new to this Trillium business!
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: Maggi Young on April 30, 2020, 04:08:09 PM
Ywo ends  of  the  size  spectrum here - this  little  clump of  Trillium rivale  ( should  be  called  Pseudotrillium rivale, but  I dunno, or  care, why!)is about  7 or  eight inches ( around  20cms )  across, while  the  front  plant  of  this  T. kurabayashii  ( maybe  a  hybrid) had  leaves  over  12 inches across (32cms) , the  flower  parts, if flattened out would  be  about  four  or  five  inches ( 12cms) across!

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 01, 2020, 05:25:12 AM
I think mine is a small one. Nice to know and what to look out for. Thank you.
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 01, 2020, 06:28:21 AM
Some of irises which flowered last year!
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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 02, 2020, 09:00:26 AM
Good morning and my garden has had a good soak! Just so relieved.

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Very phallic! Bit rude! LOL!

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This is like a cancerous lump - some muscari! Anybody knows the name?

Camassia
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Amazing number of flowers in a tiny pot. High time I fed Josephine. Thank you for the good show!

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Cornus Kousa Rubra - little arbor! So quaint and unique!
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 03, 2020, 07:44:00 AM
Yesterday, we slaved in the allotment. I removed a fig tree which never had yielded any fruit for constumption. It was a lot heaving and finally with the help of secateurs and fork plunging in all directions, we finally said goodbye to this clump which took up a lot of our precious space.

All allotment should have an etiquette of no chives growing. We have had chives up to our eyeballs. Here are some SUPERSPREADERS!

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How could I effect a LOCKDOWN against this quiet brute!? They seeded themselves in amongst all my irises and hellebores!

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Finally, my first peonies!

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Had to hack back cerinthes and alstroemerias to save this osteospermum

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Never seen such a big red hot poker! Neighbour's!

My sweetest surprise - Clematis Majorie!

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 05, 2020, 07:25:06 AM
Honeybells are now all scattered everywhere in my garden. Strangely, they are very happy in their new homes

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A woman told me that she wanted to paint iris. I shrugged and couldn't afford much enthusiasm. Just how can you capture the silica / glass illusive sparkles in their petals?

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And the translucency?

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: hamparstum on May 05, 2020, 12:12:59 PM
It can be done. My late wife did paint irises as part of her studies of a major work. She was a professional painter. My point however is  how to capture the spirit of the plant or bloom. I greatly admired her for that professional skill and wisdom. It has very little relationship with a photographic ability. A good painting is a depiction that passes through the eye of the beholder and achieves new dimensions... Those rarely seen by the passer by. Even good photography if understood as an art can achieve this. It highlights something hidden.
Just trying to connect with other sides of painting specially if enthusiasm is elusive.
Arturo

PS:I'm delighted with your vignettes!
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 05, 2020, 02:36:03 PM
Do you mind uploading your wife's works on my thread please? Don't keep all the pleasure to yourself please! In this morose time, we all would like a bit of "intrinsic" pleasure!
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: hamparstum on May 05, 2020, 02:56:22 PM
certainly
the first is a watercolour study of Irises,

The second is the main work( oil on canvas) 'The Virgin Mary ,queen of Flowers'


My wife' name was Mane Sarafian. Towards the latter part of her life she concentrated in reviving the Armenian medieval religious manuscript art that adorned mainly the Holy Scriptures. We both are members of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the first organized christian church in the world ( 301 AD)100 years prior to Emperor Constatin's edict. Flowers are very important in religious depictions. Iris represent harmony...
Arturo
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 05, 2020, 02:59:45 PM
Ah, great! She did capture the translucency. Amazing. Her painting was so Spanish .. And I can see the passion embedded in her paintings. Thank you for sharing.
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: hamparstum on May 05, 2020, 03:04:18 PM
I guess that you referred to "spanish" because of her colourful painting . Actually that level of colour was already known in medieval Armenia even before Spain was a country...
Arturo
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 05, 2020, 05:55:44 PM
Yes, the colours are so vibrant, strong and passioned. 
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: hamparstum on May 05, 2020, 06:30:08 PM
Many years ago...just too many, I visited the UK and was able to see paintings by Turner. I was amazed by his skill. Those skies, actually were real. They were everywhere in the UK! quite an unknown experience by a southerner like me! David Austin's roses have that muted subtleties imbedded also. Is it part of the English character? Different people place observation differently, some see passion in colour. I would say Turner's skies are no less passionate, but are placed in form not in colour. There's a strong connection between gardening and the visual arts. However music is no less absent either. My gardens have their beds named after classical music forms: i.e Ballade, Scherzo, Prelude, Rhapsody, Etude...
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 06, 2020, 06:51:57 AM
I wonder if you could photograph your Rhapsody, Etude and Sherzo .. and I will ask my son to guess. I do know a tiny bit of music. Did theory up to grade 5, but being tone deaf didn't help and could only pass up to grade 3 piano.

I only came to appreciate Turner last year, seeing how he captured the essence of dismal weather. But I prefer your wife's palette to his. Life is too short to be so dismal, depressing...

This is a terrible photo, but this is MY FIRST ASTRANTIA in my garden. How I had attempted to get one! No words can express my joy!

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Lagurus Ovatus - in the past years, I always captured it with dew drops or rain .. not so and so it's a bit bland.

I just love this Crinodendron Hookerianum - little lanturns

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Whilst watering and sowing and what nots in my lean to, the corner of my eye caught this heavenly colour. Planted it out only to realise that it's very difficult to focus this little gem, with wind, and old age hand shaking and limitation of my little Samsung. Finally, my resolve beat all the obstacles and voila la beauté!

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: hamparstum on May 06, 2020, 10:49:49 AM
Yes, I agree that may seem too short. For gardeners like myself, I have projects that definitely will outlast my present life. Its interesting that you find Turner depressing. I didn't get that impression then. I'll return to a book with paintings and get back to you. I'm very much a warm colourful person, very much the Mediterranean type and enjoy colour immensely. I guess that is why I garden. Blooms, or fall colours (now leaves) really make me happy.Sometimes forms, contrasts, movement...there's so much to see out there. For phots of my beds, I ask for patience. Two of those are just bare now: Scherzo and Rhapsody. I've yet to recreate them. It will be next spring onwards. Possibly only by the end of the year will they have anything worthwhile picturing. Beds need renovation every few years or so andthese two fell into that category. Different circumstances lead to that. My trees grew tall, what was sunny , became shaded and plants grown there no longer flourish. So they need to be replaced with a new cohort. I will do that. For the time being they have no interns and they are covered by fallen leaves.
        Etude became a bed for some of my roses. I collect roses and if possible ( that means given all present restrictions are overcome) I hope to have over 300 cultivars growing here. Etude is a study of a combination of Tea roses (Old garden roses) with a few modern ones and some very large climbers at the back. It also contains a few species roses ( R.chinensis 'Mutabilis') and its yellow form by Peter Beales, Yellow mutabilis,. Everything is now going into dormancy. The bed contains also some daylillies and a few Aubrietas flowing over the edge of the stones of the rised bed. In some ways its my first bed ( etude) that I'm quite pleased with. When in bloom it bursts in colour.
        Astrantias....I wish I learn how to grow them. I tried unsuccessfully with seeds. No one carries them here in the nurseries. From what others say, it's really a steep uphill prospect. Some day. Your last picture is a beauty unknown to me.
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 07, 2020, 06:31:45 AM
For me, it would be La Boheme!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVfnEyLOkrM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVfnEyLOkrM)

Gardening with little or no money!

The projects will never be complete, so might as well take some pics to digitally memorise snippets of them.

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French Lavender

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Digitalis in a hot place - strange! self-seeded!
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A big clematis


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Welsh Poppy

Cirsium Trevor's Blue Wonder

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 08, 2020, 07:26:14 AM
I have gone big on salvias; or at least I think I have. Instead of buying beautiful big flowers, I was fooled by photos and the new ones I bought have tiny flowers. Thank heavens that I have these old chums.

Salvia Nachtvlinder
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Salvia Ultra Violet?
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Love this lantern like fuchsia

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Just when I thought I would be photographing a DIFFERENT iris yestrday, one bud fell onto the ground and the rest very buggy!
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Do difficult to capture the beauty of this Astrantia - veins and markings and flower form. Really is lovely. After so many years and burning a big hole in my pocket; finally ...

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 09, 2020, 06:44:14 AM
Have a new chocolaty iris - might be called Quechee! Never remember buying it though

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This one looks like a Tulip Festival! What a daff idea to name an iris TULIP Festival! And the critter really loved it. First, one bud is on the floor, then the stem was snapped off. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!

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A vibrant Welsh orange poppy!

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Stipa gigantea in full but quiet glory!

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Fasciation in full glory in this camellia

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 11, 2020, 06:06:25 AM
Gee, it must have been freezing up north. Even here, we have plant-toppling winds and a chill to the bones. What crazy weather this is and the worst is that I saw spit and there will be no rain for at least 2 weeks. And I am raining tears!

A new bearded iris. Sadly, I have now a field of one type!

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A rather common purple one

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Coral Fay peony
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Pumila Tickled Peach

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 12, 2020, 09:35:41 AM
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Snowdrop seeds. Ants 0 Me 1! Well, most of the times, Nature 1 Me 0!

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White allium

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A plant which self-seeded itself in the allotment and I took some seeds last year. This year, it has come up tall and proud with tons of stems and buds! Thank you! Anybody knows the name?

Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: Maggi Young on May 12, 2020, 10:30:13 AM
A plant which self-seeded itself in the allotment and I took some seeds last year. This year, it has come up tall and proud with tons of stems and buds! Thank you! Anybody knows the name?

A Tragopogon -  perhaps T. porrifolius
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 12, 2020, 10:51:12 AM
That does look like it. Thank you. I've got the yellow ones as well! Anybody cooked it before?
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 13, 2020, 07:07:39 AM
Do you sieve your compost? I did and to my absolute horror 1/4 of the sieveful of compost turned out to be lumps and bumps

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No wonder I have had so many casualties and fatalities!

A scented allium Violet Beauty

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Snapshot of my patch - Crinodendron Hookerianum, next to Arthur Bell rose on a can, scented bearded irises, Cornus Kousa Rubra and further on cistus.

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 14, 2020, 07:35:56 AM
Wonder if our omniscient Maggi can help pin down names on my different allium

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I really would like to know the names of these two white alliums please!

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Do you think these are real seeds please?

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: Maggi Young on May 14, 2020, 01:26:12 PM
Wonder if our omniscient Maggi can help pin down names on my different allium


Haven't  a  Scoopy Doo, but  I've asked Mark McDonough , a  man  who knows  his  onions!
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 15, 2020, 05:11:20 AM
Thank you! Now I have seen quite a few colourful onions - pink, blue and I have decided to get some.
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 19, 2020, 06:16:22 AM
Been very busy watering ... No rain in the past, no rain in the future!

Lagurus Ovatus!

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Saw these two brolleys in the allotment - they really brought a smile to my face!

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A rather unique and different muscari. If you asked me to buy muscari, I would say you were mad! Now, I am mad! Quite fun!

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Cirsium Trevor's Blue Wonder!


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Bought this rather unique iris Painted Woman!

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 20, 2020, 06:04:46 AM
Canterbury Bells suddenly appeared after missing for 3 years. Self seeded beauty and they looked like elegant bells

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Blackbird bearded iris

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Wonderful achillea

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Clematis Majorie

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Crystal Fountain Clematis! My sweet surprise yesterday!

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 24, 2020, 06:35:08 AM
Peony Sarah Bernhardt [attach=1]

The heat has really worked the trick
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Not really a rose person, but quite like my little standard
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This Salsify is most photogenic

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 27, 2020, 08:53:44 AM
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Salvia Madelaine

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Bartzella

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Mr G F Hemrick - my new love!

Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on May 29, 2020, 09:14:53 AM
Some newbies

Lighting is not good. Finally, after more than 5 attempts, one packet of sees had come good. Salvia Coccinea Summer Jewel Pink. Dainty and quaint!

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Thalictrum Nimbus White. Feel like a cheat as I bought the plant last week.

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Long and elegant Alstroemeria and you wouldn't know it is an all-invasive thug! Ahhhhhhh! Beautiful imp!
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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on June 02, 2020, 09:39:36 AM
Good morning

Salvia Neon is singing!
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Iris Sibrica

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Got this beauty from freegle. Well chuffed 6 blooms now

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Share yours please!
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on June 04, 2020, 07:21:33 AM
It's cold, grey and dull here!

My usual alstroemeria PINK

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Very happy that my alstroemeria summer series flowered yesterday

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Cirsium Atropurpureum.
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on June 05, 2020, 06:41:50 AM
Rained here. Just a bit. Can't complain as I don't have to water the garden today!

Finally, a decent photo of my beloved Salvia Coccinea Summer Jewel Pink

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Alstroemeria Pink

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Supposed to be black petunia

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Latest addition Martignon lily

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on June 06, 2020, 05:43:21 AM
Very happy to see my petunia flowering from seeds

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Deutzia Codsall Pink

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Bearded Iris Bearded Dragon

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Martignon lily fully bloom now.

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My pride and joy today Clematis Angel. Saw it in Wisley in the form of a massive mount of flower - copper and gold! Very impressive

Bought it early this year.

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on June 09, 2020, 06:08:14 AM
Foxes galore

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I spotted 5 of them and holes in neighbour's lawn!

A lovely amethyst in the snow centaurea

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Latest alstroemeria acquisition

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on June 10, 2020, 02:37:35 PM
Finally, my martagon lilies are here. If anyone has other cultivars for sale, please message me.

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Art Deco dahlia

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on June 16, 2020, 07:15:11 AM
Some new additions

Penstemon Black bird with big flowers!
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Petunia which I raised from seed
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A giant euphoria which I stupidly planted at the front of the border!
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Wonderful abutilon
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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on June 18, 2020, 09:40:05 AM
Exciting day yesterday

New flower Salvia Lady in Red
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Salvia Bullyana
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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: Roma on June 22, 2020, 07:11:23 PM
Your euphoria isn't a Euphorbia.  Maybe a Hydrangea in the aspera group?
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: Carolyn on June 22, 2020, 08:54:35 PM
Or it could be something like Salvia turkestanica - it would be useful to see the whole plant!
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on June 23, 2020, 05:29:03 AM
Hello, Folks, so nice to hear from you plantaholics. Whenever I clicked REPLY, I felt dejected as I had nobody to reply to. What a sweet surprise. I will take a picture as I am sure it will flower within the next few days. Here in East London, it will be baking and flowers have responded positively.

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My ghostly cactus suddenly woke up yesterday

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Their sister

Fuchsia
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Salvia Lady in Red

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Salvia Bulleyana
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Pretty sure it is a Salvia
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: Roma on June 23, 2020, 10:06:17 PM
Carolyn may be right.

Seedlings of Salvia sclarea ssp. turkestanica 'Vatican Pink. (I hope)

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Two years ago I grew 'Vatican Pink' but when it flowered last year it turned out to be a Verbascum -I think V. chaixii so I'm not that good at identifying seedlings. Leaves are quite similar if you don't look too closely  ;D

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Deinanthe caerulea is in the Hydrangea family which is why I thought your plant might be a hydrangea.

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on June 24, 2020, 05:43:31 AM
Roma: I kept clicking your 2nd pic, hoping to see the florets! Ah, no luck! Wonder if you could take a close up. I love seeing the markings of blooms. I did buy Turkistan clary, but none of them germinated. I hadn't had much luck this year with germination.

The Euphoria is a Clary type. Apparently, it's still teasing me. No vertical spire yet.

Some echinacea all tall and collapsing

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A dahlia - quite pretty, but it's the first flower and the petals didn't look neat when it was pristine. Now that it has fully developed, one petal spoils the pic!

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My cactus

Not bad for a short sweet surprise.
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Lady in Red Salvia

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Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on June 26, 2020, 05:33:31 AM
My biggest courgette so far, together with some sugar snaps
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Penstemon Pensham something

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Cirsium V Atropurpureum

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Salvia Bulleyana


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Salvia Patens Patio Deep Blue - very prone to slug attack and quite is prone to die suddenly. I must collect seeds for myself.

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Share yours please!
Title: Re: Vignettes of your gardening memories
Post by: WSGR on June 26, 2020, 02:55:02 PM
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Just want to see what my photos are like

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Salvia Euphoria
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