Time to get back in the garden.

After my lovely Garden Odyssey, and the ensuing backlog of stuff that had to be got through, I finally got back out in my own garden and the dream of a stunning garden open to the public occasionally, with a team of gardeners to carry out all my hopes and plans finally evaporated!

The garden has crossed that summer rubicon and collapsed in a bit of a heap. Things are still growing madly but clearing up and cutting back is now much needed. The Geraniums need the chop, some of the earlier flowering shrubs can be cut back and lovely little bits and pieces that I put in have revealed their true enormous colours.

So rather than dwell on the overall unruliness I thought I'd add to the 'Flowering in my Garden' list.

No 28 - Alliums

Alliums are also known as the Ornamental Onion (very glam!) and have large flower heads of different sizes and types, and are generally white or shades of purple and pink, although there are some yellows too.

My Alliums are Roseum (at the front) and Christopii (at the back)

The Christophii have one of the largest seed heads and are a beautifully starry, silvery purple. The globes of flowers stay for a good month and then the seed heads keep their form and create a great focal point.

I find that I have to replace or add to my Alliums as the larger ones don't last forever, but buying more of them is no chore - its one of my favourite autumn shopping sprees!

Next time I thought I might add Allium Cernuum.

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The individual flowers are gorgeous!

Allium Roseum are smaller and more delicate with a looser, less structured flowerhead, but still as beautiful.

The seed head of the Roseum, when flowering has finished, also produces aerial bulbils (baby bulbs instead of seeds, you can see them in the top photo - they are the reddish things at the top of the stem), which means they spread and increase happily.

The only draw back with Alliums is that the leaves, which start strappy and lush, very quickly die off and look tatty. So it's better to grow them amongst other things so the leaves are hidden.

And here is one I wouldn't recommend. I planted it a few years ago because I thought it looked interesting and it spreads like the Roseum does but much less rewardingly! 

It is Allium Vineale and I'm afraid it is going at the end of this season!

No 29 - Sambucus

 Sambucus, or Elder is a deciduous bush with lovely leaves and pretty flowers. Elder is often part of the hedgerows and it's flowers and berries are loved by foragers as flavourings for cordials and cooking.

I have two types of Sambucus in my garden, this one is the Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace' (or Black Sambucus) which has gorgeous pink flowers.

However its name comes from its fantastic leaves that are dark, shiny and feathery, the perfect foil for all sorts of things. I have a deep, magenta pink Candelabra Primula flowering in front of it at the moment and it looks sumptuous!

It's still quite small at the moment, so the Honey Spurge behind provides a lush green foil for it.

The more ornamental Elders like this don't really have berries, but the leaves and flowers are enough to make up for that.

I have also just planted a Sambucus racemosa 'Sutherlands Gold' (Golden Sambucus) which is taking a little time to settle. As you can see, both the Sambucus and the Ligularia beside it have proved very popular with the slugs/snails and so are looking a little perforated and ragged!

But the colour is so intense and will look amazing when it and the purpley Cotinus (or Smoke Bush)  I have planted behind both grow up and fill their spaces. And hopefully next year it will produce some creamy flowers too! 

Now, pass me the slug pellets!

New discoveries

There were three plants that really struck me amongst the myriad of stunning plants that I saw whilst I was away, firstly for their beauty and secondly because I hadn't come across them before.

The first was  Dictamus albus var. purpureus, a tall perennial, with spires of rosy pink flowers on dark purply stems, above lush green leaves. We saw this at The Courts in their deep borders and it looked lovely against the Yew hedge. The RHS say it grows to about 1m high and does well in sun or partial shade, so it sounds manageable, although it looks lush enough for it to be a slugs favourite. I'd like to try in my garden so I shall keep an eye out for it.

Now I have come across Dianthus alpina before, I have some white ones in my garden flowering their heads off as I write. What I hadn't come across before was this magenta flowered and dark leaved variant. Usually Dianthus alpina have green, blue/green or silver/green foliage but this has dark purply leaves that act as the perfect foil for the eye-popping magenta flowers. We saw them in a couple of gardens, first in the Rock Garden at Kilver Court and then later the same day at Barrington Court, where as luck would have it, in a corner there was a table of plants with a sign which read 'plants left over from the garden £1'. And there on the table were some purple leaved Dianthus so I swiped 3 sharpish and put my money in the box. The only disappointment is that I have not managed to find out the name of this variant, it wasn't labelled anywhere and I haven't managed to find a match on the internet yet. But I shall keep looking and now I have them in my garden - hurrah!

My last find was a clematis, a non-vining (doesn't climb but forms a beautiful bush) variety called Clematis Recta purpurea. Again we saw them at Barrington Court and at East Lambrook. The typically shaped Clematis leaves were slightly purply, (the 'Lime Close' variant has even more purply leaves according to the gardener) and the small white flowers create a fragrant cloud above the leaves.

I have seen herbaceous Clematis before but never one this lovely. 

Although it doesn't climb it does sprawl rather (see above at Barrington Court) and at East Lambrook it was quite tightly supported to keep it neat and upright.

I wish I had some more space, this is one I would definitely have in the centre of a border creating a real focal point. Alas I will struggle to fit it in, perhaps I should redesign a border around it...

Diversionary tactics!

Now, those on the ball readers may have worked out that I have been home from my Garden Holiday for almost a fortnight now, yet I am still banging on about it! Well let me tell you that's not going to change if I can help it.

And why am I following this track? Could it have anything to do with the mountain of weeding required in my own garden, the wilting plants, the fanatical watering that's required due to the lovely hot, dry weather - great for the beach, not so great for the garden, and the total lack of control over all things garden? Quite possibly!

So I thought I'd tell you about the only garden from our trip that I missed out - The Courts near Bradford-on-Avon. Focussing on someone else's garden is much easier than trying to get to grips with your own!

We arrived at The Courts Gardens, which is a National Trust property, at about 4pm on the first afternoon of our trip, so the sun was low and the light was warm. We had an hour and a half to wander and absorb

The first thing that greets you as you emerge from a corridor of greenery is the house...

 and then a border of Miscanthus and Rosa Glauca, underplanted with Nepeta and Alchemilla mollis. A good start!

Rosa Glauca

Some great box hedging with stone ornaments, with seed heads of Pulsatilla (Pasque flower) in front.

Matching Knautia and Clematis, and glorious Foxtail Lilies were just some of the stars in deep borders overflowing with loveliness.

Fabulous Sempervivum (House leeks).

Unbelievably...

beautiful...

Peonies.

There was a kitchen garden...

and a summer house,

and a gorgeous rill (I really, really want a rill!) leading to the water garden.

The water garden had various pools and the main one was full of beautiful Water Lilies and surrounded by Irises and Roses.

It was a lovely garden, peaceful at the end of the day and with lots to look at. 

And now I'm almost out of things to share from my time away, there are just a few new plants (well, new to me) that I thought I'd share and then I really will have to get back to my own garden - that will be a severe dose of reality!

My favourite so far!

The last garden we visited, but by no means the least was East Lambrook Manor Gardens. 

In a village not far from Barrington Court which we visited the day before, is the most lovely house...

with the most beautiful garden...

which we visited on the most perfect day.

There was not an inch of space anywhere...

and even some of the paths were a bit of a challenge!

The Garden was designed and originally planted by Margery Fish in the 1940s, a journalist with no experience of gardening before she started this garden. She wanted to create a grand cottage garden but on a domestic scale, and one that didn't need an army of gardeners to keep it trim. The resulting masterpiece influenced garden design and transformed it from a past time for the rich and privileged to something that everyone could do. Her articles and books spread the word and demystified the cottage garden.

The lack of space in the beds means no space for weeds so no weeding, growing things so close together means less staking - this really is the best sort of low maintenance garden!

Salvia, Astrantia, Iris and Nepeta.

There is a lovely silver garden with Cardoons, white Acanthus and silver leaved Elaeanus.

Some of the planting combinations and plants were gorgeous!

(L) Nepeta, Thelictrum and what looked like a dainty, mauve Centranthus, and beautiful Nigella (R)

There was a lovely white garden with Gladioli, Moon Daisies and Silver Birches.

Fabulous Rose and Clematis combination.

Pollarded Willow, Euphorbia and yellow Flag Iris with Onion (or maybe garlic) flowers in front.

Salvia and Geranium with more lovely Silver Birches.

East Lambrook also has a large tea room and art exhibitions, and a lovely plant sales area where I purchased a variegated white Lunaria and struggled manfully against buying Astrantias (travelling on the train definitely cramped my shopping style).

Then after a rest and very welcome cold drink at the pub just opposite, Mum and I set off to Taunton where we parted, Mum to drive north and battle with traffic, and me to train west and battle with the school children of Plymouth.

So our garden idyll was over for another year - where could we go next?

Only 2 more gardens to go!

Now that I'm home and back in the usual routine my garden idyl seems ages ago, but I am going to desperately hang on to my time away for a couple of days yet. I still have Barrington Court, the garden we visited on Thursday afternoon, and then East Lambrook which was Friday mornings venture, to record!

Barrington Court is one of the very first properties acquired by the National Trust in 1907, and is a Tudor house with formal gardens and a large kitchen garden.

The entrance to the kitchen garden is lined with beautiful Sweet Williams at the foot of a Copper Beech hedge.

The walled garden had its own moat and a beautiful gate,

and beautiful deep borders inspired by Gertrude Jekyll

There were Roses, Nepeta, Lychnis, Geraniums, Salvia, Foxgloves, Peonies and Iris,

and shady spots to offer respite from the sun.

Some of the white garden was very recently planted, but some of the borders were more established.

Crambe cordifolia and white Lychnis. Pinky white Nicotiana and white Lychnis

Feathery, finely cut Dianthus.

Gorgeous blue Iris sibirica, beautiful antique pink Oriental Poppy and matching Aquilegia.

Sun on the Cotinus

Cotinus and Acanthus

And through into the Lily Garden with lovely water Lilies, but the best bit was...

 the restaurant terrace...

Tea and Lemon Drizzle Cake on a perfect summer afternoon, in a lovely garden - Heaven!

We deserved it after our mammoth day, and so ended Thursday (well, after a lovely meal at the Ilchester Arms, and a wander round the village under a huge full moon!). 

On to Friday, and our final day!