Oh so pretty...
The late evening sun caught this flower through the trees. Cephalaria gigantea stands high above everything else in the border, but is so delicate and airy, with a light leaf base that causes no problems for anything around it. It's hardy, reliable and flowers till autumn. I love it.
Exam time - and a catch up.
I took the final part of my RHS Level 2 exam today (formerly the General). Trickier than I expected but I think I've done OK. What with revision, wet weather and keeping a promise to sort out the neighbours garden I've not done much in mine.
But I had a good tidy up tonight and yesterday retrained my tomatoes into strung cordons instead of up canes. Partly because I wanted to try the technique, but mostly because this was necessary as the plants had reached the top of the canes and were at the polytunnel's eaves. I'll post a pic when they've settled in.
The other major job that's now complete is the fence between us and the neighbours - complete with 3' gap for me to get through to do their garden. Never enough hours...
In the meantime, a couple more pics. Primula vialli is a real star - much longer lasting than P. beesiana and a real head turner. 'Phallic' is the usual word people seem to think of when they see it. And the poppy was free - when the old boundary fence was removed some many-year-old poppy seeds germinated, dressing the bare soil in a brilliant scarlet, that is until the fence installers stomped on them. Still, if I don't weed too carefully next spring I'm sure there'll be more.
Primula vialli. A real star.
(Most of) The best things in life are free...
The bigger picture
The reason I usually put close-up pictures of flowers on this blog instead of wider shots of the whole garden is that there is almost never a time when any major part of the garden is sufficiently tidy and photogenic.
I've decided to put that right, so I've made a concerted effort lately to complete whole areas, even sweeping up and edging, which I rarely bother with.
Perhaps this was also inspired by watching the Gardener's World Live programme today with all those perfect gardens. And I'm very chuffed to tell you that Reaseheath College's garden won the only gold medal for the outside show gardens and best in show in that category too. I'm going down on Monday to help with breakdown and will hopefully be helping to re-build it at Tatton.
The fence has only been in a year so the sweetpeas help cover the bare areas.
The polytunnel doesn't enhance the view, but I'm used to ignoring it.
The view through from the old french windows from the office.
The veg plot. I've tried to make it much more visually pleasing this year
\New heat record at 30.2C
The thermometer has just cleared 30C - the highest since I set up the weather station in December 2004. Even I have retreated indoors, leaving my plants to survive as best they can. Fortunately most of those in pots are in the shade tunnel, but those still outside are suffering. The polytunnel has reached 38C and that's with both ends open and a stiff breeze blowing to keep the air moving.
The one saving grace is that we have plenty of water up here, so no problems with using the hose, it just takes a long time.
All this warm weather has brought the summer flowering plants on quickly. My sweet peas and roses have all started and Cephalaria gigantea is also out - one of my favourites. The new primula vialli are also flowering - I'm really pleased with these - they've done well so far in the new damp area near the pond.
Primula vialli, looking every bit as attractive as was promised.
A lovely David Austin that I've forgotten the name of.
The Times, which will flower until October. The flowers look a bit small, I think it needs feeding.
Cephalaria gigantea. Tall, airy and lovely.
Lending a hand for GW Live
The college put out a call on Wednesday for extra help to prepare their show garden at the NEC so Den and I joined a small gang today for the trip down. Sweltering in near 30C we planted hazel trees and fruit bushes in the '5 a day' productive garden. The stand's highlight is a geodesic dome green house with a huge range of tropical plants inside. Their biggest problem is going to be watering in the heat, especially with the high winds we're having. Plants are going to dry out very quickly especially as they're all still in their pots, buried in the ground.
In need of photographic inspiration
I've realised that it is images that inspire me to blog. If I don't have a good picture, I don't feel the impulse to write. And something happens in early June - the late spring show ends, but summer roses and mid summer perennials have yet to happen, and the garden gets a dull look about it. So I've not felt much inclined to pick up the camera in the last week or so.
But I made a real effort today to find nice things to take photos of and here they are. I'm particularly pleased with the centaura - I'm sure it was blue last year? Strange. And I've finally captured the peony looking the crimson it really is, rather than a sort of washed out pink.
An unknown Centaura glowing in the low evening light. I plan to grow more of these over- looked plants.
Peony lactiflora - common as muck and short lived, but still lovely
Astrantia 'Ruby Glow'. This border is turning into a mostly dark pink area with the peonies and the purple cotinus nearby
J&P's garden
With a 50th birthday deadline looming the priority for this weekend was to make some serious progress on J&P's garden. This project started last March, but I've only been back three times since and progress was painfully slow. However, I made up for it this weekend.
The particular design challenges presented by this garden include an large blue trampoline, a 2ft drop from the patio to the lawn and an ugly fence. All of these are staying, although the fence is being repainted, so they are being worked in. The borders still need more planting, and a step is missing from the patio, but things are looking better. The bottom photo is as it was last March. The middle one is as it was yesterday morning and the top one as it is now. It's taking shape and is fit for a party, that's the main thing.
Primula vialli. A real star.
(Most of) The best things in life are free...
The polytunnel doesn't enhance the view, but I'm used to ignoring it.
The view through from the old french windows from the office.
The veg plot. I've tried to make it much more visually pleasing this year
Primula vialli, looking every bit as attractive as was promised. 
A lovely David Austin that I've forgotten the name of.
The Times, which will flower until October. The flowers look a bit small, I think it needs feeding.
Cephalaria gigantea. Tall, airy and lovely.
An unknown Centaura glowing in the low evening light. I plan to grow more of these over- looked plants.
Peony lactiflora - common as muck and short lived, but still lovely
Astrantia 'Ruby Glow'. This border is turning into a mostly dark pink area with the peonies and the purple cotinus nearby
