“So Much Colour”

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This morning Jackie continued her autumn clearing and planting in the garden. This afternoon I tidied up a bit then wandered around with my camera.

Petunias, geraniums, and erigeron

Petunias and geraniums continue to glow, with bright little erigerons still standing proud;

Hanging baskets over Shady Bed

and diascias and begonias adding to the music.

Hat planted up (bee on marigold)

The lead hat on the patio wall would grace an Ascot attender,

Bee on marigold

although she might not be happy about the resident bee.

New Guinea impatiens and fly

Other insects enjoying the warm weather include this fly on a New Guinea impatiens.

Fuchsia in Dragon Bed

Fuchsias are among the delights of the Dragon Bed,

Fuchsia in Kitchen Bed

of the Kitchen Bed,

Fuchsia and fennel in Elizabeth's Bed

and of Elizabeth’s Bed.

Oval Bed

That second example, via dahlia Coup de Soleil, continues the chrysanthemums’ colour in the top left hand corner of this Oval Bed view. The yellow nasturtium peeping into the bottom right hand corner is just one of

Nasturtiums, salvia microphylla, California poppiesNasturtiums

many rambling around the garden.

Palm Bed rhododendron leaves

Rhododendron leaves in the Palm Bed form a sinuous shape with the rudbeckias,

Palm Bed -Japanese anemones and rudbeckias

seen in the same bed dancing with Japanese anemones;

View through eucalyptus to weeping birch

or taking the eye through the regenerating eucalyptus to the yellowing leaves of the weeping birch.

Kitchen Bed eucomis, ginkgo, fennel

A similar yellow palette is taken up through the Kitchen Bed by way of the eucomises, the potted ginkgo, and the bronze fennel;

Diascias, geraniums, dahlias

whereas the pale pink diascias in the iron urn lead us to the hot geraniums and dahlias beyond.

Dragon Bed

A dragon stands proud, protecting plants in its eponymous bed.

Chilean lantern tree

Still the Chilean tree produces lanterns,

Colchicums

while gentler hued colchicums sprawl across the soil opposite.

Heligan Path begonias

Begonias still glow in their hanging basket alongside the Heligan Path over the Cryptomeria Bed,

Penstemon

and sunlight has a similar effect on this penstemon.

Rose Garden

An array of supporting plants accompany the roses in their Garden,

Festive Jewel

where such as Festive Jewel display several generations at once.

Grass Patch

Even the patch of grass delights in the day.

Perhaps this is what John meant when he came to paint the garden and observed “so much colour”.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s luscious lemon chicken with her especially savoury vegetable rice – itself a veritable complete meal. She drank Hoegaarden and I finished the sangiovese.

P.S. See my response to Luanne below as a recipe for the vegetable rice.

 

 

66 comments

  1. I do love the very first photo Derrick, it seems to me to epitomise your entire garden….. it is rich and abundant and features those amazing little erigerons – an unsung hero in any garden I think – and your fabulous blue painted doors. The reds and pinks set off by shades of green are most lively and the whole thing is completed with the lacy shadow of some hanging doodad! <3

    1. Many thanks, Luanne. The rice is different every time. This one was packed with chopped vegetables of many kinds, e.g. green beans, sweetcorn, peas, multi hued peppers, garlic, lots of onions (fried first of all), mushrooms and seasoning, One method is to boil the rice in stock, then add it to the fried vegetables and chopped omelette. Jackie doesn’t do measuring 🙂

  2. Even the patch of grass delights in the day. That one expression is the key to the bounties of Nature in your garden. It reflects in your melifluous diction too.

  3. I really don’t think that the seasons are the same as they were even 10 years ago. We’ve now got lots of berries in evidence in our garden and most flowers have gone.

  4. I enjoyed the rainbow palette of the gardens with the peachy orange dahlias in background and the bright red lantern being ones that stood out amongst far too many happy sights. Jackie’s gardening is I’m sure tedious and she must have sore muscles. It is “worth” it for us, though! ?
    Thanks for the recipe, I love cooking veggies, an egg and onions so adding rice would make it filling as a meal. ??

  5. The garden looks lovely, Derrick and Jackie! It is hard to keep color going here with our own annual summer dry season. We had rain last week, finally, and the grass is perking up again. Grass turns green in winter and brown in summer in our part of the country.

  6. Great colour – I’m using your photos to help improve our garden planting. Or stealing Jackie’s ideas, to put it more truthfully. So thank you Jackie. 🙂

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