Sunny days

the last 2 weeks have been nice weather here, the temperature has even reached double figures celsius, we haven’t had any rain for a few weeks I’ve been trying to remember the last rain we had, the 5 day forecast says rain on Wednesday, we’ll see, I’ve spent a lot of time in the garden and got quite a bit done though in my garden there will always be more to do, I’ve accepted that now as a fact of such a large garden together with several other facts, one job I did was finally divide the pampas grass I managed to wrestle from the front garden a few weeks earlier, it had been sitting in the hole created by digging it out.
not a task for weaklings is dividing pampas grass and as for using 2 forks to prise it apart, well you couldn’t even get a fork or spade into it, no it needed side ways thinking so out came the chopper, hammer and as much brute force as I could muster, job done they are now planted around the damp meadow to help create the grass hedge,

while I was in the front garden I realised I hadn’t taken a photo of the jungle border with the daffodils in bloom, after all those photos last year with the line of pebbles marking where the bulbs were I thought I should show a photo of them out, this was taken on the 3rd June there are still a few blooms today, I’m so amazed at daffodils in June that I am watching the last ones as I want a photo of the last daffodil to start fading and note the date, I’m pleased with the jungle border I know it doesn’t look much but of the plants I planted last autumn all are growing except 3 and there is still a possibility they could grow,

I’m still enjoying the little orange blossoms on the geum in the tweenie garden and I thought I’d show a photo of what is left of the original clump before I dig that out too, notice the difference not a single bloom, it clearly was not happy here even though it expanded and there was always plenty of foliage, the grass has taken over this border and I am slowly digging out the plants to then start over when I have got rid of the grass,

still in the front garden the snow in summer is blooming,

the alliums in the previous post are in the rosa rugosa border, silly me had visions of them flowering among the roses, not so, not this year anyway, 2 of the RR started to leaf out in March and then it went very cold with lots of frosty mornings, one is starting to recover but the other is looking very bleak, the other 2 only started to leaf out in May so all are late this year, in autumn 2011 I planted out some odd bulbs I had dug up and they had been awaiting a new home, I didn’t know/remember what they were, last year they were mostly just foliage, this year, I have already shown the queen of the night tulip and now this little beauty, I bought these for the middle front bed years ago and hadn’t seen them for many years, I had dug out some bulbs from there and not known what they were, I am so pleased to see this and must look back on my order forms to see what it is called,

red lupin or as I have been calling it red candles, it is proving to be the most prolific of the lupins, last year it was both the first and last to flower and now this year it is way ahead of the others,

I’m pleased with how the calamagrostis are increasing I bought 3 two years ago for the damp meadow,

my favourite photo of the moment, the mulched area to the left is where I earlier showed a photo full of horsetails, it is now weeded and planted with the geum I show above and some other plants, what I love is how the euphorbia is continuing the hot colour from the orange geum and then the touch of cool blue from the centaurea, the centaurea has been in the damp meadow a few years but I felt it wasn’t being shown to it’s best so last autumn I dug it up and divided it, putting some in the jungle border, that’s the one in the previous post and some in the tweenie, it’s rewarding me well for the move,

from the top of the last photo is the path between the tweenie and tree edges, these bluebells are the other side of the path under the edge of the spruce trees and that’s not grass growing with them but horsetail,

on the wildflower slope I am thrilled to see lots of yellow rattle, it’s taken me so long to get this plant growing, last year was the first time seeds had grown, I think what some of you said about old seed is true, the seed that grew last year was from a different nursery, these are all self sown from last years flowers,

while I was on the slope and before the alders leaf out I thought I’d show a photo of the under tree part of the alder garden from above, the primies are finishing now, it looks like lots of brown areas but I have planted spring bulbs, some other types of primroses and hellebores, I’d like to add some ferns and will be thinking what else I can add,

I haven’t been to art club the last 2 Mondays as I’ve been keen to work in the garden but have decided this afternoon I’m going, I think my body needs a break and my mind could do with some non garden chatter, wishing you all a great day.

 

©Copyright 2013 Frances Caple. All rights reserved. Content created by Frances Caple for Island Threads.

end of month view May

May has been windy, wet, windy, chilly and the last 2 days warm and calm, at last!
the new bit of ‘claimed from the grass’ birch garden it thriving, the red campion is blooming and I will let it seed around here as there is plenty of room, the other plants are pushing forth too,

I wanted to include a photo of the wildflower slope with the daffodils at their best, this photo was taken 10 days ago, the daffs are dying back now and there are more primies, when I deadhead the daffs I will take a photo of the primies, the river of daffs is coming on nicely, there are some from the old planting to be removed but next year as the bulbs bulk up more I am hoping it will be really nice,

the primroses in the bit of the alder garden I cleared of grass and mulched are flowering wonderfully,

I wanted to show a close up of the leaves of this little wanderer that is also there, it hasn’t spread much but I’m hoping if I can keep the grass at bay it will now start to wander more,

the rest of the alder garden, I have only done about a third, there is still a lot to do,

now the daffs are dying back I need to dig up many over grown clumps, this is the end of the alder terrace at the edge of the alders, I had not planned to plant it as I want access to the alders and willow there, but when I was weeding it came to me to plant one of the clumps of daffodils there as they will be under ground in autumn/early winter so I can still get at the trees for maintenance, left side weeded, right not!

when I was weeding, there was a bit of green poking up it looked like a tap rooted plant so I pulled and look what came out, you may not know but this is a wild orchid, my heart soared,

I weeded more carefully and found there are several, I’m sooo happy, they are imo beautiful, photo in summer when they are blooming,

all done,

the raspberries I bought last autumn are showing growth, autumn fruiting on the left, late summer right and mid summer at the top, in the foreground are a tayberry and loganberry, over wintering onions along the path,

the gooseberries are all growing well and I was wondering if they had any flowers, no flowers I’d missed them but yummy wee gooseberries, will need to keep an eye on them now,

the tulips and second wave of daffodils are all flowering in the little border by the side door,

I don’t know the name of these daffodils/narcissus, I think they are lovely, they are much smaller and daintier than the others and there are 2 sometimes 3 flowers per stem, it is nice that they flower later making the season longer,

Tulip jimmy

happy accident, I can’t take claim for this combination but do like it, I hope both develop, I moved the heuchera here last year as it was not doing well and planted some bulbs that I had dug up but could not remember what they were, tulip queen of the night with heuchera blackberry jam,

the tweenie is still the part of the garden giving me most pleasure, it is only a very tiny part of the large garden area I have, the foreground was planted in autumn 2011 when I had finally got the grass down, I had never particularly liked this orange flowering plant, a small clump had been give me by my neighbour on Scalpay, I didn’t know what it was until a few years ago, I think it is a geum, when I was trying to fill the area I thought if I dived the clump and dot it along back a bit it will help keep the weeds down and the orange flowers might be alright bobbing about, last year there were only a few flowers, this year there is a sea of orange threading it’s way across and with the golden foliage of the marjoram to me it shines,

this is the other end of same bed which is still being claimed, the grass is down but the horse/mares tail is up!

E. griffithii fireglow,

this side of the tweenie apart from the fennel and loveage is new, the foreground is the part I planted a few months ago and below the F&L was planted last spring,

I wanted skirts around the F&L so as I have lots of A. mollis and G. macrorrhizum I planted some around them, last year they were a bit sparse, now they are filling out and I am happy with the effect,

this photo of the tweenie was taken 10 days ago when the daffodils were still blooming, I’d cut back the pendula grass which had become too tatty,

this photo was taken yesterday, I deadheaded before taking the photo, it’s roughly the same view,

the white bluebells under the lodge pole pines, I love the way they curve over, the white really lights up in the dappled shade, will be transferring more now I know they are happy here,

phew that was a long catch up, thank you as always to Helen for hosting end of month view, please visit Helen’s blog to see links to other gardens,

©Copyright 2013 Frances Caple. All rights reserved. Content created by Frances Caple for Island Threads.

Respite

this evening there is a brief respite from the wind and rain we have had since Sunday so I took a walk around the garden to see what has happened since Saturday,
I’d spent Saturday afternoon mulching the fruit and berry garden, so I am hoping this means I won’t have to do too much weeding here,

this photo was taken from the grass in the foreground of the above photo, I know I like long shots of peoples gardens and I thought this gave a good view of how these 5 areas sit together, the fruit and berry I am standing in is at the front of the house, I am looking across the ditch garden, then the foreground daffodils in the photo are the alder terrace which is also in the front, there is the beginnings of a hedge then behind is the alder garden which runs along the side of the house, the house being just off on the left, in the distance you can see the slope garden with the beginnings of the river of daffodils, beyond is the very big heather/calluna vulgaris area and in the far distance are the pines,

I’ll use this to start around the garden, at my feet the ditch garden, I am thrilled at how well the ligularias are growing, I planted them 2 years ago they did well that summer but in the drought we had in late spring/early summer last year they didn’t look to good and I was worried I would loose them,

I did a bit more under the alders in the alder garden,

the daffodils on the slope are starting to open, most of these were blind last year as they were small bulbs when I planted them,

now we have cut across the heather and are under the pines where these white bluebells are in bud, I like the white ones under the trees as they light it up,

at the edge of the trees is my first and only hosta, hosta halcyon, planted last autumn, I love the way the leaves are unrolling,

across to the other side of the tweenie garden (because it is between the trees) to where I moved some plants a few weeks ago, I’m pleased with how they are coming on and make it look more established than it really is,

the path between the tweenie and the damp meadow,

the damp meadow,

yellow and daffodils are the main flowers in my garden now and have been for several weeks, leaving the meadow and crossing to the birch garden, this is a self seeded mixed primmy of oxslip and primrose, it has been here for a few years and has been flowering for well over a month this year the flowers climbing higher and higher,

the first red campion flowers in the new birch garden flower patch I created recently,

at the top of the birch garden it becomes the species rose border and the new roses I planted last autumn are being to leaf out, rosa rubrifolia,

turning back towards the damp meadow just to see the first allium start to break in the rosa rugosa border,

back to the path and up the steps to the raise front garden and the house, the little bed just by the side door, the tulips are just starting, this is the second wave of daffodils, the grass like foliage on the right is from tête-à-tête,

oxslip, primula elatior,

I’m pleased at how well these little sedums are growing that I planted last summer in the middle front bed,

this saxifrage didn’t have any flowers last year and a few weeks ago I had to chase off a starling that was ripping the poor plant apart so I am very pleased to see these in the new jungle garden border,

to finish a close up of tulip ronaldo before I go back into the house,

©Copyright 2013 Frances Caple. All rights reserved. Content created by Frances Caple for Island Threads.

Friday

I went for a walk to the cove yesterday morning (Friday), I am trying not to spend every good weather moment gardening but to go for walks as well, I like walking but the last couple of years the garden seems to have absorbed all my outdoor time, the sea thrift is nearly in bloom, it amazes me how they send down these long, long taproots and cling on in the worst of the gales,

a lot of kelp has been washed up since I was here last week, the kelp has me thinking of my ancestors and the people of the islands, I read in the history that in the 18C and early 19C kelp was collected and I think burnt for a mineral that was much sort after ………… sorry I just cannot remember the details, what always stands out in my mind is the people collecting the kelp, wading up to waist deep in sometimes freezing water, just to keep starvation from the door, we (in the western world) have life soooo easy now, I do remember the reason the industry fell into decline was because the mineral was found from an easier and so cheaper source, the lack of this work in the 19C was one of the reasons leading to the eventual ‘clearances’ and the desperate plight of the people of the highlands and islands and why my mother and I were born in England,

as well as the many gulls the oyster catchers were on the beach, sorry I do not have a good camera for distant close ups, these are funny birds, they are B&W with bright red legs and beaks, they screech and chatter in the sky and tell you off if you get too close to their nest,

when I was on the isle of Mull several years ago, I had one screeching at me and I knew the nest must be near, they do not make a nest but lay their eggs in a scoop in the ground or on the stones/shells, I then saw another oyster catcher running from me but doing the broken wing routine, I’d heard some birds do this to lure you away from their nest but this was my first (and only) time I’d seen it, then I saw them just a few feet ahead of me, the eggs, if I had not paid attention to the birds I could have stepped on them,

last week when I came down I noticed this stone, doesn’t it make a nice little seat, it is at the top of the first steep bit of the hill as you leave the cove, I don’t know who moved it but thank you, it makes a nice resting place after (at my age) puffing up the hill,

the view back down the hill from the stone seat,

the view towards the butt of Lewis from the top of the track as it meets the single track road, far off in the distance (to far to see) is Iceland,

after I came home and had a wee smackeral or two I went into the garden, I was determined this year to get the area under the alders sorted out, I made a good start last year but didn’t get it finished and didn’t mulch what I had done so the weeds and overgrown plants marched on, when the alders are in leaf it is very difficult to see and get into this corner, I had got a lot of the weeding, mostly horrid grass removed in March but the rains of April had made more shoots appear, years ago I had planted a sedum and a small patch of michaelmas daisies, the sedum was now in the wrong place with the shade from the now growing tree and the daisies were taking over, in fact after digging them out I found they has climbed the bank! I’ve put news print and a thick mulch of pine needles now, I know there will be shoots so more work but the bulk is done and hopefully I will be able to consider planting it next winter, in front of the trees I can plant but it needed some way of layering the slope, it was going to need 2 pieces of split log so I had the idea to not put one on the other but too set the top one back a bit and plant primroses which have seeded themselves around between the logs, the photo shows the part done and the part not yet finished weeding and before logs, I plan a narrow path of access for maintenance in front, the other side of the path will be another story,

wishing all a nice weekend,

©Copyright 2013 Frances Caple. All rights reserved. Content created by Frances Caple for Island Threads.

Foliage

when I saw all the wonderful foliage in Christina’s garden, I felt wistfully ‘there’s nothing in mine’ then this morning reading a few more foliage posts of people here in the UK I thought ‘hmm maybe there is something’ so with the wind blowing and the temperature so cold I finish up with freezing fingers, with camera in hand I braved the garden and did find a few things, more new growth than I had realised which is nice,

I thought I get down low and take the lovage from a different view point,

still no idea what sedum this is but it grows well here and quickly bulks back up when divided, behind are the strap like leaves of alliums,

Hmm! the foliage group that isn’t meant to be there, from the top, geranium given to me a few years ago and planted there quickly, I did move some last spring and really must make it more of a priority to move the rest as it is wasted here, dianthus, again a few years ago a clump was infested with horrid grass so I dug it up and replanted some putting the rest here to be moved later, the foreground is curtsey of mother nature, foxgloves and golden feverfew both self sown,

the damp meadow now I have finally got all last years debris cleared, I thought I’d include it because through winter with the perennials sleeping the pampas grass comes into it’s own, I love the way these have grown and have decided I want more to create a pampas grass hedge around 3 sides of the meadow,

grass of a different dimension, festuca glauca with Juniper Squamata Holger, holger has silver blue foliage most of the year but now the new growth is a creamy yellow, there are dark red sedums planted to the left and behind,

this is the first new growth of sedum black beauty, I laughed last night when I saw how big Christina’s sedums are and how small mine is, though it was only planted last year, it shows what a difference a very northerly latitude makes!

meet Willma on the left and Goldcrest on the right, MR and Mrs Cupressus macrocarpa, I found goldcrest online autumn 2011 when I was ordering a lot of bareroot plants and decided to try one, then last spring I saw willma in the shop in town, Goldcrest was plant last spring so has been there all winter and withstood the gales, willma was put in a larger pot and left outside all winter, she was finally planted 2-3 weeks ago, goldcrest as the name implies is a golden yellow colour, willma is lime green both go these lovely bronzes during winter, what I can’t share with you on the internet is the perfume and touch, the foliage is soft and feathery, very stroke able and smells of lemons, I find it truly divine and touch them every time I go by,

I know it is ordinary to most but I thought I couldn’t do a foliage post without at least once including the lodge pole pines, they are the dominant feature of the garden and the hardest working (apart form me that is ;o)
the copse (I’m not sure how many trees make a copse but it’s the only name I know for a small group of trees), the copse shelters many plants, offers shelter to many birds and probably hosts of other wee creatures, can be seen from almost all of the garden and was one reason I was interested in this property,

thanks to Christina and other foliage bloggers who made me get out there and take a hard and at times close look at my garden, to see more foliage posts please click through to Christina’s blog.

©Copyright 2013 Frances Caple. All rights reserved. Content created by Frances Caple for Island Threads.

thank you guardian angel

I think my guardian angel was watching over my shoulder when I wrote yesterdays post and last night she had a word with the weather gods because this morning when I got up there was brilliant sunshine and the wind had dropped to a breeze. So I went into the garden to make the most of the moment, the met web page said the wind would increase in the afternoon, it steadily increased during the day but it was still possible to work in the garden and the rain stayed in the clouds drifting by.
I wanted to dig the area in the alder garden where I had removed the turfs, as this is where I want to plant my potatoes this year, I find potatoes are good for getting an area well weeded and dug.

Dug and I had a great excitement when I was digging I found ………..

A worm and another, I counted 8 altogether, I do hope they stay and multiply.

Levelled, raked and 2 rows of tatties planted, 1st and 2nd earlies.

In the distance in the above photo is the fruit and berry garden, I cut down the wild raspberries earlier this year and in among them I knew there was a primula wanda which I have been wanting to move, I couldn’t see it then but did today, so I must get it moved while I can see it.

Last year the queen of the night tulips didn’t flower so I am pleased to see some buds this year.

I love these daffodils along the privet hedge though they need to be dug up and divided, I hope to do it this year, planting some back along the hedge and the others in the new birch garden.

The red shoots of lovage in the tweenie garden.

Last but definitely not least, (save the best for last), the scilla siberica, these are increasing and there are a few seedlings appearing where I didn’t plant any.

©Copyright 2013 Frances Caple. All rights reserved. Content created by Frances Caple for Island Threads.

at last a day in the garden!

over here on the island we have not had the snow most of the rest of the UK has had, we have had some very cold winds coming from the east, we even had some days without the wind but is was still much too cold to venture out for a bit of gardening, however today things changed and the sun fought it’s way through the clouds briefly this morning and the wind was slight, so I decided to venture out with camera in hand.
I was very surprised with the amount of foliage still around after the heavy frost 2 weeks ago and the cold winds I expected most of it to be gone, the tweenie garden really surprised me, the amount of foliage on plants I don’t think are ever green, with the sunlight on it,

turning around the dogwoods in sunlight look quite colourful,

more foliage that is unexpected, this is the alder garden which I had intended to update in my end of month view posts last year but I never got much done here, too wet in winter then when it went dry it was the growing season and I couldn’t risk moving plants, 2 plants (by plant I mean type there are several of each) were put here until I could find them a home, 2 are self seeded and the grass and weeds around the alder trunk need to be removed!

another bed that is not how I planned it, the alder terrace, the tall hebe is the one the rabbit ate this time last year, it is coming on nicely and the very thorny branches I put around it for protection are still there though the hebe has grown out to cover them, the variegated hebe that should be growing to the left of this green one the rabbit ate and it didn’t survive,

so just over 2 weeks ago when I got some time in the garden I planted a small buddleia/butterfly bush there, I love buddleia and where I come from in the south east of England the common native buddleia grows wild every where. I do mean everywhere, they line the railways tracks, seed onto derelict buildings growing sometimes from the roof tops, when I saw some for sale in the shop in town last summer I could not resist, I re-potted it and kept it in the pot, it grew well with some long shoots so late summer I cut them off and put them in a mix of compost and sand 50/50 they have all taken, when I tipped this one from it’s pot it had a good root and though I only put it out a couple of weeks ago there are new shoots,

I was pleased when I saw Juniperus Squamata Blue carpet as after I planted it out some of the needles went brown, I included the large stone in the photo as it was dug out of the planting hole! it’s very heavy and quite large but being so flat I feel it could be useful,

this is my favourite winter foliage, decomposing leaves ……… these are the flowering currants,

a couple of grasses, this is red rooster, bought on a stall in town last summer, in summer it was red, now I still love it for it’s winter blond tresses, I’d like to be able to divide it and hope to have more,

Carex Frosted curls, I love this little grass which has produced a few seedlings this being one of them, this one is growing so much better than the rest I am going to move the others to this bed,

couldn’t resist another photo of the golden willow, I think I have enjoyed it more the last 2 winters as it is the only one left, it is growing on the east side of the house so is protected from the south westerly winds, I had a hedge of 6 in a row on the west side of the house at this time of year they were beautiful, in May 2011 just as they were starting to grow we had gale force winds which is unusual for May, the gale didn’t just damage my trees it damaged trees along the west coast of Scotland, I am going to coppice this one this spring and make a new hedge, I’m so glad I at least have one still,

I thought the best way to finish a January foliage post is with a photo of the new shoots already pushing through on the flowering currants, at their base is last years leaves providing a mulch and this years leaves are staring their journey,

as this is mostly foliage although I’m a few days late I’m linking to Christina’s foliage meme, so if you haven’t already and would like to see more foliage posts from around the world pop over to Christina’s blog,

I also managed to do some work in the garden, none of the plant moving I would like to do as it was a bit cold for that but preparation, an hour after I came in the rain started, the weather people had said strong winds and rain were heading our way, well they have arrived I can hear the wind outside, so glad I am in the warm, hope you are too,

©Copyright 2013 Frances Caple. All rights reserved. Content created by Frances Caple for Island Threads.

EoMV and worst and best of June

I had intended each month to post about the changes in the alder garden but as work couldn’t be carried out due to all the rain last winter I have been posting other parts of the garden, I thought it was time for an update on the alder garden, plants I put there a few years ago with the intention of planting them in a proper home later are still in the alder garden and growing, a view along the alder garden from the south side (back of house) across to the north side (front of house) this garden runs along the west side of my house,
this bank is at the south end of the area and faces north, during this dry spell I have removed the grass though there are roots in the bank, I was thinking it would make a nice area for ferns, it is relatively sheltered from most winds, the primmies are self sown I just weeded around them, the small pine on the left is one of several that must be replanted along my perimeter fence,

everything in the foreground of this photo is to be removed and I am determined to get it done before the end of the year, the lupin were pieces that broke off when I was cutting the dead off 2 years ago, I want them in other areas of the garden, the currants should have been moved last winter, the foxgloves seeded in and I left them as I had not moved the other plants they will die after flowering, I rather like the foxgloves with the lupins not something I would have thought of, nature knows best,

the phoenix rises, these are my wonderful old fashioned pinks Mrs Simpkins they are white flowered but what makes them so wonderful is their perfume that fills the air when the weather warms them, the rabbits like them which has caused me concern in the past but I am relaxing about it because I have realised now that they re-grow from old wood and even push up new growth from the root, these were eaten last January the light coloured chips around them are shredded old fennel stems which still had a strong aroma, rabbits don’t like strong aromas, I don’t know if it deterred the rabbits but they have not been back yet, I would like to leave these pinks in this area but may re-position them,

the pink flowers on the right of the last photo are these hardy geraniums that someone gave me a few years ago, at the time I had nowhere to plant them out so put them in here intending to move them later, they too are going to go before the end of year,  I don’t know which geranium as she didn’t know but looking them up I think they may be G. macrorrhizum,

the bees love these geraniums and I have tried taking photos but the bee won’t sit still and I usually end up with blurred bee or no bee however when I brought some photos up on the computer I was surprised and pleased to see this, I can’t take any credit just a happy accident and clever camera, this camera is much better than my old one,

lastly the tatties, this is the area I dug last autumn to let the winter breakdown, by the time these tatties are dug up it will be well dug and should be weed free,

of course it might not be potato free, this is growing from one I didn’t find when I dug them up last autumn,

the end of month view of the damp meadow I did another panorama as it gives a better view of size, all the heather behind is still my garden I have more garden uncultivated than cultivated which is why I often feel I have little growing,  

I took this photo last night, another view of the damp meadow roughly as I see the meadow from the kitchen window, in this photo you can see the little blue flower of meadow cranesbills, the yellow dots are mostly meadow buttercup,

as I had shown a photo of the jungle side of the front garden earlier in the month I thought I’d show an update as I managed to do a bit of weeding and the beautiful blue geraniums are flowering so well,

now the worst and best, trees, the willows are my worst and this is one of the better ones, you can see the dead shoots from earlier growth, every time these trees try to re-grow they get sapped by more winds, I coppiced some including this one last year as you can see no growth succeeded last year and this year is going the same way, the uncoppiced trees are brown and dead looking,

every cloud has a silver lining, when I bought the first trees 10 years ago I included 5 hazels which never took, last year I bought one hazel and planted in an area sheltered from our south westerly winds, so we now get north east winds which killed early growth and I thought the hazel was lost, this month I saw this a tiny shoot from the roots, hazel can be coppiced and do re-grow from the root if it is still live,

worst and best flowers, no photos of worst as they are not there, sadly the jasione I bought last year has completely gone and I mean completely as I can’t even find the dead crown and the aster frikatii monch has not re-grown, the flowers on iris pallida argentea variegata opened this month and they are the most beautiful blue, this iris has beautiful foliage and that was why I bought it so these beautiful flowers are a bonus,

and my other best is finding the yellow rattle seeds growing as mentioned in the previous wildflower post, I have now counted 12 yellow rattle plants, yellow rattle is not a plant that stands out but here in the UK it is very important if you want wildflowers in grass as it feeds on the grass roots so keeps the grass population under control,

I’m linking this post to Helen at patient gardener for EoMV

and to bumble lush for the worst and best of June

please follow the links to see more garden blogs,

©Copyright 2012 Frances Caple. All rights reserved. Content created by Frances Caple for Island Threads.