What do like most in your garden??

paddy147

Just sitting here watching the Euro 2012 football and have the multi fuel stove fired up too.

Happened to look out the window at the garden and the birch tree,giant alliums and foxgloves all blowing around in the strong winds and rain.

It makes a nice sight on such a crapy miserable day (facinated with the purple alliums and white foxgloves blowing in the wind).

So it got me thinking a bit.........

Whats the one planted feature about your garden or 1 thing in your garden that cheers you up on a crappy miserable day like today??

Thanks.:)

joanofarc

Sometimes its hard to even remember to enjoy your garden giving the awful weather we get:( but on the few fine days we do have, I love my big purple iris's when their in bloom ( they've multiplied each year so the display gets better and better ). I also love the huge flowers on my clematis, have a few different ones, all growing through the hedges. Love when the grass is freshly cut and its that lush lime green color.

mountainy man

For me it has to be the yellow bobbing heads of the welsh poppy, for all the planting and preening and carefull thought to prime planting positions of the choice plants this little fellow who I didnt sow and i don't know where it came from has been happily making its way through the border and developing star status , its a tough little blighter and makes me smile as I wander around the garden just before dark on my rounds to see what needs to be done tomorrow, this year it has reached the few purple alliums to have survived the winter in my wet soil and they look fantastic, well the poppies still look great but the alliums are now horizontal due to the strong winds of today, ah well....oh I also like my purple irises too.

paddy147

mountainy man wrote: »

For me it has to be the yellow bobbing heads of the welsh poppy, for all the planting and preening and carefull thought to prime planting positions of the choice plants this little fellow who I didnt sow and i don't know where it came from has been happily making its way through the border and developing star status , its a tough little blighter and makes me smile as I wander around the garden just before dark on my rounds to see what needs to be done tomorrow, this year it has reached the few purple alliums to have survived the winter in my wet soil and they look fantastic, well the poppies still look great but the alliums are now horizontal due to the strong winds of today, ah well....oh I also like my purple irises too.

Sounds very nice indeed.:)

The wind and rain got the better of some of the grasses in my garden today.

Mad weather for the 8th of June.:(

paddy147

joanofarc wrote: »

Sometimes its hard to even remember to enjoy your garden giving the awful weather we get:( but on the few fine days we do have, I love my big purple iris's when their in bloom ( they've multiplied each year so the display gets better and better ). I also love the huge flowers on my clematis, have a few different ones, all growing through the hedges. Love when the grass is freshly cut and its that lush lime green color.

Ah you cant beat the clematis when its flowering.:)

km79

The sound of the birds , reading a book & Drinking cans on a nice evening

looksee

Substitute a pot of very elegant irises for the foxgloves and I would go with the birch tree and aliums combo too! And the best giant clematis are at the front, the ones at the back have been sitting there for ages, don't know what they are waiting for!

One of my favourite bits is a gloomy little corner near the house that doesn't get any sun but has a lovely selection of ferns, cranesbill (which I leave and pretend is deliberate) and violas. It is showing a bit of an infestation of montbretia though, which will have to be hauled out.

Tree

My garden lives in pots as im renting and moving a lot. Indoors my favourite is the agave, outdoors I think I like my sedum a lot, it's weird looking but has lovely flowers when the time is right.

Black Dog

Might I suggest you, all above, might like garden.ie

Nice exchange of experiences, thoughts, photographs etc on gardening. Click on the "Club" tag. The other sections of the site are not worth looking at.

Black Dog

And, to answer the original question, there is a good stand of a pink foxglove in the garden at the moment, a bit wind blown but still looking well.

nice1franko

My garden's only a balcony but have an abundance of mint, chives, rosemary, oregano, thyme and coriander in it. The only other thing I want is Basil but it won't grow for me at all. Also have some garlic, a blueberry bush, small bay tree and a lavender plant.

It's a nice place to sit, especially with a mojito in hand.

muckyhands

In it I have all the plants that I love, well almost.

That its a work in progress and Im not done yet, and Ill squeeze a few more plants in.

And that it changes all the time- waiting several months of the year for your favourite plants to bloom, is half the fun.

Ophiopogon

I seem to use my a lot of my garden as stock beds, throwing plants in to see what they look like fully grown and then to split, but this year I'm trying to get a more permanent collection of my own favorite plants.

My most precious plants though are two roses for purely sentimental reasons. A Tequila sunrise and an Ingrid Burgman. They were the first plants I ever planted, about 15 years ago as a teenager. They were the start of the great love affair, the Ingrid just coming into bloom now and it's beautiful.

Funny though as I've never planted any other roses since.

planetX

wind snapped most of my foxgloves:mad:
My favourite part of the garden is the bottom part of the lawn where I stopped mowing. I'm on poor clay soil, and I've got loads of wildflowers there, including wild marjoram, ox-eye daisies, birds foot trefoil and some orchids:)
My problem now is that I'm finding it harder to cut grass anywhere, I know there are orchids in the front too so I'm leaving it till I see where they are. Starting to look like a madwoman lives here;)

pwurple

I know I didn't plant them, and I really should pull them up, but there is a sea of buttercups under my laburnum at the moment and i just love them with the yellow of the trees flowers.

paddy147

Ophiopogon wrote: »

A Tequila sunrise and an Ingrid Burgman. They were the first plants I ever planted, about 15 years ago as a teenager. They were the start of the great love affair.

I suppose you could use the phrase..."bitten by the bug".....in the best possible sense then.:)

paddy147

muckyhands wrote: »

In it I have all the plants that I love, well almost.

That its a work in progress and Im not done yet, and Ill squeeze a few more plants in.

And that it changes all the time- waiting several months of the year for your favourite plants to bloom, is half the fun.

What would be your 1 or 2 absolute favourites then?:)

paddy147

Irises,Foxgloves and Alliums seems to be "in" with a few people here,who have posted.:)

And also "wildflowers" too.:)

looksee

How can you have a favourite with flowers? Poppies would be high up my list, but they are not in flower yet (apart from one massive opium poppy flower (forget the proper name)) But I also love the little faces on pansies, daisy type flowers turned up to the sun, shy little violets that you have to look for. Mostly I like whatever is in flower at the moment - two masses of perennial geranium in a lovely purple/blue are striking, and a perennial lupin.

At this time of year though, the tree leaves are most attractive, fresh and fragile in delicate shades of green with touches of pink. Sadly all this observation leads me to the conclusion that there is still a good deal of weeding to be done so I had better go and do a bit more!

planetX

I love poppies too, the way they turn up everywhere - some have snuck into my veggie patch this year and I haven't the heart to pull them.
Funny thing in my garden - I'm always complaining about the lack of sun, and wishing we had more, but my favourite planted area is turning out to be a little shady patch where I've put in ferns, violets, and woodruff. I'm even loving the rocky soil, cos I'm half uncovering the bigger rocks and leaving them in place -it's the happy corner:)

muckyhands

paddy147 wrote: »

What would be your 1 or 2 absolute favourites then?:)

I have so many favourites, its too hard to choose.

LaChatteGitane

Is there not a garden picture thread on here ? If not, there should be, IMO.:D
I have lots of corners in my garden that I love. There is as yet not much in bloom due to poor weather. Foxgloves, lupins, calendula, lavender and some roses are blooming atm. Not much else. Luckily we are surrounded by beautiful countryside so I borrow some of the view
My absolute fav flowers are Hydrangea (old fashioned, I know) and rambling roses, preferably scented. But in fact I love them all.

paddy147

+1 to the above....Garden Picture thread would be a good idea allright.:)

Just in the door now,and arrived back to see lots of bees all over the alliums,
Big bumble bees and little ones.
Theres also lots of hover flys and loads of ladybirds in the garden aswell.:D

muckyhands

Garden pic thread would be good.

I wonder if there is a garden pic thread, or a new one started, could we get the mods to make it a sticky?

Lovin the bees in the garden P147.

arandale

log on to garden .ie for lots of pictures. Thanks Paddy they are fab, fair play to you.

artieanna

I love the gardens colour as it changes over the months and seasons theres always something in flower. How in the winter the garden seem bleak, dead and looks as if nothing will grow back and next thing you know plants begin to pop and grow and before long its beautiful again.

Favourite flowers mmmm roses, alliums, stocks & violas remind me of little butterflies.

At the moment my cottage style garden is in flower with rockets (they completly disobey order) great scent off them too, alliums, poppys & pink and blue perennial geraniums, chives in flower too, pink peris.

The best thing is there is plenty more flowers to come over the next months :O)

LaChatteGitane

arandale wrote: »

log on to garden .ie for lots of pictures. Thanks Paddy they are fab, fair play to you.

Obviously, there are loads of pictures of gardens on t'internet. I meant pictures from FM's gardens.;)

paddy147

LaChatteGitane wrote: »

Obviously, there are loads of pictures of gardens on t'internet. I meant pictures from FM's gardens.;)

Good idea,would give all the members here an idea of what everyone here has in their gardens with regards plants and flowers and at various times of the year.:)

Garden Forum "Sticky" thread perhaps....as has allready been sugested??:)

looksee

Oh, I has a jealous! Your alliums are better than my alliums Paddy. I think mine were not very good stock, I think I will treat myself to some better quality bulbs this year.

Happyman42

Mine used to be my Acer, I got it up to around 4ft tall, beautiful, elegant tree, until a couple of nephews wrecked it with a football. Loved watching it as it never stopped moving, even on a calm day.
Must start a thread on it for advice, it has sprouted again from the base. Wonder could I transplant it and start again. Would love this particular one to survive as it was the first thing I planted.

paddy147

looksee wrote: »

Oh, I has a jealous! Your alliums are better than my alliums Paddy. I think mine were not very good stock, I think I will treat myself to some better quality bulbs this year.

Thanks........Yeah,not bad for 2 euro a pack for the medium sized allium bulbs (8 per pack) and then 1 euro per pack of giant allium bulbs (1 per pack).

Bought from both Euro2 Shop,Aldi and Plantegen Garden Centre.

We planted them very late too,and I somehow managed to plant some of them "upside down" too.:o:

My girlfriend laughed and had to show me which was the top and which was the bottom of the bulb,so I had to dig back up around 10-12 of and replant them "propperly".

Sure as the saying goes...."God loves a tryer"..;):D

muckyhands

paddy147 wrote: »

Thanks........Yeah,not bad for 2 euro a pack for the medium sized allium bulbs (8 per pack) and then 1 euro per pack of giant allium bulbs (1 per pack).

Bought from both Euro2 Shop,Aldi and Plantegen Garden Centre.

We planted them very late too,and I somehow managed to plant some of them "upside down" too.:o:

My girlfriend laughed and had to show me which was the top and which was the bottom of the bulb,so I had to dig back up around 10-12 of and replant them "propperly".

Sure as the saying goes...."God loves a tryer"..;):D

Sure even planted upside down they would have found their way up.

muckyhands

looksee wrote: »

Oh, I has a jealous! Your alliums are better than my alliums Paddy. I think mine were not very good stock, I think I will treat myself to some better quality bulbs this year.

Dont let them go to seed this year so the bulbs can build up extra reserves, they might perform better next year.

Sometimes if Alliums go to seed year after year the bulbs can run out of steam.

looksee

Yes that's a good point, to not let them seed. I put them in a large pot to get them going as I seem to lose them if I put them directly in the garden. This is their first year, they were those 4 different varieties in a pack for whatever, except they were half price because a bit late in the season.

redser7

Just the grass. Turned it from truly horrible/mossy/weedy/patchy to a lush carpet.

There used to be a photo thread but it got de-stickied for some reason I think.

Daisy M

I love my garden but I am afraid the two bad winters we had really knocked a lot out of it. I was so disheartened last year when my escallonia and grisellinea hedges got "kilt stone dead" there was a lot of other casualties but I was gutted by the loss of these two. I did the bare minimum in the garden last year. Anyway towards the end of the year I started looking on the bright side, the trees that give much needed privacey between my parents and my house survived, they are the most important trees ever. The Escallonia started to grow back and I kid you not they are really bushy and almost 3 feet tall. The grisellinea were separating two lawns but now we have made one big lawn and the decidious trees I planted and barely noticed have came into their own and are beautiful to look at.

I have 4 large shrub beds and lots of pots and I love them all.:)

I would love to see pics of other gardens.

slowburner

Birds.
(Although mine is more of a patch cut into the wilderness than a garden )

LaChatteGitane

Some garden delights.;)

Verbascum (spontaneous appearance)



Raspberries


Gaillardia


Calendula


Strawberries


Lupins

Northumbria

It depends on the season:

• In spring I love the purple crocuses, snowdrops and daffs which peep out from the melting snow
• In summer I like the common poppies, Cornflowers and the red hawthorn around my area
• In autumn I love seeing all the fruit on the trees ready for harvest - apples, pears, plums and the leaves turning red on the grape vine.
• In winter there is nothing quite like seeing holly or rowan with bright red berries on sustaining the birds.

Those are my seasonal favourites. At the moment my favourite plants in the garden are the strawberries, rhubarb and grape vine. Not much chance of grapes this year, but the plant is nice.

Happyman42

LaChatteGitane wrote: »

Some garden delights.;)

What a show off!

Northumbria wrote: »

It depends on the season:

• In spring I love the purple crocuses, snowdrops and daffs which peep out from the melting snow
• In summer I like the common poppies, Cornflowers and the red hawthorn around my area
• In autumn I love seeing all the fruit on the trees ready for harvest - apples, pears, plums and the leaves turning red on the grape vine.
• In winter there is nothing quite like seeing holly or rowan with bright red berries on sustaining the birds.

Pics!

Northumbria

Happyman42 wrote: »

What a show off!



Pics!

I don't have any pictures at the moment, I should really buy a new camera. For now you'll just have to imagine it.
Most of these plants are very common anyway, I'm sure everyone can appreciate the first crocuses at the end of winter. I have some bulbs waiting in jar too add to those already in the garden ready for next year.

Ophiopogon

Beautiful Lupins, LaChatte, and what looks like a beautiful garden.

The background shots really remind me of the garden I grew up in, it being one I really hope to recreate at some point in my life.

planetX

My meadow - I've only myself to blame for the hayfever its causing

Merkin

What is the name of the 3rd flower down planetX? I used to pick bunches of them when I was a little 'un but have never known what they are called! Beautiful pics by the way!

planetX

spotted orchid - Dactylorhiza maculata
I have a few paler ones too

In the second pic down are Pyramidal orchids, Anacampis pyramidalis, here's a more pyramidal shaped one


not for picking anymore;)

LaChatteGitane

Tonight's garden.

paddy147

As of 4pm yesterday.

Not much sun,but a hell of alot or rain though.:(:D

paddy147

And as of 10pm tonight.

Plenty of bees still buzzing around.:D

paddy147

Nice sunny morning this morning.

Just got to find some space in the garden to plant some of these.:)

paddy147

Tesco are selling various "Irish Grown" flowers and plants for 5 euro each.

We went a bit mad in Tesco tonight.:D

Now to figure out where in the garden to plant them.:)

Ophiopogon

God Paddy I wish I could tell you where I work as you would have a field day, our stock is bigger and much cheaper than that.

I really like your ferns btw, like the design as a whole really (bar the alliums, can't feckin stand the yokes) fair play Mucky.