tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-335966222024-02-19T05:48:17.553+00:00The Constant GardenerMeanderings through my gardenThe Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.comBlogger510125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-25947435525859649242013-01-01T18:50:00.002+00:002013-01-01T18:50:31.804+00:00The Constant Gardener has moved houseI've got a nice shiny new place to blog - you'll <a href="http://sallynex.com/blog">find it here</a>. Please come on over and visit: if you're an email subscriber you will also need to re-subscribe (sorry...) and generally set everything up again but I hope you won't find it takes too long and promise it'll be worth it. <br />
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<a href="http://sallynex.com/blog">See you there!</a><br />
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Sally xThe Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-36965132922688565922012-10-02T14:45:00.000+01:002012-10-02T14:53:30.262+01:00Postcard from Japan: The best of the restWell - not everyone could win a gold medal, I suppose.<br />
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The standard this year at the Gardening World Cup was very high, as you'd expect from international designers of this calibre: so the competitive element was particularly controversial, and there was much heated muttering in corners about the judges' reasons for awarding anything less than gold.<br />
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But the decision, as they say, is final, so in recognition of the fact that there were some damn good gardens among the lesser medals, I couldn't leave without showing you them, too.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>David Davidson + Leon Kluge: Hortus Consensus (S Africa)</strong></div>
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<strong>Silver</strong></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFN2aAkdD24mEg8x5PK7Yjxc59DUBAQgxvnZdEaeayOTL2-7aXpqCSGo8B7VgeFDaa0pGFdiOYbmW5mVqSwUTJzCu2Qhhcf5S5MGhHIeUOs6vb0zfknFVMjV1j51-unYn5hD7/s1600/japan_best_david.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFN2aAkdD24mEg8x5PK7Yjxc59DUBAQgxvnZdEaeayOTL2-7aXpqCSGo8B7VgeFDaa0pGFdiOYbmW5mVqSwUTJzCu2Qhhcf5S5MGhHIeUOs6vb0zfknFVMjV1j51-unYn5hD7/s320/japan_best_david.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An uncompromisingly African garden with its ochre colouring, you'd hardly believe these plants were sourced in Japan. The garden is divided by a sweeping wall, planted on top with spiky, forbidding <em>Aloe vera </em>(the closest Japanese plant David could find to South African Cape aloe, <em>A. ferox</em>) symbolising the transition from the apartheid era to the age of peace and reconciliation</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9lDLHJ1cUK2mbTsB5iDL6Pm9qFeUUly7lOB4atfKTNdYZ0OTRwYnUR5Sa_W_B_68mH0PGqw6kavaZPttCKhi9Ahd_xCHBl184M-OoQDLllckdqSRo_T4UmIrY2xECHoXSuZeM/s1600/japan_best_david5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9lDLHJ1cUK2mbTsB5iDL6Pm9qFeUUly7lOB4atfKTNdYZ0OTRwYnUR5Sa_W_B_68mH0PGqw6kavaZPttCKhi9Ahd_xCHBl184M-OoQDLllckdqSRo_T4UmIrY2xECHoXSuZeM/s320/japan_best_david5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behind the wall, all is wild, with a meadow of <em>Panicum virgatum</em> punctuated with lipstick pink <em>Lycoris radiata</em> (I think: the Japanese tend not to use Latin names, so this is a 'best guess' from me). These grow wild along the sides of the paddyfields here - the Japanese equivalent of dandelions - and their exotic looks earned them a place in several of the show gardens </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhduUFIKdPh5gFOkbACxMqYSWP7cIc3-d1ttSWFTCUUo1J0Gq-RpT0ozEHT9vqivc6xYlagiwEEr6x22EgFH6IoGuz6Knkr0nxtRaW_V2j9yC5ns01IpYSLKtEsSK531kXjyi5w/s1600/japan_best_david2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhduUFIKdPh5gFOkbACxMqYSWP7cIc3-d1ttSWFTCUUo1J0Gq-RpT0ozEHT9vqivc6xYlagiwEEr6x22EgFH6IoGuz6Knkr0nxtRaW_V2j9yC5ns01IpYSLKtEsSK531kXjyi5w/s320/japan_best_david2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Set into the walls were these charming 'wildlife boxes': I've seen them filled with grass and bamboo before, but never teapots. One of David's Japanese contractors apparently went and raided his mum's kitchen cupboards for this lot</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCa1ce7t5CtmPmJN6OWV00q0KoUipPbYmsOU1Df-SsSQDJ__MZ-N6u9xNwJZT0-jjzIErtwqdrw2DBQk4JbYjmyH4uVSfUVTPAJrEIlXoGEE9gUE6aCoilQ7Hg2YPtkCSejl5K/s1600/japan_best_david4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCa1ce7t5CtmPmJN6OWV00q0KoUipPbYmsOU1Df-SsSQDJ__MZ-N6u9xNwJZT0-jjzIErtwqdrw2DBQk4JbYjmyH4uVSfUVTPAJrEIlXoGEE9gUE6aCoilQ7Hg2YPtkCSejl5K/s320/japan_best_david4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In front of the wall, all was ordered, with beautiful wavy lines of planting giving the garden a lovely movement. David and Leon design the Kirstenbosch exhibit at Chelsea each year, and have won umpteen gold medals. It's their 20th year next year, and David may make it his last: his subtle, plantsman's designs will be sorely missed.</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Gabino Carballo: Dragomed Garden (Spain)</strong></div>
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<strong>Silver</strong></div>
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<strong></strong> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfOlLw13Mw-I-WU0cCVdqanTPGfGtEcEay1HhU3e5MlhfrLLVp8_pY0x3hKfyA3XnSh0Fc6NlzRloCTEzY95srVnP7XbBA-BEjnp1QrETaW2Etot2ljIkLOO-Vyfszpw4onAFf/s1600/japan_best_gabby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfOlLw13Mw-I-WU0cCVdqanTPGfGtEcEay1HhU3e5MlhfrLLVp8_pY0x3hKfyA3XnSh0Fc6NlzRloCTEzY95srVnP7XbBA-BEjnp1QrETaW2Etot2ljIkLOO-Vyfszpw4onAFf/s320/japan_best_gabby.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If there was ever a garden that gave away its designer's nationality, this is it. This was a garden which needed bright sunshine to make it sing. Luckily, the light in Nagasaki is particularly pure and set the scarlet of the painted bamboo off against the deep purple central courtyard beautifully.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifjQYv761Y3SDFZzSNIVriJD2d-emb3gVJpGdpWy9rz_yM784zOKI2pXRueYlfmqP_gT9u4btSKldsaVizuaVSs5M_R6F8UEhIZKxSi97htxJXR_mEawBxAspRV99wtWss8V_S/s1600/japan_best_gabby3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifjQYv761Y3SDFZzSNIVriJD2d-emb3gVJpGdpWy9rz_yM784zOKI2pXRueYlfmqP_gT9u4btSKldsaVizuaVSs5M_R6F8UEhIZKxSi97htxJXR_mEawBxAspRV99wtWss8V_S/s320/japan_best_gabby3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was a playful garden, though the message behind it was serious: the red bamboo is the skeleton of a dragon 'bleeding on a reflecting pool': a reference, too, to the 'rauxa', a Catalan term for uncontrolled passion and rage. The contrast with the blue peace of the central patio is absolute.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8XU4R-XLCjlXGkSwsmyxXSDcoC8Zj3VkUSOSn8QNXGDttFrGqwmK7amO9x8LDtUKwbjZjp6tEpzmxlhVsRetGEG0hGlCrjJe11KptEy4BKiIFmHQ37bgE1Ibur8Ku75wxiuPB/s1600/japan_best_gabby4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8XU4R-XLCjlXGkSwsmyxXSDcoC8Zj3VkUSOSn8QNXGDttFrGqwmK7amO9x8LDtUKwbjZjp6tEpzmxlhVsRetGEG0hGlCrjJe11KptEy4BKiIFmHQ37bgE1Ibur8Ku75wxiuPB/s320/japan_best_gabby4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planting was sparing and set off well against the pale gravel background: as well as these aeoniums there were aloes, shimmering silver <em>Leucadendron argenteum</em> and olives</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>Jihae Hwang: Mother's Sewing Basket (Korea)</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Bronze</strong></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgru_AINDtvpU3o5VJbFaE4grUfdQF6xDeD4gV5FeobIK5UpLCddmDbvIuPrhl60r6dLS8so-vhGlgicWBdo8Av-Wxg_cSsYRsK8FilhPhprHm08BIfwrqSAqamjiWiV1_aNxlK/s1600/japan_best_jihae6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgru_AINDtvpU3o5VJbFaE4grUfdQF6xDeD4gV5FeobIK5UpLCddmDbvIuPrhl60r6dLS8so-vhGlgicWBdo8Av-Wxg_cSsYRsK8FilhPhprHm08BIfwrqSAqamjiWiV1_aNxlK/s320/japan_best_jihae6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Probably the most controversial decision of the lot, Jihae's garden was the pick of many of the other designers for top honours but ended up getting bronze. It was an exquisitely detailed depiction of the positive side of life in poverty: the tranquillity and peace in having little, and therefore valuing family and community more</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgsqeCdNrmS2tO8wDq18FoArtoDwWJqQuvWKan23OrlvEljmJXFhIUu_IvzAOOt8IACM74IMs1hZlL8QPSx5ZV3-mIybN3yAxbt9bBGNz2aylV1SvaH2aB6D5OOakyP1i4mSH6/s1600/japan_best_jihae.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgsqeCdNrmS2tO8wDq18FoArtoDwWJqQuvWKan23OrlvEljmJXFhIUu_IvzAOOt8IACM74IMs1hZlL8QPSx5ZV3-mIybN3yAxbt9bBGNz2aylV1SvaH2aB6D5OOakyP1i4mSH6/s320/japan_best_jihae.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colour was used sparingly, but exceptionally beautifully in tiles (here at the base of a giant silver needle sculpture which dominated the garden) and in little touches like tiny ceramic flowers set into the steps</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdAfuwJG9L3djYHMToreRQT3Yv-L6C_Q64taDBP6Y0G7xIKen9WgOK8QcO1UVP2v9tdORLDoY8QSN8ToBOaNkuKAckD_on41bmhLCa-tXzeHcJuDwQcJDVC3PRH6PDJUCPav8/s1600/japan_best_jihae2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdAfuwJG9L3djYHMToreRQT3Yv-L6C_Q64taDBP6Y0G7xIKen9WgOK8QcO1UVP2v9tdORLDoY8QSN8ToBOaNkuKAckD_on41bmhLCa-tXzeHcJuDwQcJDVC3PRH6PDJUCPav8/s320/japan_best_jihae2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rusted metal wall is set with Korean domestic implements: a cooking pan and a gardening tool. In the white rendered wall opposite, Jihae set a little cluster of rusted bolts and springs: the symbols of humility pervaded this garden </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh021voFlJbY7dVUvEsSyJgsiQ4Dx_271_RMoNT6zPHjYRUbWCrxPBVKklTy8s65GckotLYC8CPXDv2KKi7zgJsNDpFD-I-pvRxi0Nm1Oy_ajMu1HqiW6DrXM2Fb5BdsSJRvvTF/s1600/japan_best_jihae3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh021voFlJbY7dVUvEsSyJgsiQ4Dx_271_RMoNT6zPHjYRUbWCrxPBVKklTy8s65GckotLYC8CPXDv2KKi7zgJsNDpFD-I-pvRxi0Nm1Oy_ajMu1HqiW6DrXM2Fb5BdsSJRvvTF/s320/japan_best_jihae3.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside there was a simple wooden bench with tiny pairs of shoes underneath in a neat row, pots and a basket of fabric resting on top. The tale is of domesticity and simple pursuits, and the importance of family</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>Karen Stefonick: Passage Under the Sun (USA)</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Silver</strong></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVHnoAhbkKxKuwKU4RJhH18ynKW1TcRzkK8x5mB7jtysraJSmpqqQmBH3kmXTzGMan8SIMEMMX-r1jAQ6EeliCF1iYKDkNZdN0040_6ZFhVsyfmlShGr-RAx1MEX-XjcVUyvY/s1600/japan_best_karen3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVHnoAhbkKxKuwKU4RJhH18ynKW1TcRzkK8x5mB7jtysraJSmpqqQmBH3kmXTzGMan8SIMEMMX-r1jAQ6EeliCF1iYKDkNZdN0040_6ZFhVsyfmlShGr-RAx1MEX-XjcVUyvY/s320/japan_best_karen3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was gardening as modern art. The abstract dominates: a burning sun over two concrete slabs (four lorries' worth, apparently) trickling with life-giving water that flows down into a pool surrounding the seating areas and cutting them off</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0tLCfLi9CEdpix2e5G9Atln8H3kI2F0meYy92v76hhFrIpvZQayJVu5GJDdMV4rTffwdIKVUJfLNDXt9HzAL8e9WTQbivfULmH9HVPcB1axihTtbbeT5BF4M-WCv3WF4blf8/s1600/japan_best_karen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0tLCfLi9CEdpix2e5G9Atln8H3kI2F0meYy92v76hhFrIpvZQayJVu5GJDdMV4rTffwdIKVUJfLNDXt9HzAL8e9WTQbivfULmH9HVPcB1axihTtbbeT5BF4M-WCv3WF4blf8/s320/japan_best_karen.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The stepping stones between the two areas 'connect past and present, continents and countries': though separated by water, this is a garden of unity, simplicity and clean, uncluttered space</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWU7FeuCV9jNlhm-2602Up4gtycr0teyayeCz0TTdk1Xb5WqE_n-CtfkZulPtSCDK04wDmoowecdxJoG9WOEwc4u2rnHfISXBDW4BMt1sP1Jn15gaA-uo6R_idBkFIMt5xPFzG/s1600/japan_best_karen5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWU7FeuCV9jNlhm-2602Up4gtycr0teyayeCz0TTdk1Xb5WqE_n-CtfkZulPtSCDK04wDmoowecdxJoG9WOEwc4u2rnHfISXBDW4BMt1sP1Jn15gaA-uo6R_idBkFIMt5xPFzG/s320/japan_best_karen5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The planting is sparing, too: I couldn't help but notice in these gardens that wherever the designer came from, there was a noticeable Japanese influence on the designs. Plants were used in single, emphatically isolated specimens or groups, often juxtaposed against a rock - a very Japanese technique. Perhaps that's to do with having Japanese contractors build the gardens; perhaps it's just that you can't help breathing in a little of the culture while you're here.</td></tr>
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<br />The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-21896683852669498312012-10-01T15:01:00.001+01:002012-10-01T15:06:22.115+01:00Postcard from Japan: The home teamNo doubt the home supporters among you have been wondering how the Brits got on.<br />
<br />
There were two gardens from British designers at the Gardening World Cup, by <a href="http://www.jothompson-garden-design.co.uk/">Jo Thompson</a> and <a href="http://www.richardmiers.com/home/index.php">Richard Miers</a>, both quite different interpretations of the peace theme. <br />
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Actually it's slightly cheating including Jo in the British contingent as she was representing Italy (James Basson, too, is a candidate for the Brit team, being an Englishman who lives in France). She comes from Italian stock, so she's allowed to defect temporarily, but she's on our side really.<br />
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Anyway, Jo won a silver medal (equalling her medal from last year's show) for her stone-arched garden, taking its inspiration directly from what happened at Nagasaki almost 70 years ago.<br />
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Richard, making his first show garden here (now that's a baptism of fire if ever there was one) was awarded bronze for his very English garden that simply embodied the everyday peace we all feel when we kick back and relax of an evening in a beautiful garden.<br />
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I thought I'd shut up for once and let them talk about it in their own words.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Jo Thompson: The Butterfly Effect</strong></div>
<strong></strong><br />
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"The garden is a direct response to a visit last year that we made to the Nagasaki Peace Museum... It really sunk home quite how important this message [of peace] is. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZlrhDPKcHWGMw2hVr0ZC3684EgZviJ7Ffxm7QiCTCXUQHK1zbPstDCGiWI344A53mOQwCeIPk_G7PJmAfymuicurgsU6yNe3qAMjpx5skq2fuwpvoGeFi_kvjWfs3pu-zv1Tj/s1600/japan_brits7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZlrhDPKcHWGMw2hVr0ZC3684EgZviJ7Ffxm7QiCTCXUQHK1zbPstDCGiWI344A53mOQwCeIPk_G7PJmAfymuicurgsU6yNe3qAMjpx5skq2fuwpvoGeFi_kvjWfs3pu-zv1Tj/s320/japan_brits7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
"What stayed with me were the images of these atomic shadows, which are the remnants of people who were essentially vapourised by the bomb. The people have disappeared but their shadows still remain on the concrete walls: you've got somebody sitting waiting for a bus, a ladder with a man up it going about his daily business - and all of that is just spine-tinglingly awful and it does make your blood run cold.<br />
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<br />
"Then next to these shadows were some wooden window shutters which had survived, and onto them there had been imprinted the shadow of the acer leaves on the tree that had stood in front of them, and it was beautiful, the most intricate pattern. <br />
<br />
"And I found myself standing in front of it thinking, well this is beautiful but in fact it's come from something so ugly. And I wanted to use that.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilxFefSGjvFmhAPlqYQo_dLmcA4wQUMzgZfxDhyrEJcOWPNP3Dox1K4BF0TsAJxLYbsaOBSwXILPvtWuzb56yfJlLKOytTcylKyMrVcIENZgXFXES7myVreKxtMvKoyBTbeabA/s1600/japan_brits8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilxFefSGjvFmhAPlqYQo_dLmcA4wQUMzgZfxDhyrEJcOWPNP3Dox1K4BF0TsAJxLYbsaOBSwXILPvtWuzb56yfJlLKOytTcylKyMrVcIENZgXFXES7myVreKxtMvKoyBTbeabA/s320/japan_brits8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
"So that was the first idea - and then as we walked out of the museum we were met by a host of butterflies. It was extraordinary - we came out from this place of gloom and were just met by them flying around, their fragility contrasting with the sadness of the place we'd just been.<br />
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<br />
"So I've designed a space that has rendered walls for shadows, it's a very plain, simple floor surface for shadows; it has arches in it to frame shadows, and plants that attract butterflies."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Richard Miers: Serenity</strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj936HSRXkXbrz-q3Q_6r5VFrHijSHA2xOVAo2UkqWp03h_RsQ00PlhqlbL0D8uAbNMCki68NWMYdsRFGb73VxlAlBkv4DiO3Gn1cV1ot5qr4JsNdVuc2b7-_UO2UtI8oHaZ_gc/s1600/japan_brits4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj936HSRXkXbrz-q3Q_6r5VFrHijSHA2xOVAo2UkqWp03h_RsQ00PlhqlbL0D8uAbNMCki68NWMYdsRFGb73VxlAlBkv4DiO3Gn1cV1ot5qr4JsNdVuc2b7-_UO2UtI8oHaZ_gc/s320/japan_brits4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
"It's a garden to entertain in: to get people to sit down and have a meal and discuss and talk, aiming for peace and tranquillity. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0xOObKGm7hhS2e9xmpwJCdA5s1f513MH9B48Lr0Y1PbCdxjfTqQhEM42ckE3b85pXDkjOnX9-E_D7ji8_p9eIYzTCl1Dd1RhGOmLf7W4uc0tNRzpg0FQF6W_Aff_S99KnGVT/s1600/japan_brits3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt0xOObKGm7hhS2e9xmpwJCdA5s1f513MH9B48Lr0Y1PbCdxjfTqQhEM42ckE3b85pXDkjOnX9-E_D7ji8_p9eIYzTCl1Dd1RhGOmLf7W4uc0tNRzpg0FQF6W_Aff_S99KnGVT/s320/japan_brits3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
"The theme of the whole show was gardens for peace - my interpretation was peace within oneself, which you get being out of doors in a nice garden with wildlife all around you, the sound of the running rill - it all just helps you bring peace to yourself.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0cgLEmElE64rC8M0RptT4apA6JBQZaaE6XsdUg8AT2xyk80yCYVr6wbfs7ls9we1Pe5PbJhZVdPEP-LqjKSevoVEMPBh0WC6OUHwKp6YB1-ZCeAqjMApcv71w2hswxm0k4Mb/s1600/japan_brits2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0cgLEmElE64rC8M0RptT4apA6JBQZaaE6XsdUg8AT2xyk80yCYVr6wbfs7ls9we1Pe5PbJhZVdPEP-LqjKSevoVEMPBh0WC6OUHwKp6YB1-ZCeAqjMApcv71w2hswxm0k4Mb/s320/japan_brits2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
"The Japanese love asymmetry, and Europeans tend to like symmetry, and I wanted to show them what an English town garden could look like. <br />
<br />
"I wanted to bring elements of water, I wanted to bring in the sun, represented in Emily Young's sculpture, and show them how an English herbaceous border would be put together but using Japanese flowers.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCWQvdVdWdT5NyGcUvNNM-RlPnIxtUWPvgGehZKBj4mxDAG85DlvpwVOBiuCXf7s4rR52fWv8fK6_VvCYHEyl7gAIFEVgICKcfdCVoomgrYgUn4iMfCaSNtYBrZ5B3HONxPWZ/s1600/japan_brits1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCWQvdVdWdT5NyGcUvNNM-RlPnIxtUWPvgGehZKBj4mxDAG85DlvpwVOBiuCXf7s4rR52fWv8fK6_VvCYHEyl7gAIFEVgICKcfdCVoomgrYgUn4iMfCaSNtYBrZ5B3HONxPWZ/s320/japan_brits1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
"It's getting the rhythm around the garden, having the space to breathe between the flowers which I thought was important."<br />
<br />The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-91840612176023748862012-09-30T20:05:00.001+01:002012-09-30T20:05:35.418+01:00Postcard from Japan: Gold-winning gardens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
When you get eleven of the world's best designers together, give them the same brief and more or less the same conditions - limited budget, two weeks to build and source the plants, and a Japanese contractor with translator - it's a fascinating insight into the way different nationalities approach the same challenges.</div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The best of the gardens at the Gardening World Cup in Japan were simply superb. There were five gold medals this year: each of them, in their own different way, interpreted the theme of peace with intelligence, subtlety and thoughtfulness: all the more extraordinary given the constraints they were put under. </div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Lim in Chong chose an Islamic garden to corner the Best in Show prize, but the four other gold medal winners took different approaches, taking inspiration from the path of a bullet to water as the source of life to Japanese castles. </div>
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<strong></strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Xanthe White: Regenerating through the water</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>(Best Design)</strong></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNE4VKx71FORVhXnGe9SGFVg1FdqIgneD9RcrWsnMOHAq79YSU_VCmZ7VMOhh_qyHUyYQysWuV6wbNqvyqsXGR-nyidcZTu1fLiqAO5U9B6tHYiIbdReIP9bMgQBHgvBe8uI6S/s1600/japan_gold5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNE4VKx71FORVhXnGe9SGFVg1FdqIgneD9RcrWsnMOHAq79YSU_VCmZ7VMOhh_qyHUyYQysWuV6wbNqvyqsXGR-nyidcZTu1fLiqAO5U9B6tHYiIbdReIP9bMgQBHgvBe8uI6S/s320/japan_gold5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Xanthe's sunken garden envelops you the moment you walk in, with its burnt-wood pergola and enclosing planked walls. Orchids and bright yellow daisies cascaded down green walls and dark pools dripped with ferns and broad-leaved petasites</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKdhvudI-wNJQ-juJWEcrjEjPx7fB9ee05Ur-vNucbZZTgLj-RkRVLjNpT4wDteDlk_HjRj-IjwAvGy3U6yJX4vVZIIuk7QKpvcTYpxrVjtDl13EwpCdeoXw5yxiLf9rmW2w4_/s1600/japan_gold6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKdhvudI-wNJQ-juJWEcrjEjPx7fB9ee05Ur-vNucbZZTgLj-RkRVLjNpT4wDteDlk_HjRj-IjwAvGy3U6yJX4vVZIIuk7QKpvcTYpxrVjtDl13EwpCdeoXw5yxiLf9rmW2w4_/s320/japan_gold6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The planting was lush and green, with water in two black pools edged with rock and wood: this garden was unmistakeably New Zealand, but with a Japanese accent</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0AT3QUTZKzDPCfTYraF12JlnViKsp0RN_JZoCBnbdFCt7cUnRgzJJktEEzVGZ8T8DpMivleLdYlFHSPAkwDnnkxD15mFwFKXdSkoVHMpAyQ2g4_eDTMy2vv6ejjZpV57cvdki/s1600/japan_gold7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0AT3QUTZKzDPCfTYraF12JlnViKsp0RN_JZoCBnbdFCt7cUnRgzJJktEEzVGZ8T8DpMivleLdYlFHSPAkwDnnkxD15mFwFKXdSkoVHMpAyQ2g4_eDTMy2vv6ejjZpV57cvdki/s320/japan_gold7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and the planting on the living wall outside was just ravishing</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>James Basson: Dulce et Decorum Est</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>(Best Interpretation)</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong></strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong></strong> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9lL3Q77CqtLsvkwiDItse3TkU6rl9A1yR84EAWp359w9rjkkbK5UdpfsIlKJkY_H5LHPCaLroBOvx5ggS2KIkkOPHOexFlIUJvce014R4WrQ2KR5alXXOOQaA4XRkc9g4CIqM/s1600/japan_gold1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9lL3Q77CqtLsvkwiDItse3TkU6rl9A1yR84EAWp359w9rjkkbK5UdpfsIlKJkY_H5LHPCaLroBOvx5ggS2KIkkOPHOexFlIUJvce014R4WrQ2KR5alXXOOQaA4XRkc9g4CIqM/s320/japan_gold1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking inspiration from the Wilfred Owen poem Dulce et Decorum Est (Pro Patria Mori) James's garden took the passage of a bullet through solid material as its theme: the small hole in the back wall widens through to a jagged wreckage in the front, also symbolising the terrible effect of war from a small cause to devastating consequences</td></tr>
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<strong></strong><strong></strong><strong></strong></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhix34Gec6CaNg413E4k42kuGyffy9t8jUyEl-5XohqLSSnEDIYLms0JGgAAlunDl_6uIvHVO53sOhlbGQWzOcDEVaXPmdWvrsas_ABnF4pi16dNW1PNQWpVHGt9YIqzDPqSfcM/s1600/IMG_0371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhix34Gec6CaNg413E4k42kuGyffy9t8jUyEl-5XohqLSSnEDIYLms0JGgAAlunDl_6uIvHVO53sOhlbGQWzOcDEVaXPmdWvrsas_ABnF4pi16dNW1PNQWpVHGt9YIqzDPqSfcM/s320/IMG_0371.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soft planting of sanguisorbas, grasses, eupatorium and chocolate cosmos soothed the blasted concrete and emphasised the role of nature in healing</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong></strong> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Kazuyuki Ishihara: An Alcove Garden</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>(People's Choice Award)</strong></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEies_CO1EcxyKyaz19zZD1Vp28dpGGv0XHm0dQXTJsq_aiUMqGKEOhGVTsmGKqo5TOkLjjHIaYFmmgbYq6ORW-AYg6ches7ay8UMfCinP97utZL_k1-HzrPExebhTDWT2SF3bJT/s1600/japan_gold8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEies_CO1EcxyKyaz19zZD1Vp28dpGGv0XHm0dQXTJsq_aiUMqGKEOhGVTsmGKqo5TOkLjjHIaYFmmgbYq6ORW-AYg6ches7ay8UMfCinP97utZL_k1-HzrPExebhTDWT2SF3bJT/s320/japan_gold8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ishihara is already a familiar name for his regular gold medal winning forays to Chelsea: this time he's on home turf and designing an uncompromisingly Japanese landscape, with tea house, cascading pools and a maple just turning bronze</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2sCaSEWSf53V3mmDU_6Lk-1-fOiINvnZdqJX2Bp6SxgZdhaLRCGa7H5PIzduFcpt5GIdIqH8niwbOV1KQCBt7BzJa0TzIK3cZaljRmHh_xYrS-mh8uG9eI6lHy8RyDj3udxw/s1600/japan_gold9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2sCaSEWSf53V3mmDU_6Lk-1-fOiINvnZdqJX2Bp6SxgZdhaLRCGa7H5PIzduFcpt5GIdIqH8niwbOV1KQCBt7BzJa0TzIK3cZaljRmHh_xYrS-mh8uG9eI6lHy8RyDj3udxw/s320/japan_gold9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the lower pool, covering the width of the garden: the upper pool, overhung by a low branch from a nearby pine, is fed by a bubbling cascade</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgzEkzmZhA5CC1O1rtywZ2h75xM0Lg20z1-gQdLY2ZdRuKTCNtjrTFuh7MMI9LR8j3KQGu4ItKTMpcCv_RtTniLUVLYpXhBhyphenhyphenAJ4zY0xAHCMR4Jf7BbQoj8gJEh8YNYbNIg4S/s1600/japan_gold10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgzEkzmZhA5CC1O1rtywZ2h75xM0Lg20z1-gQdLY2ZdRuKTCNtjrTFuh7MMI9LR8j3KQGu4ItKTMpcCv_RtTniLUVLYpXhBhyphenhyphenAJ4zY0xAHCMR4Jf7BbQoj8gJEh8YNYbNIg4S/s320/japan_gold10.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behind the pine is this moongate - or perhaps moon window - let into the stone walls lined with moss and sedum, <br />
a wooden carving of dragons set across it</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Hiroshi Terashita: Peace Blooms in Forest</strong></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVb70Rp5Nn42NaVG8vS-LiQJzTjf-XvT_GaUpV8QCgx-nH3y324BkthZ5h7k69NTXoPAm-AWy-p_KPZoQ8viDFHtoMhELd8sRPzTdxMoqiF2s3Sv2U9H8A2iJpxpj2mbjAySl/s1600/japan_gold2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAVb70Rp5Nn42NaVG8vS-LiQJzTjf-XvT_GaUpV8QCgx-nH3y324BkthZ5h7k69NTXoPAm-AWy-p_KPZoQ8viDFHtoMhELd8sRPzTdxMoqiF2s3Sv2U9H8A2iJpxpj2mbjAySl/s320/japan_gold2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was a garden which looked as though it had been there for centuries. The sweeping walls are in the style of ancient 16th century Sengoku castles, constructed with sloping walls to keep the enemy out: each stone was hand carved by Japanese stonemasons working on the garden in slippers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIT7uGufZeYEfqknd2uJvV6768Sk740TvElkOcqqGiLV-X-u8bzjfMeyh8H0Jp0nYV3XXV3ANcutuDmCFZAsLYcsrSm48wSXfIoNRBqI39NNZgWVOPdm9RjUXCU-6-w4KpPVT-/s1600/japan_gold3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIT7uGufZeYEfqknd2uJvV6768Sk740TvElkOcqqGiLV-X-u8bzjfMeyh8H0Jp0nYV3XXV3ANcutuDmCFZAsLYcsrSm48wSXfIoNRBqI39NNZgWVOPdm9RjUXCU-6-w4KpPVT-/s320/japan_gold3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Planting was simple and understated: I loved this sweep of white-flowered water plants skirting the edge of the wall. Birches, ash and konara oaks (<em>Quercus serrata</em>) sheltered the ferns and moss beneath</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrKdj-scoLGb1EEoo6cypUz1mX754870-zmX67njCnMdGAlpa251aJ9V6aKdjnf2CH7Cg8vjsYIUzw00pzR8WjgkP3T5azsq8Uq2NAPFw2xBFJcUH3x5U2U3l48XSC-dItckN-/s1600/japan_gold4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrKdj-scoLGb1EEoo6cypUz1mX754870-zmX67njCnMdGAlpa251aJ9V6aKdjnf2CH7Cg8vjsYIUzw00pzR8WjgkP3T5azsq8Uq2NAPFw2xBFJcUH3x5U2U3l48XSC-dItckN-/s320/japan_gold4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and there were little details like these hand-carved stone dragonflies set into the paving which just caught at your heart. Exquisite.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-58693625583686042262012-09-29T07:16:00.001+01:002012-09-29T15:59:00.987+01:00Postcard from Japan: Medals Day at the Gardening World CupSometimes I can't quite believe my luck. This week I get to spend in Nagasaki, Japan, visiting the Japanese version of the Chelsea Flower Show.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AYAGG25Ov_zmxcmZsPqeD2R5xuAveSImglU86nbLfiDwyH3vlXrc2E3YBvYbNtzLRasAH1sxVras3wmaImQN7ijNUnFkMOL_xcEhyazE2VBjeZi_vJFGHDYpns9nozQEeCcz/s1600/japan_inch2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AYAGG25Ov_zmxcmZsPqeD2R5xuAveSImglU86nbLfiDwyH3vlXrc2E3YBvYbNtzLRasAH1sxVras3wmaImQN7ijNUnFkMOL_xcEhyazE2VBjeZi_vJFGHDYpns9nozQEeCcz/s320/japan_inch2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A peek into the little paradise that is 'Eye to Eye', the winning garden by Lim in Chong</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Gardening World Cup, held in the slightly incongruous setting of a Dutch theme park (of which I hope more later: it is bizarreness in a class of its own) takes place over 10 days and as the name would suggest it's a competition, between eleven garden designers invited from all over the world. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFjWmaOaWGWYfAb7-BdgJ-ryDJr9buq8lqECSIkxuBBcqtITJdYXSM_YbyraeSFgvDXxg6C1qMjO1vc_mtOGDCrtCvk2bXxBA9GArmFcSDhUB5hp42GC-dJoGknc6omz_K_40/s1600/japan_inch1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFjWmaOaWGWYfAb7-BdgJ-ryDJr9buq8lqECSIkxuBBcqtITJdYXSM_YbyraeSFgvDXxg6C1qMjO1vc_mtOGDCrtCvk2bXxBA9GArmFcSDhUB5hp42GC-dJoGknc6omz_K_40/s320/japan_inch1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You enter the garden through a barren space stabbed with shards of rusted metal like shrapnel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Among them this year are our very own Jo Thompson, of <a href="http://www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/RHS-Chelsea-Flower-Show/2012/All-Coverage/Articles/Gardens/A-celebration-of-caravanning">Doris the Chelsea caravan fame</a>, and <a href="http://www.richardmiers.com/home/index.php">Richard Miers</a>, usually to be seen designing the likes of 15-acre gardens in Surrey and landscaping the grounds of Grade I listed houses and the like but this year dabbling in the show gardens game for a change.<br />
<div class="western">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuVFX07JCuCJCuNTAXwe36Nr9SFEdWlALE5BIFmyFNU4MD632HpLN_N0OXp3FBap70DSqC_LfUeDCKF4ILa3zqIkxIAOUwZWl3Rym6q-4rDGPOmgppncY5jdsstaxCINze62UG/s1600/japan_inch5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuVFX07JCuCJCuNTAXwe36Nr9SFEdWlALE5BIFmyFNU4MD632HpLN_N0OXp3FBap70DSqC_LfUeDCKF4ILa3zqIkxIAOUwZWl3Rym6q-4rDGPOmgppncY5jdsstaxCINze62UG/s320/japan_inch5.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The journey ends when you step through the last eye gate and into a tranquil haven of bubbling water and gentle flowers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="western">
The standard is incredibly high. There are leading
designers here from the US, New Zealand, South Africa, Malaysia,
Korea and of course Japan, all at the top of their game. Today we
found out the medals, and also the winner of the coveted title of
'Best in Show' (that particular gong comes with a 1 million yen prize
cheque - over £8000).</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeScANem-jVpTRqI-UOlxGvt-AejGBwB7QnU9mPJM74UeplJ79PdcVq-CQZokMAnNM_F5KYGZgs-LLuZLDzFBetgR27B8-vUcFcc_jsM_xh85nolHGWzhuGH_WR54l9t83Ajp/s1600/japan_inch4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeScANem-jVpTRqI-UOlxGvt-AejGBwB7QnU9mPJM74UeplJ79PdcVq-CQZokMAnNM_F5KYGZgs-LLuZLDzFBetgR27B8-vUcFcc_jsM_xh85nolHGWzhuGH_WR54l9t83Ajp/s320/japan_inch4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One day I would like the kind of garden you can pave with blue-and-white Islamic tiles <br />
(and the climate to go with it, please)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The winning garden, Eye to Eye' by Lim in Chong
from Malaysia (known to everyone as 'Inch'), took the theme of 'World
Peace' to heart.
<br />
<br />
<div class="western">
It's a garden of two halves, in which you make a
journey through 'eye' gates across a barren space filled with
monumental rocks like gravestones. Everything here is sharp and
uncomfortable: the colours are black and white and grey, and the path
is of jagged rusted metal shards, raised unevenly so you pick your
way gingerly across them. Two stone 'Tourou' lanterns are Malaysian
symbols of death, lighting the way for the spirits of the dead.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Ccvtsy6G5zITLiniAiul0Vz5fwcDHGelaFQiIztCFZ8ymWzvoPxbv_1Z_aKmM7kBoXbemPmE_Y1QhQMdu_WbfvpVLG0u_Pq0F2T4dBATNiX2L8-tLlRDzj0aJCnagxO6G_ZF/s1600/japan_inch6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Ccvtsy6G5zITLiniAiul0Vz5fwcDHGelaFQiIztCFZ8ymWzvoPxbv_1Z_aKmM7kBoXbemPmE_Y1QhQMdu_WbfvpVLG0u_Pq0F2T4dBATNiX2L8-tLlRDzj0aJCnagxO6G_ZF/s320/japan_inch6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was a garden of all the senses: the bubbling star pool in the centre is a gentle backdrop of sound</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There's a mirrored sliding door set into the
framework of the second eye gate. Closed, you're trapped, shut into
the harsh, conflict-ridden world of war. But it opens to reveal the
second part of the garden: a classic Islamic enclosed courtyard full
of flowers and running water.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSmQVyTPH433H6RP580nIRdnKFwm61Z71rbSU3hiY2Fl8aYVRbukch6c65CAL4wk_6_gf_xNw4AiLl9sHuwa1HVhInavbmmATlViop9Z8d19_HOX9-9mZsNSyv-juR0j1BR0v/s1600/japan_inch8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXSmQVyTPH433H6RP580nIRdnKFwm61Z71rbSU3hiY2Fl8aYVRbukch6c65CAL4wk_6_gf_xNw4AiLl9sHuwa1HVhInavbmmATlViop9Z8d19_HOX9-9mZsNSyv-juR0j1BR0v/s320/japan_inch8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The planting was charming, but very English to my eye... but look at that strappy pandanus behind</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This is as much of a contrast with what went
before as it's possible to have. It's a moving, beautiful space where
I just wanted to sit for hours. A raised star-shaped pool at the
centre bubbles quietly: the floor is tiled with white-and-blue
ceramic, and there are exquisite little touches like the pool of
floating rose-madder flowers off to one side. Latticework windows
allow you to look in from outside.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrt1g1lj5Mjk7DcCITa-ML0yzuxFCmBh8CMXUmZsljVE6XmCzSvSzJxNB4RwdLeIiMFTEQcSNJeDl6qBnlVaCSYuE2j9FgfMlmYEq_RXXhy0Zt2ErHQko6Y_EaL_bHw5Kyttxt/s1600/japan_inch7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrt1g1lj5Mjk7DcCITa-ML0yzuxFCmBh8CMXUmZsljVE6XmCzSvSzJxNB4RwdLeIiMFTEQcSNJeDl6qBnlVaCSYuE2j9FgfMlmYEq_RXXhy0Zt2ErHQko6Y_EaL_bHw5Kyttxt/s320/japan_inch7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Other corners were unmistakeably oriental</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The cool shade inside is a welcome refuge from the
searing Japanese sun (it's 25°C and humid here, and the sunlight is dazzling: sorry, I realise this won't go down well with British readers, but if it makes you feel better there's a typhoon forecast for Sunday).
The planting is in soft pastels, and oddly English in feel: cosmos and roses are everywhere. They're unusual exotics here, of course: you have to
'read' gardens differently on the other side of the world.
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1u3fI2SZP0IeZxgYqLN7_cCldi6lYS1Q7uqLkPC3pkVKAAoTvBtF_tAPcZKhwkyH6F84nX0Y-qEi8cPLRqfgzz8OBrSPP12HzMGXTtaIehFilSgZaFPLqSFVnQqJRfipJGq51/s1600/japan_inch9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1u3fI2SZP0IeZxgYqLN7_cCldi6lYS1Q7uqLkPC3pkVKAAoTvBtF_tAPcZKhwkyH6F84nX0Y-qEi8cPLRqfgzz8OBrSPP12HzMGXTtaIehFilSgZaFPLqSFVnQqJRfipJGq51/s320/japan_inch9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And this was a particular favouite: the buds, set along the length of the stems, are claret-red, too</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's saved
from cottage garden twee-ness by a cluster of gingers in the corner,
a sumptuous cream abutilon with a blood-red eye, and what looked to
me like variegated pandanus grass (we have no indication of plant
names here so you're stuck with my hit-and-miss plant identification
skills, I'm afraid).
I thought it a
breathtaking garden, thoughtfully constructed and lovingly planted.
It's about time
we saw more of Inch in the UK, I'd say. This is the kind of garden
design excellence we can all learn from.
The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-52110899405981176162012-09-13T17:25:00.000+01:002012-09-13T17:25:45.736+01:00Of very small thingsI've mentioned <a href="http://wellylady.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/smallest-garden-in-world.htmlhttp://wellylady.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/smallest-garden-in-world.html">my talented friend Pattie before</a> on this blog: she's a floral artist of the most patient and dedicated kind, and I am regularly rendered speechless by her extraordinary creations.<br />
<br />
Here's her latest.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0SarI31csuBhxBmun-KfZEg5cL88wSYcsRf_2I3hCLzkBR-lq3npRrJ2HqBEediOPUqV-DnGrzESiud_hDOj1NTFsEyNcMnqv-YQOQJlrRCoKrEi6vws3XrAdaq3v8YRGCKA/s1600/pattie1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0SarI31csuBhxBmun-KfZEg5cL88wSYcsRf_2I3hCLzkBR-lq3npRrJ2HqBEediOPUqV-DnGrzESiud_hDOj1NTFsEyNcMnqv-YQOQJlrRCoKrEi6vws3XrAdaq3v8YRGCKA/s320/pattie1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
She's something of a specialist in miniatures, compositions made entirely from plant material but measuring no more than 10cm in any direction.<br />
<br />
It was for the annual <a href="http://www.nafas.org.uk/">NAFAS</a> competition at the Wisley Flower Show, this year moved out of the rather gloomy tent it's usually in, to take up a much sunnier spot in the Bicentenary Glasshouse. <br />
<br />
The theme for this year's miniatures was 'Just Perfick'. Which, I think, it is. Luckily the judges thought so too and gave it first prize.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2V9B-mvwjvYTGkNJ4wc8tRCMzEMS5UOa_fhAtSfd8eEAKE495s-ndKIbS-YOfUT6dQfmAZaaA67Bx322BN6osenit1XHTCZJ9D9LCYbrURuWS5rHWcGTzfcn3JPOG5dJxQgqV/s1600/pattie2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2V9B-mvwjvYTGkNJ4wc8tRCMzEMS5UOa_fhAtSfd8eEAKE495s-ndKIbS-YOfUT6dQfmAZaaA67Bx322BN6osenit1XHTCZJ9D9LCYbrURuWS5rHWcGTzfcn3JPOG5dJxQgqV/s320/pattie2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The level of detail is just astounding: as you can see, it's a little picnic scene with bowls of berry 'apples' and a basket of buns made from pearl barley kernels delicately painted red along the crease.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5CzlAhGKI_GaoLeNuaCpY_kp0qf0En_5KMIrvdG15c9S_xir2HrAl1vBz8qUFp0GOp5BBqq2Kavf1Z9RWjLFsGO_eOm_opWHG9oo7rMXb1LbaBRlSZmm2m5HBlRBckwppyA_k/s1600/pattie3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5CzlAhGKI_GaoLeNuaCpY_kp0qf0En_5KMIrvdG15c9S_xir2HrAl1vBz8qUFp0GOp5BBqq2Kavf1Z9RWjLFsGO_eOm_opWHG9oo7rMXb1LbaBRlSZmm2m5HBlRBckwppyA_k/s320/pattie3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Here's the second prize winner, by Rachel Sherwin: I can't work out what the 'apples' are on this one (there's one on the tree and a couple on the little chair underneath). They're seedpods of some description, but nothing I recognise: these artists are geniuses at seeing miniature shapes in things you or I would just pop in a seed packet and forget about.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR6Q7FEMf8R6nIkbCrGyd-_ysBYZN95s-sABOWX7wzcAQtezE8UppZJroa687YaJkZZr1tIdUmIzmD0J5dQRPhZE6_BqgLcp3h9LCYaFZM0pU96ljT-_HcuXUPEk2Lp4XUIQqh/s1600/pattie4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR6Q7FEMf8R6nIkbCrGyd-_ysBYZN95s-sABOWX7wzcAQtezE8UppZJroa687YaJkZZr1tIdUmIzmD0J5dQRPhZE6_BqgLcp3h9LCYaFZM0pU96ljT-_HcuXUPEk2Lp4XUIQqh/s320/pattie4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
And third prize: perhaps a more straightforward arrangement from Anne Blunt, but nonetheless exquisitely pretty for all that. Those little blossoms so artfully arranged on the twig look just like a Japanese cherry in springtime. In fact now I come to think of it, there's more than an echo of Japanese tradition in these delicate little creations. <br />
<br />
If you're one of the many people who scuttle past the floral art tent at flower shows on the way to something more obviously gardening-related, do stop next time and take a look, if only just for these little jewels. They're like nothing else you'll ever see.The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-21558522518044865942012-09-07T17:16:00.001+01:002012-09-07T17:16:34.682+01:00Wisley Flower Show in picturesGlorious sunshine beckons this weekend for the <a href="http://www.rhs.org.uk/Gardens/Wisley/What-s-on/Wisley-Flower-Show-2012">Wisley Flower Show</a>: for my money, one of the very best small shows there is. <br />
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I popped by for the first day on Thursday and accidentally discovered the way to 'do' the show with minimal discomfort. As regulars will know there's a killer of a traffic jam right down the A3 and on to the M25 which builds up gradually until by mid-morning you're waiting well over an hour to get to the front gate.<br />
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Because I had a ridiculously over-committed day which involved collecting £200 of wood from a sawmill, visiting Wisley Flower Show and hacking the 2 1/2 hour drive back to Somerset, all by lunchtime, I turned up on the dot of 9am when the show opens. What a revelation.<br />
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I swept regally in without so much as a hesitation and was politely waved to my place in Car Park No 1 (right by the entrance) by a small phalanx of attendants. I strolled through the garden, almost alone bar feverishly lawnmowing gardeners, and had the whole show very nearly to myself for the first half-hour. <br />
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By the time I was ready to leave it was only 11am and the queues were well on the way back to Junction 9. Once again, I swept out, waving (slightly sadistically) at all the sweating punters on the other side of the A3 still waiting to get in. You couldn't help but feel a bit smug.<br />
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Anyway: if you get the chance to go this weekend, don't miss it. Here are a few of the many delights you'll enjoy.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkeKFz-EfRupl-_IAp7qsEWRRQX7qGd6DQy75WEHKv0muQXjA2fa4h7Bx5ZFKgFAEfB2MC3q8XdYW7UU83rPTc5IAk_gLoEBQJlJSa_WAc_n_wL6Q-krNYeERn8MM0d11hyphenhyphenMJd/s1600/wisley1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkeKFz-EfRupl-_IAp7qsEWRRQX7qGd6DQy75WEHKv0muQXjA2fa4h7Bx5ZFKgFAEfB2MC3q8XdYW7UU83rPTc5IAk_gLoEBQJlJSa_WAc_n_wL6Q-krNYeERn8MM0d11hyphenhyphenMJd/s320/wisley1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Crocosmia</em> x <em>crocosmiiflora</em> 'Emily Mackenzie', <em>Leonotis leonurus</em> and <em>Astilbe</em> x <em>chinensis taquetii</em> 'Superba' in joyous union on the Best in Show stand by Madrona Nursery</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheucd9hmcsHoSFnoNFuOA8Gz9Tc9K9BVCdgnnM6xntjb33ylD_xdedKQ2IJKj_M7q2xpG3xkJf7YsYjvRZzICuwmioz3DuKmkLuqCRGwiRsh4Av14lTiOBKCEk7R66ehZvMERL/s1600/wisley2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheucd9hmcsHoSFnoNFuOA8Gz9Tc9K9BVCdgnnM6xntjb33ylD_xdedKQ2IJKj_M7q2xpG3xkJf7YsYjvRZzICuwmioz3DuKmkLuqCRGwiRsh4Av14lTiOBKCEk7R66ehZvMERL/s320/wisley2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flower of the show was definitely <em>Rudbeckia laciniata</em> 'Herbstonne': it was everywhere, about 7ft tall and supremely elegant. Probably my favourite of all the rudbeckias and superb in big, in-yer-face planting schemes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtAoT2Cv23-tUTB4Cb57i_L23p63U-gif3Oh9ouAVWfO3Wf-lV1rMSeYhPWJFIVzJPS1QlRhCHk8mg7jwVeXis2iqJAn7FYqlLVIArCcCBV5P-fPZodIqcbHnEbkejDwEUkwl/s1600/wisley3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtAoT2Cv23-tUTB4Cb57i_L23p63U-gif3Oh9ouAVWfO3Wf-lV1rMSeYhPWJFIVzJPS1QlRhCHk8mg7jwVeXis2iqJAn7FYqlLVIArCcCBV5P-fPZodIqcbHnEbkejDwEUkwl/s320/wisley3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Solanum quitoense</em>, a gorgeous sultry big purple leaf with the dew still frosting its upper surfaces, from tropical woodland in central America - one of an extraordinary and inspiring display of exotics from Plantbase Nursery</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbOj75iJ0eO2oP_RVEJsvRgeeeqAFvWo4ssLAd1Yunxh4nLzSABwTEuUlCp9gR56TM7zIveRO_zGjHGKbhTxvqquyxeMtT677KybqVdacnomZneDiTxxDLuAghrzGaEv1xGqsA/s1600/wisley4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbOj75iJ0eO2oP_RVEJsvRgeeeqAFvWo4ssLAd1Yunxh4nLzSABwTEuUlCp9gR56TM7zIveRO_zGjHGKbhTxvqquyxeMtT677KybqVdacnomZneDiTxxDLuAghrzGaEv1xGqsA/s320/wisley4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Aralia cordata</em> flowers catching the sunlight on the Edulis Nursery stand</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3e2QV4FZQ-y8_XaC8Iaka1baUDkYtPXo1VFQZFG7Jg35n8hDAnP-5G40Ja-JBRvWR-IOwl3L888jUm7OgI1FKVXTIeuO5Z_cSeeLawXlz5tTKwaVSAl5l5mO97xqQekPopw4g/s1600/wisley5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3e2QV4FZQ-y8_XaC8Iaka1baUDkYtPXo1VFQZFG7Jg35n8hDAnP-5G40Ja-JBRvWR-IOwl3L888jUm7OgI1FKVXTIeuO5Z_cSeeLawXlz5tTKwaVSAl5l5mO97xqQekPopw4g/s320/wisley5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I rather liked the funky pink frames used to set off the plants on Bean Place Nursery's stand</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3uOdwEHXSZlh_i7_S9kI6fcfju1zjnA5OMFFhKmFqVzW2Z2xVmomqxXvhHod3BGA8WcxH6vnlKy4AmALYh0r7-qC9TksPOipuuFKFdWqJH0OFqfKq0KPPfP3FNl5-Jx_tREmW/s1600/wisley6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3uOdwEHXSZlh_i7_S9kI6fcfju1zjnA5OMFFhKmFqVzW2Z2xVmomqxXvhHod3BGA8WcxH6vnlKy4AmALYh0r7-qC9TksPOipuuFKFdWqJH0OFqfKq0KPPfP3FNl5-Jx_tREmW/s320/wisley6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Dichroa februga</em>, an evergreen hydrangea relative (The Botanic Nursery)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyhmgA6A-RisGg2dVhGB4zpLlapCldVm8GTxyM55OM2pvhkRd1WVE2krwmhJABaueElDmfZlgkRQ-EqA9DH7A9CxNPwSIVnUkbsRTt283X7pMaKBwuhxjTAJHqJsof5_fmp8Yo/s1600/wisley7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyhmgA6A-RisGg2dVhGB4zpLlapCldVm8GTxyM55OM2pvhkRd1WVE2krwmhJABaueElDmfZlgkRQ-EqA9DH7A9CxNPwSIVnUkbsRTt283X7pMaKBwuhxjTAJHqJsof5_fmp8Yo/s320/wisley7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An intriguing heather from Trewidden: don't you just love the way the stems carry on up out of those huge blowsy flowers? It's <em>Erica verticillata</em> - and 70s and boring it ain't</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimFL-m4rI-J27qYL48sRHSr6i3-unQRvoHaBtrw91mepELJ9Lhui9dyWTMmeMAhOl81wMDedmwNrMjIRKR1kqP4Fbhb-SbjPFa31rNDoLwpr9HM-tq894GP3pHRhRrAFPmX1eH/s1600/wisley8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimFL-m4rI-J27qYL48sRHSr6i3-unQRvoHaBtrw91mepELJ9Lhui9dyWTMmeMAhOl81wMDedmwNrMjIRKR1kqP4Fbhb-SbjPFa31rNDoLwpr9HM-tq894GP3pHRhRrAFPmX1eH/s320/wisley8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And last but not least: one for all you heuchera lovers out there. <em>Heuchera</em> 'Sashay' from Heucheraholics had the most gorgeous ruched leaves with just the right touch of purple petticoat showing. Exquisite.</td></tr>
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<br />The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-90237458180473583352012-08-15T09:52:00.000+01:002012-08-15T09:52:00.465+01:00August flowersProof that we're about a month behind where we should be at this time of year: my garden has suddenly, spectacularly burst into flower. Even though it's August, when everything's usually looking a little saggy and tired and definitely more green and brown than colourful.<br />
<br />This is either what my borders should be looking like in midsummer, were I a properly organised gardener giving due consideration to year-round colour: or it's what my borders would have looked like in July, had it been a normal summer.<br />
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Oh hell, I don't care, I'm just enjoying it for what it is. For once I am spoiled for choice as to beautiful things to photograph for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, hosted as always by Carol at <a href="http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/">May Dreams Gardens</a>. And I couldn't be happier.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgonAeZgFQIQNiYmQ6jOSTXXZQ4Vhd-uudzHvyuuHib5XPj8kzLYUZu5Am6AIG2JCalMIvljSVg2Tq5gpaWldGbQHF-Sswt_bGXWfsceDdKDDJG6pAkLQ32_GmkKZOVCOm9Lz_U/s1600/gbbd1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgonAeZgFQIQNiYmQ6jOSTXXZQ4Vhd-uudzHvyuuHib5XPj8kzLYUZu5Am6AIG2JCalMIvljSVg2Tq5gpaWldGbQHF-Sswt_bGXWfsceDdKDDJG6pAkLQ32_GmkKZOVCOm9Lz_U/s320/gbbd1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pumpkin 'Atlantic Giant' in the tropical edibles border: its huge plate-like leaves are looking gorgeous snaking around the feet of some ruched near-black Cavolo Nero kale. I'm experimenting with edible planting with an exotic feel and this one is a real winner.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8g9awByMK16cX-KgwDkpnFRWcyEBotmS-dHm8u_osiEhIwv8S-ZmkdEK4GXv6UAmj7q-S9kx2nbtoTwE5UyADuvmxVasG0ItWIphSGGxUvsGZnuSiJhcrfhv78sI5K5INxX2/s1600/gbbd2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8g9awByMK16cX-KgwDkpnFRWcyEBotmS-dHm8u_osiEhIwv8S-ZmkdEK4GXv6UAmj7q-S9kx2nbtoTwE5UyADuvmxVasG0ItWIphSGGxUvsGZnuSiJhcrfhv78sI5K5INxX2/s320/gbbd2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Malva moschata</em> var <em>alba</em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimDU9426tx3xSVYhtnQqG0ZAlQQxB1lzGAA6UwpGGI7WqtH3H8kz0qLykKosVmgm3B9XEediH_Shl1mcsxtCHrhGezh3DlKC996X7rZ19XmB7Eoo6CDUHPhhfzA1BvLoJsZGEl/s1600/gbbd3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimDU9426tx3xSVYhtnQqG0ZAlQQxB1lzGAA6UwpGGI7WqtH3H8kz0qLykKosVmgm3B9XEediH_Shl1mcsxtCHrhGezh3DlKC996X7rZ19XmB7Eoo6CDUHPhhfzA1BvLoJsZGEl/s320/gbbd3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The brilliantly-coloured if rather thuggish daylilies are also a feature of the tropical edibles border: they don't have a variety as I inherited them (and have been digging out great clumps of them where they've invaded neighbouring territory ever since). I am forever weighing up the pros and cons of getting rid of them altogether: at the moment, when they're looking this lovely, they're for keeping I think. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttuexpTW4tbv2wHZ7yylkJ0cNraIC8DrLVoWNlsce5gcKFRCiI_GhG7809K59RKaZ1AbVkzNICTmnzqOEGlGgC7YyxaW8gwKSXcQadAWF1ASXHlENvjReACN7dKXV28TWoVz6/s1600/gbbd4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttuexpTW4tbv2wHZ7yylkJ0cNraIC8DrLVoWNlsce5gcKFRCiI_GhG7809K59RKaZ1AbVkzNICTmnzqOEGlGgC7YyxaW8gwKSXcQadAWF1ASXHlENvjReACN7dKXV28TWoVz6/s320/gbbd4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garlic chives in full flower</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCzv80qlTlZGoPLChoQL6LMj5W_xCWCHMjbO3EEC_S95qYGXu-DfsS0pAs6L3U46i7niNOuwHE8SA4o4q1g-KQ81CVtvCsjgBtW85ctG04fnViVcNMJLRXIJo3M1XDRfu2gev9/s1600/gbbd5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCzv80qlTlZGoPLChoQL6LMj5W_xCWCHMjbO3EEC_S95qYGXu-DfsS0pAs6L3U46i7niNOuwHE8SA4o4q1g-KQ81CVtvCsjgBtW85ctG04fnViVcNMJLRXIJo3M1XDRfu2gev9/s320/gbbd5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another thug with no name which I harden my heart against while it's just a big, ugly, strappy clump of leaves shouldering everything around it into oblivion: then it flowers and I lose the will to take action yet again. I love crocosmias but my goodness they're difficult to live with.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiki7X65WgZlmf1Ko7oRubesFsDo0pRmjIO3C3JuSzIkI7dVfgDntXOX0WNERk2QcV9TmdcGBLMLmnlve8J2iE3OwK8sF-OxJ262Fc-WSN9vxAamRgS-JGI3JvbLWtZ59wpoT6P/s1600/gbbd6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiki7X65WgZlmf1Ko7oRubesFsDo0pRmjIO3C3JuSzIkI7dVfgDntXOX0WNERk2QcV9TmdcGBLMLmnlve8J2iE3OwK8sF-OxJ262Fc-WSN9vxAamRgS-JGI3JvbLWtZ59wpoT6P/s320/gbbd6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nemesia which survived the winter in the chimney pots flanking my patio and are flowering their socks off once again</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCsNg0he-e4pIUuCnld8P4R3C1nZkKSwSsqeXdtGZaI7dz-DU0MIzp9UgCiJno6ginoq-dTz_6e88BZccAsghCSZcCBY2SqFAUfvwj_cnS5ukhqenuonVYv4eBwcxHuQUC5ELz/s1600/gbbd7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCsNg0he-e4pIUuCnld8P4R3C1nZkKSwSsqeXdtGZaI7dz-DU0MIzp9UgCiJno6ginoq-dTz_6e88BZccAsghCSZcCBY2SqFAUfvwj_cnS5ukhqenuonVYv4eBwcxHuQUC5ELz/s320/gbbd7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Geraniums: or should I say pelargoniums. I'm very rude to them every year and call them my old-lady plants but they just flower on regardless and defy all my attempts to ruin them with blatant neglect.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_TLteuW2_6Vporcg638vAkV_umVHyFAoGQ35wfwFJzTBNKLXLw2GgxuRl_pMsTWQa_Xss7QtrZ5lvDmN5RY5AdWxwQrzd7ffma8uY3SvaItAmfwO9N6yVWxYkHIvepocjwCY/s1600/gbbd8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_TLteuW2_6Vporcg638vAkV_umVHyFAoGQ35wfwFJzTBNKLXLw2GgxuRl_pMsTWQa_Xss7QtrZ5lvDmN5RY5AdWxwQrzd7ffma8uY3SvaItAmfwO9N6yVWxYkHIvepocjwCY/s320/gbbd8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I rather like this one, though. Nicked as a cutting from a client's garden many years ago and still going strong.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigBZsiTUPrLvjcKV_eFEU4GATR9vvVgQ-sifpWjExSKSy-3ocxEt4f7FT9n66emOMrpcooNZfb004AmdotvicWaIR7Ty_QQLLch8-d62s9Ys32ZsU8LsaxYjhqoOClcU5bVVx0/s1600/gbbd9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigBZsiTUPrLvjcKV_eFEU4GATR9vvVgQ-sifpWjExSKSy-3ocxEt4f7FT9n66emOMrpcooNZfb004AmdotvicWaIR7Ty_QQLLch8-d62s9Ys32ZsU8LsaxYjhqoOClcU5bVVx0/s320/gbbd9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Rosa</em> 'Wildeve'</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8RKRR3gCPtTbhpcRtXUZCzs_O6QkzQXSbgnqa5jOH3j14dSNOII871FCbgCBoDoPIxIKrMuHuA-LyWFaWQrA1lyyIL6W6_nTc4cqUhww6TPRqVVJN6ip-GZFXP3cG_wn2qURY/s1600/gbbd10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8RKRR3gCPtTbhpcRtXUZCzs_O6QkzQXSbgnqa5jOH3j14dSNOII871FCbgCBoDoPIxIKrMuHuA-LyWFaWQrA1lyyIL6W6_nTc4cqUhww6TPRqVVJN6ip-GZFXP3cG_wn2qURY/s320/gbbd10.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The two-tone flowers of <em>Nicotiana mutabilis</em>: I overwintered mine this year in a frost-free greenhouse on advice from Chris Ireland-Jones at <a href="http://www.avonbulbs.co.uk/">Avon Bulbs</a> and it's worked a treat.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9HScoXJiYfczSHcGBRSrW9k_Wu2U1PDqor7MIPYR2YIC73fVQXkU6nISEhyBvmAEa196gbaS4VCmlcaWh9TFjuZqithMSXkEtPqokwGGdxdfibe6DDpkJTZHIsJshfn1QhUil/s1600/gbbd11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9HScoXJiYfczSHcGBRSrW9k_Wu2U1PDqor7MIPYR2YIC73fVQXkU6nISEhyBvmAEa196gbaS4VCmlcaWh9TFjuZqithMSXkEtPqokwGGdxdfibe6DDpkJTZHIsJshfn1QhUil/s320/gbbd11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Geranium pyrenaicum</em> 'Bill Wallis' coming back for a second charming flowering: it's never really out of flower, actually, and is one of my desert-island plants I wouldn't be without</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CWmMtjWF-80pB-bNoTG5RkFYNYp-OUtRP-ce1ZomgjN0sY5GIvj7M_BB7syNRgrLVHJeu8yrq_KJrpkfGjh5pIBhQMOZ33V9-zRkhm5uuinVoOWU7he61LGHrTx6ajXy7fZu/s1600/gbbd12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7CWmMtjWF-80pB-bNoTG5RkFYNYp-OUtRP-ce1ZomgjN0sY5GIvj7M_BB7syNRgrLVHJeu8yrq_KJrpkfGjh5pIBhQMOZ33V9-zRkhm5uuinVoOWU7he61LGHrTx6ajXy7fZu/s320/gbbd12.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Cichorium intybus</em>: otherwise known as chicory. I first saw chicory flowers on the <a href="http://www.hooksgreenherbs.com/">Hooksgreen Herbs</a> stand at one of the shows a few years ago and fell in love with it: now I've planted chicory all through my herb garden and it looks just lovely.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_pf12NHHli_may9HANdl8TbOGdrgsmy1iwdDRS3D0l1IGKwffN2YYVqJmslVuoilA4MKlRF7QtinaAhTmjbmiNxTW0r6YcEQYMbxBwsniYlJyjaPfcJCMswUCysTJvN3s7Cm/s1600/gbbd13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_pf12NHHli_may9HANdl8TbOGdrgsmy1iwdDRS3D0l1IGKwffN2YYVqJmslVuoilA4MKlRF7QtinaAhTmjbmiNxTW0r6YcEQYMbxBwsniYlJyjaPfcJCMswUCysTJvN3s7Cm/s320/gbbd13.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Tropaeolum majus</em> 'Ladybird' forming a gorgeous frothy pile in the salad garden</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnBo8zRgDUJqkxe_VilyAYTc8d1SPrJdGJ5ScmImQiOXDoNJ9csoTpg_i23Qtz79L_WsUDXS3Sw6BoaPAxpUxWB1ECc1NMubm-pS3sixxtaEUgdLY8-AZy_KJgCLF6LlxYzjBW/s1600/gbbd14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnBo8zRgDUJqkxe_VilyAYTc8d1SPrJdGJ5ScmImQiOXDoNJ9csoTpg_i23Qtz79L_WsUDXS3Sw6BoaPAxpUxWB1ECc1NMubm-pS3sixxtaEUgdLY8-AZy_KJgCLF6LlxYzjBW/s320/gbbd14.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Also in the salad garden the dill has flowered like big yellow fireworks in one corner: you're not supposed to let them do this, as it means you can't use the leaves any more, but they do look spectacular</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKq-65iL6SFSMM5GRcqJ0acUlRRvjHvhKpnhXObqVRo87dt3-xCCqeG58UMHVOgTR2IKiv4sH3g2RO7xCde7bgNYvGyjdwx1i1Vo7tDlvg2Q1s_rJhfURhDHupkxBs8w59cVLs/s1600/gbbd15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKq-65iL6SFSMM5GRcqJ0acUlRRvjHvhKpnhXObqVRo87dt3-xCCqeG58UMHVOgTR2IKiv4sH3g2RO7xCde7bgNYvGyjdwx1i1Vo7tDlvg2Q1s_rJhfURhDHupkxBs8w59cVLs/s320/gbbd15.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And a little further along the same row there's another froth, this time of coriander which has run to seed rather spectacularly all along one side. It's very unruly and flops right across the path but it does look lovely: and I'll be saving the seed for use in cooking and also of course to sow next year.</td></tr>
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The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-89138352520081526562012-08-12T23:32:00.000+01:002012-08-12T23:32:41.238+01:00Of sumptuous sweetpeas...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4PHQ4Ntxd-ZxvGblwUt0dWzm7HzCW_9roKPDZnkM33j7N5KQV7Op11kJdHdS0OA5J9XmAUohNtvpWUEDZxkmUdGo1BF6aHzeS1WPeuLZKQtBjwNxTLNLN5wp5tuQkS8hHmPJZ/s1600/sweetpeas_gen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4PHQ4Ntxd-ZxvGblwUt0dWzm7HzCW_9roKPDZnkM33j7N5KQV7Op11kJdHdS0OA5J9XmAUohNtvpWUEDZxkmUdGo1BF6aHzeS1WPeuLZKQtBjwNxTLNLN5wp5tuQkS8hHmPJZ/s320/sweetpeas_gen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Last week I trundled around the North Circular at slightly less than walking pace (being a country bumpkin these days I'd forgotten to think this through: Olympic Lanes plus standard rush hour traffic equals journey demanding nightmarish levels of endurance) on my way to East Anglia. It took me four hours to get about 20 miles. </div>
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But anyway: I put all that behind me as soon as I walked onto the modest but treasure-filled trials grounds at <a href="http://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/">Mr Fothergill's</a> (also home to <a href="http://www.johnsons-seeds.com/">Johnsons Seeds</a> and <a href="http://www.dtbrownseeds.co.uk/">DT Browns</a>, so you get three for the price of one, so to speak). </div>
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I was there on my annual pilgrimage to East Anglia (where for reasons buried in the mists of horticultural lore most of the seed companies seem to be based) to get a sneak peek at this year's new varieties. </div>
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There are dozens of them, too: the results of years of labouring behind the scenes to select flowers and veg which are just that little bit different. This year there were mini cabbages (container gardening is a rich seam for breeders), a handsome stripey courgette that hadn't even got a name yet, and several of the new long, pointed sweet peppers which look more like big chillies.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiudgK0rE9QsW2HxZJ0MRGqcb0wLO2VTqf8unMuq9XmcFnAXF0evCDquwl5n0zwjPbg2Z_ERMQARbcyqT7-sJ1upbAyhzmTs-AHhUldt6oLPlHYQrGlELzftNCw2Jlw8mt26tn4/s1600/courgette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiudgK0rE9QsW2HxZJ0MRGqcb0wLO2VTqf8unMuq9XmcFnAXF0evCDquwl5n0zwjPbg2Z_ERMQARbcyqT7-sJ1upbAyhzmTs-AHhUldt6oLPlHYQrGlELzftNCw2Jlw8mt26tn4/s320/courgette.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courgette 'TZ 9308'</td></tr>
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And there were sweet peas. Row upon row of them, brilliant with colour and a breathtaking sight. Mr Fothergills has declared 2013 the Year of the Sweet Pea and it's introducing 25 sweet pea varieties to its range including six new ones. </div>
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They are quite sumptuous to look at, too, with lots of the deep clarets and burgundies I find so ravishing. My only quibble is that the breeders seem to have left most of the scent behind them on the lab bench: most of these are somewhat fragrant, but it's a pale shadow of the rich scent of a 'Cupani' or 'Matucana'. Perhaps they'd be best grown with a few of the old favourites threaded among them, just so you don't forget what a sweet pea ought to smell like.</div>
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I adore sweet peas: this year mine have been something of a disappointment (pesky slugs - again) but luckily the school garden I'm currently looking after has two big wigwams of them which nobody's picking at the moment, it being summer holidays, except me.</div>
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It won't be long before I'm planting next year's seeds, in loo roll inners, to overwinter in the coldframe. This has been pretty much a foolproof method for me for years now: the overwintered seedlings don't like being moved around and are a little sulky at first but get going eventually, and I back them up with a second sowing (direct) in about March or April to flower well into summer.</div>
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So if you're poised with your box full of compost-packed loo rolls just itching to get the seeds in - here are a few new pretties to whet your appetite.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIPwIOmDuUjwNBqX8Xqw8cabn004p47YbNi0P69tHURxwBK3Ck9_1QwzsOJwBYDx5XdNuZ_w_VYKEIl9iifjEgmHb_MzGY5vebGTknj29Io4Nr0Vkpa_3IOFtPCWFV-A0vylLD/s1600/lathyrus_beaujolais.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIPwIOmDuUjwNBqX8Xqw8cabn004p47YbNi0P69tHURxwBK3Ck9_1QwzsOJwBYDx5XdNuZ_w_VYKEIl9iifjEgmHb_MzGY5vebGTknj29Io4Nr0Vkpa_3IOFtPCWFV-A0vylLD/s320/lathyrus_beaujolais.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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'Beaujolais'</div>
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One of the best colours of them all, I thought, though I do have a little thing about this particular shade of flower. Lovely big plant with sturdy straight stems: very little scent though</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif6oGusmywxg5q3o4Qm-EjL9p6wjhz6zv3dcR1L2jFWnnwxuGlQEHP1N2raM4srRzNS05PseSYsHRa7Gocgummuhuwgsiw5kH9FPAg8wWKmMXqrYvMokuHkVKF_afxBt53fk1D/s1600/lathyrus_chelseacentenary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif6oGusmywxg5q3o4Qm-EjL9p6wjhz6zv3dcR1L2jFWnnwxuGlQEHP1N2raM4srRzNS05PseSYsHRa7Gocgummuhuwgsiw5kH9FPAg8wWKmMXqrYvMokuHkVKF_afxBt53fk1D/s320/lathyrus_chelseacentenary.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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'Chelsea Centenary'</div>
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Guess what the big fuss is going to be all about next year? You couldn't really have a Year of the Sweet Pea coinciding with the 100th birthday of the world's most famous flower show without naming one of your new varieties for it. It's a multiflora, producing lots of blooms on the same stem, and pretty in a lavender sort of way.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2-e3uHynZtsZe-U5jo_qyZAPhXTG_yqRtOgUV5YUO-SI2YWJJ5IGhANqXzw38VbcVLc972v0H0g6PcEr2HP77AVdbP0ygdo1_moJgvtmmoEQBVpNQ1CLLpsOgwAfIxIJbCch/s1600/lathyrus_eclipse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2-e3uHynZtsZe-U5jo_qyZAPhXTG_yqRtOgUV5YUO-SI2YWJJ5IGhANqXzw38VbcVLc972v0H0g6PcEr2HP77AVdbP0ygdo1_moJgvtmmoEQBVpNQ1CLLpsOgwAfIxIJbCch/s320/lathyrus_eclipse.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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'Eclipse'</div>
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An old-ish variety bred in 1974 and the perfect cutting flower, with long, straight stems and a good clear colour. It was a little more perfumed, too.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1UzrZDneIBkygUiFNZKc1EKzXg5-gfO3H1xiUPGiEdFDc_40kSId2PQoHYrTu4GzTL-RUgMGTxvhkFwm0g0Ap1zqARKXAdZZdh-Gu64e4kqkt_z2_TMnK_KRYO5yUdkSXfNIg/s1600/lathyrus_fireandice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1UzrZDneIBkygUiFNZKc1EKzXg5-gfO3H1xiUPGiEdFDc_40kSId2PQoHYrTu4GzTL-RUgMGTxvhkFwm0g0Ap1zqARKXAdZZdh-Gu64e4kqkt_z2_TMnK_KRYO5yUdkSXfNIg/s320/lathyrus_fireandice.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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'Fire and Ice'</div>
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I liked the two-tone effect you get with this one: mauve, pink, cream and the occasional flower with say a dark purple edging to the petal. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44K62RCJdUOB3GcFe-CWJZ72lEhswqUGM8laT862FDF_JYnrfL5iLpNH4tuXhHoWnGDFZB0MOtCy0D1D_rjuOqTqjalvh6fOtYSvWpdNVIKKBhqILXD3D2G3rk0vcRVThzQWv/s1600/lathyrus_juliet2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44K62RCJdUOB3GcFe-CWJZ72lEhswqUGM8laT862FDF_JYnrfL5iLpNH4tuXhHoWnGDFZB0MOtCy0D1D_rjuOqTqjalvh6fOtYSvWpdNVIKKBhqILXD3D2G3rk0vcRVThzQWv/s320/lathyrus_juliet2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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'Juliet'</div>
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I found this charming: flowers the colour of clotted cream just splashed with the most subtle of pink tinges. And hallelujah: it smelled wonderful. Very spicy, perhaps too rich for those who like their sweet peas sweet, but I loved it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWXzcMaUxIgK_5AxvWJCiYaBhz5fsbXqUzjy8K8papKpjEYFihHd4VS9oHjlZnnQm7J59Tjm5qs2SaRnDAoaEhjvrD3QzpPmaCqu8SClq2JuqGij6mICetp1L-M_EX9rEaTpw_/s1600/lathyrus_wiltshireripple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWXzcMaUxIgK_5AxvWJCiYaBhz5fsbXqUzjy8K8papKpjEYFihHd4VS9oHjlZnnQm7J59Tjm5qs2SaRnDAoaEhjvrD3QzpPmaCqu8SClq2JuqGij6mICetp1L-M_EX9rEaTpw_/s320/lathyrus_wiltshireripple.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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'Wiltshire Ripple'</div>
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My prize for the most intriguing colouring, with flowers the colour of bruised plums. No scent, though.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil3LhIu9Vjm5XNNQwGYQHtikqXL-gL3Ro2Mcml2GPGFsvJcZh4O-9hOu3ITlNgTcBINRal64ge9EHy2bSOBf2IKHHUBFIcAXKV74nxIwWiTakbhvattx-pdnX2ybYQ_ayXEw7Q/s1600/sweetpeas_airwarden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil3LhIu9Vjm5XNNQwGYQHtikqXL-gL3Ro2Mcml2GPGFsvJcZh4O-9hOu3ITlNgTcBINRal64ge9EHy2bSOBf2IKHHUBFIcAXKV74nxIwWiTakbhvattx-pdnX2ybYQ_ayXEw7Q/s320/sweetpeas_airwarden.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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'Air Warden'</div>
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This one shouted to be noticed with those bright cerise pink flowers: a plant to leap out from the border and demand attention. A little perfume to this one, too.</div>
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'Almost Black'</div>
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Mmm.... just look at that colouring. Sex on a stem: sultry, sumptuous, gorgeous. I do love a black flower. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjAzYwEKGp9r0WiGSB3Dmy7skAg8U7ebB5itXY-E30vMs5JPtmSxSy9ZlymznwLHIRAlSAEW8ek9P8JXiNs5YO7kyCT-bP0OI1GANTzvosZQLCroCk2MBe4_li_vPIo6fGNUQ/s1600/lathyrus_pandemonium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjAzYwEKGp9r0WiGSB3Dmy7skAg8U7ebB5itXY-E30vMs5JPtmSxSy9ZlymznwLHIRAlSAEW8ek9P8JXiNs5YO7kyCT-bP0OI1GANTzvosZQLCroCk2MBe4_li_vPIo6fGNUQ/s320/lathyrus_pandemonium.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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'Pandemonium'</div>
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Last but not least, another of the new varieties: large flowers with those raspberry-ripple blooms gambolling around the ramrod-straight stems.</div>The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-19359844714064753242012-08-09T13:55:00.001+01:002012-08-09T13:55:51.724+01:00It's show time!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoRqotZwE7qAIFZirX6T17ZKEv0LP2qTmzA2ufOV7FS0aOZP3MBrHq6NJQwIM_RAwfVHaUSYiblpFIP2XM2juCSfzG5vCdylaNJTcoXdEfOBYN0uk8aE1fYQ1QLEYSOxWQ_p5C/s320/hortshow8.jpg" width="320" /></div>
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You have to be a little bit brave to enter our village horticultural show. </div>
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It's taken extremely seriously and is very well supported - there was disappointment that there had been a mere 200+ entries this year (in the wake of the abysmal summer and subsequent failure of even the most accomplished of local veg growers' crops) - a shadow of last year's 570 entries. </div>
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I chose this year (perhaps in anticipation of there being marginally less fierce competition than usual) to make my debut.</div>
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I didn't win. Anything.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27Qr_j-_Pgnu-uSi3kK5PjesF9aWRJx2zmQRrgax5EOP1H8xwJo2z_tH_6EIlmYEth101vyAc_jupMtJ4pohSTSnaBgQLGa9L5ow_MGxsoTKzD58409Gwtd74HnqccBvuwxhK/s1600/hortshow7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27Qr_j-_Pgnu-uSi3kK5PjesF9aWRJx2zmQRrgax5EOP1H8xwJo2z_tH_6EIlmYEth101vyAc_jupMtJ4pohSTSnaBgQLGa9L5ow_MGxsoTKzD58409Gwtd74HnqccBvuwxhK/s320/hortshow7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
To be honest, with cucumbers like this to contend with - in early August! - it's not really that surprising. I was congratulating myself the other day on the appearance of my second fruit: it has taken me a little while to get going with the cukes this year as planting them involved moving an entire greenhouse, so they were a little late off the starting blocks. Seeing this lot makes me realise just how late.<br />
<br />
And as for the leeks... just look at these leeks!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT136BkGTExiflYkZaljofuYRdlDRxPRARg1VC36G0u38EqGQfek86aM3sm7y720cJ6aEIa5WmKZkwsbouvLS1iheHsBfICMC4dFTODDF1hyf4TBgm4i3AcPUP2QgZHYZCtqtk/s1600/hortshow6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT136BkGTExiflYkZaljofuYRdlDRxPRARg1VC36G0u38EqGQfek86aM3sm7y720cJ6aEIa5WmKZkwsbouvLS1iheHsBfICMC4dFTODDF1hyf4TBgm4i3AcPUP2QgZHYZCtqtk/s320/hortshow6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
And these are grown in people's back yards, on their allotments, possibly in their greenhouses I suppose, but with no special facilities. I have, quite literally, no idea how you do that.<br />
<br />
I was going to enter my onions - I have a fine crop of onions this year, at least - but I ran out of courage faced with this lot. As you can see, it's not all about size: presentation counts for a lot, and these guys are pros. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6bXESLUYTrHJJlyOWJ4GF1k6uyfDtJYMO47rVZIt3bYmd1TkkT4-IF5WcWgbcNSPcpGLUTsQv2zZKz0VvuZZw_szxrBmfai-nKyrkaAs4jq_70CZrApmFCrerPbfR70lIrnhQ/s1600/hortshow4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6bXESLUYTrHJJlyOWJ4GF1k6uyfDtJYMO47rVZIt3bYmd1TkkT4-IF5WcWgbcNSPcpGLUTsQv2zZKz0VvuZZw_szxrBmfai-nKyrkaAs4jq_70CZrApmFCrerPbfR70lIrnhQ/s320/hortshow4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />However, with a little emergency work with the elastic bands at the last minute I did manage to get my shallots into presentable condition - and scored the triumph I am most proud of: a third!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipeAJbrPx8xkuAkQbwe_tx0YdodIqSJ40lQsIHYvMHYU6hDd3KWu1UJkrvl1Z3UEwoYjGNmmqppUUJ4GsLRFJVOHEYUGi-zwh6bujhYlLxapAeZoa4s4LJ3kUfrEbR9hJN8yxL/s1600/hortshow5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipeAJbrPx8xkuAkQbwe_tx0YdodIqSJ40lQsIHYvMHYU6hDd3KWu1UJkrvl1Z3UEwoYjGNmmqppUUJ4GsLRFJVOHEYUGi-zwh6bujhYlLxapAeZoa4s4LJ3kUfrEbR9hJN8yxL/s320/hortshow5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Those are mine, on the blue plate. Next year I shall know better and have them beautifully laid out on a tray of dried sand like the seasoned exhibitor who won first prize: sometimes I think entering competitions like these is as much about learning what's required as anything else.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPdR-nQvxHsRTLReTFEG08ez4osOA-3FYR6pkcpLK3l0pB5Pk9rqvQv-svk_mzVR_hN8VBWv9lhHZHBgURckqErNo7lE_g0mu8UGabo_Rmb-RZuzP0rkIK9-SkHPGXAIXUWfeO/s1600/hortshow1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPdR-nQvxHsRTLReTFEG08ez4osOA-3FYR6pkcpLK3l0pB5Pk9rqvQv-svk_mzVR_hN8VBWv9lhHZHBgURckqErNo7lE_g0mu8UGabo_Rmb-RZuzP0rkIK9-SkHPGXAIXUWfeO/s320/hortshow1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
My flowers were an absolute damp squib: I only entered two or three classes but drew a blank in all of them. I dare not take on the rose growers, or the chrysanth growers, or indeed the sweet pea exhibitors, all of whom had been doing it for far longer and with far more dedication than me. I simply bow to their superiority and admire.<br />
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I did think I'd have a chance with my 'five sprigs of herb plants, all different' - but I messed up by trying to be clever. My herbs were - to my eye - much bigger, healthier and generally more impressive than the other entries, so I had really high hopes of a first in that one. But I had decided to put in two different types of mint (I am building up quite a collection and they're rudely healthy at the moment) - and that meant I was the dreaded 'NAS' (Not As Schedule) since they meant five different genera of herb plant. Bother.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdwI4Ol0pocQmOAarp7qlK_tZg07LjEpYnwx3MF7lyxDj_K5Ue333H12KS1lAhKWeRMHwdkVKt_KEfL9GyaNuwuuYP1CLkKiZvHoKGyhqmXdlf4LgA07S7fYDTTc3ciCY5nTD_/s1600/hortshow3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdwI4Ol0pocQmOAarp7qlK_tZg07LjEpYnwx3MF7lyxDj_K5Ue333H12KS1lAhKWeRMHwdkVKt_KEfL9GyaNuwuuYP1CLkKiZvHoKGyhqmXdlf4LgA07S7fYDTTc3ciCY5nTD_/s320/hortshow3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
You couldn't help being impressed by the standard of exhibits: this was one of the floral art entries from our local and very talented florist. She's almost impossible to beat - one of the few times I've been glad I'm no good at flower arranging and therefore have no incentive to put myself in for this sort of thing.<br />
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And of course there were the fun classes and the kids' classes. The youngest was mighty chuffed to win a whole £2.50 for her friendship bracelet and handwriting entries (best not to mention the sock puppet). And oldest was doubly chuffed that her painting won a second prize against the grownups: she's too old these days to enter the children's classes. <br />
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Probably my favourite class in the whole thing, though, was class 111: an animal made from vegetables, in the 3-4 years age category. Don't you just love this little guy?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-JbljPTnIA8QOy4yivgJhkItx_PvdRx5rpYKgAIfbGZIpwfZTcFSMzGhtY0qfhTbm7s7AgdMGaIrTi-kL8zNUAKW2tJmPOfPv0_FDD3uTrL8nPsYQ9EzB4nt3lLye0o6MREd7/s1600/hortshow2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-JbljPTnIA8QOy4yivgJhkItx_PvdRx5rpYKgAIfbGZIpwfZTcFSMzGhtY0qfhTbm7s7AgdMGaIrTi-kL8zNUAKW2tJmPOfPv0_FDD3uTrL8nPsYQ9EzB4nt3lLye0o6MREd7/s320/hortshow2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-48703213548658442072012-07-26T17:29:00.001+01:002012-07-26T17:29:55.252+01:00A seedy sort of day<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhslRvnp0x70bIzsuTXwy1CLxmbo2ocUzQ6GLGo7IFuymHucbbMjy-kvwJBk3KXZiChago4zQ9WJuMd1Zm7qMAeqylOOPo0fU7ONqITOy-YC77GYmp1Q8gc481JkoE9RH3J4Mj5/s1600/gbbd_poppy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhslRvnp0x70bIzsuTXwy1CLxmbo2ocUzQ6GLGo7IFuymHucbbMjy-kvwJBk3KXZiChago4zQ9WJuMd1Zm7qMAeqylOOPo0fU7ONqITOy-YC77GYmp1Q8gc481JkoE9RH3J4Mj5/s320/gbbd_poppy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poppy: not white, but full of seeds, more usefully than you'd think</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's funny, isn't it. There are days when one thing just keeps popping up, demanding your attention, in lots of different and usually unrelated places.<br />
<br />
Today it's been seeds. First I was researching a seedy subject for an article I was writing: saving seed from your best plants (always a good idea: you save money, you ensure you've got stocks of your favourite variety for next year, and if you do it over a number of years you end up with a strain uniquely adapted to your own conditions: a sort of micro-local heritage variety. What's not to like?).<br />
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In this case I was looking into how much better polytunnels are for isolating veg like carrots or chard which would otherwise cross-pollinate all over the place. My friend once ended up with pumpkin-butternuts because her cucurbits got busy and re-seeded the resulting mongrels all over her veg patch: quite tasty but very odd.<br />
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I digress. Just as I was putting the finishing touches on the finer points of cross-breeding calabrese, my daughter - on holiday therefore terminally indolent - called me in to see something she was watching on the telly. <br />
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It was indeed, as she emphatically informed me, epic: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-15202131">Neil Buchanan</a>, failed rock star, Scouser, and hyper-bouncy presenter of the CITV series Art Attack (which almost - <em>almost</em> - reaches the heady heights of Vision On, and from me that is high praise indeed) was creating an enormous and finely detailed snake, twice his own height, out of poppy seeds. By the wonder that is video on demand, you can see the whole thing <a href="http://www.itv.com/itvplayer/video/?Filter=267417">here</a> (from 7 minutes in). Poppy seeds as art material. Who knew.<br />
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And that reminded me of the thing I was reading last night in this month's copy of <a href="http://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/RHS-Publications/Journals/The-Garden/">The Garden</a>: it was an absorbing and rather wonderful visit to the private garden created by Sybille Kreutzberger and the late Pamela Schwerdt, erstwhile head gardeners at <a href="http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sissinghurst-castle/">Sissinghurst Castle</a>. <br />
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The bit that stuck in my mind was their painstaking pursuit of the cultivars they regarded as the best possible selections. They fell in love with a white form of the opium poppy, <em>Papaver somniferum</em>, they saw in a picture taken in Afghanistan: it wasn't available in the UK, so they wrote to a bakery which decorated its bread with poppy seeds sourced there. The white poppy is now growing in the White Garden at Sissinghurst. Now that's what I call dedication.<br />
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And then just to round it all off, I reminded myself to sign up for Carl Legge's <a href="http://www.carllegge.com/seedy-penpals/">seedy penpals scheme</a>: thanks go to <a href="http://zoelynch.co.uk/">Zoe</a> for the timely blog post. I think seed-swapping penpals is quite the loveliest idea I've come across for a long time. I always have a few spare seed packets kicking about the place and can't think of anything nicer than sharing the love with someone (and hopefully getting some interesting bits & bobs I've never tried before in return).<br />
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I urge you to join in, if you haven't already: we could all do with a few more seeds in our lives.The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-60697700785501460192012-07-20T09:35:00.000+01:002012-07-20T09:35:00.275+01:00In with the old, in with the new<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9llHuyPxZH32fIcR1h7TYpNGOgaHdSuI2ewetjCLNX58WIZ-IKq1UQYFrz7CrGl3LbIpBRCeuXrcDAGV2qrgzn4J_yrVqUJcyM1uQqRGsFpfWht33tEcm03-nTU-TfoDIM2x4/s1600/sweetpea_cupani.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9llHuyPxZH32fIcR1h7TYpNGOgaHdSuI2ewetjCLNX58WIZ-IKq1UQYFrz7CrGl3LbIpBRCeuXrcDAGV2qrgzn4J_yrVqUJcyM1uQqRGsFpfWht33tEcm03-nTU-TfoDIM2x4/s320/sweetpea_cupani.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweetpea 'Cupani': the original, introduced in the 17th century</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sometimes I think
there's never been a more exciting time to grow your own.
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<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
It was brought home to
me when I went round the inspirational kitchen garden at <a href="http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/knightshayes-court/">Knightshayes</a>
recently. It's no showcase museum piece but a belt-and-braces,
workaday sort of garden which pays its way by selling its produce, so
what it grows needs to be worth growing.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Its indefatigable head
gardener Lorraine is a keen advocate of heritage varieties – 104
heritage tomato varieties (she likes German beefsteaks and the
near-wild species tomato, <i>Solanum pimpinellifolium</i>) and 10
heritage garlic, plus peas, sweetpeas and potatoes.
</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVckdLUgIJLW9t9WHbRh8Yr0JCYqdTLWvkbZi4EkVgc2C6O4wBZ2tpb0MiIGJNhSs6DDPJ2IPZ7hCxriFRfVPSySXvReZlc5QwPGLQBaWvae5RQ_LKoBvMA4hvo0dNAr9NAd06/s1600/pea_magnumbonum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVckdLUgIJLW9t9WHbRh8Yr0JCYqdTLWvkbZi4EkVgc2C6O4wBZ2tpb0MiIGJNhSs6DDPJ2IPZ7hCxriFRfVPSySXvReZlc5QwPGLQBaWvae5RQ_LKoBvMA4hvo0dNAr9NAd06/s320/pea_magnumbonum.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pea 'Magnum Bonum': modern pea breeding has focussed on dwarf, self-supporting peas but hugely tall 19th century varieties like this one and the 'Telephone' strain are far heavier yielding and more satisfying to grow all round</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There's a bed of
oca next to the onions, and she's got achocha scrambling among the
toms in the greenhouse. In fact, it's just like my garden (though on
a spectacularly larger and less weed-ridden scale): familiar veg like
carrots and cabbages rubbing shoulders with the very old and – to
the UK, anyway - the very new.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKfj0rhvT4fqDbcYOM4kCfkWHMxdOfGeE_ql1UD-yNxhmKXGxsdQ7UU66_wcAf8UUlOS6Cvp39t1isvCj_QmpyNu-Okp-_3dkd-8vUVUPt8vpMpdFQfDzM_bIdX7jR_DQ1oDy/s1600/achocha.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKfj0rhvT4fqDbcYOM4kCfkWHMxdOfGeE_ql1UD-yNxhmKXGxsdQ7UU66_wcAf8UUlOS6Cvp39t1isvCj_QmpyNu-Okp-_3dkd-8vUVUPt8vpMpdFQfDzM_bIdX7jR_DQ1oDy/s320/achocha.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Achocha in the greenhouse: this one is the exploding cucumber type (Cyclanthera explodens) not the edible achocha which is a finer, less coarse (if also less amusing) plant. The fruits of the edible one taste of sweet peppers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Until about 10 or so
years ago, we had to put up with a limited range of ever-blander
varieties created not for us little insignificant gardeners but for
large-scale farmers and supermarket buyers. That meant they were all
exactly the same shape and size, they were robust and held together
well enough to be picked by machine, and they stored well for long
periods of time in refrigerated lorries.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Well, as a set of
criteria for choosing something worth growing in your back garden I
can't think of a worse lot of reasons.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
You may have noticed
that there are a few things missing from the list. What about
flavour? Juiciness? Explode-in-the-mouth ripeness that makes you
dance round the kitchen in glee?</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM2zxiKD-oYGrMouvYDvHqb6MKIirkFRzm57lxW55sYXGy8lVFQH83TgsxRldsbLW-rdW0rywRJDqgInXiC_sQhWbHwFNPilW4wROcnSQUVvdu2NkNIPmbNgY9ZH_-myA6XjFE/s1600/leeks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM2zxiKD-oYGrMouvYDvHqb6MKIirkFRzm57lxW55sYXGy8lVFQH83TgsxRldsbLW-rdW0rywRJDqgInXiC_sQhWbHwFNPilW4wROcnSQUVvdu2NkNIPmbNgY9ZH_-myA6XjFE/s320/leeks.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Babington leeks and and old Italian variety of green garlic, in the main garden</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Now we've got the
rediscovery of heritage veg, nostalgia veg (I'm talking samphire,
scorzonera, Hamburg parsley, skirret – whole families of edibles we
used to grow but don't any more) and the arrival of a whole world's
worth of exotics. <a href="http://grahamrice.com/magazines/YourGarden/0501joy.html">Joy Larkcom</a> started it by going to China and
bringing back mizuna, mibuna and pak choi; now there's <a href="http://www.otterfarm.co.uk/">Mark Diacono</a>
and his Szechuan peppers and <a href="http://www.jameswong.co.uk/">James Wong</a> persuading us to grow
everything from wasabi to electric buttons (<em>Spilanthes oleracea</em>)
which pop and fizz in your mouth like space dust.<br />
<br />
It's telling that at
the Edible Gardening Show earlier this year, when Suttons brought a
few Danish trolleys' worth of the weirdest edibles they could think
of as an experiment, they'd sold out by lunchtime on the first day.
This is no passing fad: our curiosity is well and truly piqued.<br />
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And then there are all
the ornamentals which turn out to be edible: Fuchsia berries (try
'Riccatonii'), flowers from sweet rocket to nasturtiums and violets,
<i>Eleagnus</i> berries and elderflowers.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHTcgnaLAbmXtLqIHQikB1U8WmVL001LrzzYXopaIl_lyld6Nli0-rzsEIvdSyXY63nR7ivupdRSBjiS_gSeq2krrel8jiAzoyio71oX9QCQZMnG-DtJcgi_CwgNigaCStrN4M/s1600/tomatoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHTcgnaLAbmXtLqIHQikB1U8WmVL001LrzzYXopaIl_lyld6Nli0-rzsEIvdSyXY63nR7ivupdRSBjiS_gSeq2krrel8jiAzoyio71oX9QCQZMnG-DtJcgi_CwgNigaCStrN4M/s320/tomatoes.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heritage toms in the lean-to greenhouse. Lorraine says they go through a 'teenage' stage and sulk for a while when they reach about 6" tall: but they get over it, and romp away so fast they catch up with everything else around</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Some argue heritage
varieties aren't worth growing; well, I'll continue to swoon at the
faint-inducingly gorgeous flavour of my 'Marmande' beefsteak
tomatoes, if that's OK with you. Tricky as hell to grow, but you keep
going just to have one unforgettable taste – and you try buying
that in the shops.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And besides, heritage
varieties saved by <a href="http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/hsl/">The Heritage Seed Library</a> preserve our genetic
pool of veg varieties – whether or not they're worth giving garden
room to - so we don't narrow it all down so much we're breeding in
ever-diminishing circles.
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
At the other end of the
spectrum you've got the early adopters: those who say traditional veg
are boring and everyone should be throwing out their spuds in favour
of yacon. Well: given that all my potatoes have gone over to blight
in the last week there might be something in that (though I'll mourn the loss of my 'Duke of York' should that sad day ever come).
</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
But on the whole, for
most people (certainly for me) the whole process of getting to know
exotics is a series of experiments. I've tried and rejected
tomatilloes – lovely plant, but not enough crop or uses for it
(much as I like salsa) to justify the greenhouse room. But I now grow
sweet potatoes every year, in big baskets under cover, as though the
crop isn't huge it's big enough and it makes a nice change from the
spuds.</div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
And just as we thought
there was time to get bored, along come yard-long beans, Chinese
arrowroot and lablab beans courtesy of Sally Cunningham's <a href="http://www.sowingnewseeds.org.uk/">Sowing New Seeds</a> project for Garden Organic. Some will go the way of ra-ra
skirts and beehive hairdos: others (my money's on the lab-labs) will
be the allotment staples of tomorrow. Isn't it great?
</div>The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-70691963719470559952012-07-18T09:13:00.000+01:002012-07-18T09:13:00.093+01:00Wordless Wednesday: Sculpture<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitSQq5JfkX_h2lzV0jVu3xl3woN8bdmx8juTpCqw_qptrCHlIbfcWdPnnNSg1TdSziLryncSsmlN3JULoC-Agk5pgeCaBqfyJf3sYniyW2eZrZ9sWzZu1ZN5OXoFjofjM9r-ME/s1600/ww_willowsculpture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitSQq5JfkX_h2lzV0jVu3xl3woN8bdmx8juTpCqw_qptrCHlIbfcWdPnnNSg1TdSziLryncSsmlN3JULoC-Agk5pgeCaBqfyJf3sYniyW2eZrZ9sWzZu1ZN5OXoFjofjM9r-ME/s400/ww_willowsculpture.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Cheval' by Joolz Doncaster<br />
for the <a href="http://www.wickedwillow.co.uk/index.htm">Wicked Willows</a> sculpture trail at <a href="http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/knightshayes-court/">Knightshayes</a>, East Devon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-68595654932233604152012-07-15T18:35:00.000+01:002012-07-15T18:35:34.123+01:00July flowers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I have been feeling a bit gloomy about my garden this year - along with most of the gardening population of the British Isles I suspect (with the possible exception of <a href="http://silvertreedaze.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/muthah-of-midsummer-gis-more-rain.html">Mr Colborn</a>).</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's so hard to keep walking outside when it's pouring with rain in the sure knowledge that you'll get water in places it really oughtn't to be however well waterproofed you are while also knowing you're fighting a losing battle against the slugs and the weeds and the terminal torpor of those plants you want to grow. Everything is at best, half-hearted: or at worst, munched to a sad little stump just above the ground.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Or at least, that's how it was in my head. I think gardeners suffer from an unfortunate habit of only seeing the things which are wrong. And that's why I value Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, hosted by Carol at <a href="http://www.maydreamsgardens.com/">May Dreams Gardens</a> so much: it forces you to venture out with your camera and look at what's good, and beautiful, and above all working. And it always leaves me feeling much better about things than I did before.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Here are a few of the lovely things I found, to my surprise, thriving and rejoicing in the relentless rain, and proving that this awful summer is, after all, good for something.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyVnxgbr3ISpw6vtNXuAokW3qtj9M0HN-6bHXac9ibxYlkbgUw_hkML450Qfm0xPOhMZz8RFUidwbxC-L1te7QM7x0vCj3MVpdkGf5g-3Tdh-exsBSibzg8QlaGoKdbpngd_Tg/s1600/gbbd_astrantia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyVnxgbr3ISpw6vtNXuAokW3qtj9M0HN-6bHXac9ibxYlkbgUw_hkML450Qfm0xPOhMZz8RFUidwbxC-L1te7QM7x0vCj3MVpdkGf5g-3Tdh-exsBSibzg8QlaGoKdbpngd_Tg/s320/gbbd_astrantia.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Astrantia major</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuBv9UWiUByYm69pSRtHdfJsumJakvg06V9I3Ya_2k3qD0nXbsW1PPvD6N2mV5EwoL7VJgrRskfKOnOt0ThoRB1C3FAKjrweKV8KEOsYEV5tP3DAFDPU8lqYU4Xw56EZqnDzzF/s1600/gbbd_billwallis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuBv9UWiUByYm69pSRtHdfJsumJakvg06V9I3Ya_2k3qD0nXbsW1PPvD6N2mV5EwoL7VJgrRskfKOnOt0ThoRB1C3FAKjrweKV8KEOsYEV5tP3DAFDPU8lqYU4Xw56EZqnDzzF/s320/gbbd_billwallis.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Geranium pyrenaicum</em> 'Bill Wallis'</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJHQ0YVe478BZklMhLfnAuy4waEPRnYjU-UNRj8jdaRk226p5zoYr8C7z1s0uuvPzyVkNN06m6E524uFdcjke2PRlTdkawH_8V-TZ-JvGJincZLin3qPAHf0e0heF7TlZz2H1/s1600/gbbd_charlesdemills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJHQ0YVe478BZklMhLfnAuy4waEPRnYjU-UNRj8jdaRk226p5zoYr8C7z1s0uuvPzyVkNN06m6E524uFdcjke2PRlTdkawH_8V-TZ-JvGJincZLin3qPAHf0e0heF7TlZz2H1/s320/gbbd_charlesdemills.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Rosa</em> 'Charles de Mills'</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSC7QZTF3oQE0S1G6l-v9pfObLJ2thghxw3nf-24qmoXpdW_NOocUs2nX0cBmaRdrCH_aiPBa88wNs8bXgcMPWb0hKYsKdtaKz8QYmjbdmrxhyJU9eu2cMb8Uq9C_ZSb5gsml0/s1600/gbbd_dogrose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSC7QZTF3oQE0S1G6l-v9pfObLJ2thghxw3nf-24qmoXpdW_NOocUs2nX0cBmaRdrCH_aiPBa88wNs8bXgcMPWb0hKYsKdtaKz8QYmjbdmrxhyJU9eu2cMb8Uq9C_ZSb5gsml0/s320/gbbd_dogrose.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Rosa canina</em>: not sure of the selection but it grows rampantly <br />
over my front wall and flowers furiously all summer long</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ4tSTD7o9ROtzeARKyc7JJN6LXcetN1d9ZhcBD1Dq7sVpsmPYDbMw3BCn9e4aK_DisxtaXNrFu_8DQl2kk54diBWy0kuZ295YkLJu30tfYDLjtvsQCiRvdX2LXKTV-qUuqr7v/s1600/gbbd_hemerocallis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ4tSTD7o9ROtzeARKyc7JJN6LXcetN1d9ZhcBD1Dq7sVpsmPYDbMw3BCn9e4aK_DisxtaXNrFu_8DQl2kk54diBWy0kuZ295YkLJu30tfYDLjtvsQCiRvdX2LXKTV-qUuqr7v/s320/gbbd_hemerocallis.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Hemerocallis dumortieri</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW-O9rM29NbkGr6eTlZ01o-CCrop_ILiPb560ToaRWedUz2JysMQJXK8iiJyWq-WY9IlB9knL3SEsT7xuKMRAH7Aypd5jYYpGgvewPZpTCxzRknG_D4A4IB1USGRkidrHSq7vq/s1600/gbbd_meconopsis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW-O9rM29NbkGr6eTlZ01o-CCrop_ILiPb560ToaRWedUz2JysMQJXK8iiJyWq-WY9IlB9knL3SEsT7xuKMRAH7Aypd5jYYpGgvewPZpTCxzRknG_D4A4IB1USGRkidrHSq7vq/s320/gbbd_meconopsis.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Meconopsis cambrica</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNtL3G5GnhH67bK_MFUvG4771syTo8AUl8vk32LpEWDleTrGsGmN0-VX0zo7m9XwTTbvjVzqJWes3c8wsgArSQKcRMW5ngrfBqhZ7e0Mht71E5RA85vA1EOrcHigw1fOPS5IH7/s1600/gbbd_nasturtium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNtL3G5GnhH67bK_MFUvG4771syTo8AUl8vk32LpEWDleTrGsGmN0-VX0zo7m9XwTTbvjVzqJWes3c8wsgArSQKcRMW5ngrfBqhZ7e0Mht71E5RA85vA1EOrcHigw1fOPS5IH7/s320/gbbd_nasturtium.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Tropaeolum speciosum</em> 'Cobra'</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWgylBKgkxwIpDIXuRGbFf8-YYOuwbp8bLoVWhM0o519ipLcx_WTcM6HMTHTpByA-EvUOgHZdS6lCfL8XT8ICS_gJgUL4PANIq0UQcGzQ1BSI2iDOz3TY_IPCwHgvUsnN-w61/s1600/gbbd_peony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWgylBKgkxwIpDIXuRGbFf8-YYOuwbp8bLoVWhM0o519ipLcx_WTcM6HMTHTpByA-EvUOgHZdS6lCfL8XT8ICS_gJgUL4PANIq0UQcGzQ1BSI2iDOz3TY_IPCwHgvUsnN-w61/s320/gbbd_peony.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Paeonia officinalis</em>, looking a bit louche and about to seed but <br />
I rather like them like this with their corsets loosened</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ3zdDk3Adg3SIx6DCqwf12L_mB2iB0Cfi9OG47nlOFc57ZbiY56HfJTV-brxG61sWdZuihPgqCCsf2Ua-gPfbtIsVfToz9UMz-lXlyGouihyphenhyphen6ElOBMhNU0rPG08M913T1IJzr/s1600/gbbd_poppy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ3zdDk3Adg3SIx6DCqwf12L_mB2iB0Cfi9OG47nlOFc57ZbiY56HfJTV-brxG61sWdZuihPgqCCsf2Ua-gPfbtIsVfToz9UMz-lXlyGouihyphenhyphen6ElOBMhNU0rPG08M913T1IJzr/s320/gbbd_poppy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the very many oriental poppies seeding themselves about: <br />
they're almost a weed but I haven't the heart to pull them out when they look this lovely</td></tr>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL8VmKSm5DUYqIdnOqpYuMtgmrR5y6M00JFseIJHeYiyXeofU1g0AizCiYve8C5ZC_8li6F1ikAMks5j9zvxgIGhH3k0kXfy8E1obBsTeBDVIUmqwH7mAXcrcfEbqQhvq3XC9K/s1600/gbbd_poppy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL8VmKSm5DUYqIdnOqpYuMtgmrR5y6M00JFseIJHeYiyXeofU1g0AizCiYve8C5ZC_8li6F1ikAMks5j9zvxgIGhH3k0kXfy8E1obBsTeBDVIUmqwH7mAXcrcfEbqQhvq3XC9K/s320/gbbd_poppy2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and another one</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTtiJoHIiQhoDoHOZWql1v0d_0aIRp3E0wqzzXAMo5-Usd7ADcAmwCiFn_54WUd7nHafvnZsRdwEg_pnEPgLAMh3kUOvOAL6x4x016XUTyDetE315UGy5hVTVyHpyDgrtD2ff/s1600/gbbd_thyme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizTtiJoHIiQhoDoHOZWql1v0d_0aIRp3E0wqzzXAMo5-Usd7ADcAmwCiFn_54WUd7nHafvnZsRdwEg_pnEPgLAMh3kUOvOAL6x4x016XUTyDetE315UGy5hVTVyHpyDgrtD2ff/s320/gbbd_thyme.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Thymus</em> 'Coccineus Group'</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0o6FoGNbwOQNFK48_4VQo-OjGJgY24BkkmjMTncQdLCtwAjiFPTNrg4EZ62tW0tQM7oVLbm1HHMcb2Kjt6ydZbAwXWoIvJfwEUxxDrs-njkaHrmcTggopSEEpR61LkU9InZX5/s1600/gbbd_valerian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0o6FoGNbwOQNFK48_4VQo-OjGJgY24BkkmjMTncQdLCtwAjiFPTNrg4EZ62tW0tQM7oVLbm1HHMcb2Kjt6ydZbAwXWoIvJfwEUxxDrs-njkaHrmcTggopSEEpR61LkU9InZX5/s320/gbbd_valerian.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Valeriana officinalis</em></td></tr>
</tbody></table>The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-83332463968118426862012-07-11T09:27:00.000+01:002012-07-11T09:27:00.122+01:00Wordless Wednesday: Heart<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptT7nHRqXsdHfM1gVooGI1QcvxYaOfsM0SM2CW4FoRcnm6Vw1C1fy2sSP1Ha-QoOQJdj_OdKDTeHr8YzjDjMoFrRMV0k27YstVZBebDGmAU5YqEKGGx6Rt9Rgzk503TsOmQBm/s1600/ww_leaf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhptT7nHRqXsdHfM1gVooGI1QcvxYaOfsM0SM2CW4FoRcnm6Vw1C1fy2sSP1Ha-QoOQJdj_OdKDTeHr8YzjDjMoFrRMV0k27YstVZBebDGmAU5YqEKGGx6Rt9Rgzk503TsOmQBm/s400/ww_leaf.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Petasites japonicus</em> var <em>giganteus</em><br />
Giant Butterbur<br />
(the fleshy, celery-like stems are edible)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-79203143357020660882012-07-09T21:10:00.000+01:002012-07-09T21:13:43.065+01:00Monkeying around<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN0WmhRKqpPEnioDEG9Cq4znXVUJpqz2P-4LV87ZopsDZygsv8hb37iMarEBejOiI2a0HK76gDKLESb9X0FmviUJKN10JaZwweQK0p5nd2PLL93ue146AX5xaECHzTEoJhK1u8/s1600/bicton_monkeypuzzles1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN0WmhRKqpPEnioDEG9Cq4znXVUJpqz2P-4LV87ZopsDZygsv8hb37iMarEBejOiI2a0HK76gDKLESb9X0FmviUJKN10JaZwweQK0p5nd2PLL93ue146AX5xaECHzTEoJhK1u8/s320/bicton_monkeypuzzles1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Well, that's better.<br />
<br />
The week before last I took three whole days off work to cram my head choc full of foundation depths for single-skin versus retaining walls. At the same time as learning appropriate plants to use in carpet bedding schemes and the maintenance routines for prairie plantings. All part of the eclectic syllabus that is the RHS Level 3 (the Advanced as was: these days have to use the new but singularly uninformative new way of referring to the same qualification).<br />
<br />
Then I took two utterly horrible exams. Well, they weren't that horrible as it was such a relief to offload all that information from my perilously overstretched brain and splurt it out onto the paper, but I won't know if I passed till at least the end of this month if not August.<br />
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<br />
I'm doing my RHS3 at <a href="http://www.bicton.ac.uk/">Bicton College</a> in Devon: set in what was once a stately home in Grade I listed parkland, it's really a very fine sort of place for what is, in the end, rather a down-to-earth sort of establishment. It's full of teenagers messing about trying to crash tractors and build York stone patios in fields and do obscure things to meerkats (there is an animal care centre of some sort there: I think, but am not sure, that it trains veterinary nurses).<br />
<br />
And then there are the oldies: people like me and the motley crew of gardeners, plant nursery workers and general horticultural whizzes I was privileged enough to share a class with. They included the former editor of the Westonbirt magazine and the lady who organises Sidmouth in Bloom. It was all a little humbling, as these things should be.<br />
<br />
Anyway, the reason I started explaining all this is because my final exit from Bicton (until next year: if I take a third module I get my Diploma so I thought I may as well get it all done at once) was down the college's world-famous 500 metre long monkey puzzle avenue.<br />
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This has been a real joy to drive along every time I visit the college. I'm not usually a big fan of monkey puzzles (<em>Araucaria araucana</em>) when plonked as a piece of Victoriana in otherwise sensible gardens; but planted like this, like proper trees allowed to be as majestic and sweeping as they're meant to be, they transformed my view of them altogether. </div>
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I have grown to love this long, noble driveway: I particularly love the way the oldest of the monkey-puzzles form fat, ridged feet at ground level which look for all the world like the feet of elephants. </div>
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There are 25 trees on each side, the originals grown from seed at the Veitch Nursery (which was not, as many reports would have it, based in London but in fact in Devon, with an outpost in London: it still exists, though re-named <a href="http://www.stbridgetnurseries.co.uk/">St Bridgets</a>, and a fine nursery it is: do visit if you're ever in the Exeter area).</div>
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They propagate hundreds of monkey-puzzle trees from the avenue every year in Bicton's greenhouses and sell them on: and some go to replace those in the avenue which have finally decided enough is enough. The result is a pleasing variation in size and texture in the trees which gives the avenue a kind of rhythm all its own.<br />
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Planting began in 1843, and several of the original specimens still survive (you can tell which as they're tallest, and also most moth-eaten).</div>
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There is a proper certified Champion Tree among them (one of several of various types at the college): I think (but am not entirely sure) that it might be this one:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXteK8J21o_tqAGAcW8N_Fdx7-QFTo2ftE8oGgIo9qNgMAbxtTpBhD84KTG0zcDhql32eXp4zdp81uRgRBzfunu9-9JYZOuY6wQpz7rFmVnhrC2HjQnwhyphenhyphenDaLHFWtOha-pQEMH/s1600/bicton_monkeypuzzles5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXteK8J21o_tqAGAcW8N_Fdx7-QFTo2ftE8oGgIo9qNgMAbxtTpBhD84KTG0zcDhql32eXp4zdp81uRgRBzfunu9-9JYZOuY6wQpz7rFmVnhrC2HjQnwhyphenhyphenDaLHFWtOha-pQEMH/s320/bicton_monkeypuzzles5.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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It's 26 metres tall, the largest specimen in the UK, and its girth is 4 metres round. Quite a tree.<br />
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Of course monkey-puzzle nuts are also edible: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, no less, has attempted to climb Bicton's trees to snaffle some to try (he didn't manage it: monkey puzzles are notoriously difficult to climb, so difficult, in fact, that they would puzzle a monkey. Funny, that).<br />
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The nuts are described as soft and like pine nuts or perhaps Brazil nuts - light and delicious. Trouble is, you need at least six female trees to each male to get nuts: so as long as you've got the sort of room Bicton has, you can grow your own. Otherwise, I can't find a supplier in the UK: so you'll just have to go and talk very, very nicely to the gardeners at Bicton. See you there.The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-74357222161461221742012-07-06T16:38:00.000+01:002012-07-06T16:48:40.101+01:00Postcard from Hampton Court: Perfect combinations<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvq5f9wsizCE9uH0waHBIaBV8gKb3eDVB4ruNPkffv5GwdSGTVn-gLf6V4a0Fu37mwREBXAB1jI5GYM861ER7kiQPgZL6H8LfsV-oVGkaMthJfjGKiUlWJKj9XNU5TRTX9YnT/s1600/hcfs_combo1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvq5f9wsizCE9uH0waHBIaBV8gKb3eDVB4ruNPkffv5GwdSGTVn-gLf6V4a0Fu37mwREBXAB1jI5GYM861ER7kiQPgZL6H8LfsV-oVGkaMthJfjGKiUlWJKj9XNU5TRTX9YnT/s320/hcfs_combo1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Achillea</em> 'Anthea' and <em>Leucanthemum</em> x <em>superbum</em> 'Goldrauch'<br />
<a href="http://www.barnsdalegardens.co.uk/">Barnsdale Gardens, Rutland</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbGwpoIOJE2ZkpPjY1mSFMSm0aA_wPO2mlQgJhjqUE9ZZdPcZ0I0m8ewZ5_aRL290wsDct3_v8ZABjDME9KullKaKLke1w_Uh4DjhzYbOk34mSrJGs-N8OLFIbkT2Ik39UuGb8/s1600/hcfs_combo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbGwpoIOJE2ZkpPjY1mSFMSm0aA_wPO2mlQgJhjqUE9ZZdPcZ0I0m8ewZ5_aRL290wsDct3_v8ZABjDME9KullKaKLke1w_Uh4DjhzYbOk34mSrJGs-N8OLFIbkT2Ik39UuGb8/s320/hcfs_combo2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Seline armeria</em>, <em>Geranium pratense</em> 'Violaceum', <em>Malva sylvestris</em> 'Zebrina'<br />
<a href="http://www.thebotanicnursery.co.uk/">The Botanic Nursery, Wiltshire</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqfY2yTqdEQDGCPcBESeyvwH_K-btT1syqldgA8XLWm3tIIeeOSk9dpTG0lLzh0uCKrSWtP0nRrvO44BkDCqOFaHvnli9_GiOUIUUZKklA4g655q5gPyzv3Vp6nChiOYt6xAC/s1600/hcfs_combo3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqfY2yTqdEQDGCPcBESeyvwH_K-btT1syqldgA8XLWm3tIIeeOSk9dpTG0lLzh0uCKrSWtP0nRrvO44BkDCqOFaHvnli9_GiOUIUUZKklA4g655q5gPyzv3Vp6nChiOYt6xAC/s320/hcfs_combo3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Achillea</em> 'Fanal' and <em>Salvia nemorosa</em> 'Ostfriesland'<br />
<a href="http://hardys-plants.co.uk/">Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants, Hampshire</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjlXBP-yralm7fummFZRLpwkIbIBqFjsPUtSFui3Wniru7qQZnX5zEPaXUdBHp1yDB_eOoXM14CGNFyN7Hyni80lh3d3Nh5oH7sXNNp-voci5TaEBpH4T4GvDfz0I9vqtuq36M/s1600/hcfs_combo4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjlXBP-yralm7fummFZRLpwkIbIBqFjsPUtSFui3Wniru7qQZnX5zEPaXUdBHp1yDB_eOoXM14CGNFyN7Hyni80lh3d3Nh5oH7sXNNp-voci5TaEBpH4T4GvDfz0I9vqtuq36M/s320/hcfs_combo4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Heuchera</em> 'Lime Marmalade' and <em>Selaginella apoda</em><br />
<a href="http://www.madrona.co.uk/">Madrona Nursery, Kent</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMBmZipN6qfO_-g2OROcDgbtiSYIWvJ0WPfoKiFXFFmL_Ox6g-gI0jFE7LDTK1nTNSnIvo5VzN4Rl0ujT4AR8LR83RJ4a4K_YHL-IcxmcyzNkGCWVAPPhz3gpCQgNx0IXoOy93/s1600/hcfs_combo5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMBmZipN6qfO_-g2OROcDgbtiSYIWvJ0WPfoKiFXFFmL_Ox6g-gI0jFE7LDTK1nTNSnIvo5VzN4Rl0ujT4AR8LR83RJ4a4K_YHL-IcxmcyzNkGCWVAPPhz3gpCQgNx0IXoOy93/s320/hcfs_combo5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Cenolophium denudatum</em>, <em>Pilosella aurantiaca</em>, <em>Achillea</em> 'Walther Funcke', and <em>Anemanthele lessoniana</em><br />
The Landform Garden, designed by Catherine MacDonald (gold, Best Summer Garden)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-735437059923193622012-07-05T09:10:00.000+01:002012-07-05T09:10:00.107+01:00Postcard from Hampton Court: Of grey roses<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqjUY1OhWgf7I3QzGm3vt6J-JZdZ18DSJsLddnfXEWJlBzy1FdhXTs6T7tyGWb5jff5mszCgnty7PytPwzIm-PVci9yaO2OJmk97dgzNOCQW4XT9ayfKXGAuK-edwiAW_rr6VK/s1600/hcfs_roses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqjUY1OhWgf7I3QzGm3vt6J-JZdZ18DSJsLddnfXEWJlBzy1FdhXTs6T7tyGWb5jff5mszCgnty7PytPwzIm-PVci9yaO2OJmk97dgzNOCQW4XT9ayfKXGAuK-edwiAW_rr6VK/s320/hcfs_roses.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I have a little ritual whenever I visit the <a href="http://www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/RHS-Hampton-Court-Palace-Flower-Show/2012">RHS Hampton Court Flower Show</a>: I visit the Roses and Romance marquee to have a look at the latest Rose of the Year. <br />
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I'm secretly in love with roses: I keep trying to give up growing them, as they're far too romantical-like for my wellies-and-wasabi mental picture of myself as a gardener. But they keep wriggling back in somehow. I'm currently hatching a plan to sneak more in under the guise of being species roses, therefore having hips which are officially Useful.<br />
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Anyway: this year, it's 'You're Beautiful', bred by <a href="http://www.fryers-roses.co.uk/Home/">Graham Fryer</a>: pic above. Very pink, very classic, rather handsome in a Barbara Cartland sort of way: this shade of candy pink isn't quite my thing but I could see why it won.<br />
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However: while I was there I began to notice there is an ominous trend which is creeping into the rosey world. They've started breeding grey roses.<br />
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This is 'Grey Dawn': it's the colour of faded curtains, or the dresses in BBC costume dramas, or maybe the papery skin of old ladies. This picture makes it look quite nice, but believe me, it's grey.</div>
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I blame the recent unseemly race to breed a true blue rose: it produced a lot of roses they said were blue when in fact they were undeniably lilac. <a href="http://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/english/showrose.asp?showr=4228">'Rhapsody in Blue'</a> was about the closest they got (even David Austin admits it's purple, but 'fades to slate blue' with age). Here's another one, 'Blue for You' (with apologies for the lack of focus):</div>
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See what I mean? Lilac.</div>
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Luckily the Japanese put an end to all that a few years ago with a bit of genetic engineering injecting a delphinium gene into a rose to make <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/3329213/Worlds-first-blue-roses-after-20-years-of-research.html">The Blue Rose</a> (still think it's a bit violet though). But the experiments have left their legacy.</div>
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As well as the grey roses, there are brown roses: a wave of washed-out colour that isn't apricot and isn't cream and isn't anything, really. This one reminds me of a properly nice apricot (<a href="http://www.classicroses.co.uk/products/roses/apricot-silk/">Apricot Silk</a>, perhaps) smudged down with one of those blues or greys:</div>
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It's 'Julia's Rose': and it's beige. I like it better than the grey one, but it's definitely a meh sort of colour.</div>
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Part of the problem is that these colours are so hard to place in the border. One of my neighbours has 'Rhapsody in Blue' planted among a little mini rose garden outside her house (she's elderly, so be nice). She's bang up to date: but that's the one rosebush that doesn't look right. It's weird, out of synch, the wrong colour for roses.<br />
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On the other hand, all this messing with what is good and right has had some positive side-effects. Once you go down the brown route, you reach a fork in the road: the poo option is clearly to be avoided, so obviously the only way is chocolate.<br />
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And this is where brown roses start to show why they should exist. Just look at this.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6GMY1dCrRZTomKIxmK_ZhTWGaIQvFBr1CvZeSVJZNVjfYhpG3S2mOdAaMJq5BLtdyOfcm6cgub5VGXvmyYLJrnTxL58dCV2kTVJq6re4mWUnmJ_2pALUiR-ewc_YhJSb8Nf7Z/s1600/hcfs_roses4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6GMY1dCrRZTomKIxmK_ZhTWGaIQvFBr1CvZeSVJZNVjfYhpG3S2mOdAaMJq5BLtdyOfcm6cgub5VGXvmyYLJrnTxL58dCV2kTVJq6re4mWUnmJ_2pALUiR-ewc_YhJSb8Nf7Z/s320/hcfs_roses4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />It's 'Hot Chocolate', a sumptuous floribunda that justifies all the misguided breeding efforts in the world if the point of them was to lead to this. Yum, yum.The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-71325114140664922232012-07-04T09:36:00.000+01:002012-07-04T09:36:00.652+01:00Postcard from Hampton Court: Carpet bedding is back<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3sl8Ah7FqzFPyXpadmOGoOxmbX0GgcPHz1y5mSh3tl1nN0JOd3t2r33VuVX5e9IBbTDqMU5O7drRn9aHlNnd3dCAfdxTENXeLiew6G6FvtRXCfjv4LeFfsPpus1kqAxoDXOxD/s1600/hcfs_carpetbedding1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3sl8Ah7FqzFPyXpadmOGoOxmbX0GgcPHz1y5mSh3tl1nN0JOd3t2r33VuVX5e9IBbTDqMU5O7drRn9aHlNnd3dCAfdxTENXeLiew6G6FvtRXCfjv4LeFfsPpus1kqAxoDXOxD/s320/hcfs_carpetbedding1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The floral (well, green) clock on the wall of summer garden The Wheels of Time (Bronze)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7T61s6nsC3PNL8QDELCNJJJs-9FJLakNTv-iyUWpf3GBX5INgET4f7FK8mNY-Jp-8KDgmRf_HiHyj8_XmakZlg66hBxQC210ZaJKLd4p7C7EyG7QTAqetstDjNRuc54LxfRg/s1600/hcfs_carpetbedding4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy7T61s6nsC3PNL8QDELCNJJJs-9FJLakNTv-iyUWpf3GBX5INgET4f7FK8mNY-Jp-8KDgmRf_HiHyj8_XmakZlg66hBxQC210ZaJKLd4p7C7EyG7QTAqetstDjNRuc54LxfRg/s320/hcfs_carpetbedding4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vertical planting... or carpet bedding? <br />
Another green picture in the Low Cost High Impact garden Summer in the Garden (Silver)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7yIRURw_xQYSXcjXI-J10R9wePbm8xGxuiko5YKlgW_mnrnWa3kFcYTfO2DDfgfLbTzV4bU2NVcopjupV3vbZGP84dcQDtk4YgYbDLe2awXQzjglZK0wyUuZe8_xCh2q3ye5/s1600/hcfs_carpetbedding2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7yIRURw_xQYSXcjXI-J10R9wePbm8xGxuiko5YKlgW_mnrnWa3kFcYTfO2DDfgfLbTzV4bU2NVcopjupV3vbZGP84dcQDtk4YgYbDLe2awXQzjglZK0wyUuZe8_xCh2q3ye5/s320/hcfs_carpetbedding2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carpet bedding galore, and all exquisitely executed by the masters of the art at Bournemouth Borough Council's show garden A Very Victorian Fantasy (Silver-gilt) </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi15GEQlzVajAbbQ2IJPiYjfVZt-WaEVM_GQgNjEkskadRfm6dJF-T7OgIqfym1hxmNfF1ZdR_L97jZvxGHaW3hzDYrNyOxNJzoJy5Hu_2SFpX4na3xWtjBF5_4GEsIOow9FX78/s1600/hcfs_carpetbedding3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi15GEQlzVajAbbQ2IJPiYjfVZt-WaEVM_GQgNjEkskadRfm6dJF-T7OgIqfym1hxmNfF1ZdR_L97jZvxGHaW3hzDYrNyOxNJzoJy5Hu_2SFpX4na3xWtjBF5_4GEsIOow9FX78/s320/hcfs_carpetbedding3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shed roof at The Garlic Farm (gold, and best exhibit in the Growing for Taste marquee)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVv0GCN34trc_n_gkaxO7GW-fYGpmKgSL-Vr7kI4887rnrfITsHgNdcfNschirPu3ixhFzZUza8o9etRDwiCA89FJdNIIcqQjyM4GGe36Za8ZsJs0N7d5yEVUY-rXA3IQ0cxBW/s1600/hcfs_carpetbedding5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVv0GCN34trc_n_gkaxO7GW-fYGpmKgSL-Vr7kI4887rnrfITsHgNdcfNschirPu3ixhFzZUza8o9etRDwiCA89FJdNIIcqQjyM4GGe36Za8ZsJs0N7d5yEVUY-rXA3IQ0cxBW/s320/hcfs_carpetbedding5.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And more edible carpet bedding, this time from Dobies: Pak choi 'Chuchoi' and 'Rubi' with quite the brightest marigolds I've ever seen</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-65267672869493772012012-07-03T17:15:00.002+01:002012-07-03T17:19:50.119+01:00Postcard from Hampton Court: Conceptual<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKbajCDCB9BSxI4rbM0D8AOqZgkAsJlBo9pwqU6eF7xpuefV6wuN2OK-Q21GvSsHOPZbcg1Xd6duh7_AoS9EE0j2yZ24t6JZvoflxvPHiMo606JUStAKMwumkyhfeDd55m41e/s1600/hcfs_conceptual2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKbajCDCB9BSxI4rbM0D8AOqZgkAsJlBo9pwqU6eF7xpuefV6wuN2OK-Q21GvSsHOPZbcg1Xd6duh7_AoS9EE0j2yZ24t6JZvoflxvPHiMo606JUStAKMwumkyhfeDd55m41e/s320/hcfs_conceptual2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
'Light at the End of the Tunnel': Matthew Childs' moving depiction of his journey from injury in the 7/7 bombing through to jacking in his job in advertising and starting a new life as a garden designer. It was the deserved winner of Best Conceptual Garden.<br />
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Walking through the industrial boards-and-corrugated iron structure, you start in a dark and dank tunnel lined with hummocks of <em>Asplenium scolopendrium</em> and moss: the parallels with the Underground are unnerving, and the ceiling was dripping when I was there so I started thinking of other claustrophobic, underground places like coalmines. <br />
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As you walk through, the gaps widen and the light creeps in: the old, worn, stained sleepers give way to new oak and the planting lightens to dancing <em>Gaura lindheimeri</em> and pretty <em>Astrantia</em> 'Roma' and 'Buckland' amid airy grasses. Thoughtful, detailed, lovely.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC72Qzh0Plg0o4SoqBPR76vgjEPcR6-2Vbd7-sMvKHZaHVebBp0UXhl6SzkYmLS21oIGK29PBy0aW3a25yaafU5K3wKF-gLi36y6XysyDDSC4205siVSoa7VezWxgX1vmfbDBA/s1600/hcfs_conceptual3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC72Qzh0Plg0o4SoqBPR76vgjEPcR6-2Vbd7-sMvKHZaHVebBp0UXhl6SzkYmLS21oIGK29PBy0aW3a25yaafU5K3wKF-gLi36y6XysyDDSC4205siVSoa7VezWxgX1vmfbDBA/s320/hcfs_conceptual3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Coral Desert, by Antonia Young (Silver-gilt)<br />
I loved this, with its clever juxtapositions (the driest plants in the world - cacti and succulents - made to look just like underwater coral) drawing attention to the plight of the coral reefs. And the ceiling was a two-inch transparent tray of rippling water. How cool is that?</td></tr>
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I admit I make a beeline for the Conceptual Gardens at Hampton Court. More challenging (and often better-executed) than the big show gardens, they're edgy, interesting, thought-provoking. <br />
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They always break the rules: they make me perpetually re-think what I mean by the word 'garden'. I've seen conceptual gardens that are upside down, under the ground, under water and inside boxes. Most don't look like 'gardens' at all: and that's why they're so inspiring. <br />
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I've always thought that the fact that conceptual gardens are so popular is a tribute to the gardening public. It's easy to think 'most' people who say they like gardening are just boringly traditional and set in their ways, growing veg in straight lines and lining their clipped lawns with bright pink rhododendrons. <br />
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And some are. But many - I would even venture to say 'most' - of those who take the trouble to go to a flower show are far more interesting, and interested than that. That's hundreds of thousands of people who relish a challenge and want to garden in a more intelligent, creative way.<br />
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There are now conceptual spin-offs at Tatton Park and Chelsea: and they are attracting more crowds and more discussion than anything else. <br />
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So perhaps it's not surprising the mainstream designers want a slice of the action: ideas first seen in conceptual gardens are slowly, surely creeping in to the mainstream and sparking other little flashes of inspiration. It keeps design alive, new, inspiring, moving forward: and that can be nothing but good.The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-75950280860728718342012-07-02T22:50:00.000+01:002012-07-02T22:50:50.808+01:00Postcard from Hampton Court: Monday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sorry (again): another long silence. <br />
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I have been camera-less which has left me bereft and strangely incapable of wittering on as I usually do. Not sure why not having visible proof silences me quite so efficiently but luckily (or unluckily, depending on your point of view) another flower show came along forcing me to buck up my ideas and acquire a new camera post haste. Canon SX40, since you ask, and yes it is far more complicated than the last one and no I still haven't got further than the auto setting.<br />
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The show, of course, was the wonderful <a href="http://www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/RHS-Hampton-Court-Palace-Flower-Show/2012">RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show</a>: huge, fizzing with energy and ideas, slightly exhausting, thought-provoking, unmissable.<br />
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The extraordinary garden in the picture is <a href="http://www.bestique.co.uk/">Anoushka Feiler's</a> 'Bridge over Troubled Water', which won a gold and Best in Show: and for me it stood head and shoulders above the rest. <br />
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Show gardens at Hampton Court can be a bit hit-and-miss: what Tony Smith was doing sticking plastic bottles on <em>Arundo donax</em> for Ecover I don't know (his paving conceptual garden was a bit... mmmm... too). Still: at least they try to push the boundaries and do something different, even if it doesn't always come off.<br />
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But Anoushka's garden was pure gold: or rather pink. It was the most sensuous, feminine, diaphanous garden: passionate, loving, emotional. The idea behind it was quite simple: a bridge as a journey over hardship (more specifically, <a href="http://www.bladderproblem.co.uk/?utm_campaign=RedDoor&utm_source=rhs&utm_medium=offline">overactive bladder</a> - but I did my best not to think about that too much as it just made me want to cross my legs. Click the link if you want to know more.)<br />
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Either side were great banks of lush ivies and ferns dripping down to the water - a gorgeous and practical use for vertical planting - on which was built a sumptuous hummocky grassland of pinks and greens over which floated airy honey locust trees (<em>Gleditsia triacanthos</em> 'Elegantissima').<br />
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I adored the planting: here <em>Echinacea</em> 'Fatal Attraction' (mysterious and other-worldly without its petals), <em>Dicentra</em> 'King of Hearts',<em> Pennisetum setaceum</em> 'Rubrum' and, I think, the feathery plumes of <em>Deschampsia cespitosa</em> 'Pixie Fountain'.<br />
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We've seen Anoushka's work before: she created last year's upside-down conceptual garden, 'Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky'. Another passionate creation, full of laughter and hope. I'm so glad she's back for more: and I hope we see a lot more of her gardens in years to come.The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-84211782821050206602012-05-26T21:26:00.000+01:002012-05-26T21:26:43.933+01:00Postcard from Chelsea: Saturday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A rare treat this year: waiting for a taxi after finishing particularly late, I went for a wander up Main Avenue and got to see the magical world that is Chelsea after dark.<br />
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Andy Sturgeon's garden in particular came to life after the sun went down. I'll confess that until this point I haven't really been that taken with it. It was all right - the planting was lovely and it was beautifully judged - but I felt the copper sculpture was swamped by the monolithic and mildly brutalist walls marching down the back. For me they were too distracting and diminished the rest of the garden.<br />
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By night, though, those walls fade into the background and the copper bubble sculpture shines and dances like a thing alive. The holes in the walls are black by daylight: but by night they light up like glowing circles of gold, echoes of the gleaming sculpture winding through the plants.<br />
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There were other gardens, too, which were transformed by light: Tony Smith's "Green with..." was positively funky in red and silver while Diarmuid Gavin's tower became more like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and less like a theme park as the scaffolding retreated under gentle lighting.<br />
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There should be special tickets for people to come in and see Chelsea's gardens lit up like this. In fact I think Andy's should have stayed under wraps until post-9pm just so people could see it at its best. It completely changed my mind about it: which begs the question, why show it to the public at a time when it's patently not the most beautiful it can be?<br />
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But then that would mean all those bankers and society sorts couldn't have their swanky parties (for this is what Chelsea becomes after the gates close at 8pm: one huge party in which there are no longer ropes around the gardens and everyone gets to actually use those beautiful buildings for which Chelsea is so famous). I think one evening, though, could be set aside to let the public in: this is one sight which really shouldn't be missed.<br />
<br />The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-24856176531306211372012-05-25T12:38:00.000+01:002012-05-25T12:39:15.461+01:00Postcard from Chelsea: Friday<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPB1SVEqnuheIPxQ1Uc_4xMSMLBl9P1lAROkj4DVDA_h99SK37AcgDUr5p4Pf5u9txUFnZQqkvZNsPHX2_T-WxK6HD1PUX7cQXIqxxMggN6fAlO8E2F_toT3jycRqH0S-WDHA/s1600/digitalis+illumination+pink_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcPB1SVEqnuheIPxQ1Uc_4xMSMLBl9P1lAROkj4DVDA_h99SK37AcgDUr5p4Pf5u9txUFnZQqkvZNsPHX2_T-WxK6HD1PUX7cQXIqxxMggN6fAlO8E2F_toT3jycRqH0S-WDHA/s320/digitalis+illumination+pink_small.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(c) Thompson & Morgan</td></tr>
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The Plant of the Year stand is a funny one: a motley collection of plants out of context, drawn from all over the Pavilion. It's a bit like the 'remainders' trolley in the garden centre, only with good-quality plants.<br />
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Anyway, almost everyone who brings a new plant to Chelsea nominates it for the award: but only the very best make it onto the white podiums for the public to look at.<br />
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Among this year's 20 finalists were a massive pitcher plant (<em>Nepenthes</em> 'Linda') from Hampshire Carnivorous Plants, rubbing shoulders with one of Peter Beales's roses ('Queen's Jubilee' - of course), a ridiculously vivid blue hyacinth ('Royal Navy', from J S Pennings de Bilt) and two new aeoniums from Trewidden in Cornwall - 'Cornish Tribute' is compact and has extraordinary purple rosettes with a glowing lime green centre: and 'Logan Rock', which turns purple in summer.<br />
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My own tip for the top was a foxglove, <em>Digitalis</em> 'Silver Cub' - a fabulous silver-foliage perennial white foxglove which just shone out from the stand and made you want to stroke its leaves. It flowers in its first year from sowing and has multiple stems - seriously lovely thing. <br />
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But the winner was another foxglove altogether,<em> D.</em> 'Illumination Pink', bred by<a href="http://www.thompson-morgan.com/flowers/flower-plants/perennial-and-biennial-plants/foxglove-illumination/p92671TM"> Thompson & Morgan</a>. Though on appearance I still prefer the 'Silver Cub' you've got to take your hat off to them for achieving what was thought impossible: a cross between <em>Digitalis purpurea</em> and the evergreen Canary Island foxglove, variously referred to as <em>D. canariensis</em> or <em>Isoplexis canariensis</em> depending on whether you think it's botanically a foxglove or not. T&M's achievement would suggest that it is. <br />
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Its exotic origins have given it a very un-foxglove like colouring of candy pink with butter yellow centres. On the plus side, it's perennial, semi-evergreen, flowers for absolutely ages, and is nice and sturdy so it doesn't need staking. On the minus side, it's sterile - clever marketing ploy, but disappointing for gardeners who like to raise their own plants from seed. <br />
<br />The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-32007777304924302832012-05-24T12:24:00.000+01:002012-05-24T12:24:30.058+01:00Postcard from Chelsea: Thursday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<em>Podophyllum</em> 'Spotty Dotty', a gorgeous specimen and in flower, too: my plant of the week, spotted on the <a href="http://www.edulis.co.uk/product?ipg=9873">Edulis</a> stand (also my exhibit of the week - I'm so delighted they've made it to Chelsea at last, and though they're first-timers they've shown off an exceptional collection of edibles, many of which I'd never come across before).<br />
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I adore podophyllums - big, blowsy foliage plants and as this one shows, no slouch on the flowering front either. 'Spotty Dotty', a cross between<em> P. delavayi</em> and <em>P. difforme</em>, is one of the most colourful with its generous brown-spodged leaves. <br />
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I've always struggled to grow them a little in my old garden, bone-dry acid sand that it was: but I think I might have another go in this one as it has plenty of nice shady damp corners - right up Dotty's street. I was a little surprised to see it nestled among the other Edulis plants until I found out that though most parts of the plant are toxic, its ripe, yellowish or red fruit is known as the May apple (in this case, the Chinese May apple). About the size of a crabapple, it's said to taste a little inspid - but I'd really like to give it a try.<br />
<br />The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33596622.post-729854735223715412012-05-23T22:13:00.000+01:002012-05-23T22:17:04.133+01:00Postcard from Chelsea: Wednesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sorry - this simply doesn't do justice to the spectacular exhibit that is the <a href="http://www.hwhyde.co.uk/">HW Hyde & Son</a> lily display in the Great Pavilion, winner not only of a Gold but also of the coveted award for the best exhibit in the show.<br />
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It's a walk-through stand - this is one of two paths around a central island. There are more walk-through displays than I've seen for a long time this year: Hardy's, both David Austin and Peter Beales' Roses, and Hyde's allow you to wander through the plants, immersing yourself in them and surrounding yourself with them. <br />
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Massive-flowered oriental lilies are almost impossible to place in a garden: they're just too big, too blowsy, too 'look at me'. I don't care: I love them anyway.<br />
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I have several in containers around the place: they get very little care, far less than they should have I expect, but they come back year after year. As long as I can defend them from the horrors of the lily beetle (can there be any larvae more disgusting than those of the lily beetle, I wonder?) they're incredibly easy, yet incredibly breathtaking when those long fat buds finally break.<br />
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Not one of them, though, is a patch on the sensational glamourpusses on Hyde's, though. Here are just a few.<br />
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'Choco'</div>
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'Big Brother'</div>
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'Nymph'</div>
The Constant Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01219672153177538912noreply@blogger.com0