Saturday 31 October 2015

A flower arrangement for Halloween.

I have to confess, and it may be obvious to most of you, that I haven't created the arrangements in my Halloween post, these are the work of Mary, our youngest daughter, during a flower arranging demonstration for the Black Pear Gardening Club.

A Halloween Firework display.


All the materials used were from either Our Garden@19, Mary's allotment or a friend's garden, except for the pots of cyclamen in the third arrangement, which can be planted in the garden when the flowers have gone over.


This arrangement is a modern grouped long arrangement, designed for the mantelpiece, or if you fill both sides a long table centre piece.
Using seasonal materials this would be ideal for Christmas.


The third arrangement is a 'Pot et Fleur', this is ideal as a table centre piece or as a gift.



Mary trained as a florist at Pershore Horticultural College, working in the industry for many years managing a florist shop.

A happy florist.
Are you creating a Halloween arrangement from your garden?

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Saturday 24 October 2015

The last NGS Garden visit.

Our last NGS garden visit of the year took us just over the county border into Herefordshire to the Picton Gardens and Old Court Nursery, home of the Plant Heritage National Collection of Autumn Flowering Asters.
The garden features in my 'Worcestershire Gardens' on the blog's header bar, (it is only just over the border) and is open from August until October, including some days for the NGS.


 Old Court Nurseries developed a reputation for growing Michaelmas Daisy's when Percy Picton took it over. Today the nursery and garden is owned by Paul and Meriel Picton along with their daughter, Helen.


The one & half acre garden provides a riot of colour at this time of year...


...not just from the asters, there are many autumn colouring trees and shrubs...


...bamboos, ferns and other autumn flowering perennials...


...and acers.


The garden contains several willow and metal items of garden art.



You enter this area past pillars of Berberis ( thunbergii f. atropurpurea? ), which is also used as a hedging plant along the paths.


A spectacular, colourful view across this part of the garden.

 
In this area a new crevice garden is being created inside this raised bed along with a stumpery around the Acer griseum.


The garden was named The Picton Garden in 1985...


...when the Charity, 'Percy Picton Memorial Fund' was established...


...to provide grants to students of horticulture at Pershore Collage.


There are raised beds containing well labeled different asters to help you make your choice in the nursery. They are also involved in the RHS Symphyotrichum trial (the new name for Asters!) which you may have read about in The Patient Gardener: Here


A beautiful and colourful end to the NGS garden visiting season.
Now is the time to start planning for next years opening, the entries for the NGS Yellow Book 2016 had to be in by the end of September, ready for publishing and entry on the website:NGS
The Yellow Book should be available for purchase in February, £2.5 million was donated in 2014 to mainly nursing charities.



What plans do you have for your garden next year?
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Monday 19 October 2015

Purple Patch.

Our youngest Granddaughter Louise, has helped me produce todays post, she had been poorly during the night, so was home from school today.
We are joining Cathy's meme: Vase on a Monday
The garden is going through a purple patch at the moment, which we have reflected in the flowers selected. Starting with the Dahlia 'Thomas A. Edison', which was very slow to get started in the spring and is now dominating the raised beds, alongside is the Aster a.n. 'Helen Picton', named after the daughter of Paul Picton, owner of Old Court Nurseries and the Picton Gardens. They are based just over the border from us in Herefordshire and are National Collection holders of Asters. 
The vase also contains three flowering stems of an unknown Miscanthus, given to us by a good friend.


The leaf at the base of the vase is from the Caster Oil plant, Ricinus communis.

D.'Thomas A. Edison'


Miscanthus


Aster a.n. 'Helen Picton'.

The props used today are the purple sleeved LP The Last Night of The Proms, reflecting the fact that we are nearing the last concert from these flowers for this year.
Toby the Tiger is Louise's special soft toy, she was given him by Father Christmas when she visited him on the Severn Valley Railway Santa Special.
He now goes everywhere with her.

Arrangement by Brian and Louise, Photographs by Louise.

Friday 16 October 2015

Monday 12 October 2015

Tree following October.

There has not been much change during the last two months, in the Acer negundo Flamingo I have been following this year.
 If you haven't visited before, here it is growing in the Oriental Garden.


 I pollard it every January Here  to prevent it becoming too big while encouraging the slate blue branches and fine pink stems that you can see in the pictures, to develop.


Unfortunately the white variegated edges of the leaves have been scorched by either the sun or more likely the wind.




I thought this was a good time to introduce you to the never ending woodland path here at Our Garden19. Walking through the main borders towards the Banana Bench...


...you come to the start of the path, here you have a choice to make, left or right?


I seem to nearly always turn to the left, I don't know why, passing the Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tripcuspidata) on the trellis just turning red and the apple 'Kid's Orange Red' on your left.


Boston Ivy
It is, I think, a lovely eating apple.



Following the path round behind the bench...


...you pass Rose glauca.syn. Rose rubrifolia...


...and Sorbus Eastern Promise, both growing through Aucuba, Dogwoods, and a variegated Holly backed by a Sambucus nigra.


A little further round you have Ligularia przewalskii, on the right, behind the Banana Bench trellis, this produces lovely spires of yellow flowers. Hiding in the corner of this picture is an apple tree Worcester Pearmain, we had to have one of those.
The first tree on the left is Liquidamber slyraciflua 'Stella'...


...whose leaves are just starting to turn a 'buttery' yellow, soon to turn red...


...a little further along the never ending path is what I refer to as our 'Champion Tree', the Prunus serrula...


...with its wonderful coppery peeling bark.


And here we emerge, back where we started in front of the Banana Bench where you can sit and rest looking out over the garden before you start again following the never ending woodland walk.


On your way back to the house if you look over the fence you can see the neighbours' Liquidamber in all its Autumn fiery glory...


...every year it turns earlier than the one in our garden, which means we can enjoy theirs before ours puts on a show.


The last picture is a close up of a Boston Ivy leaf.


If you wish to see which trees other bloggers are following please visit Lucy at Loose and leafy Here

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