I can't believe that it's been nearly 4 months since my last post. I really don't know where time goes and of course the winter had set in pretty early this year at Bird Cottage. As we were gearing up for our first full winter in the Highlands our neighbours and friends had told us that ANZAC Day was the day the fires go on.....well......I think they went on about 2 weeks before that!!!! Things started to get decidedly chilly quite early in April and we already had 2 loads of timber for the fire delivered by late June.
But we were not too concerned. With the excitement of the new shed going up and that taking up most of our time, we were just counting the days till our holiday and escaping to the UK for a few weeks of an 'English summer'. We arrived in London on the 13th June....to cold weather!!! Now, to be completely fair it wasn't freezing but cool enough to be wearing jeans and pull-overs! Only the week or two before the UK had been experiencing incredible heatwaves with some of the highest temperatures ever recorded!!! And that will all be returning in a weeks time....after we're gone!!!! Ces't la vie.....and I can say that as we are off to a sunny and warm Paris tomorrow!!!!
But I digress.....London in the summer actually quite lovely and one of the loveliest things (forgetting about the dreadful weather) is the profusion of colour offered in garden bed, hanging baskets and even the many flowers popping up in the lawns of parks dotted around the countryside.
I'm staying with the in-laws and they have a lovely English 'cottage' garden. In summer it's always a mass of colour with huge bumble bees buzzing all over the place.
We don't have anything like these 'bumble bees' in Australia and I love how big and clumsy the look, yet how delicately they land on flowers and gather the pollen. I can sit and watch them for ages as they dart in and out of open blooms, jumping from one plant to another. Every now and then they duck into a flower they've already visited and quick smart head off to look for somewhere new.
And they certainly are spoiled for choice in this garden with the agapanthus, buddleja, fuchsias, geraniums, clematis and many other flowering plants.
Clematis is a part of the buttercup family Ranunculanceae which originated in China and Japan. They have been widely cultivated since the mid 1880's. Clematis are vigorous growing woody climbers or vines that twist and curl around structures or supports as they climb. They grow best on cool temperate climates in full sun and are usually deciduous but in warmer climates are evergreen. Because of their climbing ability and masses of spectacular flowers, clematis are one of the most popular plants in English gardens. You could certainly grow these in the cooler climates of the Blue Mountains and Southern Highlands and down into Victoria. If your on the coast in Sydney I'd try it on a south-facing wall and see how it goes.
All time favourites in many gardens around the world are the pelargonium, or geranium. And you can't beat a spectacular red-flowering variety such as the one pictured. Pelargonium species are evergreen and originate from South Africa where they thrive in the warm to hot condition, being heat and drought tolerant. I always remember the masses of geraniums in the window boxes and pots in the Greek Islands and it just says 'summer island holiday' to me. In temperate climates they can be grown year round outdoors without trouble but if you get frosts they can get damaged so it's better to bring them inside in the winter, or take cutting and strike them over the winter months for planting out as new plants the following spring. And lovely purple-spiked mini-agapanthus look great mass planted in a blue glazed pot.
Hanging baskets are big business in London with many of the major streets and thoroughfares decorated with large baskets of summer colour. They are often used 'en-masse'-' like these below outside the famous London department store 'Liberty' just off Regent Street and around the corner into Carneby Street.
So while the weather may have been a little grey it's been lovely to be surrounded by so much colour. I got to spend a few hours today laying in the sun watching the bumble bees go about their business. And tomorrow it's off to Paris where I plan to go and visit the beautiful gardens in Giverny of the artist Monet. The gardens that inspired is beautiful Impressionist painting.
Making the most of the English summer and looking for inspiration at every turn!
But we were not too concerned. With the excitement of the new shed going up and that taking up most of our time, we were just counting the days till our holiday and escaping to the UK for a few weeks of an 'English summer'. We arrived in London on the 13th June....to cold weather!!! Now, to be completely fair it wasn't freezing but cool enough to be wearing jeans and pull-overs! Only the week or two before the UK had been experiencing incredible heatwaves with some of the highest temperatures ever recorded!!! And that will all be returning in a weeks time....after we're gone!!!! Ces't la vie.....and I can say that as we are off to a sunny and warm Paris tomorrow!!!!
But I digress.....London in the summer actually quite lovely and one of the loveliest things (forgetting about the dreadful weather) is the profusion of colour offered in garden bed, hanging baskets and even the many flowers popping up in the lawns of parks dotted around the countryside.
I'm staying with the in-laws and they have a lovely English 'cottage' garden. In summer it's always a mass of colour with huge bumble bees buzzing all over the place.
We don't have anything like these 'bumble bees' in Australia and I love how big and clumsy the look, yet how delicately they land on flowers and gather the pollen. I can sit and watch them for ages as they dart in and out of open blooms, jumping from one plant to another. Every now and then they duck into a flower they've already visited and quick smart head off to look for somewhere new.
And they certainly are spoiled for choice in this garden with the agapanthus, buddleja, fuchsias, geraniums, clematis and many other flowering plants.
Buddleja or 'Buddleia' as it's sometime know has masses of flower spikes in purples, white mauve and pink. It's loved by butterflies and bees and there are both deciduous and evergreen species. The genus was names after an English botanist, Adam Buddle (1660-1715) and some species have been used for medicinal purposes or their colour used in dyes!
In the garden there are two stunning clematis. A hot pink and beautiful purple. Both are in full bloom and colours really complement each other!
Clematis is a part of the buttercup family Ranunculanceae which originated in China and Japan. They have been widely cultivated since the mid 1880's. Clematis are vigorous growing woody climbers or vines that twist and curl around structures or supports as they climb. They grow best on cool temperate climates in full sun and are usually deciduous but in warmer climates are evergreen. Because of their climbing ability and masses of spectacular flowers, clematis are one of the most popular plants in English gardens. You could certainly grow these in the cooler climates of the Blue Mountains and Southern Highlands and down into Victoria. If your on the coast in Sydney I'd try it on a south-facing wall and see how it goes.
All time favourites in many gardens around the world are the pelargonium, or geranium. And you can't beat a spectacular red-flowering variety such as the one pictured. Pelargonium species are evergreen and originate from South Africa where they thrive in the warm to hot condition, being heat and drought tolerant. I always remember the masses of geraniums in the window boxes and pots in the Greek Islands and it just says 'summer island holiday' to me. In temperate climates they can be grown year round outdoors without trouble but if you get frosts they can get damaged so it's better to bring them inside in the winter, or take cutting and strike them over the winter months for planting out as new plants the following spring. And lovely purple-spiked mini-agapanthus look great mass planted in a blue glazed pot.
The English really do container planting very well. Every spring pots and hanging baskets are planted up and really add an amazing colour to what would be a bit of a bleak landscape (ooppps...did I say that out loud???). The masses of reds, pinks and yellows offset with green and silvery foliage adorn walkways, paths and gardens everywhere.
Hanging baskets are big business in London with many of the major streets and thoroughfares decorated with large baskets of summer colour. They are often used 'en-masse'-' like these below outside the famous London department store 'Liberty' just off Regent Street and around the corner into Carneby Street.
So while the weather may have been a little grey it's been lovely to be surrounded by so much colour. I got to spend a few hours today laying in the sun watching the bumble bees go about their business. And tomorrow it's off to Paris where I plan to go and visit the beautiful gardens in Giverny of the artist Monet. The gardens that inspired is beautiful Impressionist painting.
Making the most of the English summer and looking for inspiration at every turn!
