Garden Jewels

The garden is still full of colour.More than enough colour to photograph.I love this Echinops Ritro, the Blue Flowers look like sparks flying off the manga like Globe Thistle.The Bee's love these blue flowers and were walking all over it.I love the spiky leaves, and the angular nature of the Thistle heads.These catch the sunlight and glow an ethereal blue.

The wildflower area has been trashed in one corner by the Mole, but otherwise is flowering beautifully.I want the whole area to self seed so it regrows year after year.I will only remove large weeds as it is only a small area.The Pink Snapdragons smell like candy.These are the second generation.These have self seeded from last years plants.I saw these Daisy flowers today at Nostell Priory and they were inundated by small orange/brown Butterfly's.

My favourite grass is my Stipa Tenuissima, or Pony Tails.As the breeze catches the airy grasses they sway.They are extremely soft to touch.I want more of these grasses to punctuate the border.I love their movement,and height.They add dynamism to the garden.I think grasses can work well in a mixed border.

The Frogs continue to bask in the pond.We went to Nostell Priory today, and I came back with two more porcelain Frogs for the garden collection.I am a Pisces, so i have a natural affinity to water creatures.I think Frogs chilling on my Lily pads is brilliant.The water Lily has actually produced a torpedo shaped flower bud.I will watch it over the next few days and have the camera ready to photograph it.

The last job tonight was to water all the baskets,feed the container bound Roses, and water the rest of the garden.The Rose Darcey Bussell is flowering for a second time.My poorly flowering Wisley has some flower buds at last.The Lady Emma Hamilton looks very poorly with yellowing leaves and hardly any Roses this year.Maybe Rose have off years?Margaret Merrill, and Harlow Carr are about to burst into a second bloom.

The garden has a lovely vibrancy to it with all the insects,birds,and flowers.The green seems to shine through in the late July garden.The flower blooms look like jewels glinting in an emerald crown.