Mortuary Plants

After being evacuated from my Flat yesterday by the Police due to a Prison bomb scare I went plant shopping...

I listened to gardeners question time and one of the panelist said she loved to see what plants were on the mortuary shelf. That were dried up or wilting, and needed some TLC to bring them back to their glorious state.

I smiled because I love plant bargains, and the urge to tend sick plants back into health is fun.

The plants I got yesterday from Hampsons mortuary trolley were five Celosia which looked wilted and sad, and a white flowering Impatiens.

Hils also let me stock up from her garden and greenhouse plants and house plants for the Indoor greenhouse challenge nurturing them to health.

I bought Two Canna's unknown variety,a Sisyrinchium Californicum Brachypus, and a Parahebe Catarractae. Hampsons has the most enormous Alpine section, with hundreds of varieties some single ones for the alpine garden with spreading plants and delicate flowers.

Growing Alpines in a Belfast sink like Fran is a good idea, as it brings the plants up to eye level so you can admire the detail and flowers at close range.

From the plant sale Hils had some of my flat grown plants. They were well developed in her greenhouse the busylizzies, Viola midnight runner had flowered, and a few clary with purple leaf tips. What a difference it makes growing these in a greenhouse with light from all sides and not one side only...

Nestled next to one Clary was a seedling that I thought I'd killed off for this year.. A germinated Datura Ballerina mix. Germinated in the greenhouse in a pot with Clary in it. These has come back to the Flat.

Joining the Mortuary plants, Canna's, and Alpines were a trailing Dancing flame Fuschia with the most giant pink flowers, Four slug eaten Dahlias needing some TLC, A sickly looking Bird of Paradise twice the size of mine, A zebra plant with Yellow four sided Bracts, A Stomanthe which looks poorly, A gorgeous Bouganvillea in flower, and two Auriculas.

The Flat is bursting again with the green leaves of many plants..I am waiting in for my RHS course material to be delivered still.This flat is hard for parcel force and business post to find :(

I hope to start the Studying soon when the stuff finally arrives.

Hanging onto a Dicentra

In the cool light of the flat a little wee beastie hangs on his web.I have had a lot of small black flys recently buzzing around the flat.

He was hanging on the New Dicentra Spectabalis or red bleeding heart.I already photographed the flowers.

It is in the kitchen now with lots of new growth.I hope it lasts longer than the white Dicentra which never recovered from the nursery induced shock, and weakened its immune system.



I love finding new subjects to photograph. I think a garden full of ladybirds, earthworms, slugs, snails, hedgehogs, frogs, common garden birds, beetles, butterflies, and Bee's is a wander of nature.
It also means they like the environment you have created.
I have already blogged once about Robert the Bruce's encounter with a spider in a wood in Scotland. That story has been in my head for years after reading it. My spider pictures always bring me back to that.
There is beauty in even the commonplace if we look through new eyes.

Tuesday's Flowers full of Grace..

Geranium Vancouver Centennial, the Scarlet flower

The Asiatic lilly blooming still, but dropping flowers now :(

The first recognisable flower on the Hydrangea.Where is the coloured petals? Will it be blue, pink, or white?Should i get iron chippings for the soil to make it blue?

The Nicotiana Domino starry shaped red flowers.I thought these were scented but i cant smell anything!

I want a sensory garden one day with sights, smells, and textures.I love handling leafs, sniffing flowers, examining the flowers, buds, and looking for new growth.

Growing today

My Clary seedling, stepping onto camera for the first time.These salvia are suppossed to be a mixture of purple, pink, and blue leaves I think. They also have some peach fluff growing on the stem and leaves.These all need repotting in plastic pots but i do not have enough compost.Its on my list for tomorrow..

Flower buds on the asiatic pink lilly.It has got four growing flower stems with between three to six buds per stem.They are quick developers from a bulb in soil to one and half feet tall stems with lots of soft downy leaves.The biggest stem has soft white hair on the leaves.

The Two gardeners delight Hilary gave me, sitting in the pots they are to be transplanted in. They are solid looking plants, not like my sickly specimins.I hope they fruit well.They have some flower buds on already.

The Oriental Stargazer lilly, one of a pair.The bottom stem is very woody.Its spending its early energy making a solid base. Laying down lignin over the teeth like white roots that burrow from the base into the soil. The leaves are opening up slowly, like umbrellas :)

The most advanced chinese ground orchid after a week of classic fm.It has a year left before it flowers I think.

There are many more plants than that but i think i will keep them secret untill they have grown on a bit.

The indoor greenhouse is looking very green, and the windowsills are alive with plants and seedlings.