So how has our garden been doing in the merry month of May so far? The last week has been a very productive week for us when it came to getting more things done in the garden. I know on our blog then entire length of last week was dedicated to Chelsea (as it was ongoing then) but behind all of that we have been busy sorting out our own turf.
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| Painting in progress |
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| One other good thing about Chelsea is that it reminds you that it's time to do the 'Chelsea Chop', which the Lysimachia 'Firecracker' received |
The painted lady is back! It's funny how one can easily associate or assign a gender even on inanimate objects and somehow it just feels right to refer to our red pergola as a 'she'. Well it's lipstick red and I'm so glad to see this pergola loud and proud once again, like how it used to be. Okay, side trellis may not be up yet but that should follow soon.
All the Scheffleras in the garden are busy flushing away and I ought to take a photo of them one by one. This one is the Garden House Schefflera rhododendrifolia. I think the lighting was perfect on this spot when I took this photo.
All the rock daisies in the garden seemed very happy this year, happy enough to flower profusely. The ones nearest to the pond are Celmisia spectabilis.
A lot of our taller Trachycarpus fortunei are flowering this year too. I must try and take photos of all of them as it's quite unusual.
The Gunnera tinctoria by the bottom patio pond seems to be doing extra well this year, looking much bigger than it usually does on previous years and it's still not showing signs of maxing out size yet.
Mahonia eurybracteata subsp. ganpinensis 'Soft Caress' softly caressing a log of moss...
The jungle hut holding it's own right amongst the jungle-y foliage.
Schefflera aff. myriocarpa seems set to be multi-headed from this year onward.
Always brings a cheer to see these little bright fellows. And at this time of the year you get to know too which are males or females.
Oops, I must fish out those dead Fatsia japonica leaves.
Rhododendron 'Viking Silver' living up to its name.
Just a few images for now as a little update on our garden which will also set the tone for some of the topics I will blog about for the remaining days of May and in June.
Mark :-)
This gardening blog follows our journey as we create our Tropical and Exotic themed garden. We hope you'll enjoy the journey as much as we do. We started our Exotic Garden in 2005 and this site will show its development, as well as our travels, both abroad and within the UK to gardens, nurseries and friends.
So happy to see your garden looking so fantastic! :-) I hope you both feel very proud of yourselves for bringing it back to gorgeousness after the devastating fire last year. Have been bit over-busy over the winter and last few months, so will be spending some time catching up on your blog over the next few days that we are informed will be wet here in Liverpool. Not that I necessarily believe the weather forecast - they've got it wrong a lot recently for us!
ReplyDeleteThanks Maggie! Most of the fire last year are just memories of the past now, although some traces are still visible here and there. Hope it won't be as wet as predicted there :)
DeleteEverything is beautiful. It makes me forget you had that fire last year. A real jungle. I love it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lisa :) I'm pleased with how things are turning out!
DeleteThe Gunnera is awesome, I really must get one of those. I like the way you've stripped the leaves off the bamboo culms, fourth picture.
ReplyDeleteYour garden will be perfect for a Gunnera Jessica, especially as in you're a milder location :)
DeleteHoly wow!!!! A stroll through your gardens is a feast for the eyes. I absolutely love your gunnera, what a fabulous specimen. and that red pergola is oooo la la. Wonderful to see everything looking so grand.
ReplyDeleteThank you Deanne and glad to see you're back :)
DeleteSplendid ! I'm ready for a Mai Tai now !
ReplyDeleteThanks! I wouldn't mind one either :)
DeleteLOL Kathy, Heather has come up with a recipe for Mai Tais that is pretty fabulous. We'll have to have her mix up a pitcher for us when you visit.
DeleteThe jungle is back! I knew that with your hard work and dedication, signs of the fire would soon recede. I look forward to seeing the Jungle Hut when painting on it is completed. The pergola looks outstanding in her new lipstick red color, and she perfectly complements all the lush foliage. Viking Silver is fabulous!
ReplyDeleteThanks Debs! I think the red pergola will be extra bright this time around as the paint is glossy, the one before was satin. I quite like how much louder it is now :)
DeleteSo good to see the red pergola back, and your jungle hut already looks as if it has always been there, you have done a wonderful job of re-creating the lush jungly feel around it, so many great plants and foliage contrasts. Hard to believe the scene of devastation last year, you must be delighted. I'd love to hear what you think you have done better this time round some time, if anything? I imagine you must have learnt a lot more about the plants you use and how to combine them to good effect?
ReplyDeleteThanks Janet, you've given me an idea on a future blog post too :) past experience did help which made redoing things easier. Jungle area is mostly sorted now, just needs some of the plants to leaf out and fill their spaces.
DeleteSo much to love in your garden. It's so lush, something we just don't see here in drought-ridden California. Not to mention the fact that your property is a veritable botanical garden, with plants I've never seen anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gerhard :) but you can grow so many gorgeous agaves in your area which we can't at ours. Still admiring Vanzie btw, I want one!
DeleteYour garden is looking fantastic. With the red pergola is back it feels like Mark and Gaz's garden has been restored. It was such a standout feature - along with the (not so) minor fact that you have created a beautiful tropical rainforest in a cold climate. I love the Gunnera tinctoria. Hopefully they will just keep getting bigger and bigger.
ReplyDeleteThanks Missy! When I first caught glimpse of the pergola painted I had that strange feeling of dejavu and that feeling of familiarity. Great to have her back :)
DeleteYour garden is looking absolutely gorgeous! So lush and tropical. I especially love your various Schefflera.
ReplyDeleteThanks Evan! Thought of you when I posted that pic of the rhododendron.
DeleteI very much enjoyed this look at what's looking good in your garden right now. That silver Rhodie is fabulous!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alison! It took awhile for that silver rhododendron to settle, it's looking its best ever this year.
DeleteIt's looking great, Mark! The jungle is clearly making its presence known! I look forward to seeing the newly painted jungle hut.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kris! Hopefully the newly painted jungle hut will live up to its promise :)
DeleteStunning as always gentlemen! And your garden is lovely too:) Seriously, everything is looking grand! Can anything beat the exuberance of a new flush of leaves from most members of the araliaceae family?
ReplyDeleteThanks Peter! Flushing araliacea, always an amazing sight!
DeleteEach one of those photos was such a treat, so many amazing plants and indeed everything is looking just wonderful. I was especially caught by the Gunnera, it's just amazing! If I'm lucky that's what mine will look like at the end of the growing season.
ReplyDeleteThanks Loree! I'm really pleased and impressed with how that Gunnera is doing this year. The main crown died but the side shoots that took over seems set to perform even better. Hopefully yours will do well too, if not better :)
DeleteHello Mark and Gaz,
ReplyDeleteYour garden is looking deliciously luxurious. So much sumptuous planting and such fabulous plants everywhere one looks. You must be grilled with how it is all developing.
And, you have such a great eye not only for choosing plants but for placing them. You really do give each and every one of your beautiful plants a stage of its own on which to perform. An Opera in several acts......wonderful!
Thank you Jane and Lance for the lovely words, and the comparison to an Opera which is a fine form of art and entertainment :)
DeleteYour painted lady sets off the jungle so that it looks even junglier. 'Viking Silver' is stunning, and looks surprisingly at home in your setting. The deeper we get into Rhododendrons, the more varied and fascinating they become...and the deer ignore them. This is one to watch for.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ricki! So deer seems to ignore rhododendrons, interesting info and definite bonus point to growing them!
DeleteLots of lovely photos of lots of lovely plants ! I am interested to see your Gunnera Tinctoria and how HUGE it is already. We have just bought and planted one, as we were assured that it is a much smaller version of Gunnera Manicata !! maybe not!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane! G. tinctoria is only marginally smaller than manicata, so still huge growing :)
DeleteWow definitely Eye Candy! I would to be a lizard in your garden!
ReplyDeleteWe'd love for you to visit us just the way you are Candice :))
DeleteOMG, your garden or tropical jungle is fully alive again! There is no insinuation that it just passed through winter and a fire. The red pergola amazingly fits there, wow!
ReplyDelete