A new local nursery discovered

Today I went to visit a garden and nursery near Halifax, I've been meaning to go since I moved here , its only about a 20 minute drive from my house. You can pay £2.50 to look round the garden which I did, it is not a huge garden, about a third of an acre, but it's packed with plants, mostly perennials and grasses.

There are gravel paths round the garden and it is subtly divided in a couple of places, with some yew hedges, preventing you seeing the whole garden in one go. It has a variety of perennial and grass planting and has a long season of interest from spring to autumn. There also a number of well-placed seats to get good views of the garden.

Unfortunately the rain started when I got there but it didn't stop the garden looking stunning. One of the first things I noticed was that the garden was full of bees and especially butterflies, nearly every step I took disturbed one and they were flying around even in the damp weather. But thats because most of the plants in the garden are ones loved by butterflies.

There were a number of star plants, just coming out were the Echinaceas, in pinks and whites.
Steely blue Eryngiums

The tall spiky flowers of the Veronicastrum. The aniseed scented foliage of Agastache, my favourite is one called 'Black Adder' which the bees love. The dramatic flowerheads of the Monarda. The variety of flower colours of the Phloxes.

This plant had dramatic dark purple foliage and was used throughout the garden and the flower spikes looked amazing.

Some plants were allowed to self seed, such as Verbascums and the annual daisy Erigeron annuus.

They had used the daisy Erigeron in various pots around the garden which looked good. There was also a larger variety called Erigeron sommerneuschnee which when I went past was covered in butterflies, looked spectacular.

There was a lovely delicate Geranium which was used as edging.

The flat flowerheads of the Achilleas, in many different colours. One of these was used in a beautiful plant combination. Three plants, Achillea 'Salmon beauty', a very dark purple leaved Sedum and one of my favourite grasses Hordeum jubatum which I have in my garden and have grown from seed.

At the start of the garden there was some nice plant combinations with yellows, Achilleas, Heleniums, Bronze Fennel, Helianthus and a dramatic grass edging, not quite sure what that was will try and find out.

There was a lovely planting of two big clumps of the large grass Stipa gigantea on either side of the path which created a natural archway.

Other plants include Catmint, astillbe, Geraniums, Verbena bonariensis, Thalictrum, Sedum varieties, Sanguisorbia to name but a few.
You could see that there were many plants getting ready to flower too later in the season so I'm definitely going to visit again, for the Eupatorium, Rudbeckias, Echinaceas, Asters and more!
Well worth a visit or look at the website, they do mail order plants.
http://www.dovecottagenursery.co.uk/

My birthday garden party!

I've had a milestone birthday this year, according to the old adage my life has just begun!
Had a lovely few days off and on Sunday 3rd July I had a garden party, inviting my friends. Sunday dawned with clear blue skies and promised a beautiful day no need for a gazebo today to protect from the rain. I've been busy preparing the garden, mainly planting all the remaining crop plants at the allotment to give me more room. I had to move some pots around to make room for all the chairs. I was really pleased at how the garden looked and I took some photos before anyone arrived!

My friend Amy had made me some fabulous bunting!

Amy and Tracy also made me an amazing cake, inspired by Annie's Little Plot!

I had a brilliant day, bit chaotic at times and only just enough food but lovely to see everyone on such a glorious summer's day.

My allotment is filling up.

Things are taking off at the allotment and not just the weeds.
I've been busy planting things at the allotment and my two main raised beds which I'm going to rotate are nearly full. I've recently planted leeks for winter, some squash and courgettes, tomatoes, sweetcorn, dwarf beans, cucumbers and celeriac.
So the two beds are split into two, the first half of the bed has garlic, onions, shallots and leeks and then next half of the bed has radishes, carrots, beetroot, parsnip, celeriac, chard and spinach.

In the next raised bed in one half are the legumes, peas (purple-podded and normal), broad beans, runner beans and Borlotti beans. in the other half are the brassicas, I've planted some cabbage, some calabrese, some brocolli and kale. The plants that I covered with netting are growing well again so it was definitely pigeons and not slugs that were doing the damage.

Then I have dug over the big bed in the main area of the allotment, have planted some flowers, sweet peas, cerinthe, Ammi majus, marigolds, Nicosanda and Nigella. In the other side I've planted some more veg, so I've planted Sweetcorn, squash, courgettes, more Kale, tomatoes, dwarf french beans and cucumbers.

The early summer garden.

They arrived very early but were over far too quickly with the hot dry weather at the end of April and early May, that is my alliums in the front garden.
It is Allium 'Purple Sensation' though I think there are a couple of rogue bulbs in there too, which flowered a bit later, not sure what variety that was.

There a few plants in there that really need to go, that don't quite match the colour scheme, such as the blue Lithodora 'Heavenly Blue', but I can't quite get the courage to dig up one of my favourite plants, I'm taking some cuttings this year so if they take and I get some new plants then I might move it.
One corner of the plot has a lovely plant combination which I'm quite proud of, the combination of the Allium, the pink Persicaria bistorta 'Superba' and the Weigela with the dark purple leaves and pink flowers.

The Persicaria spreads quite easily, I've also got a couple of clumps in the back garden so I might split it and use it in other parts of this front plot.
In the back garden one of favourite flowers at this time of year is the foxglove, I have one that self seeded in my cutting garden it looks magnificent. I've just sown some for next year and have potted up some seedlings that have seeded themselves around the garden.

My archway onto the grass had partly blown down over the spring, it was rotted in places so I put a new one up a few weeks ago. Managed to not have to cut the honeysuckle down completely and so still have some flowers. On the other side of the arch is a Clematis 'Arabella' which flowers over a long period and there is also a jasmine which is growing well now and will hopefully flower this year.

At the bottom of the garden is an old apple tree and next to it has self seeded a tree which has a lovely weeping habit. At this time of year it has lots of rather inconspicuous flowers and then it has lovely berries. I say inconspicuous, that is to me they are not very showy but this week they have been completely covered in bees it has been swarming with them.

I'm not sure what the tree/shrub is I'll have to look it up.
Another flower loved by bees is the Nectaroscordum siculum ssp bulgaricum (a bit of a mouthful, had to look up the proper name), which has lovely delicate bell-shaped flowers, cream flushed with pink and green. Here is a bee's eyed view!

I was lying on the lawn and watching the bees going in and out of each flower. The flower has a curious habit, the flowers start of dangling down and open but as they get pollinated they close and the flowers point up to the sky.
I have a dilemma in my back garden, I got free from a gardening magazine an oriental poppy which was supposed to be 'Patty's Plum' which is a dusky pink variety of poppy. I planted it but the one that is growing is no dusky pink, its vibrant orange! I have to say I tried to move it last year but it survived and grew again this year and before I knew it it had buds on so I left it. The first flower opened the other day and I have to say it is stunning with the sun through it.

It looks good against the dark purple leaved Acer but doesn't really go there I don't think, I'll let it flower again this year and then decide what to do.

A new plant that I've grown from seed this year (from the RHS seed list) is Lathyrus tingitanus, with vibrant pink flowers, though unlike the sweet pea the flowers are not scented but are lovely.

Finally I want to introduce my new bird friend.

Can you spot him on the post. It keeps coming and sitting on there and peeping at me. Its a Dunnock and I think it must have a nest in the nursery next door. I've come to realise it does it when Bob, my cat, is there too. So I think it is keeping an eye on Bob and maybe sounding a warning. It is there alot, I hope it brings all its babies up without Bob getting any which is always a worry.