Tulip ‘Miami Sunset’

As promised a photo profile of all the stages of Tulip ‘Miami Sunset’.  Sunsets are always beautiful and this one is no exception.

Tulip ‘Miami Sunset’

When I first saw the flower I was a little disappointed, but as the colours developed I fell in love!

Tulip ‘Miami Sunset’

The crystalline edges of the petals and the fast developing colour (just like a real sunset) quickly became my favourite tulip.

Tulip ‘Miami Sunset’

Tulip ‘Miami Sunset’

I read earlier this week that the rate of growth of a tulip after it has been cut is the length of the flower every twenty four hours.

Tulip ‘Miami Sunset’

Tulip ‘Miami Sunset’

who wouldn’t fall under its spell!

Tulip ‘Miami Sunset’

Tulip ‘Miami Sunset’

Tulip ‘Miami Sunset’

Tulip ‘Miami Sunset’

….and finally – this!

Tulip ‘Miami Sunset’

Is there a flower you love that changes so much during it’s life.

I wonder which of my tulips will flower next?  Will there be a new one before next Monday?

I hope you’re enjoying some wonderful sunsets, they always seem more colourful in the winter than at any other time of year.

Is my fortune made?

Monday the temperatures returned to the highs of August (mid 30’s°C) and it was forecast that the rest of the week would be the same – that didn’t happen, but it has been pleasantly warm/cool to work in the garden at last.

Hemerocallis – one day wonder!

Before the winter and spring just past we have had two years with very little rain; it has been so dry that many of the plants that are drought tolerant have survived but many have flowered very little or not at all.  Hemerocallis are one example.

Wisteria – secondary flowering and other news

As you may remember my treasured Wisteria ‘Prolific’ was so badly hit by the minus 12°C winds this February that all the buds were destroyed and there were no flowers at all:  the white wisteria (being situated on the north east side of the terrace and its buds always forming later than the standard colour) did flower but was a small consolation as much of it had been removed to create the outside kitchen, flower room and entertaining room.

Continuing the walk around the garden 24th May

May the best month in the garden and it is already the 24th!  How did that happen?

Continuing around the garden.

Continuing our walk around the garden I will also show you some close-ups of some of the Irises.  A word about names.  I only know the names of about a third of the Irises I have in the garden.  I bought some named varieties from Cayeux, and some named varieties were given or sold to me by friends (a problem here is that they had named some of their stock themselves for ease of knowing what was where in the garden but of course I don’t remember which are true names and which are their invention.  Several I’ve purchased from Italian nurseries call them ‘Pink’ or tall blue so not very helpful.  So I will only give names to those I am 100% sure of.  Sorry if this isn’t very helpful, but just enjoy them!

A walk around the garden May 2018 – Iris paradise.

As I mentioned in my post on Monday; on my return from Amsterdam to see the tulips my own garden had exploded into full growth mode.

When I left tulips were still looking amazing and there were buds forming on the bearded Iris.  Now all the tulips are just a memory and the Irises are in their full glory.

A walk around the spring garden, but what’s missing?

Regular follows of my posts may wonder why I haven’t been posting every day to show you the development of my treasured wisteria.  Usually it is in full flower by the end of March and here we are in the middle of April and still I haven’t shared any images with you.

A garden full of tulips

With winter continuing into April, albeit with some lovely warm spring days to make you believe that spring is really here; I have been busy trying to catch up with clearing the garden of weeds (which, of course, only need a little sunshine to encourage them to grow) and cut back perennials which I usually leave overwinter as habitats for small creatures.  All the work has meant that I have found very little time to share the garden with you.

Wednesday with words – Flowers in the snow

Today more of the snow has disappeared but remains is hard crusty ice!  The peas and broad beans remain completely buried under their blanket of snow; the Pak Choi under its cover of fleece looks fine.  More snow is forecast during the night followed by rain and a rise in temperature so hopefully these will be the last of the images of my snowy garden ( I do hope I’m not talking too soon).  All the images were taken yesterday 27th February.