Hydrangea

Posted on March 2, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blue, Colour, Flowers, Garden, Gardening, Hydrangea, Inspiration, Life, Petals, pH, Pink, PlantLeave a comment

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New plant for the garden, although its really too cold to go directly into the garden at the moment. Hydrangeas change colour depending on the acidity of your soil. I don’t remember which way it is, but they either turn blue or red depending if the soil is acid or alkaline. You can do a pH test if you want to. The flowers appear as florets, lots of little flower heads spread across the bloom. There are different sorts, some with small flowers which looks like lace, others are chunkier, some are flat headed, others have rounded bunches of flowers. Leaves are large and usually mid to dark green with serrated edges to the leaves.

I remember the pink hydrangea in my Grans garden, it was pink with huge heads of flowers. I did a painting of her in front of the plant. I will have to try and find a photo of it.

Fruit

Posted on March 2, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Chain saw, Colour, Exhibition, Fruit, Garden, Gardening, Life, Painting, Photo, Subjects, Tree2 Comments

Just found out I have been offered an exhibition at the Waiting room gallery in April. The theme will be gardening, green men and women and spring, but I also want to do colourful work. I’ve been going around looking for subjects in the house as the garden isn’t growing yet, just a few buds.

The light was streaming in through the kitchen window and illuminating all the fruit my hubby bought yesterday. So I took a photo of it.

I will try and get some more interesting shots later. At the moment a neighbour is cutting down a tree, so I’m staying out the way. The sound of chainsawing doesn’t fill me with confidence!

Orchids or Triffids?

Posted on February 9, 2020February 9, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Ariel roots, Beauty, Environment, Flowering plants, Gardening, Growing, Indoor plants, Inspiration, Life, Orchid medium, Orchids, Photo, Pretty, Propagation?2 Comments

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My biggest orchid is getting a bit rampant, it’s ariel roots are slowly growing across the cupboard. The smallest one is gradually dying. I think I need to give its roots a bit more air and fresh orchid medium. The middle one seems OK although it’s flowers only lasted a couple of weeks. The house isn’t very warm (usually between 18 and 20°C, sometimes as low as 16°C) but I’ve made sure they are not in a draft. I found out they like to grow in clear plastic pots, they like the light getting to them. I’m planning to repot after the flowers die off… Any advice about ariel roots. Can I cut them back…. I don’t want to damage the plant.

Oak tree in our kitchen..

Posted on February 8, 2020February 8, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acorn, Christmas cactus, Climate Emergency, Environment, Gardening, Growth, Indoor plants, Kitchen windowsill, Life, Oak, SucculentsLeave a comment

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He sneaked in an acorn into one of my indoor plant pots, and now its growing into a tiny oak tree. Leaves growing despite the winter frosts.

My other plants are thriving, mainly Christmas cactus. A few other succulents.

On the other hand succulents are being ripped out of their natural habitats because they have become fashionable. The environment they are from are being trashed by greedy humans.

So I don’t buy them, I propagate them from cuttings. And the oak? I hope I can find it a good home so it grows into a huge old tree in time.

Helibores are flowering

Posted on January 17, 2020January 17, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bluebells, Crocuses, Daffodils, Garden, Gardening, Poem, Poetry, Snowdrops, Spring, Windflower, Winter and spring, Wood anemoneLeave a comment

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Helibores are flowering,

Snowdrops soon will bloom,

Then will follow crocuses

With the light of the moon.

Daffodils and Tulips, all in a row,

Then come the wind flowers,

Wood anemone,

Finally in sunshine

Bluebells, for to see….

Spring will alive

With flowers for you and me.

Daisy type flowers

Posted on January 17, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Colour, Daisies, Flowers, Gardening, Photo, Plants, Staffordshire, Stoke-on trent, Trentham, Trentham Gardens2 Comments

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One of my favourites. The centres of these are a multitude of flowers with petals round the edges (think of sunflower hearts). There are oxeye daisies and osteospermums, cone flowers, asters, all sorts of types and colours. Life in all its variations can be wonderful. This photo is of Rudbeckia I think, taken at Trentham Gardens in the autumn. What I like about daisies is the length of time throughout the year that they flower. They cheer me up.

Have you ever made daisy chains? We used to when we were kids. Pick a daisy and make a hole in the stalk with your fingernail parallel with the stalk, then thread another daisy through till the flower head is in contact with the stem. Then do again till you have a chain. (I’m not suggesting you do this, just how we did it, you shouldn’t pick wildflowers).

Slugs must have some use?

Posted on January 14, 2020January 14, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blackbirds, Frogs, Garden, Gardening, Humour, Oem, Plants, Poetry, Slugs, Why?Leave a comment

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You know how it is..

You go into the garden

When it rains

And there are slugs.

What are they for?

They munch your broccoli,

Eat the hearts of your lettuce,

Nip the buds off peonies,

And eat your ripe tomatoes.

But they also eat old and diseased vegetables.

They help clear up leaves

In the autumn,

And they are food for blackbirds and frogs.

So not all bad then…?

Green view

Posted on December 16, 2019December 16, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Animals, Autumn, Blogging, Cats, Garden, Gardening, Ivy, Life, Plants, Wild birdsLeave a comment

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Cold, wet and windy, but still a bit green where the ivy is growing up trees in the garden. Really it needs cutting back. I don’t want it strangling them. There are bird feeders out there, but there seem to be less birds than normal. Perhaps they have enough food, we haven’t seen evidence of them being predated by cats thankfully. I want to get out there and cut back the buddliea bushes. They need pruning.

The pond is OK, it’s hidden below the cherry tree. It has only frozen a couple of times and only thinly this autumn / winter. We hope to have tadpoles in the spring.

Garden design.

Posted on December 9, 2019December 9, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Colouring, Design, Drawing, Ellipses, Fun, Gardening, Ideas, Ruler, SketchLeave a comment

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Firstly, I’m not a garden designer, but I just wanted to talk about putting ideas down either on paper or digitally. I’m using my sketch app on my phone to work something out. It’s a bit scruffy but gives you an idea. I’ve used a short oblong because it’s approximately the shape of our garden. I’ve drawn in some of the trees using the elipse tool. Then marked in possible paths using a ruler tool for straight lines. Then filled in with a spray tool. I’ve added a blue patch to indicate a pool and sprayed in colour where I want flowers. As there are a lot of trees I’ve shifted the flowers over away from shade although you can get woodland flowers to cover the ground below the trees.

Basically it’s worth doing a drawing if you can to get an idea of what you want. Also work out the compass points. Then you will know where plants will do their best.

Sunrise

Posted on December 8, 2019December 8, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Busy, Dawn, Fun, Gardening, Leaves, Rosy glow, Sky, Sunshine, Trees, WeatherLeave a comment

Soon all the leaves will be gone. A big storm is due in overnight so I guess they will be torn from the trees. My hanging baskets still have a few flowers opening in them despite the minus temperatures we have had. The sky has been lovely in the last few mornings, with gentle hints of colour, rosy glows and golden hues.

Then it will be time to cur back and prune some of the trees. Tidying up a little bit, but not enough to harm where the birds sleep. Now dawn is getting later, after 7am. It means I get to see more of them. X

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Gardening