Plants you should have in your garden...

This is the time of year when I usually get carried away looking through plant catalogues, making long long lists and buying packets and packets of seed that I inevitably don't have space for. Usually.

This year however, I've started to think about which plants I really love in my garden, and about whether just more of the same repeated over and over would actually have more impact.
Why have any plants at all that you don't absolutely love!?

So,

Here are the beautiful plants which have won my heart and made the final cut...

Sweetpeas - remind me of my Nan

Verbena bonariensis

Scabious 'paper moon' - normally bought for the seed heads, which are fantastic, but I didn't realise they had such beautiful pearly purple blue flowers. I soon wished I had grown more this year...

Daffodils - my favourites are the miniatures 'Baby Moon' and 'Canaliculatus' and a sweet smelling star-shaped sunshine coloured one that appeared in the garden which I am still trying to identify. Smells like jasmine. Beoootiful :)

Verbascum

Poppies - all except the super ruffly and wishy washy coloured ones

Tulips - This year I have some new bright red ones 'red hat' and flaming spring green Viridiflora ones

All salvias. My favourites of the moment are Blackcurrant Sage 'Salvia microphylla' and Tangerine Sage 'Salvia elegans' which both smell absolutely AMAZING!!! Currently living in my greenhouse, still happily in flower...

Iris chrysographes - new buy for spring so we'll see.

I love irises, and am hoping for a couple to try from Claire Austen's site next year :)

Maybe these ones... Iris 'Bumblebee Deelite'

Penstemons - got a cheapy one from Morrisons. Turned out to be the most beautiful deep pink colour which really thrived, and now the greenhouse is full of its cuttings. Fingers crossed for those!

Lavender

Astrantias - any colour. All of them are gorgeous.

Grasses. Lots of grasses.

More poppies...

Oh and plenty of other things come to think of it. Borage, foxgloves, sweet williams, roses, honeysuckle, fruit bushes of all kinds, cornflowers, rudbeckia, some more penstemon, sedums, gladioli, delphiniums, achillea, anemones, asters, ferns, potentilla, echinacea, helenium, pelargoniums, dahlias, phormiums, snowdrops, sunflowers, ranunculus, aquilegia, crocuses...

I got carried away again didn't I...

Maybe it's time for a cuppa then. And possibly a quick flick through the new suttons seeds catalogue.....

In the greenhouse...

Right now in the greenhouse things aren't looking very autumny! Though I guess I can hardly be surprised with the lovely temperatures we're still experiencing here. The sages are all still in flower, and my ranunculus have re-flowered!
The greenhouse is full of cuttings and my bedroom is full of seeds - They give me hope for the new year. They are my reminder that winter can't last forever, even when it feels as though it will never end. I am not winter's biggest fan, and am always looking forward to the next spring...

I ♥ Summer!!!

Lots of loveliness from the garden...

Juicy blackberries...

Birthdays with lots of cake and cuddles...

And I finally found out who's been eating all my basil!

Ants!

Oh, and the toilets had ants in!
My attempts at taking pictures to demonstrate were all pretty awful, but you can get an idea of what I mean from these...

playtime...

Playing with bubbles, pretty flowers, and then playing with landrovers and mud...

All in all, a brilliant weekend :)

Errr yeh...

Having some fun in the mud..... :)

twinkle twinkle...

An interesting bi-product of the days spray painting...

 nails like stars in the night

purdy!

Aidan Koch

erm, yeh why do you have so many plants?...

I get that a lot...

By Aiden Koch

Bury

oh beautiful Bury, thank you for a lovely day!

The Abbey Gardens must be one of the most peaceful places I have ever been and I was definately in need of a nice sunny day to be able to go and sit in them. Time well spent :)

I even knitted a square to add to the 'Close Knit' project...

Rain rain GO AWAY!

Rubbish dreary days, resulting in a couple of treats to cheer meself up... :)

a pretty skirt for summer,

a nice saxifrage from the garden show,

and if they'd been open on a Sunday like any sensible shop

 in the middle of nowhere, I would have pilfered this nice bath

for my pond plan!!

Another day...

I am restless...

by Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)


I am restless.
I am athirst for far-away things.
My soul goes out in a longing
to touch the skirt of the dim distance.
O Great Beyond,
O the keen call of thy flute!
I forget, I ever forget,
that I have no wings to fly,
that I am bound in this spot evermore.
I am eager and wakeful,
I am a stranger in a strange land.
Thy breath comes to me whispering
an impossible hope.

Thy tongue is known to my heart
as its very own.
O Far-to-seek,
O the keen call of thy flute!
I forget, I ever forget,
that I know not the way,
that I have not the winged horse.
I am listless, I am a wanderer in my heart.
In the sunny haze of the languid hours,
what vast vision of thine
takes shape in the blue of the sky!
O Farthest end,
O the keen call of thy flute!
I forget, I ever forget,
that the gates are shut everywhere
in the house where I dwell alone.

Oh. My.

Oh.... The cuteness. It makes me want to run out and get more and more kittens right now! I'm sure my house will one day be full of them, as many as I can rescue. But until then, it's nice to know that other people are doing such a good job of it..... Check it out.

wow. I love that tail :)

It's that time again...

Valentine's day is just around the corner...

Unfortunately my other half is going away on a course! :(

and he hasn't been well either,

so we had an early celebration instead

with indian food (made by me) and

chocolate cupcakes (not made by me this time! thanks marks n sparks)

Have a good one!

Baby Lewis

Baby Lewis and my cousin came yesterday

So gorgeous... :)

We ate party rings (mmm I'd forgotten that I love party rings)

and watched Muriel's Wedding - which I hadn't seen before

 and I thought it was absolutely hilarious.

In fact, I probably laughed even at the parts where you aren't really supposed to laugh...

Sheringham shop

M bought me these lovely birds from my favourite shop in Sheringham last year...
We went into town last weekend and I dragged him to the door, only to find it has shut down! :(
I am so sad.
It was an incredible shop - so full of treasures.

As I was walking down the road, some months ago now, I noticed a garden with lots of chinese lanterns. So I stopped and asked at the house whether I could collect some seeds when they were ready.

And look what popped through my door this morning :)

It has definately gone some way towards cheering me up...

Though I think a cup of T and a cupcake would also help.....

sigh

shall I, shall I not...

                    dye my hair red.....

Photo from Lookbook.

I know it's kind of a drastic change - but I really fancy something completely new! And I don't think I'm any fairer than her... Any thoughts?

Spring thoughts...

Photo of my windowsill today... ooooh I love tulips!!

And got my National Trust magazine, so excited about this...

Alice in Wonderland

Roll on March 5th!!

Fennec foxes

I've just seen this in the Guardian,

and oh my. Did I say I never wanted a dog?? Well... I lied.
Take that chihuahuas and pugs!!
(yes, I know it'a fox. Same shiz)

Wild Tracks blog

Everland Zoo, Korea.

Need. Warmth. !!!

Isn't it about warming up time?? I thought these nice warming images might help. Mulled wine and pretty flowers in comfortingly warm colours...

It's funny how quickly we get sick of snow in this country. I think most people are excited about it for the first day. After that it suddenly just becomes a massive chore :p Good job it's something of a rarity here then.....

I love it!!!!

I'm watching Spirited Away right now. Love it.

These little guys in the last picture are my favourites!!!