26/06/2013

Paeonies, Poppies and Roses

These three plants have been the stars of the show for the last couple of weeks. I've been blown away by my Sarah Bernhardt Paeony this year as not only have the blooms been huge, there are also so many of them, 20 flowering together, and buds still waiting to open! It's been a bit of a nightmare to stake though, and I really must find a better solution than canes next year. One of the branches of the apple tree is doing a good job at holding a couple of the blooms up though.






And this was Paeony Shirley Temple. Only one flower, as it was newly planted into the area in front of the shed this year. I can't wait to see more of the gorgeous ruffled white blooms next year.


I still have one more paeony waiting to flower, only one bud to bloom again as it's another newly planted variety, but it looks like it will be a stunner!

As happy as I was to see my coral coloured Poppies, I was even happier to see these wonderful pink ones appear.




Not so happy to see two of these orange one though. They were a bit too bright for my liking, and, along with the red poppy, have been transplanted into a pot and moved to the front garden. I'll be saving the seeds from the pink ones to sow on next year.


The roses in my garden are all new additions this year.  I have to confess that I've never been a huge fan of roses before. They'd never be my first choice for a bouquet of flowers, and I guess that transferred into my choice of plants for the garden when I started it. Having seen some wonderful examples in the last few years though, especially at garden shows and from other bloggers, I decided to add some this year, and I'm so pleased I did. In fact, I think I may have been bitten by the rose bug, as I find myself looking for space now so I can add more.

This is my favourite rose so far, Arthur Bell Golden Bouquet, which has the most amazing fragrance and superb sunshine yellow flowers that repeat through to winter. It's in the sunniest part of the garden and seems to have settled in nicely.




This is a rambling Rose from David Austin called Malvern Hills. It's lightly scented, repeat flowering and said to be very disease resistant. I'm training this up a trellis to mingle with the clematis growing behind up the shed.



Rose Summertime is also flowering beautifully, even though it's just been moved. I originally planted it next to my bamboo in the shady area, and although it was growing really well, the hardy geranium, fern and bamboo were crowding it out. No point having a pretty rose if you can't see it, right? It's now growing next to the fence in front of the shed area and will, hopefully, blend with the other Clematis and mirror the Malvern Hills Rose.


I'm on the lookout for some pink roses now, and am saving my pennies for my next garden show visit. If you know any good varieties I should look out for, please let me know.

I've lost track of the names for the Hardy Geraniums I have, but they are fantastic for adding colour to the garden in summer, and they flower for so long. The only downfall is that they can sometimes get out of hand, but a good chop back sees them grow rapidly again and re-flower later in summer. I have dark pink, light pink and purple ones.


Rock Rose Cistus Sunset is another gorgeous pink brightening up the end of the garden, along with Ostrowskianum, the teeny Alliums.



The fruit and vegetable side of the garden is also doing well. I've been making salads for lunch with the Lettuce Leaves, Radishes and Spring Onions, and have had bunches of Spinach and Baby Chard added to dinners. The Tomatoes and Kale are coming along well, and the Courgettes and Cucumbers are growing quickly. There's also been lots of Rhubarb and masses of Strawberries, just in time for Wimbledon :-) 






28 comments:

  1. I love that Summertime rose, it's so pretty. I have a few different geraniums in the garden, they always work so hard flowering all summer long, but like you, have long forgotten which varieties they are. Glad to see the harvests have started coming, it's a great time of year.

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  2. Paeonies were my mum's favourites so she would have loved these. They are wonderful flowers but sadly generally don't last long, especially if there's any rain and wind.
    I like that yellow rose 'Golden Bouquet'.
    I've had a few strawberries as well, with more to come. Flighty xx

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    1. Yes, it is a shame they don't last longer, but we've been lucky here this year, hardly any rain and just one day of strong winds early on as they started blooming, so they weren't damaged at all. They've started fading now and a few blooms have dropped, but it's looked glorious for over a fortnight, so I'm not complaining :-)

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  3. Paula, I have peony Shirley Temple as well and it blooms with one bud the second year! Don't know why?
    The yellow roses are wonderful! I had some but had no luck with them.
    This strawberry looks delicious!

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    1. Yes, Paeonies are funny plants aren't they, Nadezda. They vary in the amount of blooms they produce from year to year. I guess that's all part of the excitement, wondering if they will or won't produce a good show.

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  4. The peonies are beautiful such a pity that they aren't around for longer!

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    1. Well, this one hasn't done too badly this year Sue, over a fortnight and still blooms to come. We have heavy rain forecast for tomorrow though, so I guess that will be the end for some of the larger ones already blossoming.

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  5. Wow - I could do complete an enormous list of adjectives to describe your blooms but I think Wow! covers everything :)
    Peonies are my favourite bloom. I've only one in flower just now - the rest are a week or so away!
    Grid supports, I find, are the best for peonies. Get them in low as possible in springtime - then raise them up as the plant grows. Works perfectly every time!

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    1. Yes, I think grid supports do sound best Angie, and certainly easier than staking with canes. I think this plant will need a few to hold it up though, it's grown enormous!

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  6. The pink poppy really is glorious!
    I love roses, but seem to be forever spraying them here. Hope they do better for you, in a drier part of the country.

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    1. Yes, another reason I was wary of planting them, Jessica. I'm not a fan of high maintenance plants. Fingers crossed they like it here.

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  7. Hi I'm a new follower.
    Your flowers are gorgeous and your garden stunning. I am now going to read more of your lovely blog.
    Julie :o)

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  8. Stunning blooms, Paula! I can just smell those peonies! P. x

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  9. Peonies are such wonderful flowers, so OTT! I'm finding that now my plants are larger, buds keep coming so the flowering period is much longer.
    Your roses are beautiful too, I would recommend David Austins Gertrude Jekyll, magenta colour with a perfume to die for!

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    1. Lol, yes, definitely ott ;-)

      I've added the Gertrude Jekyll to my list, thanks for the recommendation, Pauline.

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  10. The peonies are beautiful. It's a flower I've never grown, but I do love to see them. The roses, poppies and other flowers are gorgeous, too. The Arthur Bell Golden Bouquet is lovely, I have an Arthur Bell climber and I haven't had any rose problems with it. And we've just begun our strawberries - delicious!

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    1. Glad to hear you haven't had any problems with the rose, Wendy.

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  11. My favourite flowers are poppies and peonies and yours are totally delightful. I would love to walk around and see them first hand and catch the scent of them. Your roses are gorgeous too!

    Goodness, your salad is coming along isn't it, and strawberries....I am jealous!xxxx

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    1. They do smell and look wonderful, Snowbird. I love to stroll up and down taking in their beauty.

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  12. Your Sarah Bernhardt is just as lovely as mine ;-) And flowers just as prolific, I have lost count of how many flowers I have had but I have a very old plant. I used to have a grid on it, I put it on as soon as the shoots emerged, but in recent years it has got so tall and the flowers are so huge that the grid support is no longer possible to use. My peonies are about 5’ tall and the bush is at least 4’ wide. So I have resorted to stake each flowers stem with a cane. A lot of work, and not so pretty but without a cane all the way to the flower head the flowers drop down so it is necessary.

    My absolute favourite rose is a David Austin rose called 'Scepter'd Isle', I have it in a container as it is not supposed to get too big, it has a heavenly scent and beautifully cupped flowers in soft pink. Have a look at this post and you can see photos of it:
    http://graphicality-uk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/my-new-david-austin-roses.html

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    1. Yes, that was my first thought about using grids, Helene, that they wouldn't be tall enough, but maybe Angie knows of some that extend quite high. My largest stem reaches up to the apple tree, and the blooms are the size of a saucer, so whatever supports it needs to be very strong.

      I've added the rose Scepter'd Isle to my list, if only for it's great name :-)

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  13. That yellow rose is stunning, Paula, and the perfume from your fabulous peonies must be superb. Beautiful pics. P. x

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  14. What great photography and lovely looking veg and flowers.

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  15. Hi Paula, Have you stopped blogging - hope everything is OK

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  16. Oh.. They are so amazing... Thanks for sharing, Paula.

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