My next door neighbour’s photos (posted ten days ago) were kindly selective. In reality the shaggy lawn grass was spilling into the borders, the Ox-Eye Daisies had collapsed in a tangled heap and the Jacob’s Ladder had turned black and furry. It’s been good growing weather for weeds in Berwick recently. After most of a day spent weeding and mowing the garden was fit for a less selective photo.
The sturdy yellow marigolds came from a single packet of seed, sown optimistically in March. I spaced out the poppy seedlings on my last visit but I don’t know where they sprang from.
The Pictorial Meadows seed mix is a beautiful pool of colour now with tall, graceful stems moving in the slightest breeze.
Cornflower blue is the dominant shade with a lighter blue purple from a small Echium.
Between the tall stems of the cornflowers there’s a lower layer of pink Silene armeria (sometimes called Sweet William Catchfly) with some Clary Sage and Stitchwort.
The gentian blue Phacelia campanularia, which was the first plant in the mix to flower, has almost given up the ghost. Hardly surprising when you learn that it’s a Californian native, commonly known as the Desert Bluebell. The long, cool summer days of Northumberland, with alternating sun and rain, provide ideal growing conditions for many species but Berwick is a long way from a desert.
July 2, 2017 at 8:19 am
So beautiful, there is something very appealing when we see flowers like this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 2, 2017 at 8:59 am
Thank you for your kind comment. For me part of the appeal of the seed mix is the way it looks almost wild and spontaneous even though it’s far from it.
LikeLike
July 2, 2017 at 9:49 am
I thought of you and Martin back when I saw the grass growing at a rate of knots, so tried not to include it in any pictures. X
LikeLiked by 2 people
July 2, 2017 at 10:06 am
Thank you. That way I got to see the good bits from a distance without being reminded of all the work that was waiting for me!
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 2, 2017 at 4:14 pm
Thank you for lovely images to take into Meeting for Worship this morning… Blue being my favourite colour! In York, I delight in the fragrance of sweet peas and honeysuckle in nearby gardens, as well as a small cluster of blue cornflowers (nothing like this glorious riot)… and the delicate scent of lime trees by the city walls…
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 3, 2017 at 1:14 am
Simply beautiful. The cornflowers are stunning.
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 3, 2017 at 9:45 am
Oddly, when I looked up the list of species in the mix, cornflowers weren’t mentioned in the ‘main components’; They must particularly suit the conditions here.
LikeLiked by 1 person