The Guernsey Lily

 Nerine bowdenii - The Guernsey lily, this pretty pink thin-petalled flower starts flowering just when the rest of your plants are starting to shut down for winter. The delicate spider-like blooms of Nerine bowdenii, originally from the mountainous area of South Africa.

Roses in December

 

             The amazing Rosa Kimono is covered in waterdrops and still flowering in December.

Alliums

 

Seedheads from Allium Purple Sensation which I dried from the summer. I think they are more photogenic than the flowers.

November Rain

It never rains then it pours is a perfect description of the weather in Ainsdale. 

Acer palmatum dissectum.

The Ballerina

 

Japanese anemone - Anemone × hybrida 'Honorine Jobert'

Autumn colours and smells from the Katsura tree.

 

Cercidiphyllum japonicum 'Katsura' is a fabulous tree that will fill your garden with a spectacular sight and fragrance during the autumn. Also known as a Toffee Apple Tree, it produces the most beautiful heart-shaped leaves that turn from green to incredible shades of purple, pink, red and yellow before finally falling to the ground, this is when you can enjoy the delicious and distinctive fragrance of fairground candy floss or sweet toffee apple, hence its name. 

White Swan

 

Japanese Anemone - White swan has pure white flowers with a blue reverse and flourishes in dappled shade. A great addition to the garden it started flowering in July and still full of flowers in mid-October. Winner of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year Award in 2011.

In the bleak midwinter

 

On a roll with photography competitions this year. Just received my selector's medal from the Royal Photographic Society’s Digital group with this image “In the Bleak Midwinter”.

Sweet peas

          The last week in September and the Sweet peas are still flowering well.

Garden Spider

 The common Garden spider (Araneus diadematus) is a common sight in gardens throughout Britain at the end of summer where it is seen suspended, head-down in the centre of its orb web. ... The spider's bite is mild although some swelling pain often occur.

The Butterflies are Back

 An Indian summer and the butterflies are back, Small Tortoiseshell on Marjoram flowers.

Here comes the sun.

 Here comes the sun - Helianthus Annus bringing a splash of colour to our garden.

Bee Kind

 

Lots of different types of bees on our lavender this year. Top left clockwise: White-tailed bumblebee: Common carder bee: Red-tailed bumblebee and Honey bee.

Agapanthus

 Agapanthus umbellatus "African Lily"

A Touch of Autumn

 Still, July and the tree are laden with rowan berries. Last week we had temperatures reaching 30 C, this week it's been a more pleasant 20 C. The garden seems to have gone from July straight to September missing August out.

The Yucca

 

Geranium Rozanne

 One of the first flowers of Rozanne' RHS award-winning hardly geranium, grown from plugs bought last autumn and planted in May. It should flower continuously in the garden during the summer months (fingers crossed).

Last of the Poppies

 

Most of the opium poppies have finished flowering leaving lots of seedheads behind. This is the original single poppy that was flowering in the garden when we moved in three years ago this week.

The Cabbage

 

I nicknamed the opium poppy which has taken over the perennial bed in the back garden "the cabbage". This is just one plant that is five feet high and a mass of peony like flowers. The correct name is Papaver somniferum var. paeoniflorum but opium poppies come in many colours, shapes and sizes they also have many names too :- 

carnation poppy
dream plant
fairy's charms
flower of Venus
Joan silver pin
John's silver pin
marble flower
maw seed
moonflower
opium
peony poppy
sweet slumber
white poppy

Astrantia Buckland

 

Astrantia major 'Buckland'- my favourite of the Astrantias with it's pale pink, green and white star-like flowers. 

Anemone

 Familiarity doesn’t always breed contempt. You will certainly be familiar with the poppy-like flowers of the Anemone coronaria 'De Caen',

Erysimum linifolium 'Stars and Stripes'

 

A perennial wallflower with variegated foliage, Erysimum linifolium 'Stars and Stripes' we bought from Bodnant in December, it survived the harsh winter well and is a mass of flowers at the start of June.

 

Deep purple buds open to maroon flowers, changing colour to red and orange as they mature. Beautiful colour from late winter to early summer.

Erysimum ‘Bowles’s Mauve’

 

Erysimum ‘Bowles’s Mauve’ one of the perennial wallflowers which seem to love the sandy soils and coastal breeze. This was taken with my 100-400mm lens plus a 1.4x convertor.

Bee on Cornflower

 

Lilac

 

Everywhere else in our road, the lilac bushes seem to thrive but ours have struggled. This year thanks to some pruning of the deadwood and some fertilizer we have a better display.

Last of the Blossom.

 Last of the cherry blossom. I think today’s weather has put pay to anymore pictures this year

Pear Blossom

 

Cherry Blossom

 It's blossom season, this is the earliest of the blossom in the garden I just love the name Prunus incisa Kojo-no-mai, Fuji Cherry.

Anemone blanda 'White Splendour' ( Grecian Windflower ).

 It's been a cold Easter weekend, but the sun has been out so these delicate anemones flowers have been open.

Pussy Willow

 

Some spring sunshine has brought out the catkins on our pussy willow tree, so named because the male catkins of the tree look like a cat’s paws. 

First day of spring.

 

The first day of spring and also Vic's dads birthday - Anemone Blanda (windflower).

Shortlisted

 

Some good news this week my Yin Yang image has been shortlisted in this years RHS Photographic competition.

A touch of frost

 

A touch of frost again this week under the clear skies of the snow moon. Erysimum 'Bowles's Mauve'

Snowdrop – the flower of promise.

 In mythology, the snowdrop symbolises a promise – to break winter’s spell and bring back spring. While not native to these shores, these hardy flowers have become a familiar indicator of the shifting seasons and a sure sign that warmer weather is on its way.

In the bleak midwinter.

 In the bleak midwinter, Frosty wind made moan,Earth stood hard as iron,Water like a stone. The start of the poem by Christina Rosetti certainly describes the weather this week as "the beast from the east two" chilled us to the bone.

A Hellebore from Horwich.

 This Hellebore was a seedling which we brought over from the cottage in a pot back in 2018. It is the first plant to flower in the garden for 2021.

Still no Snow.

 

IT HAS BEEN VERY COLD IN SOUTHPORT THIS WEEK BUT STILL NO SNOW. WE DID HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOARFROST LAST FRIDAY, This is black Mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus) Which we brought from the cottage. I love the patterns the frost covers these grasses with. It looks monochromatic but is, in fact, full colour.

A cold start to the year.

 

A very cold and frosty start to 2021. Whilst the rest of the country had snow Southport just had ice and lots of it too. I was glad that I saved my dried leaves from the trees in Autumn house as they have made great subjects to work.

2020 A Year in Flowers