Autumn colours in papi Jo’s garden…
Autumn colours in papi Jo’s garden…
Garden News
The “skull & bones” plant
A bit of botany On the Arrosoirs & Sécateurs forum a member asked for the identification of a fruit capsule that looked like a skull and crossbones. The answer was quickly found, although … not quite. In fact, there are several species of plants whose fruit capsule can evoke a “skull and crossbones”: – a…
Evolution of the northern border: 2016-2020
The gardener is always eager to see his plants grow. From time to time, a little retrospect is necessary to appreciate their progress. On these 2 photos of the northern border taken only 4 years apart we can see that the shrubs and climbers have done a good job of covering the fence and the…
The ‘Barnsley’ Lavatera, a rather fragile plant!
Continuation of the “adventures” of my Lavatera Barnsley… By the middle of June my Barnsley Lavatera was in full bloom, swaying its long, tender stems with two-coloured flowers. But suddenly a gust of wind mingled with heavy rain gave papi Jo’s garden a bit of a shake. In spite of the girdle made from several…
Lavatera ‘Barnsley’, a lovely chimera!
When creating the new garden in 2014, following the advice of Fanny from the Esat La Simonière nursery, I planted a specimen of Lavatera ‘Barnsley’, more exactly Lavatera x clementii ‘Barnsley’. This variety of lavatera is in fact what is called a ‘periclinal chimera’, a not quite stable mutation of the cultivar Lavatera × clementii…
Plant of the moment : Dorycnium hirsutum
Common name: Hairy canary flower. Often listed as Dorycnium hirsutum, Lotus hirsutus is a Mediterranean sub-shrub found growing wild in Portugal. It’s a choice silver-leafed plant for warm and sunny areas, particularly gravel gardens and rockeries, where it forms a spreading mat from which small creamy pink flowers appear at the tips of stems and…
Surprise visit of an “empress” in the garden
In the past years I’ve came back empty-handed and disgusted from several “insect safaris” field trips in the surrounding countryside. As a result, since I no longer go to watch the insects, they come to visit me in my garden. When I saw this magnificent “dragonfly” still asleep on a fern specimen on my fern…
The fern wall version 2.0
The new version of the fern wall has arrived. You can read all about the extension, and view all the new fern specimens with their names, etc. at http://www.rezeau.org/wp-garden/en/the-fern-wall/
A common brimstone, harbinger of Spring
Today I could take a pic of a common brimstone, Gonepteryx rhamni, basking in the sun on flower-bud of my Clematis ‘Mme le Coultre’. It was not quite awake, so gave me plenty of time of take very close shots. Then it flew away. An incredibly hairy creature!
The siskins are back!
The siskins have arrived in papi Jo’s garden! First ever visit was 2 years ago, in early March. They finally found their way to my garden again this year … and of course to the enticing fat balls hanging in my Everest crab-apple tree. Lovely colours, exp. in the males, but very aggressive towards the…