We have had a dry week! I can’t remember the last time this happened, but it has been wonderful to get out into the garden and do some work at last in the warm, if not hot sunshine, warm enought to discard a jumper and work in a T shirt most days, as long as I was out of the wind! I had planned what to photograph for this weeks six, but as you will find out, the plants had other ideas! On with my six…………..
The bright pink Azalea on the rockery is grabbing attention at the moment, you can’t miss it!
Not far from it, still on the rockery, is my little pink, double flowered Prunus glandulosa Rosea plena with its lovely little pom poms.
A long view across the rockery looking towards the circular lawn/meadow.
My last Camellia to flower, a lovely semi double with large flowers. This is in the back corner near the woodland, rather shady, I think it might like a bit more sunshine.
This is where I found that the flowers had been doing their own thing while we were having so much rain and the circular lawn was partly under water for months making it impossible to venture up there. Eventually yesterday I risked walking there, the lawn was still very soft, but at least it wasn’t squelchy any more and I found that 3 new varieties of flower had appeared while the grass couldn’t be cut.
Out came my wild flower book by Sarah Raven, and I think this is Cardamine pratensis or cuckoo flower. I have Cardamine quinquifolia in the woodland that flowers with purple flowers the same time as the snowdrops, but the leaf of this one is different. I saw about 7 plants in different parts of the lawn and some of them are already setting seed.
I think this is the ordinary Forget me not which has jumped from the flower beds nearby. You can see, top left, a plant of the cardamine which has seed pods already.
and this next one is the one that has got me so excited…….!
I’m thinking this is a spotted orchid which has appeared all by itself in the wetter half of the circle. According to Sarah Ravens book, she says that if the leaves have elongated spots, then it is a Common Orchid, common or not, I’m thrilled to have it!
I can see that I will have to change the cutting regime for the circle, normally it would be cut until the beginning of April and then left to grow long to be a wildlife meadow, until August. I hate to think that we might have been cutting off all these beautiful flowers in years gone by. This year the whole lawn was cut the first week in February and hasn’t been cut since, as it has been so wet, until Wednesday this week when the lawn was cut but not the circle as Matt, the gardener, said it was still too soft and wet. Thank goodness he didn’t cut the circle! In future I think we’ll have to do the same if I want my orchids and cardamine to increase, what do you think?
Thanks to Jim once more at Garden Ruminations, do pop over to him to see what other gardeners are doing in their gardens around the world.
Love the azalea and what great plant discoveries.
The Azalea was here before we were Rosie, I need to give it a gentle prune each year now so that it doesn’t grow too big. I was amazed at what had popped up in the lawn!
Can’t wait to see the flower of this ground orchid !! Superb azalea, just a little more patience here, a few more days and the flowers will open.
Don’t worry Fred, it will be well and truly photographed when it flowers in maybe a few weeks, you will be seeing it again! More Azalea flowers have opened, now you can hardly see any leaves.
Horrah! Both cardamine and orchids, you are very lucky. Fabulous azalea too. Enjoy a fine week, fingers crossed.
Aren’t I the lucky one Gill, it’s amazing what pops up when you don’t/can’t cut the grass! Lovely to have all the sunshine after our really wet winter, so much work to catch up on.
Your garden is looking lovely and thats very exciting to discover an orchid. I can’t wait to see it flower.
Thanks Graeme and yes, it was exciting discovering what had blown in on the wind and taken root in the lawn. I know we have Common spotted Orchids up the road, but they are at least 500 yds away, if not more, seed must have blown down the hill!
Isn’t it a wonderful feeling when the weather changes for the better. Your Azalea is beautiful – it appears to be a large, well-established plant. Your garden looks perfect despite the recent weather. Lucky you with that terrific find in your lawn – it looks like the awful weather has brought some new treasures!
Catherine, the sunshine is wonderful and I feel so much better being out in the garden with the birds singing to me! The Azalea was here more than 33 yrs ago when we came, it needs a little prune each year now after flowering so it doesn’t get too big for the rockery.I will be keeping an eye on my new treasure, keeping my fingers crossed that a rabbit doesn’t come visiting!
Every cloud definitely had a silver lining this time, it will be really interesting to watch the progress of the orchid over the next few weeks.
Absolutely Helen, I agree totally! The orchid will be photographed at each stage so you will be seeing it again and again!
The little pink Prunus is just lovely Pauline. I am so glad to hear you have, at last, had some dry and warm weather!
The sunshine has made such a difference Denise, it has been wonderful being able to get out into the garden and do some work. So much work to do though and more rain is now forecast !
The orchid looks much too big to be a very recent arrival, so has presumably passed unnoticed (or mown off!) for a couple of years at least. You should maybe scout around for any more that may be lurking. I look forward to seeing its flowers.
I think the poor orchid has been mown off in years gone by Jim. I started the meadow on the circle maybe 10 or 15 yrs ago but had it cut for a summer meadow, tightly mown until April then left until August when it was all cleared away. In future I will have to have a mowing regime for a spring meadow in future, thank goodness my gardener decided it was still too wet and soft to cut! Photographs will be taken of each stage, don’t worry, you will see it in flower as long as no rabbits come and nibble it!
I am way behind on keeping up with other blogs, Pauline – gardening tends to get in the way at this time of year, regardless of the weather! I was fascinated by what has been appearing in your lawn, especially the orchid…how lovely! And that prunus is so pretty – will it stay small?
The orchid is still at the same stage Cathy, not sure if I can see a flower bud down amongst the leaves yet. Yes, the prunus stays small, I just cut a couple of the oldest branches back each year.