Ann Mackay: Inspired by Nature

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On my visit to Fullers Mill earlier this week, I was surprised to see that their Siberian irises were still flowering. Not only that, but they had plenty of buds still too. Those in my own garden finished flowering a little while ago. (I’ve even had enough time to deadhead them all.)

Perhaps the reason for the variation in flowering time is that my garden has been hotter and the soil more dried out. At Fullers Mill there are a lot of trees, which must help to give some shelter from the heat of the sun. There seems to be more moisture in the soil there too. Whatever the reason, it was a pleasure to be able to see these lovely plants still in flower.

The deep purple-blue tones of the iris in the top photo captivated me. The petals have a velvety look, enhancing the opulent effect of the flower. (I’d love to have enough space to grow this one – probably ‘Shirley Pope’ if anyone else has the same thought.) I recognise the second iris (photo above) because I have it in my own garden. It’s ‘Silver Edge’. Unfortunately, my plant is sulking a bit after having been moved, but hopefully it will recover and flower more prolifically in future.

Another guess, aided by a Google photo search, makes me think that the white and yellow iris above may be ‘White Swirl’. Although it’s the blue irises that capture my affections, the calm and elegance of white is often exactly what’s needed to create a quiet space away from the hurly-burly of bright colours.

The photo below (from a different garden) shows a planting of blue Siberian irises, with perfect (unchewed by slugs and snails) hostas and pretty candelabra primulas. Oh, how I would love to be able to re-create this in my own garden! (Especially if I could have the stream that’s hiding behind it too) I can always dream!

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With spring comes the urge to start visiting gardens again. It’s fascinating to see what other people grow and how they put their gardens together. Naturally, I take my camera too, though perhaps not to the smaller gardens if it seems intrusive. (It would be all too easy to forget that a garden is part of someone’s home.)

Being able to photograph other people’s plants helps me to sustain this blog – something that would soon become impossible if I had to rely on the limited number of plants in my own garden. I do photograph my plants from year to year, but I try to wait a couple of years or more before posting the same plants here. So getting out on a garden visit is essential to bring some variety to this blog.

I sometimes find plants that surprise me, as in the sheer size of the white wisteria in the top photo. It was growing up a huge conifer and pretty much covering the whole tree. Whether, or how, it was ever pruned I don’t know, but it looked most impressive. The same garden provided a little mystery for me too, in the shrub shown in the photo above. Something I’d never seen before. I could see that the flowers looked like they could be related to the rose family, but that the leaves were a different shape. A little bit of Googling suggested to me that it is Rubus ‘Benenden’, an ornamental bramble and a member of the Rosaceae.

My next two plants are more familiar to me…above is a white peony and below is Romneya coulteri, the Californian tree poppy. Both of these are fairly frequent sights in the gardens we visit, but plants we’re unlikely to grow in our own garden. That’s partly through lack of space, and partly through not having quite the right growing conditions. (The Romneya can spread and would take more room than we have to spare, while peonies prefer a richer and heavier soil than we could give them.)

Visiting gardens lets me experience the beautiful plants that other people grow and often gives me the opportunity to to photograph something different to help fill this blog. (As all my fellow bloggers will know, blogs are always hungry for more material, especially photos.) On the day that this is posted, I’m planning to visit one of my favourite gardens in our area (Fullers Mill). If all goes well, the resulting photographs should keep this blog fed for a little while! 🌼

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I’m a bit under the weather this week, due to a nasty cough and cold, so haven’t felt like doing any photography. Instead, here is one from the archives – Allium siculum (AKA Nectaroscordum siculum), or Sicilian honey garlic, much-loved by bees. 🐝

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When I began to get interested in plants, I thought that Siberian irises were always a shade of blue or perhaps a purple-blue. In my previous garden, I grew blue Iris sibirica and Iris sibirica ‘Golden Edge’ (which is a gorgeous deep violet-blue with a golden edge to the falls). So, years later, when I saw the magenta-purple flowers of Iris sibirica ‘Currier’ I was surprised.

I shouldn’t have been surprised at all. Plant breeders have been busily creating cultivars which come in an impressive variety of colours. Now you can find Siberian irises in a wide range of reds, pinks, and yellows, as well as blues purples and white. (And I wish I had more space to grow them!)

However, pretty as many of the newer cultivars may be, I feel that some of the fancier-looking ones, especially the bi-colours, would not fit into the more naturalistic look of much of my garden. (Some of these more recently-bred Siberian irises can vie with the bearded irises for frilliness and flamboyance.) I prefer the slim elegance and more delicate look of the flowers of the plants that are closer to the original species.

The flower shape of ‘Currier’ is very similar to the blue Siberian irises that grow alongside it. The variation of the colour adds some interest to the plant grouping. That pinkish-purple colouration is picked up by the nearby magenta-pink flowers of ragged robin (Silene flos-cuculi, seen in this post). I still have a long way to go to create the look of the garden that I hope for; plants like this iris are a big help with that. (Having said that, I might still want to find a little space somewhere for one or two of the frillier Siberian irises – I can always be tempted by a plant that would make a good photograph!)

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The tulips in my garden are almost all gone now, but I did manage to photograph these flowers of Tulipa saxatilis (Bakeri group) ‘Lilac Wonder’ before they disappeared. This is a low-growing species tulip with small flowers that open into a star-shape in the sun.

As a species (or ‘botanical’) tulip, this one should come back every year and gradually increase over time. However, I have lost a few of the bulbs due to the path beside them being re-laid. (Note to self: keep bulbs away from the path or the edge of the bed in case of future change!)

To me, the name ‘Lilac Wonder’ seems somewhat inaccurate because they look much more pink than lilac. Perhaps lilac is seen as a more desirable (and therefore marketable) colour than pink? Flower colour can be named in rather wishful terms, especially when it comes to blue or black. (I’m thinking of the rose ‘Rhapsody in Blue’, which is a gorgeous purple with magenta tones, but certainly isn’t blue. You can see mine in this post. Then there’s Scabious atropurpurea ‘Chile Black’, which, photographed under strong studio lights, is obviously a deep red, not black. You can see it here.)

Actually, it’s the colour of their centres that I notice most about these flowers. That yellow glows brightly when the sun shines. It makes me think of the yolk of a fried egg…so it’s probably a good thing that the rest of the petal isn’t white!

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Here are more tiny flowers from my garden, again they’re blue. (I’m sure you’re not surprised, given my love of blue and purple.) This week’s plant is Brunnera macrophylla ‘Alchemy Pewter’ (also known as Siberian bugloss). You may be thinking that its flowers look very like forget-me-not (Mysotis) and you’d be right, because they are closely related. Brunnera and Mysotis are both members of the borage family, as is the Pulmonaria from last week’s post.

Brunnera’s blue flowers are very pretty and an excellent source of pollen and nectar for bees and other pollinators. But it’s the leaves (shown below) that these plants are most frequently grown for. They can be very attractive indeed, with popular cultivars having heart-shaped leaves with strong silvery variegations on a bright green background. Some plants have leaves that are almost entirely silver.

There are other colours, however. You can find green-leaved cultivars such as ‘Betty Bowring’, which has white flowers, or golden-leaved plants, including ‘Diane’s Gold’. Then there’s the self-explanatory ‘Variegata’, whose green leaves are splashed with a soft creamy white. But, to me, these are not as lovely as the plants with silver-variegated leaves.

After seeing brunnera’s beautiful leaves in a garden that I visited, I was inspired to try growing it in a shady spot in my own garden. It’s a plant that prefers a moist soil, so I have to be vigilant and take care to water it when the ground gets very dry. So far it is looking good, but I have my fingers crossed for it to survive if we have a very hot summer! 🍃

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We may think of flowers as firstly a visual delight, but they can appeal to the sense of touch too. That’s very much the case with these pasqueflowers (Pulsatilla vulgaris) that have just started to open their fluffy blooms. The flowers themselves are a jewel-bright purple/pink, making them eye-catching, and their soft fluff makes them enticing to the fingers too.

The backs of the flower’s petals (actually sepals – pasqueflowers don’t have true petals) are covered in fine hairs that can become almost invisible against the flower’s rich colour. Bracts below the flower are more noticeably covered in a slightly longer fluff, which, no doubt, provides protection from cold for the developing buds. The stems and leaves are hairy too, as are the seed heads later. (The hairs on the seeds help them to disperse in the wind.)

The silky hairs are a delightful invitation to stroke the plant, so I am planning to grow some right at the front of a border, where they will be easy to reach. It’s a simple pleasure, but one that brings a smile and the chance to have a closer look at this lovely plant. In fact, I’m smiling right now because I have discovered that my two original plants are surrounded by some tiny seedlings – happy (and fluffy) days!