offtheedgegardening

Salvia uliginosa – Bog Sage

In the washed out misty morning this Salvia uliginosa looked like the focal point of a Victorian hand tinted landscape.

Let us talk about the fabled Blue Hydrangea, to some more desirable than the golden fleece, as sought after as the holy grail. Each year at the local flower show there is a category for Best Blue Mophead. This puzzles me. Actually a lot of what happens at the flower show puzzles me (although IContinue reading “GP – Blue Hydrangea”

Molly the Moocher

It is a long story …..

ID

A request that puts fear in the soul of all but the most confident of gardeners is “can you identify this plant/flower/weed”. This is the horticultural equivalent to the doctor’s “I have a pain in my left kneecap”, the builder’s “there is a leak in our back bedroom” and the chef’s “my cake didn’t rise”. Continue reading “ID”

All you need is …..

I think that pretty much sums it up!

Oasis

As it turned out exact directions to Steve and Dawn Morgan’s house in Yelland were not necessary. There was nothing especially wrong with the other gardens in the neighbourhood, the usual mixed bag of tidy, not tidy, tidy but boring, tidy with promise, messy but interesting and then wham, did I just hop on theContinue reading “Oasis”

Guest Photographer – Under Your Nose

Nepotism is such a maligned word. The fact that these incredible photographs were taken by my brother is inconsequential. To capture these images he undertook a long and arduous journey off the settee, out of the back door and into his garden, I would imagine that a packed lunch was involved. And he hunts forContinue reading “Guest Photographer – Under Your Nose”

Commute

They ran a red light, nightmare!

Buy One Get One Free

Today is the my dear friend Hero’s birthday. We had a smorgasbord of delight for lunch, smoked salmon, sausage rolls, smelly cheese, pink, green and orange dips with crudites, all rounded off by chocolate cake and ice cream. There was singing and gifts. However my best present to Hero was that I let her pickContinue reading “Buy One Get One Free”

Still Hot

Today I have decided that I quite like autumn. Up until this point I wasn’t quite sure. For many years summer was my favourite. Then, as I became more and more embroiled in the quicksand that is horticulture, spring became my No. 1. Something about the feel of things today made me question my preferences,Continue reading “Still Hot”