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~ My gardening year at work and home.

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Monthly Archives: August 2017

Visit to Houghton Hall, Norfolk

17 Thursday Aug 2017

Posted by muddygardenerblog in August, Garden visit, Summer

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Full Moon Circle by Richard Long

Houghton Hall and Gardens in the heart of rural Norfolk, walled gardens, sculptures and a ha ha. We didn’t go in the house as it cost a bit more and there was a separate music festival in the grounds which provided a constant background of banging music, but here’s what we did see, until the camera battery ran out!

There was a combination of permanent sculptures by different artists and the Earth Sky exhibition by Richard Long.  It gave a focus to our wanderings and I do like a map to follow.  Through the stable block courtyard and a block of pleached limes, the first sculpture we stopped at was in front of the house, A Line in Norfolk, made of Norfolk carrstone. And that’s what it is.

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The Full Moon Circle, which has been here since 2003, was my favourite and the bossy man was right, it does catch the light better looking towards the house although you want to get the long vista in looking the other way.

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More sculptures were hidden in an area of hedges and trees and included a solid concrete shed but I really liked the building lined with benches their backs sloped to give the perfect view of the sky through the hole in the roof.

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Skyspace Seldom Seen by James Turrell

A round about way back over the vast area of mown grass, along the ha ha, and retracing our steps through the courtyard to get to the walled garden.

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The walled garden is divided into four by hedges, with some of these quarters subdivided, and two main flower borders down the middle. High hedges and small feature gardens mean that you never know what is around the next corner.

Following the outside wall, we are first treated to a bit of cold frame and glasshouse envy. What an amazing place to sit! It has a trickling fountain at the back with goldfish and a stunning view to the long borders out the front. To each side there are more greenhouses with proper work going on.

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Cold frames in the walled garden.

Box hedges, so neatly trimmed, are a big feature of the walled garden and next along from here features an intricate pattern of hedges filled with scented bedding and punctuated with clematis.

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Clematis pyramids surrounded by beds of chocolate cosmos, heliotrope and scented leaved pelagoniums.

Round the corner, more delights, a mass of pink Japanese anenomes in between the mellow red brick walls and box hedges.

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After this, tempted by the sound of running water, I forgot the plan to stick to the edge and went in search of fountains.

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In the foreground is Waterflame by Jeppe Hein but I didn’t stay long enough to find out that there is a flame that comes out of the top, it was also here that the battery began to run out on the camera so the next shots required waiting for the battery to charge enough then taking quickly before the camera shut down again. Lesson learnt!

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This is the other pond with fountain in the middle and more fish. An enclosed space with only one entrance and full of spirally box and Verbena bonariensis. A peaceful space with tempting benches to sit awhile.

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Back on track following the outside wall, some inspirational planting and something that I might be able to recreate on a smaller scale. A great combination of heleniums and sunflowers even if I don’t have the wall for a backdrop.

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And the view from that pergola is of an ornamental fruit cage surrounded by dahlias in suitably orangey colours and then more fruit bushes.

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There is a border devoted to named dahlias and small but old looking fruit trees. I am afraid by now we were tiring and knowing that we had a long drive home we hurried a bit and I completely missed the vegetable beds. Two herbaceous borders flank the central pathway and a bit late in the day I discovered the rose garden with a pretty sunken fountain and seating area.

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The central path in two distinct sections looking towards the glasshouse. Nice mown stripes!

A whiz round the toy soldier collection in the stable block and the shop filled with lovely but very, very expensive artworks and we were done. Well worth the long journey and perhaps a return visit when the roses are out.

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The front/back (where the drive is) Houghton Hall 

July 2017 review.

03 Thursday Aug 2017

Posted by muddygardenerblog in Instagram review, July, Monthly report

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I am trying to remember back to the beginning of July, it seems so long ago. I think it was still hot and sunny then, I have almost forgotten what that feels like. Well whatever the weather, July brings high summer with the acid green euphorbias of spring going over and the trees too taking on much heavier shades of green.

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Good bit of camouflage by the skipper on the euphorbia.

A post shared by Charlotte (@cjbee827) on Jul 5, 2017 at 3:12pm PDT

The random pinks and reds of the opium poppies filled out the borders with their sometimes frilly, sometimes plain heads.

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I'm liking this random poppy selection. It probably won't come true from seed but I might save some anyway.

A post shared by Charlotte (@cjbee827) on Jul 5, 2017 at 3:16pm PDT

In the vegetable garden, the first flowers appeared on aubergines, peppers and tomatoes in the greenhouse and beans and courgettes outside.

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Thank-you anyone who liked my last photo, it was too blurry, my phone isn't really up to the job, had to go! Here's a better one, beautiful aubergine flower. #aubergine #vegetablegardening

A post shared by Charlotte (@cjbee827) on Jul 3, 2017 at 2:48pm PDT

The echinops took centre stage in the border.

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Echinops blue

A post shared by Charlotte (@cjbee827) on Jul 7, 2017 at 11:13am PDT

With kniphofia (I can’t believe that I spelt it wrong, I am usually the first to criticise bad spelling!) in a supporting role. Spelling now corrected!

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Yes I like this combination #knifofia #verbenabonariensis #lychniscoronaria #kniphofia

A post shared by Charlotte (@cjbee827) on Jul 11, 2017 at 2:49pm PDT

The courgettes started to grow.

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Courgettes @thequeenatb

A post shared by Charlotte (@cjbee827) on Jul 16, 2017 at 11:17am PDT

Butterflies were out in force, hurrah! And the poppies were all to fleetingly over but leaving lovely structural seedheads.

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I've been chasing butterflies again! This one obligingly landed on the poppy seed head. #garden #gardening #comma #butterfly #butterfliesofinstagram #poppyseedheads

A post shared by Charlotte (@cjbee827) on Jul 18, 2017 at 1:49pm PDT

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And here's a brimstone rocking the lime green/purple contrast look. #garden #gardening #flowers #buddleia #butterfly #brimstone

A post shared by Charlotte (@cjbee827) on Jul 18, 2017 at 2:15pm PDT

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Worth the wait! #garden #gardening #sunshine #butterfly #butterfliesofinstagram #echinops #peacock #capturethemoment

A post shared by Charlotte (@cjbee827) on Jul 19, 2017 at 3:13pm PDT

The roses came back again and the weather got a lot more unsettled.

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Catching up with some photos from a couple of weeks ago. #roses

A post shared by Charlotte (@cjbee827) on Jul 21, 2017 at 12:36pm PDT

The echinacea began to flower and it started to feel like late summer. Too soon, too soon!

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Echinacea #echinacea #flower #garden #gardening #flowers #julyflowers

A post shared by Charlotte (@cjbee827) on Jul 20, 2017 at 3:10pm PDT

And there we have it for another month!

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My mum's garden this evening. I remember the birdbath being at my grandparents house.

A post shared by Charlotte (@cjbee827) on Jul 17, 2017 at 2:34pm PDT

The in between bit.

02 Wednesday Aug 2017

Posted by muddygardenerblog in Monthly report, Summer

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DSCN0958.JPGI am in the midst of my cutting back (and aching back!) at the moment while the gardens have a pause between early summer fullness and late summer/autumn colour. I just can’t seem to avoid it. In some gardens, I managed an early chop of the ubiquitous pink geranium and it has reflowered, but in the biggest  I am still going.

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Stage 1

It happens in three stages, I find. Stage 1 – faded glory. Still pretty but flopping everywhere and starting to go over. If you chop it now it should come back for another flush.

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This is stage – too much Italian parsley!

Stage 2 – it’s got to look worse before it gets better.  Cutting back as much as possible. For me that includes the aforementioned pink geranium, catmint, Stachys  (bunny ears) and achemilla and in this case pulling out parsley.

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Stage 2

Looking a bit bare but giving the dahlias more light and space to grow and the opium poppies a chance to self seed.

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Parsley removed.

Stage 3  is when it all shoots back up again, less vigorously than the first time but enough to cover the soil again, like a regeneration of the garden, I don’t really like gaps. While we wait for this to happen, there are some things which are looking good now.

 

Echinacea, loved by bees and butterflies, and agapanthus in dazzling blue.

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Crinium  with Cynara behind.

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A close up view of the corner, now cleared with the Agapanthus, Crocosmia and Rudbeckia herbstonne at the back.

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Ok it’s bindweed and it had to go but it was pretty!

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Angelica looking awesome. I am now looking forward to the next wave of colour as the dahlias flourish in the rain and the michaelmas daisies take centre stage. Some more sun would be nice first though!

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