It's always the first place we go, to try and avoid the huge crowds later in the day. And what a wonderful sight to the plant lover. Such variety, such care taken over the displays. So many great plants that I wanted.
I'm not a huge fan of bonsai, but this hawthorn was eye-catching.
I'm also not a fan of auriculas, but another great display. I can see why people get obsessed with the different flower colours, the doubles, the farina, even if I can't understand it myself.
This peony, on the other hand, is so delicious I could have eaten it.
From peonies to pleiones - I wish I was brave enough to try and grow them.
This angelica looked stunning against the canvas of the marquee.
And finally, to continue my obsession this year with tulips, I loved the light coming through these petals.
I didn't actually buy any of the plants above, though. I bought...
Astrantia 'Hapsden Blood', Geum 'Borissii', and Centaurea montana 'Alba', each of which I've been able to split. Very restrained of me, I think you'll agree.
10 comments:
Well done, HM - very well restrained. Those Pleiomes were a revelation weren't they?
Some plants are delicious and I have to agree with you...peonies are often exactly so! I have never understood the obsession with auriculas...but then others might not like my screaming yellow (their description) rudbeckias! gail
Eek! I don't think I was very restrained. I bought some Little Princess tulips purely because J-AS had a pretty picture of them on his blog and that was just the beginning of a lot of impulse buys. I nearly had to go an fill up my purse at the cash card machine!
That angelica looks lovely - I wish I had bought that too.
Enjoyed your photos. I missed out on seeing that lovely peony somehow. Well done on displaying admirable self restraint and on doing the splits :)
Be careful - that satisfied feeling of showing restraint is often followed by a uncontrollable urge to buy the next plant you see!
I dont like auriclas either but thought the display was interesting. I also loved the pleiones but think you would have to have a number to make the display look good and at £6 each that could be expensive.
Succumbed to the Angelica
That peony picture is exquisite. It looks like a painting. Peonies seems both erotically sensuous and sweetly romantic, all at once, to me.
Hi Happy, great choices and you were very disciplined. I have been toying with the idea of auriculas after reading about them on the UK blogs. I even tried to order some from a recommended site, but they could not send them to the US. I have germinated some from seed however. :-) I have also decided to collect Geums and have five or six, including Tango Boris. They do seem to divided with ease. The tulips were superb. How fun.
Frances
Have you seen the film 'Karate Kid' - where the caretaker invites a young teenager to follow his imagination in trimming a bonsai tree? I don't like bonsai except in a morbid kind of way (though I agree your example is very pretty) but, in the film, watching the boy begin snipping the plant is as frightening as the fight scenes.
Lucy
Lucy - I've only ever seen bits of it, and not the bonsai bits.
VP - yes, they're stunning staged like that.
Gail - the peony reminded me of a sorbet. I love rudbeckias too.
Arabella - it was your birthday treat - I don't think you should have been restrained!
anna - thank you. I only hope I don't do my usual and leave the poor plants to wither away in a corner somewhere before they've grown large enough to plant out.
EG - I'm thinking of going to Tatton, so I can make up for my restraint!
PG - I wish I had succumbed to it too.
EB - I love your description of peonies.
Frances - good to hear that the geums might be able to cope with my ham-fisted propagation attempts.
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