A bit more than a hint of lavender

For this burst of lavender and today’s flowers on Friday we’re heading back to the Chelsea Flower Show last year, and into the Grand Pavilion, which if you’ve been to Chelsea will know it’s an assault on your senses. Often a pleasant experience, but confusing at times too with the sheer array of exhibits on display.

And while we’re not in traditional lavender season, there is some rhyme to my logic, as in the autumn sun on my morning walk to work, I’ve been smelling lavender. There’s bushes edging the boundary of a development as I head towards Greenwich Park, and when the sun’s out the air is filled with lavender, which I’m sure the insects, and residents alike are enjoying as much as me.

So when I headed into my flower photo store and stumbled across, rather than brushed past, this lavender from that moment on there was only one flower I was sharing today. And when I say one flower, I clearly mean one sort with many varieties. No longer is lavender just purple, or lavender.

But often wherever there’s lavender, there’s bees and the Chelsea Flower Show was no different, although these were probably the best behaved and inside their hive, or it was empty. One or the other. Though imagine if you were a bee and stumbled upon the whole flower show, surely too much for one bee to cope with.

But, ah, just breathe in - can you smell the lavender?

Agapanthus, in anticipation...

Our agapanthus continue to make slow progress, but at least we have flowers on the way. Six to be precise. All in one pot. Our second pot, which has a smaller number of plants, hasn’t produced any this year. Either way though, we won’t have as many blooms as the photos in this post, which are from the Chelsea Flower Show back in 2015.

Aren’t they great? Our flowers are white, but agapanthus are more usually blue, and the lilac ones here are taking my fancy. I mentioned earlier that our second pot has a smaller number of plants, that’s partly because it’s a year behind the first pot, but also because we lost one of the plants over the winter.

So I have a gap. An potentially a lilac agapanthus shaped gap.

I’m off to the garden centre today, and if I’m lucky they may have just what I’m after…

Sleepers two ways

For today’s ‘flowers on Friday’ post we’re back in the pavilion at the 2018 Chelsea Flower Show making a short stop at the Daisy Roots display. The flowers are in full bloom as you’d expect, but look more closely and you’ll see that the sleepers and their versatility that also shine.

The first is the less common way of using sleepers in gardens, but one that’s effective nonetheless. Standing them on end to form a retaining wall was our original intention for where we eventually ended up placing our gabion seating area. Our change of plan wasn’t because we didn’t like the look, but more because of the amount of work, and digging out, that would be needed. And for us it was the right decision, especially as we now know how many tree roots we’d likely encounter.

I think it’s a good look, and an effective way of creating a retaining wall, but I think I’d go for a more level top so that it could more easily double up as an impromptu place to perch. In fact it was the challenge of cutting the sleepers that also put us off, research told us that cutting sleepers wouldn’t be an easy feat. When we installed sleepers in our garden a couple of years ago, where we bought them from also cut them to our measurements for a small fee, which was well worth it.

You’ll remember that it quickly became a favourite spot for a cuppa. And it seems I’m not the only one, as there’s a cup and a book on sleeper bench in the photo below, so now it seems this post really should be titled ‘sleepers three ways!’

The second - or perhaps third - way of using sleepers on this stand was as sunken ‘stepping stones’ in this gravel garden. I like the look, but it’s not a way that ever occurred to us for our garden. But it’s a great way to get up close to the flowers isn’t it?