This is the journal of my endeavours to grow a range of fruit, veg and flowers from seed, grow organically, and my attempts to create a personal paradise with 1/2 acre of maintained gardens and 1/2 acre wild meadows. Northern Ireland's average daily high temperatures are 18 °C (64 °F) in July and 6 °C (43 °F) in January. Soil type: Clay

Tuesday 5 August 2014

August Flowers


There's been lots of colour  in the garden over the summer and it's been great to see the bees buzzing away happily day after day. I've added a few new plants to the garden this year - astrantia, achillea, veronica, lobelia, polemonium and have found them all great additions. The only minor complaint I have is that some of the plant labels on them indicated a colour that turned out to be different than what I got, however, suppose this could be down to the soil, etc. So I'm happy enough. Suppose a garden centre wouldn't really take a return based on 'the colour didn't quite suit'! (that would be an interesting conversation)! 
Top L-R: Penstemon 'Hewell's Pink Bedder' (perennial); Dianthus (annual). L-R: Polemonium (I think); Rose.
Top L-R: Gaillardia Arizona Sun; Coreopsis 'Early Sunrise'. L-R: Rose 'Arthur Bell'; Leucanthemum Snow Lady with Gaillardia Arizona Sun.

Top L-R: Leucanthemum Snow Lady (perennial); Hydrangea 'Magical Moonlight'. L-R: Campanula 'medium Canterbury Bells'; Astrantia pictured with Verbena 'Lollipop'.

Top L-R: Astilbe Fanal; Achillea 'Terracotta'.
 L-R: Sweet pea; alpine Sedum.


Copyright: All words and photos are property of Kelli's Northern Ireland Garden.

11 comments:

  1. The butterflies are increasing in numbers too.

    I think you would be well within your rights to tale something back and say the colour wasn't as described. :)

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  2. What gorgeous flowers, all! And such a good photo of that fuzzy bee! You certainly have a good show this month.....it is a bit too hot here for many blooms, but I do have a few. It would be hard for me to pick a favorite among all your lovely blooms, but I really love the Snow Lady and the Dianthus.

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  3. I agree with Sue. If the colour is not as described you are within your rights to ask for a replacement - except maybe with Hydrangeas, whose colour definitely is affected by soil composition. Garden Centres have to accept that people PLAN their gardens and "any old colour" will definitely not be acceptable.

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  4. Beautiful, you have some fabulous plants there. My favourite is the astrantia, I've never grown them before but they're on my wishlist.

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  5. You have worked hard this summer. Hard to believe that the season is about done. Implanted one astilbe and it has lived. The test will be to see if it returns next spring along with the other new plants.

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  6. Good points about the flower colour and whether a plant could be returned. Suppose I have such a mix of colours in the garden I'm not too worried about a range of colours.

    From a different shop, I also recall a rose I bought last year that had the wrong label in it as it turned out a different plant/colour than I had bought. Too much trouble to return.

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  7. A lovely selection of flowers Kelli - I have bought a few plants lately that turn out to be different than the label - which has been a little disappointing, but as you say, too much trouble to take back.

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  8. We saw some roses in a garden centre a couple of weeks ago that were labelled incorrectly. Easy to tell because the roses were in bloom and they didn't match with the label. If they weren't in flower....... I explained to a member of staff the labels were mixed up but he didn't seem too fussed. Perhaps we should complain more to make them a bit more "bothered" about the plants they are selling are correctly labelled!

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  9. That's very lovely collection of flowers! For sure bees will be selecting your garden! ;)

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  10. Gorgeous colors, how lovely are the flowers in your garden. I love sweet peas. Your garden must be a habitat for birds, butterflies and bees! :)

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  11. A lovely collage of color you have there! I see so many plants we have in common, even with the many miles between us.

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