19/05/2024
Garden gatherings and hedgerow froth 🩷🌿🌸
I know I say it every year, but this week of May is probably my favourite of the year. The garden surprises me every day, the glasshouse is covered in vines, hedgerows are dancing with cow parsley froth, and beech leaves turn the woods into the Emerald City.
I was singing the praises of meadow buttercups in hand-ties with flag iris, astrantia, tangerine dream cosmos, flouncy pink peonies, cow parsley froth and beech skirts at our workshop yesterday. The meadow variety have long stems, long vase life, and they dazzle beautifully against the lilacs,, soft blues and pinks of May. They are part of the ranunculus family but much easier to grow. (Try them in containers if you are worried about the roots spreading.)
Another favourite is alkanet or evergreen bugloss. It looks a bit like a deeper blue forget-me-not but it's much taller and better for cutting. It can also get a bad rep with gardeners but it is an amazingly resilient early spring filler and great for under-planting or wilder areas of the garden. Again, it has fantastic vase life and great for wildlife 💙
Oh and if you are free next Sunday please come to the Food & Craft Fayre I will be there with my flowers grown in the walled garden and I will be happy to chat about the joys of buttercups with anyone willing to listen! Hope to see you there x 🌱🌱🌱
