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Sunday June 12, 2005
A snapshot of part of the birch tree border after a big end-of-spring clear up.
Sue Beesley
Newsletter
Sunday June 12, 2005
Hall of shame - inside the shed.
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Saturday June 11, 2005
Valerian - under-rated, easy, colourful, long lasting.
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Inspiration - and expenditure
I didn't get as far as Tatton Park - I drove on auto-pilot to Dunham Massey and that was all the inspiration I needed. Wide drifts of Meconopsis Sheldonii with a wisp of white geranium behind and a carpet of pink Persicaria in front. Brilliant. Fabulous clumps of
Newsletter
Sunday June 05, 2005
Magnolia 'Wilsonii' at Dunham Massey
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Off to widen the view
June and July are my gardening weak spots. Once I decided that roses, sweet peas and lavender were not just for the elderly, things improved a bit, but I don't really know how to do summer colour. I have a complete horror of summer bedding (something to do
Newsletter
Sunday June 05, 2005
I think these are (clockwise from L) David Austin's Evelyn, The Times, Dublin Bay, another David Austin but I'm not sure which one, and my climbing Iceberg. By the end of the day I hope to have added Mme Alfred Carriere for the new fence.
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Saturday June 04, 2005
One of my top ten - Giant yellow scabious or Cephalaria gigantea. 5ft high but delicate and airy. Easy, reliable and beautiful.
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1st June - rain
What does it mean if it rains all day on the first day of June? Probably nothing more than that you get a wet garden. Had lunch in the conservatory and watched a wren flitting between the moss lining in the hanging baskets and the house wall. They have an
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The joy of a three day weekend
The extra day makes such a difference. I get two days gardening and a day for other stuff. The runner beans are in, the pumpkin patch is cleared and ready. I've re-arranged the polytunnel and might even have the garden tidy before the day is out. We&
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Monday May 30, 2005
The growing of runner beans is laced with tradition. I grow them the way my father does, in a row of crossed pairs of canes. Others prefer wigwams or upright frames. Like all traditions, I'm totally convinced that my way is the best.
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Between spring and summer
The late spring flowering plants are on their way out. The tulips have gone, as have the pulmonarias and erythroniums. The peonies are just going over, losing their brightness and flopping heavily on the lawn. The big acid-loving shrubs, the rhodendendrons and azaleas, are at their peak, but too