It's all about the hollyhocks, roses and much more

Yes another Norfolk inspired post, I did warn you at the start of the week. Today we're taking a look around dad's garden because it's been a while since we last did that,  last Spring in fact, so we're well overdue a visit. And right now dad's garden is all about the hollyhocks, a flower I've not had much success with, yet. 

Dad's are in flower and edge most of his garden, like much of the rest of his garden there's whites, yellows and pinks and crimsons.

hollyhocks galore in dads garden right now - there's white ones
There's also crimson hollyhocks in dad's garden
And pretty in coral pink hollyhocks

I couldn't help but take a closer look at one of them. Makes for an interesting picture I think and really shows off their detail, something you don't see at first.  And I'm sure that's a star in the middle.

Inside a hollyhock

I'm always keen to see what's going on in dad's greenhouse, and to check to see if that ginormous geranium, or at least a relative of it is still going strong.  Yeap, tick.  But look at the size of the aloe vera next to it, I had a proud aloe vera mummy moment, as all of those in that tub came from my plant.

The aloe vera's I gave dad which are flourishing

Although none of mine are quite that large. I think the giant geranium is encouraging it!

The plant below is the parent of the yellow plant dad gave me, which I've planted in my new bed at the back of the garden. Mine's just starting to flower, and it's good to see what it'll look like soon. And isn't being able to swap plants one of the best bits about gardening?

That yellow bush that dad gave me in flower

Elsewhere in the garden there's roses galore.  These are clambering around an arch, well almost, there's so many flowers.

roses galore too

Dad's success with lupins trumps mine too.  I left with a pot of my own and I'm hoping the slugs and snails here don't look at them as dinner too soon.  But if mine don't survive, it looks like there'll be plenty of seeds to try again with.

Lupins in flower and with furry seed pods
A fuschia fit to burst

The fuschias look ready to burst and I can't believe it'll be long before the little ballerinas are dancing around again. The dahlias too are flowering, the outline of each petal on this one is stunning.

A dahlia from above
Or there's lillies too

In the front garden I spotted this delicately pink and yellow lily, and was pleased to see the yellow rose in flower too. I missed out on the pale yellow hollyhocks, but this more than made up for it.

And beautiful yellow roses

It's all go in his veg plot too, which is just outside the kitchen door.  His onions put mine to shame, although you might want to sort that bindweed out there dad...

ginormous onions - but you might want to sort out that bindweed dad

The apple tree is laden, and this is after it was thinned.  There's definitely something about the soil up there in Norfolk!

Plenty of apples

And it wouldn't be dad's garden without runner beans.

It wouldn't be dad's garden without runner beans

Or squashes. He has a whole bed full of leaves, flowers and fruit. It's a bit of a surprise bed as he's never sure quite what will come up. He found some seedlings growing in the greenhouse and moved them outside, they've turned out to be round yellow courgettes and a variety he hasn't purposefully grown for a couple of years.  Clearly the garden fancied growing some!

flowers on the squashes too

This year dad's been pleased with his foxgloves. In true Norfolk-style they're big. And almost as tall as a chimney. Well ok, the chimney is in the distance, but I do have photographic evidence look:

Dad with his giant - well very tall at least - foxgloves

You'll not be surprised to know I left with some foxgloves too!

Dad's Norfolk garden in Spring

It's been a while since I shared pictures from my Dad's garden - September last year in fact: A hard-working and productful garden - so as we're spending a few days in Sunny Hunny I thought I'd take you on a tour to see what's going on. Sunny Hunny (aka Hunstanton) lived up to its nickname yesterday and I have the rather attractive T-Shirt tan lines from our cycle around the back lanes to Burnham Overy Staithe and the pub to prove it!  It's not a great look...

These oxalis and mind your own business (I love its name!) peering out from underneath the greenhouse staging is a much more welcome sight.

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As is the burgundy of heuchera above and the green lush aquilegia leaves, which those white star-shaped flowers are using for support.

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There's a fair amount of pink in Dad's garden throughout the year, and that's by design as Mum is partial to a bit of pink. Right now there's this brightly coloured bush, which looks a touch azalea-ish to me and some pink bluebells, or should that be pinkbells?

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There's also some bluebells and some muscari or grape hyacinths, and I think Spring is probably the one season where there'll be blue flowers in this garden...

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There have been a few discoveries too, the most notable are these abandoned eggs under the sweet pea trellis. A duck had been spotted in the garden and not too long after the eggs were found, but who knows - let's not hope they turn into a brood of ducklings, it's unlikely as nothing is taking care of the eggs - but that is also a shame. They're well hidden which is why I suspect they've been unharmed so far.

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Around the garden plants are fit to burst into flower, just look at this poppy:

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And the peonies and lupins aren't far behind either:

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In the front garden there's also colour, this beautiful rose is already flowering and the pale pink clematis is clambering over wherever it can! But it's a beautiful one...

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And I haven't even got to the veg patch yet, where there's potatoes, onions and broad beans on the go along with some tomato and beetroot seedlings, and I'm sure there'll be runner beans at some point.  As it just wouldn't be my Dad's garden without runner beans!

“TheGardenYear