Copper flowers, and a spot to relax too

For today’s Flowers on Friday we’re heading back to the 2018 Chelsea Flower Show, for a closer look at these copper flowers by Myburgh Designs. I’ve just taken a look at their site, and believe me it’s a very beautiful and potentially dangerous place. They had a garden at Chelsea this year, but when I fell in love with these copper flowers - and more - last year, they had a corner plot which I’m not sure many people stopped by and enjoyed.

looking down at the copper flowers

These poppies look right at home in the border mixed with the red and white flowers. They’re relatively reasonably priced too, which is always a result, as I have a tendency to sniff out the priciest items.

copper flowers in the border at Chelsea

I think a mixture of sizes works well, and the website says they have a life of their own collecting water for birds in the garden, or could be used to hold candles.

adding a touch of copper to the border at RHS Chelsea in 2018

But my favourite way to enjoy them would be just as it was at the show, from this copper pod.

A copper place to relax too

Which I’m sure proves my earlier point about falling for the high ticket items, but who can blame me?

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.

agapanthus at chelsea 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.

blues and whites at chelsea

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.

upright sleepers holding back the flowers

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!’

sunken sleepers, gravel and calming planting

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?