Sunshine and rain

There’s been a fair bit of both recently here. Yesterday, full on rain. Today, full on sunshine. We had a day off today and so we made use of the sun beds, which when it was 35 degrees last week we didn’t get a chance to use, well there were plenty of chances, but we both would have melted.

The weather the past few days reminded me of our visit to Hyde Hall back in June (though I’m not sure how it was so far away as June!). That day we had all the weather the same day. I drove through, and as it turned out, ahead of torrential rain, experienced it when it caught us up followed by the most glorious sunshine.

But that also brought the opportunity for some raindrop pictures, and while the weather is forecast for extreme wind tomorrow (thanks Ellen), let’s first enjoy the raindrops on petals.

They’re exquisite. Nature is exquisite. I’m just glad that my iPhone was ready and able to capture them

Succulents at RHS Hyde Hall

I’ve long been a fan of succulents, but this year they’ve not really made an impact in my garden. I had plans to include some in a picture frame, but as I’ve not been to the garden centre yet that’s on hold. I hadn’t really noticed the succulents at RHS Hyde Hall before, but as we were scouting for potential rain shelters, I spotted a few pots full of succulents.

And I couldn’t have been happier!

If you know Hyde Hall and are wondering where, they’re by the new building at the top of the hill. At one of the exits to the cafe (which was obviously closed on our visit).

It’s somewhere I’ll be making a point of stopping off at again.

Though I was good, and didn’t check to see if any of the leaves were detached, which go on to form new plants. I have been known to ask at garden centres if I can have these, and no one’s ever said no. It’s when I’m buying plants, I don’t have that much front to ask on the off chance.

I’ll definitely be checking my succulents this weekend - free plants, and succulents, what’s not to like?

In the Dry Garden at Hyde Hall

The flowers for today’s Flowers on Friday post were taken in the summer last year at the RHS garden in Essex. Usually I head there while MOH does a mad, hundred mile cycle around the Essex countryside, but I didn’t make it this year as after dropping him off, I headed out for lunch. So in a belated attempt to get my Hyde Hall fix, and to remember how warm the sun was on my visit, here’s a selection of photos from the Dry Garden, which shows how plants can cope, or adapt to cope, with less water.

They can also look pretty too. The allium heads, which have gone to seed above echo the heads of the blue agapanthus below. Yes, more agapanthus, they’re taking over on my blog at least, as the replacements for hydrangeas, and they’re lovely too, but I have less opportunities to photograph them these days. Maybe it’s the gardens I’m visiting, or maybe there are fewer of them around following their peak as the plant trend a year or so ago. Who knows.

The yellow fronds of the plants below reaching towards the blue skies make a great photo, but looking at the leaves, I’m pretty sure many of us would give them the weed treatment, I’m certain MOH would!

The grasses which edged - and colour matched - the path which winds its way through this garden. They look, and were, sun baked - and so was I on this visit.

Did you know?

The smaller and thinner the leaves of the plant, the more likely your plant will cope with less water. Think heathers, rosemary, thyme and of course succulents which buck the small, thin leaf advice! Even cistus though are good in coastal and are also drought tolerant, their leaves adapt becoming smaller and more lustrous than they would be in the UK. The ones we saw in Portugal, in the Alentejo region were outstanding, and the fragrance was more concentrated too.

The photo above is one of my all time favourite photos. To me, it just shrieks summer. When I first saw it I thought I could enter it into a photo competition, I forget which now, but in the end the deadline came and went. Maybe another time, or maybe I’ll just keep popping back to this post and “ahhing!”