Thursday, June 22, 2006

Is it November already?


Yesterday's rain and wind were absolutely horrible - the lovely weather of last week had made me blase and I had forgotten how horrible it is to be out picking flowers in the pouring rain with the wind blowing everything out of the bucket as soon as I put it in.

Gusty winds at this time of year are much more damaging than those earlier in the season as there is so much more bulk in the garden - the wind was so bad here that it blew all the leaves off the courgette plants and has blown a row of lilies completely out of the ground!
For once I was glad of the bulky weeds which have taken over the beds nearest the polytunnel - these acted as a windbreak so the delphiniums and peonies stayed upright!
The photograph is of parsnip flower - my favourite foliage for this time of year. It is what you get if you leave parsnips in the ground and allow them to flower - fantastic sturdy lime green umbrels about 3 feet tall. It is a bit like angelica but without the overpowering celery type scent.

2 comments:

Heather said...

I am actually a massive fan of the angelica plant - but had never seen this before - so its worth leaving the veggies in to see what happens.

I grew mangels one year for the sheep - but the pesky devils turned their nose up!

Obviously you know you stuff about growing the flowers are you self taught on the flower arranging or did you have to train for that too?

I'm not so keen on these very structured artistic arrangments from top flower arrangers - I like the more informal natural bouquets.

Heather

Jane said...

Pretty much self taught - I had intended just to grow the flowers and sell to florists, but then I found that I love playing around with flowers. I only really do informal arrangements - I am interested in the way flowers grow and in recreating the mood of a planting.
The wind has warped a whole patch of thalicturm aquifolia so that the tops of the stems are wiggly. In a flower shop these would be rejects as they are no longer straight - I prefer them as they will add movement and vitality to bouquets.
My ideal bunch of flowers would look like a Piet Oudolf/Arne Maynard herbaceous border.
I LOVE the look of Angelica and use it a lot for massive arrangements in urns outside churches and the like, but I do find that the leaves give off a scent which, indoors, seems to have something in common with old musty vase water. I have a few angelica gigas growing this year and hope that they will not pong!