Friday, July 06, 2007

Jack and the giant plume poppies

Here we are with a rare overview of the garden - I pick so much that I am always aware that it is very green and doesn't really look like a cut flower garden. I am also aware that these photos demonstrate that the grass paths need cut pronto - the excuse is that it just hasn't been dry enough.

In the photos is one of 2 long borders - they divide the two parts of the cutting garden and are filled with all the tall clumpy plants I love but which would take over a raised cutting patch very quickly.

I wanted to put the photos in to show just how tall everything perennial is growing this year. The plume poppy is now 10 feet tall, the stipa gigantea isn't far behind and just look at the size of that yellow lily - far too big to cut! Here is Minou to give some sense of scale.

What a contrast to the annuals - particularly the not-too-hardy annuals like dill and larkspur. I have never had such pathetic looking plants!

Today I got a phonecall from a grower in Fife, desperate for flowers for a wedding that she is doing at the end of the month, so it is obviously not just me.

Unfortunately I couldn't help at all as I also have a wedding on that weekend and will need all my flowers for that. The other grower depends very much on annuals and is now looking at buying in flowers from Holland for the event. Thank goodness I now have plenty of (giant) perennials in the beds.

6 comments:

MILLY said...

Gosh yes , they are giant plants. Is this just because of all the rain? My tallest plant is a monsterous Angelica, it is huge with several big round seed heads. Maybe a drawing subject.
It is a strange year, wonder if it will produce bigger vegetables or just spoil them .

Anonymous said...

Wow, what plants. Love the lilies - our white ones are just flowering. This year our fennel is running at full pelt at around 5ft and the foxgloves are taller than I at around 5ft 11in!

Anonymous said...

I heard that the UK has had a lot of rain, which must explain the height of some of your plants. It's a jungle out there!

Marie x

Gigibird said...

I find your photos refreshingly honest - an 'active' cutting garden/patch isn't going to look like the picture perfect images we are feed in books and magazines.
You are temping me to try out a corner in my rather bijou garden for cutting plants.....now I don't buy cut flowers anymore!

Anonymous said...

All this rain has sent our garden loopy here, loads and loads of lush green growth, it's like a jungle out there but I love itlike that.

Anonymous said...

I have those Plume Poppys in my garden - they are fab, although the wind down here has really wrecked them this year!