If last week was iris week then this week is peony week, the hot sunny weather has brought all the flowers out. Over the years I seem to have planted a bit of a collection of peonies. Their flowers may be short-lived, but they are so beautiful and the scent is wonderful too.
This beautiful bloom is up in the autumn bed at the top of the garden.
Nearby in the amber and amethyst garden is this big pink one, I think the label suggested it was purple and it clashes gloriously with the orange geum! The photo almost looks photoshopped, but it really is that bright! It’s lucky really that it’s flowers are fairly short lived as it really doesn’t go with anything around it!
Round the patio I’m trying to gradually lighten the colours as in the evening from the conservatory the light coloured flowers look almost luminescent. Last year I planted this gorgeous peony, it’s petals are the palest of pinks.
The clematis I’ve planted in the last few years are starting to make an impact. This one is climbing up one of three obelisks in the autumn border. It’s starting to mingle round the neighbouring plants as well as up the obelisk.
In the amber & amethyst garden I have a large wooden obelisk which I made probably about 3 or 4 years ago. It has a rambling rose growing through it, I’m really pleased with it this year as although it hasn’t flowered yet it has lots of buds all the way up the bush. The rose is completely covering the obelisk now! I’ve also got a couple of clematis growing through it. One of them, the darker purple one, was meant to be growing over the arch next to it, I didn’t think it was doing very well as most of the flowers initially were very low down. However the other day I spotted a bit of purple right at the top of the obelisk, it was a clematis flower! Since then a few more have emerged in the midst of the rose bush.
Another climber in the amber and amethyst garden is a honeysuckle which is growing over the arch at the entrance to this part of the garden, it’s never done much in the past, in fact I’ve been a bit disappointed with it in previous years. However, this year, whilst it is still a bit straggly it has quite a few pretty flowers, these are a lovely rich yellow colour and smell wonderful. I think I need to check my book on how to prune this to try and improve it.
I’m trying to catch up with the weeding at the moment as bindweed and mares tail are increasing daily in the nice weather. Some of the spring flowering shrubs such as deutzia have been pruned back too.I need to investigate my little water feature again too as it dried up over night, so it has obviously sprung a leak somewhere – maybe my 15 year old plug of blutack has finally given up!
thecraftycreek 
Your garden is so full of glorious plants.
I’m interested to see you have mares tail – me too – masses of it!
Any tips on how to deal with it?
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Hi, I’ve tried all sorts to get rid of mares tail, injecting weed killer, adding washing up liquid to weed killer, covering it with carpet for a couple of years…the roots go down about 6′ so really there’s no chance of eradicating it. At the moment we’re trying to just pull as soon as we see it, hoping to weaken it. I’ve joked for years that really we just need to make it trendy, then we could sell it! I had to laugh the other day when I was looking at pond plants and someone was selling bunches of marestail as a pond oxygenater!!!
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Crumbs! Bizarre – that wouldn’t work would it? – yes I think I will have to learn to live with it as best I can. I don’t feel I should put it in the Garden Waste bin so I have been rotting it in water to make a foul smelling fertilizer, but no idea if it makes good fertilizer.
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We have a hot composter but I wouldn’t risk nasty weeds in there, bindweed, couch grass and marestail go in the council garden waste bin or up to the tip.
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Oh wow – those peonies are stunning! What are the beautiful variegated flowerheads behind the white peony? Whatever it is, it too is beautiful.
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Hi Prue, the greenish white flowers are astrantia, it’s the basic one I think as it seems to be seeding its self all over the garden 🙂
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So beautiful, Margaret! I love your garden! Peonies are amongst my favorites…I have several varieties, too! 🙂
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Absolutely glorious. What a pretty garden.
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Look at that color combo of fuchsia and orange – stunning!
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Oooh, that pink and orange clash makes my heart sing!
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Mine too Kate!
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It is quite zingy 🙂
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Your garden is enchanting and I am enjoy these virtual meanders. Thank you
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Love your peonies! I did look up mares tail , and it does have some Medicinal qualities…maybe you could sell it!
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Not so much clashing as just about complimentary! 😄 It’s lovely when they mingle on their own.
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