M'aidez M'aidez - plant ident. Solanum ? Pelargonium? The Court House. Mystery picture - win a shilling.

Atchoo!

Big, fat, red tulip.

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Planting and styling by Miki Tanaka, the Japanese powerhouse. 

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Water droplets on an Echeveria I had just watered. No photoshop or editing but quite unreal . Long live nature. 

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Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

It's the 40 th birthday of the  pottery  this year and a big celebration was organised for the 4th March , food, demonstrations and general merriment in a marquee. A great time was had by all particularly the staff who had a shindig in the marquee after the visitors had gone home. Just as it was getting dark and out of the blue or black it started to snow and in a few minutes of big fat snowflakes it was starting to look very Christmassy.  

The Lonesome Pine.

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Mystery Picture

Here's your chance to win another shilling.Any guesses what this is a picture of. It is surprising how  intriguing the mundane can be.Here's a clue, its is not an egg custard, crème brulee or  the surface of the sun. Answer way below.

The Court House, Stretton on Fosse Warwickshire

Next opening 24 July

I visited his small, unsung  gem of a garden in what should have been the peak snowdrop time but  with the winter  being what it was they had all finished but  despite the  lack of snowdrops  and grey cold weather there was plenty to  be excited about. The use of  beech  as hedging and yew columns  as markers in the hedge   gives good winter effect and with the  near silhouette of the  pines  it makes  a shapely arrangement.......

............ and throw in a wire fox for an initial look of surprise  which gives way to a smile.

I haven't seen this Ribes for  a long time  but here it was trying to disguise itself as a fuchsia on a sunny wall. Ribes  speciosum  is a very close relative of the gooseberry  but more prickly making it  a devil to tie in and  train along the wall.   

A bit of less is more here.

Gnarled standard wisterias and formal box in the walled garden

A pollarded Salix alba var. vitellina 'Britzensis' with  evergreen purple Pittosporum.

The winter garden looking very good

A handsome house with a rocket to the left waiting to launch. 

Try to get and visit on the 24 July if you can, there  is a lot of  well designed detail. 

Open under the NGS 

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Pieces of Aeonium  left on the  greenhouse bench  for a couple of weeks  started throwing out roots. Plenty of will to live.

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M'aidez M'aidez

Two unidentified tender plants  below, any ideas what they are.

The first looks  somewhat like a pelargonium  and the other is a Solanum but which one? 

Pelargonium specie?

Solanum specie?

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Who'd have though a slug could look so lovely with its cheery smile and its camouflage pattern?

Mystery Picture

The mystery picture was  burnt  toast crumbs scraped off into a washing up bowl in the sink.