Jo's August Walk
Hello Everyone
Well, the weather has surprised us yet again. First of all we were complaining that it's too wet and we were wondering what ever happened to summer. Then the heat wave hit us over the bank holiday weekend with more record temperatures, this time a high of 33 degrees was recorded and we didn't know how to cope with it. I can only hope and pray that hurricane Dorian doesn't manage to cross the Atlantic!
On to good news. The garden has received a Green Flag and Green Heritage award for 2019 so congratulations and well done to all the staff and volunteers who helped make this happen.
The welcome at Myddelton starts in the car park and the flower bed outside the Visitors Centre. This is sponsored by Enfield in Bloom and has looked lovely all summer, photo1. The courtyard is also very welcoming and as you walk by you find yourself wondering if you should have coffee before your walk, after it or indeed both, photo 2.
The Eremurus border continues to be of interest with all the grasses, teasels, alliums and different plants along the front of the border, photo 3. This one caught my eye and I believe it is a Eucomis, photo 4, it's a very striking plant.
Down on the New River Lawn I found Bryan working on the yew hedges, photo 5. He is very proud of the straight edges he achieves and I have to admit they are very straight. Looking the other way along the Tulip Terrace to the hedge he cut earlier I noticed the Foxglove tree, photo 6. I looked back through my photos to work out how long it has been there and it wasn't there in Dec 2013 so I believe it was planted in early 2014 as I found this photo of it in May 2014, photo 7. It was added to balance the Foxglove tree at the other end of the border.
Walking around the Kitchen Garden I enjoyed the 'flower festival' that is going on there, photo 8. There are Zinnias, this one is Orange King, photo 9. There are sunflowers, this one was hiding in the middle, photo 10. I don't have a name for it but I thought it was just fun to look at. The cosmos have grown to about 6 foot tall and are still flowering well, photo 11. Along the path are the artichokes, Cynara cardunculus, I love the flowers on these plants, photo 12. Further on is the Curly Leaf Laurel, Prunus laurocerasus, which is now covered in the most amazing display of berries. Such a shame they are so poisonous because they contain cyanide.
There was a lot to see around the pond this month. This damselfly, with lots of others, was hovering around the pond, photo 15. The purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria and the white eupatorium make a beautiful display around the pond, photo 16 and enjoying the nectar on a flower in the centre of the photo was a Jersey Tiger Moth. Their wings have a striking black and white pattern, photo 17 and their under wings are orange, photo 18. This shows best when they fly off. Also, on the pond was this family of ducks, photo 19. This photo was taken on the 13th and she had 9 ducklings. Photo 20, taken on the 29th, shows how they have grown but I only counted 6 ducklings this time. Finally, our perennial favourite, the robin, photo 21. Always a welcome sight in the garden.
I hope you have enjoyed this wander through the garden with me.
Best Wishes
