Thursdays favourite plant

(I know, its Saturday)

Lilac Syringa
image via flickr

I'd love one of these in my garden, but alas I have no room for one, instead I've been enjoying my neighbours tree. He's gone away for a week and left me in charge of watering his greenhouse and hanging baskets, this have given me a perfect opportunity to wander round his beautiful garden (he used to open for the ngs)and stand below his lilac tree and take deep breaths of its heavenly perfume. It over hangs his fence too so in the evening when I walk past it to go to the field to shut the chickens in for the night the scent is incredible.

Lilac trees have the most beautiful scent and the flowers are so pretty, tiny little star shaped blooms, grouped together in large panacles or cone like spikes that festoon the tree about now. There are different coloured varieties as well as the lilac lilac I love the white 'Madame lemoine', the dark pink 'red prince' and the beautiful 'sensation' which has purple flowers with a white edge to them.

I say lilac's a tree but its actually a shrub, my neighbour has grown his into a tree by allowing it to develop one main stem that has become a trunk. They grow to about 5/8 metres high so are well suited to smaller gardens. They like full sun and grow on most soil types but like it slightly on the alkaline side. Like all spring flowering plants they flower on last years wood so prune them after they've flowered. To increase the flowers and to keep the shape in check, prune out about a third of the branches each year after flowering. Or you can remove all the branch's at ground level bar one strong healthy one to encourage it to grow into a tree shape. Lilacs throw up suckers like no bodies business, and if you remove these carefully with some roots attached you can propagate lots more little plants. As most lilacs are grafted onto rootstock you might find the suckers are a different variety.

Jess xx

P.S thanks for all the wonky love, she really is a character and is loving being spoilt rotten, I even caught my husband sat with her on his lap feeding her corn from his hand.

someone stick the kettle on, I need a cup of tea

I'm sorry about my absence but I've been so rushed of my feet with all of this,








And some of this





And there was this






And if all that wasn't enough to keep a girl busy this came along







And finally there is this


Yes they are in my bathtub and yes they were throughly dried off with my best hand-towels before snuggling up under a heat lamp.

And if all that wasn't enough fun for me to handle I met up with the gorgeous sara from Completely Quackers who came down to see me for a good old chin wag about chickens and other animals and to take 4 of my bantam hens to join her flock of mad bantam boys. This left me with a vacancy for some more hens, who are currently in quarenteen quarters for the moment, oh and did I mention the little bluebell pullets.

I shall tell all about everything and everyone later, right now the glorious sunshine is beckoning back outside.

Jess x

P.S Bonus points will be awarded to anyone who can identify the chicks in the 2nd 3rd and 4th pictures, I know what they except the little grey one on the right of the 3rd picture. Extra double cherry on top points to anyone wanting to have a stab at telling me the sex.

70s suntan lotion

Check out this funky looking thing. Its called Hymenocallis harrisiana (peruvian daffodil). I bought it in my bulb buying frenzy in February on a whim. I actually thought I killed it until I saw some green poking through the compost last month, then I forgot all about it and found it when tiding up he pots on the courtyard with a tiny flower bud on it. I was told it smells like 70s style suntan lotion (coco-nutty), and it seriously does.

Roses

Rose's are one of my all time favorite plants. They are so beautiful and romantic I think everyone should have one in their garden.
There are many different types ranging from huge rambling climbers to miniature ground covering to the more unusual species types. I must admit I'm a bit particular about the types I like I'm not really a fan of the large flowered Hybrid tea roses. I love the old fashioned scented varieties commonly known as the English rose's or David Austin these have been specially bred to have the old world charm and beauty with modern hardiness, longer flowering and a better degree of disease resistance. They are also (mostly) wonderfully fragrant.

One of my favorites is jubilee celebration



I mean come on just look at that flower.
This one has a delicious scent like strawberries, honey and tea. Yesterday I made some rose petal jam, with petals from this baby and it tastes heavenly.

When I moved in to my cottage I inherited 3 roses in the garden, a unruly white climber that had nothing much to climb up a pink rugosa and a weeping standard. Now I've never really been keen on standard rose's they're a bit old fashioned (not in a cool vintage way) and quite twee, certainly not something I'd of ever thought of buying but I'm so in love with mine


This one's called "Felicite Perpetue" but I affectionately call her flick. I love her little pom pom flowers

I also have a thing for the more unusual rose's like this one and if I had more room I'd love one of these and one of these but unless I do away with the chickens (which will never happen) I'll just have to make do with the 12 I have crammed in the garden.
Here's some more.

This is Rosa glauca,


This is William Lobb


This was supposed to be this obviously its not (bought as a bareroot plant in the winter)but I like it. Although I have a horrible feeling it might be something like a Kiftsgate If it is will just grow and grow. Hmmm maybe I should investigate that one

cherry blossom

Ok so it's been in flower for a week or two now, but isn't is pretty. (it's just starting to gently rain blossom confetti whenever the wind blows)