• Home
  • About & Copyright.
  • Photography.
    • Mug shots.
    • Hedge Fund.
  • The Garden.
    • The Garden Team.
  • Visiting the Garden.
  • My Garden Presentations.
  • Wildlife.
  • Feed the Birds.
  • My Music.

brimfields.com

~ Gardening, Photography & Music. The Life of Brian.

brimfields.com

Monthly Archives: January 2021

A seasonal delight – in winter.

23 Saturday Jan 2021

Posted by Brian Skeys in Gardening, Guest publisher, Our Garden@19, Plantlife, The Life of Brian.

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

iris, Winter

Guest Publisher Leonie Creighton.

Leonie is a knowledgeable and enthusiastic gardener she is the minutes secretary to the Black Pear Gardening Club. I have invited her as guest publisher for this seasonally appropriate article she wrote for the club newsletter.

IRIS UNGUICULARIS.

One of my favourite plants at this time of year is IRIS UNGUICULARIS (I.stylosa) Algerian Iris.

This lovely flower is native to Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey , Greece and Syria where it grows in light scrub,open pine woods and rocky places.

It flowers from late autumn to early spring when so few plants are in flower. The flowers are beautifully scented, in shades of lavender to deep violet with a yellow throat.

This winter flowering Iris is easy to grow in well drained soil in full sun. Plant near a wall to help maintain the soils heat. I grow it in a raised bed that’s in full sunlight for most of the day, but that said I also grow it in a woodland area in partial sunlight and it is still happy but doesn’t flower quite so well. It is also useful to grow at the base of clematis as they like their heads in the sun and their roots in shade and it helps to hide the bare base of the clematis and keep its roots cool.

Plant it so that the rhizomes are just below the surface of the soil and 10cm (4in) apart.

It produces an evergreen mound of narrow, arching grass like foliage. This foliage does become brown and bit untidy but can easily be trimmed back to keep it looking good.

A top dressing of bone meal or potash in either autumn or spring is beneficial but look out for snails hiding among the leaves.

It dislikes being moved, but if you have to disturb it do it in spring after flowering. It may sulk for a while before it starts to flower again.

This is a long lived plant. I grow the species variety from divisions taken off my mother’s plant that has been growing in her garden for probably fifty years.

Two other very nice named varieties are ‘Mary Barnard’ which has a lovely velvety blue-purple flower, a much more intense colour than the species.

‘Mary Barnard’

Also, ‘Walter Butt’ a ghostly pale grey-blue , but with a heavenly scent.

‘Walter Butt’

Flowering: November-March

Hardiness: Fully hardy

Height: 30-45cm

Did you Know : Iris was a Greek goddess, the personification of the rainbow, which she used as her pathway though the sky.   

Leonie Creighton.

Happy New Year.

01 Friday Jan 2021

Posted by Brian Skeys in Gardening, General Interest, Our Garden@19, Photography, Plantlife, The Life of Brian.

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

New Year, Snow, Videos

Winter visited Our Garden@19 towards the end of 2020.

Flowering in the house and keeping warm is the Christmas Cactus.

Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera)

From the bathroom window we can see the snow-capped Malvern Hills.

Snow boot painted by the Grandchildren as a Christmas present.

A snowy video tour of the garden wishing you a Happy New Year please turn your sound on and select full screen.

Thaw.

Over the land freckled with snow half-thawed

The speculating rooks at their nests cawed

And saw from elm-tops, delicate as flower of grass,

What we below could not see, Winter pass.

EDWARD THOMAS (1878-1917)

Thank you for visiting Brimfields.com during 2020, hopefully, some of you may be able to visit the garden in person later this year if we are able to open for the village church funds in May.

National Gardens Scheme Link.

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 464 other followers

Follow brimfields.com on WordPress.com

Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Google+
  • WordPress.org

Blogs I Follow.

  • A coastal Plot
  • A French Garden
  • elizawaters.com
  • Frogenddweller
  • Gardening Jules
  • Green Tapestry
  • Hillwards
  • Karen Gimson
  • Life in mud splattered boots
  • No Dig Charles Downing. The organic no dig Gardener.
  • Off The Edge Gardening.
  • Our Plot at Green Lane Allotments
  • pbmgarden
  • Pirus Tabernus
  • Rambling in the garden
  • Rusty Duck
  • Smallsunnygarden
  • The Anxious Gardener
  • The Blooming Garden
  • The Chatty Gardener
  • The Garden Barn House
  • The Gardening Shoe
  • wordsandherbs

Favourite web sites.

  • Black Pear Gardening Club. A Worcestershire based club sharing a love of gardening.
  • Douglas Gregor Photos Wonderful wildlife photography.
  • Hardy Plant Society
  • NGS The garden charity.
  • No Dig Charles Downing. The organic no dig Gardener.

Categories

  • Garden visiting
  • Gardening
  • General Interest
  • Guest publisher
  • Landscapes
  • Our Garden@19
  • Photography
  • Plantlife
  • The Bark Collection
  • The Life of Brian.
  • Travel
  • Treelife
  • Uncategorized
  • Wildlife

Map

Hanley Swan, Worcestershire. UK

Blog Stats

  • 18,153 hits

Recent Comments

tonytomeo on Spring (ing) into action!
Brian Skeys on Spring (ing) into action!
tonytomeo on Spring (ing) into action!
Cathy on Spring (ing) into action!
Brian Skeys on Spring (ing) into action!
Sue Garrett on Spring (ing) into action!
Cathy on Spring (ing) into action!
Brian Skeys on Spring (ing) into action!
Brian Skeys on Spring (ing) into action!
Cathy on Spring (ing) into action!
tonytomeo on Spring (ing) into action!
Brian Skeys on Spring (ing) into action!
tonytomeo on Spring (ing) into action!
Brian Skeys on Spring (ing) into action!
Eliza Waters on Spring (ing) into action!

Archives

  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • November 2016
  • May 2016
  • February 2016
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • August 2015

"Every Day is a School Day"

Translate

Website Powered by WordPress.com.

Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×
    Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
    To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Our Cookie Policy