A Day at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Richmond, England, Part One!

A Vibrant Shop Area Near Kew!

This Peacock Welcomed Us to Kew!

Kew Has Both the Classical and Modern!

Either a Camellia or Tree Peony!

The Planes Are a Constant!

Gorgeous Mature Trees!

The Marianne North Gallery!

Beautiful Spring Colors and Ancient Arches!

Always Time for a Scone and Tea!

More Wildlife, a Badger Sett!

The Japanese Garden!

The Zen Garden!

My Little Friend Was Sure I Had a Treat For Him!

Some Roses Were in Bloom!

Well, we had over an inch of rain last night in our garden here, so I get a break!  Sorry I haven't been blogging, but I have been spending as much time in the garden and by the time I come in it is time for dinner and sleep!  I really want to get my posts of my England trip done in a timely fashion this time.  So Gloria, my English/Spanish Travel Companion and I spent Wednesday at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens in Richmond, England.  Just a simple Tube ride and walk to the gardens.  Richmond is a beautiful suburb of London.

We spent the morning dodging the raindrops but there are lots of indoor places to do, like having scones and tea, seeing the botanical drawings and the Marianne North Gallery.  Marianne North was truly a remarkable woman and you get to see the 833 paintings she did over her lifetime.  It is an amazing collection.  We didn't get to spend as much time in this gallery because there were drama students practicing for a production about Kew.  We walked to the Japanese Landscape and always found more wildlife to enjoy!  As always there are beautiful flowers and trees!  There is so much to show you at Kew that I'm going to be doing Part Two and maybe Part Three!

Hope you are having a great day.  We are going to see Belle later today.  Talk to you later.

The Herbal Cape!

Lady's Mantle in Bloom!

The Leaves Hold the Water in Them After A Rain!

I have a lot of favorite herbs just not lemon verbena!  Lady's Mantle (Alchemilla mollis) reminds me of England in a big way.  I remember going to private and public gardens alike and finding this wonderful border herb in exuberant ways.  I do have a book that talks about (Alchemilla vulgaris) flowers being edible and sweet with nectar.  I just tried mine outside and they aren't very tasty.  So if you have the vulgaris type, go ahead and enjoy the flowers in salads.  Well, it is going to be another beautiful day in the garden and we are going to the movies!  Don't know what we are seeing, but I'll let you know in my next post.  Have a great day!  Talk to you later.    

Herbal Blooms All Over and a Bit of Vanilla Too!

Bumble Bee Enjoys the White Rugosa Rose!

Chives That Are Smaller Than Regular Chives!

Lyre Leaved Sage!

Lovage in Bloom!

'Coral Reef' Dianthus!

The Linear Leaf Thyme Has Escaped!

Angelica in Bloom!

'Vanilla' African Marigolds!

Can You Tell I Live With An Architect?

The Apothecary's Rose Is Starting to Bloom!

Well, as you can see from the photos above, we have started to bloom here in the herb garden and surrounding gardens.  The white rugosa rose (Rosa rugosa 'Alba') has been blooming for the last couple of weeks.  I has gotten very tall and the blooms are at the top.  I'm going to have to cut it back and get it to a more manageable size.  As you know though, we don't like to prune here until it's way too late!  Enough said!

I have lost the tag for the chives and I was hoping looking through some of my herb catalogs were jog my herbal memory!  Ha!  Not so fast!  Any way these chives are a very tidy clump and have flowered for a past couple of weeks as well.  I will trimming chive blossoms soon.  Oh, I should be making a bit of chive blossom vinegar!  A great way to get a mild onion flavor into your salad dressings and savory recipes.

This lyred leaved sage (Salvia lyrata) which is a perennial was purchased at the annual plant sale by The Herbal Husband.  Good job, sweetie!  The lovage (Levisticum officinale) is in bloom and the seeds can be used in breads, soups and stews and cookies.  I found a cookie recipe in one of my herbal cookbooks.  Now if I can find it again, I will make them and share the recipe if they are good.

There can't not be enough Dianthus in the garden!  Plus the bonus is that they are an edible flower!  This particular one is called 'Coral Reef'.  Ideal for a rock garden!  Oops!  Well, we will see if it survives, but until then I'll just enjoy the fragrance and the blooms of this dianthus!  It arrived just recently from England, my favorite place!

This Linear Leaf Thyme (Thymus pannonicus 'Linear-Leaf Lilac') started in the concrete container in my herb garden and it has escaped!  It is doing wonderfully well and I won't rock the herbal boat trying to get it back into the container!  Going with the herbal flow this season!

The Angelica (Angelica archangelica) used to be everywhere on the far side of the herb garden.  Now not so much.  We are going to let it seed again once it stops blooming.  Remember be careful if you are photosensitive to plants.  Don't cut this when it is hot and on a bright sunny day.  Remember to wear long sleeves and pants when cutting this back.

Yes, we do have some vanilla.  'Vanilla' marigolds (Tagetes erecta) that is!  We had coupons for the local garden center and we came home with a flat of these!  So you can tell I live with an architect, can't you?  Supposedly they will bloom all summer into fall and add a bright spot in my green landscape in the back gardens!  There were already beneficial insects buzzing around them!

Finally, my favorite rose is blooming.  It took a hit from the winter, but survived!  The Apothecary's Rose (Rosa gallica).  A very ancient rose and one that every herbalist must have in his or her garden.  I make rose petal jelly from this rose.  Maybe not this year.  We will see.

So there you have a rundown of what's blooming in my herb garden and beyond!  What's blooming in your herb garden?  We are getting storms later today.  Hope you are having a wonderful day wherever you may be.  I'll continue sharing my England trip next time.

Bank Holiday, Selfridge's and Afternoon Tea at Claridge's, London, England!

This is the Day to Drive in London-A Bank Holiday!

Went to Selfridge's Department Store

An Iconic Name in English Department Stores!

Beautiful Art Deco Adornments on the Outside!

Gloria with the Hydrangeas at Claridge's!

Loved the Doorman at Claridge's!

The Claridge's Lobby!

Hydrangeas This Time Roses Last Time!

Table Set with Claridge's Special China!

Favorite Part of Tea Are the Sandwiches!

I Had a Rare Earl Grey Tea!

Tea Pots Ready for Refills!

My Dessert Tray Without Chocolate!

Our Claridge's Staff Member Who Took Care of Us!

Scones and Desserts!

Gloria and I Enjoying Our Tea!

Susanna Joined Us for Tea!

I can't believe that it has been four weeks ago since I was in London!  Monday was a bank holiday and so we enjoyed the much slower and quieter day, less traffic and not as many people.  We went shopping and ended up before our afternoon tea at Selfridge's.  The Herbal Husband has been hooked on the series and I was able to get him one of his favorite toy magazines there with a Selfridge's shopping bag as well.  To me not seeing the series, the outside is what is beautiful with its Art Deco decor, but inside for me it's like any other department store.  They had a Hello Beautiful sign that blocked the old clock and statue.  So I'll have to go back and get some photos of it next time.

Then we went for an Afternoon Tea at Claridge's.  Last time we were there there were roses.  This time it was hydrangea time!  Here is a link to that post in 2010 called Having Afternoon Tea at Claridge's, London, England!   We weren't in the main foyer this time we were off the main foyer in very comfy chairs.  There were lots of people celebrating special events.  The one table that I loved watching while we were having tea was a table with a young Japanese toddler and his parents and grandparents.  We all were seated around the same time 5 o'clock and he was still going strong two hours later and even got a chef's hat for being so well behaved!  Very cute.

So here is a link to the Claridge's Afternoon Tea Menu!  I love their sandwiches.  We got another tray because they are so enjoyable!  As you can see from the photos above, I got a slightly different dessert tray because I can't have chocolate.  The substitute for me was tapioca pudding with fresh fruit.  I guess not quite chocolate, but still delicious!  We also had a vanilla mille-feuille, a raspberry and peanut butter macaron and an apricot and caraway cake.  Delicious!  I had a Rare Earl Grey tea, Gloria had one of my favorites, lemon verbena and Susanna had mint.  All in all it was a delightful afternoon with Gloria and Susanna!  I would just like to add that if you are traveling to London and you do want to go to a special afternoon tea, you must reserve it in advance.  I think Gloria called in February for early May.

Been working hard in the garden.  We had a beautiful weekend and now the rain is coming in from the west.  We were going to plant some other plants we bought over the weekend, but it is too wet.  And of course, The Herbal Husband watered yesterday!  It always happens!  When we haven't had rain, he waters and that brings the rain!  Wish I could make that happen for the gardens that really need it!  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you later.

Newly Planted Lemon and Maybe Some Lime Herb Garden!

Photo One-See Description Below for Plants

Photo Two-See Description Below for Plants

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Photo Seven-See Description Below for Plants

Newly Planted Lemon Herb Garden!

Well, it is a bit of this and that, but there are lots of lemony herbs and a bit of lime thrown in.  There were established herbs in all of these beds.  We didn't move those out, we just adjusted.  As you all know by now, I'm a plunker, not a designer.  Sometimes I come up with winners and then other times, herbs get buried by their bigger cousins!  So here are the new herbs that are growing in each photo.

Photo One (Spacing in diagram is NOT to scale!)-

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                   4                 7         8                   9         10
                         5                   8    8                 11          12
                                    6                          13          14

1 Big Angelica leaf in the left corner, up toward the rock wall is 2 Lemon-Scented Southernwood (Artemisia abrotanum limoneum), then there is a 3 Swordleaf Elecampane (Inula ensifolia), to the right of it is a 7 'Well-Sweep Golden Variegated' Scented Geranium (Pelargonium crispum) and then there is an 4 Apple Scented Geranium (It's not all lemon!) (Pelargonium odoratissimum) and a 5 Coconut Scented Geranium (Pelargonium grossularioides) and a 6 coneflower called 'Primadonna White' and the three flowers in a triangle are 8 'Lemon Gem' marigolds (Tagetes tenuifolia) and a 13 German Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) and a 14 Sweet Marjoram (Origanum majorana) in front and 9 is a 'Mabel Gray' Scented Geranium (Pelargonium x citronellum), 10 is 'Lemon Balm' Scented Geranium (Pelargonium x melissinum), 11 'Goldfinger' Scented Geranium (Pelargonium crispum 'Well-Sweep Aurea') and last but not least is my favorite, 12 Lemon Verbena (Aloysia triphylla or citriodora).

Photo Two (Spacing in diagram is really off!)-

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                                             3                                 7                            
             11                     9                         8
       
                         10               12                       13                               

1 The Lemon Balm (Melissia officinalis) that started this crazy design and 2 is the Rosemary Xmas Tree (Romarinus officinalis 'Arp'), 3 is an established oregano that I lost the tag years ago, 4 is a Prostrate Rosemary (Romarinus officinalis 'Prostratus') that came back from the dead, 5 is another established oregano.  I have to check my records and see if I can tell what these two are.  6 is a Lemon Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus citriodora), 7 is a Lemon Catnip (Nepeta cataria 'Citriodora'), 8 is a German Chamomile (Matricaria recutita), 9 is a Lime Scented Geranium (Pelargonium x nervosum), 10 is Sweet Marjoram (Origanum majorana) and 11 is my favorite, Lemon Verbena (Aloysia triphylla or citriodora).  P.S. There are established 12 Lavender Thyme (Thymus 'Lavender') and 13 Lime Thyme (Thymus x citriodorus 'Lime') towards the front of the bed.

Photo Three (Spacing in diagram is still off!)-

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                             2

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             3              4          3

In this space we planted 1 Rue (Rue graveolens), 2 Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) was already established here, 3 Dianthus 'Frosty Fire' (Dianthus x allwoodii 'Frosty Fire') were established and I added 4 Dianthus 'Chocolate' this year.

Photo Four (Spacing in diagram is off!)-

                                           1                                      2                                   3/6
                                                                                 
                                                                                    4

                                                                                     5

                                          6                       7                         8                      6

This space has some established herbs with some newbies!  1 is Lovage (Levisticum officinale), 2 is a Green Pepper Basil (Ocimum selloi 'Green Pepper'), 3/6 is a mix of Oregano (Origanum vulgare) and Chives (Allium schoenoprasum), 4 is Pineapple Sage (Salvia elegans), 5 is Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon citratus), 6 are the Chives (Allium schoenoprasum), 7 is a Scented Geranium called 'Charity' (Pelargonium x asperum 'Charity'), and 8 is a volunteer Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantina).  There are also lavenders that took a very heavy hit this winter sprinkled in this part of the bed.

Photo Five-


                                         1                        2                    3

These three lemon scented herbs were on the western facing windowsill during the winter.  They were all overachievers as far as size goes.  Remember we have the don't prune policy in our house.  Sometimes when we prune, we kill!  1 is a Scented Geranium called 'Lemon Meringue' (Pelargonium 'Lemon Meringue'), 2 is my favorite Lemon Verbena (Aloysia triphylla or citriodora) and a Scented Geranium called 'Lemon Crispum' (Pelargonium crispum).  They all overachieved on the western facing windowsill.  Once they get comfortable in this part of the bed, I think we will give them a trim.

Photo Six (Once again, the scale is off!)-


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                    3                                        1                                  3

This bed is a jumble of mostly old herbs that took big hits during the winter.  I'm just going to discuss the new herbs and then in a later post if the established herbs do well, I'll talk about them.  1 are one of my favorites Lemon Mint or Monarda (Monarda citriodora) and 2 is a tarragon (2014 Herb of the Year) (Artemisia dracunculus 'Sativa') and 3 are Sage plants (Salvia officinalis).  I had two old woody plants that took a hard hit and now the young plants are being pecked by the birds.  Can't win!

Photo Seven (Scale is off!)-


                                                            1         2

                                            2              2            2

                                                     3                  3

                                                             3

This bed is where we plant our basils and behind in the bare soil, we have planted our nasturtium seeds.  1 is a Summer Savory (Satureja hortensis) I forgot to get Lemon Savory!  Have to remember that for next year.  2 is a favorite Lemon Basil (Ocimum basilicum 'Mrs. Burns Lemon') and 3 is a basil called 'Boxwood' (Ocimum basilicum 'Boxwood').  We have sweet basil plants that are staying in a pot and basil seeds that were planted in pots as well.  We will see how they come along.  It hasn't been extremely hot yet.  It may take extra days to get them started.  Oh, and I got a Lime Mint that is going into a container.

So the last photo shows how it looks.  Why didn't I think of lemon sooner?  Hopefully in a couple of months it will be more filled out.  You know the photos will keep coming.  I just wanted to give props to the passionate herb growers who I bought these plants from this year and previous years, Well-Sweep Herb Farm in New Jersey, Beech Creek Gardens in Alliance, Ohio and Mulberry Creek Herb Farm in Huron, Ohio.  Also, in our immediate area here, I go to Brenkle's and McTighe's.  Those first three are my top three for herb plants.  They all are passionate herb collectors and all grow great herb plants!   We are going to be working on planting sunflower seeds tomorrow, mowing and weeding. (It never ends!)  We are supposed to have three beautiful days in the garden.  Hope you have a wonderful weekend.  Talk to you later.

The Best Part of Our Day with Marion!

Lots of Curb Appeal with Marion's House!

You Can Tell A Gardener Lives Here!

A Tranquil and Lovely Place to Garden!

Marion's Garden Just Keeps Going and Going!

It's a Tree Peony, not a Camellia!

Gets a Bit Wild at Marion's!

She Even Has Her Own Fox!

She Trials Plants for Mr. Fothergill's

Now Here is Something We Have on Our Patio in Pittsburgh, Figs!

A Beautiful Clematis Growing on the Garage!

Having a Cuppa with Marion!

Well, whenever you are feeling overwhelmed in your gardens, please feel free to come over to this blog and this post and really feel better.  I got so much out of my visit with Marion.  I think the biggest thought was not to sweat the small stuff and really enjoy what you have.  It may not be perfect, but nature is not perfect.  Marion's garden is a bit wild because every year she trims the nettle growing in her garden and places it on the paths for the seven species of butterflies to lay their eggs!  How more wonderful can it get?  I asked how often she works in the garden and she told me every day.  I said in my last post that I wanted to grow up and be like Marion.  If I'm only half as flexible as you are, dear Marion, I will be happy!  Does this young lady look 85?  I think not and gardening does agree with her!  Keep teaching about gardening and life, Marion!  You are my heroine and hopefully we will meet again one day soon!

Thanks for Spending the Day with Us, Marion