GPE 2025 : The Finale

* C R A C K *

 

 Drat it!  Who stood on that twig and startled my woodsman?  Now I'll have to leave him be for a while before I can sneak up again and snatch that horrid flannel shirt away.  Bah!

 Well, seeing as you're all here, we might as well get on with the closing ceremony.

 

 Thank you to everyone who took part in this year's Event.  Whether you shared your garden photos, visited and left comments, or just wandered around gazing at the various botanical specimens on show (and avoiding the triffids - unless you didn't, in which case, thanks for acting as fertiliser!).

The gardens and greenery were full of gorgeousness once again and, as always, served as inspiration for next year.

 Here's what we got up to:

 

Programme of Events

 

The  I N F O M A N I A C  GARDEN PHOTOS EVENT 2O25

 began on Hallowe'en with the now traditional TERRIFYING TRIFFIDERY!

 

 

1st November

The  I N F O M A N I A C  GARDEN PHOTOS EVENT

opening ceremony

 

 

GPE #11 : IDV's Year of the Greengage

I N E X P L I C A B L E

D E V I C E

 

 Yes, it's finally my turn!

 I'm sure you mean our turn, hmm?  After all, whose hands and body - not to mention knowledge and bank account - is used to maintain our garden?  If it was left to you, the Hexenhäusli Device gardens would be a prickly, poisonous wilderness of brambles, apple trees, hemlock, and foxgloves!

 It would save having to go out on the increasingly unsafe Broom to gather ingredients.  Besides, you like those plants.

 Yes, but not just those plants as a garden!

 Oh, fine.  You can get on with the captioning and the like as you're the "expert"!

 I will, then!

Oh, good.  This is turning out well, as usual.

Wake me up when it's all over.

 

 Right.  Now that Witchface and the dratted SubCs have shut up, I'll continue.

 You may have noticed that we've been decidedly absent from the blog this year, which means that there were rather fewer garden updates than usual.  A consequence of that is a glut of garden and allotment photos that are all being dumped here because they haven't yet seen the light of day.  I've tried to include mainly plants that haven't featured in the previous couple of years, and I've smushed some together to make sure this post didn't wear out your scrolling fingers.

 

It may be rather dull and overlooked usually, but when in flower (such as here in early May), I think laurel is quite lovely.

GPE #10 : Melanie's "Unofficial Official Animals in the Garden" Event

M E L A N I E

 

I think you really like the Owl in Flight picture the most from the Raptor show?

[I do! - IDV]

I've attached it here, but if you prefer another one feel free to take it from the Wordpress post for this event as part of the "Unofficial Official Animals in the Garden" portion.  I do get a lot of owls here at Fernmire.  One of the Douglas Fir trees in particular is a popular spot for them to cough up the fur and bones of their diminutive prey.

 

 

I grew these!  I grew these!  My first time growing actual fancy flowers, flowers that required full sun! Gladiolus Spp. (because there's always more than one variety of plants) 

If its not too late, you could also throw this in for the Terrible Triffids, though I know Halloween is tomorrow.

[Funnily enough - and you couldn't have known at the time - Gladioli served as the Terrifying Triffidery poster plant anyway. - IDV]

GPE #9 : Mitzi's "Fifty Shades Of Green"*

M I T Z I

 

 Please find attached my garden pics, not many this year as I'm moving and have lost interest with it, you should see the weeds in my border. I even caught the woman next door spraying weed killer in my nooks and crevices see pic.

 

I've been pulling the above plant up in their droves for years, however it's the first time I've let it flower and I quite like it, my plant identification app told me its a Japanese anemone, but I beg to differ so this one is for Jon or you to identify.

 [Well, I do agree with your plant ID app.  I think it's a Japanese anemone, too.  Jon? - IDV]

GPE #8 : Mago's "terrifying tryffidrie"

M A G O

 

 Finally a few pictures for the Garden Photo Event, much too early, sorry.*

 

 It is Plant A (I still call her so, despite the fact that it is not the original "plant A" of some years ago) - Plant A, I say, in total, from below, and an apple.

 Sorry, no terrifying tryffidrie.

[That's what you thought! - IDV]

 

Plant A total

GPE #7 : Jon suggests I "muck around with them..."

D O L O R E S

D E L A R G O

T O W E R S

(AKA Jon & Madam A)

 

 After a bit of a slow start, it was a magnificent Spring and summer this year in London, and the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers have really benefitted for all the extra sunshine - not least when I added a new tiered display stand to the border, and then two of the hideous bastard weed trees in neighbouring gardens were felled!

 

 Without further ado, highlights from the seasonal display, starting with the earliest blooms...

l-r: Cyclamen persicum,  Primula hybrida,  Brunnera macrophylla 'Jack Frost'

GPE #6 : Savvy "shares something gorgeous from the garden and cheers the fuck up!!"*

 

S A V V Y

 

These are some random shots of what's growing in the garden today.

[21st February - IDV] 

 

[...] The poppies just started blooming, but we've had big clumps of green leaves waiting patiently for their arrival.

 

I don't the name of the succulents that are blooming near the curb, but perhaps one of y'all might know from the close-up. (I know I could look it up, but...)

GPE #5 : Remembering Elephant's Child

 

 This is a very special Garden Photos Event post in commemoration of Dinahmow's blog friend, Sue, who lost her battle with cancer at the end of September.  Dinah asked if we could feature Sue's garden in Canberra, Australia, as she left it at the onset of spring which I thought was a lovely idea.

 The commentary and most of these photos are from Sue's final post, and I've provided links to the respective originating posts beneath the rest of the photos.  (The cockatoo and magpie above are from Sue's blog header photo.)

 

☙❧

 

S U E

 

 Spring is most definitely here and I continue to revel in it.  I hope to see anenomes and ranunculas in the coming days.

[I hope you did, Sue - IDV]

 

 

 Same old, same old on the photographic front but they make me smile and I hope they do the same for you.

 

[From Sunday Selections #831]

GPE #4 : Dinahmow "sacrificed some blood to get it!"

 

D I N A H

 

 I still don't have a "proper" garden, but I have a few things in pots and I've been doing some severe pruning which has unearthed all sorts of stuff!  Walnuts!  No sign of a walnut tree!  Three very BIG trees that I think are cherry or plum. And a very prickly native which I can't be certain of!

 The Jacaranda is from our Australia garden; also the Trachelospermum jasminoides - But taken since last year's pics.

 

My grand old stalwart Trachelospermum. Yes, I have it here (actually, in the niece's side of the garden; not quite flowering here yet.)

GPE #3 : Maddie, the Mistress Borghese's "upright perk"

 

M I S T R E S S  M A D D I E

 

 Here we are again at the Casa du Borghese and I still don't know what things are called and still just plant things even if I'm not sure of their requirements.  Needless to say, I think it was a banner season in the garden as it gave color from spring right through the summer and even still has some color currently. 

 

GPE #2 : Ms Nations is the kind of lunatic who makes jewellery* for her houseplants

 

F I R S T  N A T I O N S

 

 Less a couple of plants, this is what  my 'garden' looks like these days - all indoors.  I like the cascading type as you can see.

 

If you look closely you might see a couple of spots of color dotted around that don't seem very planty...

 

GPE #1 : Ms Scarlet's "is large and somewhat messy"

 [This is not Ms Scarlet.  This is Barney her canine companion]

 

M s  S C A R L E T

 My garden saw some new additions in 2025, namely a higher fence, and a larger dog. There were also some plant purchases, which included an apple tree in early Spring, and some Asters, which gave some much needed colour in early autumn. There was also something that had orange flowers - dead common, grows in hedgerows, and just about everywhere else, but I can't remember what it's called. We bought it in the hope that it would see off the ground elder. 

 The big pink bush did its thing in late spring - not as vibrant as last year, but still in the pink. 2025 was a good year for the Hawthorn tree, but not as good as 2023. 

 

[Snowdrops in January - IDV]