Highlights and Horrors of Hexenhäusli Device Gardens

 Hello!  I thought I'd better pop in as it's been a couple of weeks since I last surfaced.  I don't have very much to say for myself, but I do have some photos from the gardens here at Hexenhäusli Device.  

 Above is the second showing from that Hippeastrum in last month's Of Hawkmoths and Drag Queen Knock-Offs (you can see the first set of blooms in the photo below). 

 To the right, the first little 'pineapples' of my Pineapple Lilies (Eucomis comosa 'Sparkling Burgundy') sprouted earlier this month. 

 And below, rocketing up in front of the jasmine, clematis, and permanent pea (everlasting sweet pea), is a double white hollyhock (sourced from Delargo Seeds back in 2021).  I sowed it and its many siblings last year (along with some other seeds - as seen here), and while most found their way to a border at the side of the house and flowered that year, this one was a spare that I tucked in beneath the trellis next to the paysho.  It didn't seem to do very well then, but it was obviously establishing itself ready for this year.

This was taken on 2nd July.

The hollyhock is now even taller at just over three metres (that's nearly 10 feet)

A Garden Photos Event Announcement (massive, misshapen phallus not pictured)

 As promised last month, this is another official reminder to continue photographing your greenery (or, for some of you, to start, even) in preparation for... 

 

The House of

I N F O M A N I A C

Garden Photos Event 2022

 

... in November.

 Whether you have expansive rolling grounds, a tight back passage, or a precariously perched pot plant, get snapping to show off the results of your greenfingers (or brown thumbs) - we want to see it all!  No Brugmansia too big, no Soleirolia too small - anything goes.  And please include a brief - or verbose - caption/blurb with each photo/set-of-photos, ideally something that amongst other things (gardening tales, tips & observations, who your veiny, purple love cabbage reminds you of, for example) states what the plant is, because I'm not Jon (The Official Plant Spotter of Blogdom) and I don't want to do any more research than I have to!

I thought I'd use these photos I took...

 As well as photos of your current garden/courtyard/balcony/window box/pot plant/salad drawer, thanks to Dinah, this year's event will also include a 'Greenery of Gardens Past' exhibit.  To take part, please send in a photo or two of a previous garden that you tended, or a prized specimen that may no longer be with you (don't worry: this blog can support sepia toned and/or black & white photos - engravings and stone tablets are out, though).  It would be great to see how your garden has changed over the years, or if you've moved house, what your previous garden(s) looked like and what you grew.  For the old hands at this, if you can find something that hasn't featured in a Garden Photos Event before, even better! 

... up at the allotment yesterday morning...

 Finally, Terrifying Triffidery is still a thing so, just like last year and the year before, please include a photo of a monstrous or weird specimen for the Hallowe'en GPE prelude.  Or, if you don't have something like a corpse flower or a massive, misshapen phallus arum hanging around, a plant taken from an odd angle/closeup/while drunk will do just as well.

 Photos should be emailed to me by Saturday 29th October - my blog gmail address is in my Blogger Profile (there look, on the right at the top of the sideboard).  Or, if you have my personal hotmail address, use that instead.

... to illustrate this post.

 For any of The Very Mistress's old guard Bitches, or any lurkers or only occasional/sporadic visitors here who would like to take part - please do!  If you're not sure what this is all about, please click on my Infomaniac Garden Photos Event page (at the top of this blog) for info & a little history, and for links to previous years' gardens.  Oh, and don't worry if you haven't ever commented here before, and don't concern yourselves with not knowing who we are/us not knowing who you are - the more the merrier!  If you have any questions, thoughts or ideas, please leave them in the comments and I'll do my best not to ignore them.

 And remember: The Garden Photos Event is NOT a contest!  We're not looking for perfection and there'll be no judging - we just want to see how your garden grows, and maybe swap a few tips.

Happy Gardening!

Sea Cows at Sunset

 Had I been a minute or two earlier, and that annoying cloud bank not been there, last night's sunset is something like what you would have seen at the end of last month's Summer Solstice.  Although, preferably without the sea cows...

A Frisson Amongst the Flora

 Thursday was quite a day.  For me, anyway.  After a delightful swim with* an aesthetically pleasing young man - and the last fifteen minutes with a lane to myself which meant I could lark about underwater - amongst other things, I paid a quick visit (along with The Mother) to Felbrigg Hall walled garden.  Whilst there I experienced something I'd almost forgotten existed.  More on that in a bit - first, let's look at some photos of the garden.

: : :

Oh!  Before I forget, here's Sophie Ellis-Bextor's latest, "Hypnotized"

(x @Wuh Oh, whoever that is?)

 Anyway, carry on!

: : :

Norfolk has long been one of the sunniest and driest counties in England, and with the increasing temperatures of late, the gardens at Felbrigg have been planted with what would once have been unsuitable specimens.