The INFOMANIAC Garden Photos Event 2024 Primer

The 2024

 

I N F O M A N I A C

 

Garden Photos Event

 I thought it was about time to get up off my quince and do something about this year's GPE.  I mean, Savvy's already on it, for Christ's sakes!

 I am sure that you all know what the Infomaniac Garden Photos Event is and why it's held here rather than at The Very Mistress's hallowed blog, Infomaniac, these days.  But for anyone new here, or for any Blogorati/Bloggerati* having a senior moment or just waking up after a cooking sherry bender that began two days ago while making a trifle**, my GPE Page explains all.

 

 Anyway, forget the trifle for now (If you can.  Mmmmmmm... trifle!), this is all about the GPE.  There's no theme this year, not least because I've left it far too late in the year to foist one upon you, but also because I can't decide between the handful I've thought of.  So, all you need to be thinking about - and doing - is preparing your expansive grounds, modest gardens, compact courtyards, payshos, balconies (juliet or otherwise), windowboxes and/or indoor pot plants and taking photos of them in their entirety, and/or specific/favourite/interesting views, planting schemes, specimen plants/leaves/flowers, or any other aspect of your greenfingering that takes your fancy.

 As with previous GPEs held here, there will also be a pre-event Terrifying Triffidery exhibit at Hallowe'en, so be sure to take photos of any particular scary, unusual, or downright rude (because we know what you're like) plant, too.  Or, failing that, photos of a perfectly ordinary plant taken while drunk, close-up, or filtered/photoshopped to Hell!

 And remember, the Infomaniac Garden Photos Competition is NOT a competition, so there will be no judgey comparisons or winners/losers.  The Event is open to all no matter your gardening skill level or plot/pot size, and you can submit just one photo or many.  I usually ask for photos to be emailed to me by the end of October as the Event will be held throughout November, but I'll confirm dates & email address etc. later in the year.

 

 Finally, for any friends-of-friends, lurkers, irregulars, or newcomers reading this, it would be lovely to see some garden photos from you, too.  Lady Goldberg-DeWoofs, I know you've moved to a beach front house recently - Have you found some suitable specimens?  Sixpence, how does your garden/terrarium grow?

 Right.  Now that's out of the way, here are some GPE preparation photos from Hexenhäusli Device's grounds to get you in the mood:

 

This is how we left the South Gardens at the end of March.

 

Then, on 21st April (after the grass had grown a bit and was no longer waterlogged), I set to filling in the holes left by the removal of the three fruit trees back in February...

... and re-turfing them by using the trimmings from tidying up the hideous "stepping stones".  And no, Bitey did not help.  Thankfully.

Here's the South Lawn as of a few days ago.  The trimmings have rooted nicely so the Bitey-proof wire mesh has been put back in the garage until something else needs Bitey-proofing.

 The clinging to life pitcher plant (Sarracenia somethingorother) above and the shooting silver squill (Ledebouria socialis) on the right are both recent rescues. 

 I discovered the pitcher plant dried to a crisp on my sister's (Inexcuseable) windowsill last month (she was supposed to be looking after it for some friends of hers while they were away - fortunately, they seem to have forgotten about it.  As had Inexcuseable!).  And the squill was a poor, shrivelled bulb with one leaf that a work friend gave me.

 I'm hoping that the signs of life they have shown since moving to Hexenhäusli Device mean that they like it here (and are not lulling me into a false sense of security), and I can show you them flourishing later in the year.

From 21st April:

The Gardener's Retreat - AKA my shade garden

Blue bugle slowing taking over The Lake's south docks (or something)

The Grand Paysho (west)

The Grand Paysho (east)

 

22nd April:

My recently repotted tree fern (Dicksonia antarctica) which I'd kind of forgotten about and had taken root under the ginkgo tree where it had "temporarily" been placed a year or two ago.

Another recently repotted fern, this time a shuttlecock fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) into an old stone trough (from my great aunt's garden) that its small plastic pot stood in while I wondered where to put it.

View through a blueberry

6th May:

The Green Gate with the repotted surviving fuchsias (at least one "Blacky") and kiwi vines, and sprouting spider plants (that I couldn't be bothered to repot as they'll grow in anything).  I have a new fuchsia to add, "Auntie Jinks", but she was gossiping with a couple of "Eva Boerg"s elsewhere in the garden when I took this photo.

The first flower (which started opening on 1st May coincidentally) from Rosa "Gertrude Jekyll"

View from the West Gate

Foxglove seedlings having been pricked out into their own pots: Chocolate (Digitalis parviflora) and Strawberry (Digitalis x Mertonensis) - last seen here.

Time stands still amongst the laurel and rhododendrons (and rhubarb).

Which reminds me: I must put a new battery in that clock.

My dwindling collection of aloes & agaves now have their own little shelf behind the bottlebrush plant & aeoniums on the Grand Paysho.

A panoramic view of the South Gardens to finish (from 22nd April, not 6th May)

☙❧

Here are those other Bitey videos I sort of threatened you with in the comments of the last but one post:

* I don't know if I like the spelling of "Blogorati" anymore - it looks a bit uncouth and dirty to my eye.  I've had this feeling for a while and then noticed Jon (I think it was Jon, anyway?) spell it "Bloggerati" somewhere which I now prefer.  But before I go respelling all the tags - an arduous task, but one I'm willing to do for the greater good - what do you think?  Which do you prefer?  Or do you despise both and have a much better collective noun suggestion for us?

** It can happen to anyone at any time with no warning, I assure you!