Merry Christmas !!!

Dreary December day...

Such a dreary day. Dreary month really. At least it didn't rain today.
I made a very brief stop off at Hilliers to "visit a friend" and took a few quick pics on my phone in the winter garden. They're not brilliant but they're all I have.
They planted a large bed of dogwood's a couple of years ago and they probably look amazing in the sunshine.

Autumn's glory

I love Hilliers in the autumn. There are just so many different shades of green, brown, orange, red, yellow and gold. So many, it almost hurts your eyes to try and take it all in!

The sky was a beautiful clear blue on Sunday, with barely a breath of wind, so I trotted off for a stroll and took a photo or two. Two hundred that is!! I forgot the clocks had changed, so some of the trees were already in shade by the time I got to them. Never mind - they still looked good. Here are but a few of my favourites.

Early autumn colour

And breath...

And I HATE this bit !!

Look.

Would you do that?? No. Neither would I.
I can't understand why ANYONE would do it.
If you don't like brushing past and possibly getting pollen on your clothes (which is easily brushed off or washes out), why don't you just snip off the anthers themselves?? But chop off the stems along with the stigma too?? It makes me think of my Mother having my fringe cut ridiculously short when I was about six.
I don't know how to describe it other than to say it makes me very very ANGRY!! And come to think of it, that's why I started cutting them and bringing them indoors, as left outside I frequently came home and found them in this state. Enough said...

Just love this bit...

As you will have seen, I like taking photos of my lillies. I really do love my lillies and they've done so well this year - the less than brilliant summer hasn't bothered them at all!

Nearly all the buds have opened now - just 5 more to come. One by one, they've been cut and displayed in champagne glasses indoors. Gorgeous.

But this is my favourite bit. Just as the blooms open in the early morning (I often wonder if it's the lower temperature overnight that makes each ripe bloom open...), the anthers are still "closed" and smooth, like this - 

You can just see though, that this slender little stripey pod is starting to split open along the edge. 

The split quickly spreads along the whole length and the edges fold back on themselves exposing an awful lot of pollen!!

By the end of their first day, the anthers have completely opened and you'd never guess what they looked like at dawn!

FABULOUS!!! Can't wait to see them again next year!!

I also have a pot of toad lillies - Tricyrtis - and they are just starting to open too. 

Orchid & Lillies

I have something of a fondness for orchids and lillies. They are so beautiful and delicate.

I've had this orchid for 6 or 7 years now and this is the best it's ever looked - as long as you don't look at the leaves!! They're clearly getting ready to shrivel and drop off. But the flowers are gorgeous and there are SO many! Nearly 20 on this little plant. You can't tell but the flowers are quite small - probably only about 2 inches across. When it flowered last summer, they lasted for a good 3 months - let's hope they do again!

And then there are my lillies. To give them their correct name, they are 'L. speciosum rubrum 'Uchida'.

 I look forward to August every summer when they open. Quite apart from being stunning to look at, the fragrance is pure joy. A delicate sweet vanilla. Nothing at all like the brash Asiatic Lillies with their strong, headache inducing smell of cloves. Quite the opposite! I bought a pack of 2 bulbs from Hilliers at least 10 years ago and they're still going strong.

I've taken so many photos over the years but haven't taken any yet this year, although it's the best it's ever been with at least 60 buds! Last year I had the idea of cutting the flowers and displaying them indoors in champagne glasses -  I wish I'd thought of that years ago! As I write, I sit in a heavenly scented cloud..