The Delargo Gardens - July

 Here we are me dears, with everything back to normal - and by that I mean Late Again! I won't bang on about the weather but it has been ridiculously hot and we have a hosepipe ban enforced. That being said the garden is bearing up rather well.

 Without doubt the star of the month has been the humble garden Phlox, they have been stunning and the scent is wonderful. 

Lobelia × speciosa, Starship Scarlet Bronze.

A gift from nature; we bought this Nicotiana just once years ago but its seedlings still keep popping up.

Sadly bees are in decline - but not in our garden; it is a constant buzz with all types of bees, like the one on Lobelia × speciosa Starship Blue:

Hoorah for begonias, they are looking amazing - Begonia boliviensis 'Santa Cruz'

Begonia × tuberhybrida 'Nonstop Red' 

Begonia boliviensis Bellavista red.

Agapanthus are an absolute delight. This is Agapanthus 'Black Jack', RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year 2023

Agapanthus 'Stockholm' 

Before we depart for the grand tour of the estate I thought you might like to take in the view of the Agapanthus beds from the window of the tearooms 

There tiz then me darlins. All aboard the Land Rover! Don't worry we have had air-conditioning fitted.

 hope you enjoyed the tour. We have seen the stars of the month now it's time for the 'still doing nicely'

 Hemerocallis 'Crimson Pirate' 

I never expected the Taro to take the full sun and heat but it seems happy.

After the struggle to get our Hydrangea to turn blue I think we will tone it down a next year. This is one of the last blooms and is a nicer colour since we stopped adding the bluing agent.

A jolly window box for the tearooms. 

The last to flower of our Lilies is always Lilium speciosum var. rubrum  and we adore it. 

Agastache rugosa 'Liquorice Blue' 

Well then me lovelies that is just about it for this time. There is just enough time for Donny to give you a sneak preview of the annual Fuchsia fest. This is the lovely Fuchsia 'Billy Green'. 

With more heatwaves predicted and us being away for the annual pilgrimage to Amsterdam it will be interesting to see how the garden fares into next month. Whatever happens Donny and I are looking forward to seeing you back in the garden -

But till then it's

Ttfn from Donny

and Ttfn from me

Pip pip. 

5 Beaches from my Childhood.

 Hello me dears. with London going through it's third heatwave of the year my thoughts have have taken me back to the lovely seaside trips I used to have with my family over 50 years ago. 

My home town calls itself Britain's Ocean City. it does have a rich maritime history, a stunning waterfront, and the UK's first National Marine Park. It also has it's own beaches but nothing to compare with these nearby beaches which we visited often.

 

 

The twin villages of Kingsand and Cawsand on the Rame Peninsula In Cornwall. When I was young my family used to catch a ferry to this beach which always made it special. Famous for it's Smugglers and the fact that until 1844, Cawsand was in Cornwall, while Kingsand was in Devon. 

Bigbury-on-Sea and Burgh Island, Devon. Burgh Island is a tidal island At low tide, you can walk across. When the tide is in it submerges the sand, the only way to cross is by riding the famous high-wheeled Sea Tractor. The island is also famous for its Art Deco hotel with connections to Agatha Christie. The beach itself is the most wonderful golden sand and is probably my favourite.

Whitsand Bay, Cornwall. Features dramatic cliffs and a three miles long sandy beach popular with surfers. Accessible mainly via steep cliff paths

 Talking of Surfing next is Fistral Beach Newquay Cornwall the home of British Surfing. In case you were wondering, it was a 'New' Quay in the year 1439 when Edmund Lacy Bishop of Exeter built a new quay to help land pilchards. Cornwall was under the dioceses of Exeter until 1876 when the Diocese of Truro was created.

Slapton Sands is a narrow strip of land and shingle beach which separates the freshwater lake of Slapton Ley from Start Bay in Devon. Idyllic in the summer and a very scary place to be in the Winter Storms. a crucial World War II training ground. In 1943, 3,000 residents were evacuated so Allied forces could use the shingle beach to rehearse for the D-Day landings. On April 28, 1944, German E-boats attacked the fleet during 'Exercise Tiger', killing 749 US servicemen in a tragedy kept secret for decades. 

Hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane.

Toodle Loo

and 

Pip Pip. 

  

The Delargo Gardens June

Gosh What a month that was! The hottest June on record and at last our stubbornly pink Hydrangea has turned blue.

 The lilies are gobsmacking this year. This is Lilium 'Muscadet'. It's scent is so powerful it will blow your socks off.

I know people who say that they don't like Begonias. This is the fabulous Santa Cruz. What's not to love!

The extra sunlight in the garden has been welcomed by the Hemerocallis 'Crimson Pirate' (day lily)   

Stately, stunning, very very tall and very strongly scented - Lilium 'Eastern Moon' (a Lilium longiflorum hybrid)

the lovely 'Queen Fabiola' (botanically known as Triteleia laxa, formerly Brodiaea laxa) 

Begonia Bellavista Red 

The salvias are starting to kick off -  this is Salvia 'African Skies'. It is lovely but it's parentage is unsure.

The must have salvia = Amistad, Which is also of unconfirmed parentage.

Thunbergia - Black eyed Susan.

 We adore Garden phlox ( Phlox paniculata ) and it has been a mainstay and a joy of the Midsummer garden despite the shade we had - this is 'Nicky' 

 and this is Phlox paniculata 'Blue Paradise'. More sun = Less blue but still fab.

That's it then me dears for the June highlights - now tiz time to jump up into the Land Rover and tour the rest of our vast grounds

As a Summer treat we are adding the view from the tea-room's kitchen window.

The profusion of flower and colour from Clematis 'General Sikorski' has been extraordinary and would brighten up any back passage.

 Clematis 'Comtesse de Bouchaud' 

our devoted team of gardeners and their apprentices have been working hard on sowing and growing on the bedding -

 for the Grand Parterre and the Long Drive.

There tiz then me darlins - please make use of the VIP Refreshment tent on the South Lawn this month, kindly sponsored by Moët & Chandon

Donny has been busy helping the gardeners planting out the parterre but wanted you to see his choice for the Fuchsia Fest sneak preview.

Fuchsia 'Cliantha'

Well there tiz me darlins. There are more heatwaves to come in July apparently but hey ho, I will get through it stinko by my pool.

 So all that's left is, Ttfn From Donny

and Ttfn from me.

Toodle Pip.