Saturday, March 12, 2011

Favourite flowers

I have been saying for years that Alstromeria are my favourite flowers. The old fashioned variety has a long stem and is long lasting in the vase. They are difficult to come by and I am collecting a few different colours. Gardeners are a generous lot and most of my different colours come form gardeners who have heard that I love them.

I have made a horizontal trellis to grow the Alstromeria through to support the long stemmed flowers. I am looking forward to heaps of new blooms for autumn. I had to tame the Rudbekia with some star pickets and hay band. The flower stems are well over 2 metres tall and were flopping all over the place.

It will look spectacular in a couple of weeks when the flowers come out. Each stem carries multiple blooms. Beside the Rudbekia row is a row of Zinnia's which are fast becoming a new favourite. Bright and cheery flowers that last well in the vase too!
Another great performer in the vase is the South African shrub "Lions tail". I have the orange variety but I believe there is also a white version. It holds its colour for weeks after being brought inside.



My leafy green sales at "PJ's" are improving each week. Not that I can quit my day job just yet but it makes growing all this food worth while. Rocket is smelling spectacular...nutty....full of flavour.


I have created a radish spiral in the centre of this circle.We have eaten a few already, very tasty and great with a cold beer.
Skittles is always on the hunt for the rouge rabbits that find themselves on the delicious side of the fence.
She is good at moving them on but not so good at catching them.
She means well and it is all good exercise.

2 comments:

Judy said...

Your flowers are beautiful Jayne, I love the bright zinnias.

Thomas E said...

Thank you for these photos. I have never seen an Alstromeria before. It looks really nice. What kinds of conditions does it need to thrive?