Open Garden and Garden Party

The calm before the storm, with the garden ready for viewing. 

The plant in the foreground is
Daphne bholua Limpsfield - read about it here. 
The planting through the middle of the picture with the arches
is about two years old and needs to mature a little more.

On Sunday 15th June, the Gardening Club held its first Members' Open Garden and Garden Party at Jilly and Jeremy's house.  The Committee has long felt that the membership holds a wealth of information about gardens in general, and plants in the specific, and that we should encourage the sharing of this information amongst us.  It was thought that the best way to start would be to open a garden (which is after all the whole point of a gardening club) so that members could discuss their interest over a cup of tea and cake (the other most important point of any garden visit) in a pleasant social gathering.  Besides, who in the gardening game can resist a nose around someone else's plot, which would normally remain hidden from the world and be accessible to only a select few?  The opening and garden party was a private event open only to members and their invited guests, as a specific benefit of their membership.

Tea, Cakes, Garden ... welcome to an English Sunday!

The silver plant is Phlomis Italica, with Akebia Quinata
climbing on the far pergola leg.  Not really visible
on the far arch leg (to the left) is a newly planted
Ampelosis Brevipendunculata (PorcelainVine) which
has extraordinary berries in Autumn that look like china.

Although I must confess to being slightly biased in my view, as it was in fact my own garden that
opened, the event seemed to be a great success with a very good turnout.  After a week of glorious sun, the weather on the day started rather overcast and windy, fortunately settling down in time for the off.  There were peeks of sun in the afternoon and the threatened rain never arrived.  Fortunately it remained warm - and in some ways the lack of bright sunshine rather helped from the comfort point of view as no-one keeled over from sunstroke!  On the minus side, it did rather affect the take-up of Pimms as tea was more popular.

The tea tent is on the far left - if only you could see the
little elves that worked so diligently in it all afternoon!

The Wisteria on the pergola is Floribunda Alba, which flowers prolifically
and has a wonderful vanilla scent.  This is the plant that caused me
to break the wooden table (see the article The Princess and the Pea)!

Thank you to all of you who turned out to support the event (especially as it was on Father's Day, not that my children actually remembered), and also to all of you who made cakes for the occasion (and were then willing  to buy the slices back again after supplying them in the first place).  We had a very good selection of scones and cakes to choose from, with many members returning for seconds and thirds.  A huge thank-you must go to Lyn Verge, Kate de Angeli and Mark de Angeli for manning (personning?) the tea tent and kitchen for the whole of the event, and for fending off our youngest teenager whose offers to "help" were based more on perceived easy access to chocolate cake than any real desire to make himself useful.  And yes, we did charge him for the cake that he ate!

Although designed more as a social and informational event, the garden party managed to raise £105 for the club - thanks to all of you who came and enjoyed yourselves, spent your money, and brought guests!  Hopefully, everyone went away with at least one idea or nugget of information.

And now for a gentle request - if any of you took photographs of the garden, specific plants, or the members quaffing their teas, please could you send them to HGgardeningclub@gmail.com, as we would love to have more of a record of the event and didn't have time to take many ourselves.

The conservatory patio.  The pink rose is a good fence covering and one of
the few original plants in the garden - it is probably Rosa American Pillar.
The box hedging is about four years old and we are vigilant on box blight;
no new box plants enter the garden without a quarantine period and we have
shelved plans for a new box hedge to preserve what we have already.

The "Library Spiral" with The Hatter water feature
from Robert James Workshop.  You have to walk the spiral
in order to see the feature properly (he's pouring a cup of tea).
My insurers tell me that I have to point out that this is only a
bronze resin water feature and has no metal value.

Why "Library Spiral?"  Because the planting includes
Hosta Great Expectations, Brunnera Looking Glass,
Ligularia Desdemona, Euphorbias Tiny Tim and Humpty Dumpty,
Lotus Little Boy Blue, Rosa Maid Marion, Primulas Guinevere and
Black Jack, Iris Count Dracula, Penstemon Raven and
a climbing Rosa Long John Silver (not really visible), and more besides.
Winter bulbs include Tulipa Red Riding Hood, Pinocchio,
and Uncle Tom and Crocus Dorothy and Pickwick. 
Summer planting includes
Dahlias Wizard of Oz, Pooh, Arabian Night and Pippi.

Jilly's birthday present 2013, replacing a copper water
feature in a pebble pool, superseded by The Hatter,
which was a Christmas pressie!

The Rose Garden, one of the first areas to be created.
Planting includes Rosas Brother Cadfael, Sharifa Asma,
Gertrude Jekyll, Graham Thomas, and Cinderella with
Clematis Comtesse de Bouchard on the arch.  The lavender
is a little vigorous and we are hoping to replace it with
Lavandula Little Miss Muffett.

Patio and Pots. There are about 70 or so in the garden...
Blast! - I've just noticed that the lamp post is skew at the top.
A job for the weekend, if I can be bothered...

The patio before the influx of guests - the gold and purple
plant was much asked about.  It is Tradescantia Sweet Kate, but can do
with subtle support as it tends to flop later in the year,
especially after hot weather.

Nocturne by Margaret Samuel.  Again, this is bronze
resin and has no metal value! 

The highly scented purple damask shrub rose
in the foreground is Rosa de Rescht,
and there is a solitary remaining
flower of Iris Susan Bliss - this iris was
spectacular a few weeks before as was the rose!
The garden arches and planting are only 2 years old
and need more time to cover the walk properly.

And finally, finding a quiet spot in the garden.  The paeony is (probably)
Sarah Bernhardt, flanked by golden oregano. 
The foxglove on the left behind the arch leg was also much admired -
it is Digitalis Illumination Pink  and should flower all summer
as it is sterile and will not set seed.

There is an Arbutus arachnoides poking up above the fence
in the middle of the picture almost from the head of our guest;
  this is a less common version of the strawberry tree
that has lovely bark but does not fruit as well as Arbutus unedo. 
Ours came from Architectural Plants, and we wait for it to grow to a
small tree, replacing a huge hawthorn that was
unsuitable for the garden.  The garden has been
planted for height, but will take a number of years to achieve it.