If you have always wanted to know about the world of different Types of Dragonfly in the Garden, then this post is a must-read!
17.07.2023 - 13:53 / theenglishgarden.co.uk
For well-heeled opera lovers, the hottest ticket of the summer is the Glyndebourne festival. Sitting in the bucolic edges of Lewes, the 1200 seat auditorium welcomes over 150,000 visitors who trek to East Sussex for an extraordinary programme of six operas in the summertime, from Mozart to Handel, Poulenc to Britten. The flagship season attracts the finest operatic talent from across the world who dream of gracing the stage of one of the globally-recognised stalwarts of opera production, where both innovation and history marry together in glorious harmony.
The founding story is as romantic as its setting. In 1934, John Christie met soprano Audrey Mildmay. Together, they pioneered a new vision for opera, beginning with Mozart’s repertoire and then expanding to include composers Verdi, Rossini, and Britten. Originally the theatre could only seat 300, but gradually it grew to accommodate the crowds who wanted a taste of the Glyndebourne experience. Remarkably, it is still headed by the Christie family today. Gus, John and Audrey’s grandson, became the Executive Chairman in 2000.
Yet, opera is not the only jewel in Glyndebourne’s crown. The grounds are as extensive as they are beautiful. When visiting in 1953, Vita Sackville-West praised the harmony of the ‘arts, music, architecture and gardening’. It is a harmony that exists to this day. When strolling through The Mary Christie Rose Garden, a tribute to Gus’ mother, serene soprano notes can be heard from the rehearsing company and the mild buzz of picnic tables being set up on the manicured bowling green. The picnic is as crucial to the Glyndebourne experience as the performance itself. In fact, there is a ninety-minute interval designed to ensure visitors have time to
If you have always wanted to know about the world of different Types of Dragonfly in the Garden, then this post is a must-read!
Now part of this garden is down to crazy paving the Qualcast grass box is needed less and can be put to a different use. It looks like a ‘unibarrow’ has got in on the act to make a feature planter for these pansies.
Ants can be an unsightly nuisance and inspire concern. However they do not directly damage plants but are more a sign that you have another pest problem.
Fountain in Oxford Botanic gardens.
White is the second most useful colour in the garden after green. I am progressively increasing the number and variety of white and grey plants that I grow.
Grasses give a rich combination of autumnal colours
Some animals can be a real pest in the garden. Their crimes include eating the wrong thing, digging in the wrong area, turning grass brown with urine and leaving a dirty mess. Some chose your favourite plants to damage as I know from some aggressive over fed pigeons in my own garden. In my experience the worst offenders are rabbits, cats, mice, deer, pigeons and dogs including foxes. Rats cause concern but have not caused direct damage in my garden.
Where has all the rain gone? In winter there were floods aplenty so I was predicting water rationing by summer. Now it is mid May and the ground is parched and rock hard.
I was picking the Czar plums to make more jam when a wasp was disturbed from eating it’s lunch. Wasps go for my plums just as they are at their sweetest best. My problem was I couldn’t see which plums had a wasp in the fruit if they were above head height or facing away from my hand. The resulting sting set me on the trail of other stingers in the garden.
Colorful ferns can be an excellent addition to any garden or indoor plant collection. These plants are characterized by their beautiful, vibrant fronds ranging from shades of pink, red, yellow, and even purple.
Want to add a tropical flair to your garden this spring? Elephant ears will add a bold statement to a filtered sun or high shade spot. These striking “drama queens” of the garden may be either in genera Colocasia or Alocasia. The easiest way to tell these beauties apart is that colocasias (Colocasia esculenta) will have leaves that point downward, and alocasia (Alocasia species) leaves will point upward. Depending on the species or cultivar of each genus, the size can range from 3 to 10 feet tall and 2 to 10 feet in width. Both types of elephant ears are native to the tropical regions of Southeastern Asia.
In a year when many of our favorite sporting events have been postponed or even canceled, the garden marches on! As gardeners, we have our own backyard competitions each year, keeping mental notes on which varieties we will plant again or replace due to their performance on our ‘home court’. But choosing which varieties will be in our starting lineup each year can become a daunting task.