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Almost immediately after entering I found this planting of both light and dark blue Agapanthus. Although I almost always photograph every Agapanthus I see, this brilliantly simple combination stopped me in my tracks--and was just the beginning of the Agapanthus adventure.
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Agapanthus In Two Shades of Blue
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Carpet Bedding for 1999
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Every year there is a unique design of carpet bedding in this location. This year's design features over 15,000 plants and is based on a motif found at Himeji castle in Japan by Nick Morgan, Superintendent of the Glasshouses. A great tribute to a great castle!
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The Water Lilies were spectacular. The "Canal" area was redeveloped in the early 70s with a layout by Lanning Roper and Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe and extends from the Laboratory to the Loggia seen at the end. Bordered with a perfectly striped English lawn it is a real treat.
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Water Lily "Canal"
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Water Lily "Canal"
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Looking to the north side we see the south facing border of perennials with mounds of blue Russian Sage--Petrovskia atriplicifolia--marking the path to the Seven Acres and Cafe.
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We do not show a lot of Roses on GardenWeek. But when they are this spectacular they get top billing. To the left in the border shown above right, this David Austin Rose, named after his wife, Pat Austin was truly spectacular. What a lucky woman!
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Rosa Pat Austin (ausmum)
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Two Toned Dahlia
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Lots more coverage of the dazzling Dahlias on the Portsmouth Field page, but we wanted to compare the color range of this Dahlia--found below in the Walled Garden--with Rosa Pat Austin, left.
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Looking back at the Loggia we have the lavender Penstemon 'Stapleford Gem' and the blue Petrovskia atriplicifolia.
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Petrovskia and Penstemon
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Anemone japonica
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In the bed on the south side of the Formal Garden was a particularly comprehensive display of Japanese Anemones--just at their peak and for some reason this plant stood out.
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Beyond the Loggia are two formal walled gardens. This, the first, is called the Formal Garden. Laid out as a formal parterre with only silvery leaved and purple flowering plants it was quite striking.
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The Formal Garden
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Passiflora caerulea "Constance Elliott"
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This rather large Passion Flower vine was just one of the exotic vines growing on a south facing wall in the Formal Garden. The ivory variety of the South American native, it was just one of the many tender plants growing outdoors that seem to survive the mild English winters--and made me rather jealous.
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The Walled Garden was a flamboyant and secluded fantasy. Although the layout of the beds around a central fountain is formal, the choice of planting material made it exuberantly wild.
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The Walled Garden
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The Walled Garden
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Lots of Cannas with red, green, and variegated leaves and mostly scarlet flowers, orange and orange / yellow Dahlias, and purple Verbena bonariensis.
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One visitor exclaimed, "A secret garden!" and another said, "Sure is crowded in here" but everyone commented on it --and I loved it.
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The Walled Garden
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The Walled Garden
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The Dahlia shown above and Verbena bonariensis. The airiness and purple color made the generous use of this Verbena a perfect choice for this Garden.
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