Wednesday 10 October 2012

Toad Lily


Nick Hamilton, (son of Geoff) of Barnsdale Gardens, visited our gardening club last night.  We all went "Aaaah," in unison at the sight of the first slide ... an image of Geoff ... and Nick then went on to talk about Barnsdale since his father's death.  He is a very entertaining speaker (we were all laughing heartily at the Health & Safety issues around children and OAPs falling into his ponds!) and it was lovely to see Barnsdale throughout the seasons.  At the end of the evening I went to look at the plants for sale and couldn't believe my luck when I spotted this Tricyrtis or Toad Lily. 

I discovered this hardy perennial in 2010. I planted it in the kitchen border and watched it thrive and blossom.  I loved that plant .... so much that once it had died back for the winter I forgot all about it and must have dug it up the following spring!  I realised it had disappeared late in 2011 so I replaced it with a tiny root plant.  It struggled a bit at first but last month it produced a bud and I waited and watched for the flower ... I'm still waiting!  I paid £5 for this which is the normal rate but then I found this on the internet!

They originate from the Himalayas.  They tend to grow at the edge of forests there so I will plant this one in the shade of the trees at the back of the garden and mark the spot very carefully this time!




The farmer has planted the field at the front of the house so the Woodpigeons are eating their fill and the Pheasants are back - three males and six females yesterday.




We filled the bird feeders again last week.  Andy calls this the Three Finch Feeder - Greenfinch; Chaffinch and Goldfinch all tucking in quite happily.  It's not all that quiet normally.  The Goldfinchs can be VERY bossy and the Greenfinches are just bullies at times!  Lovely to watch them though.







I collected some of the Sunflower heads from the allotment and stuck one above the feeder..  It didn't last long!


10 comments:

  1. Geoff Hamilton was my absolute favourite tv gardener - I really miss his down-to-earth style. We have a flock of about 20 goldfinches that devour a full feeder of sunflower seed every day - they cost us a fortune.

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    1. That's why I grew sunflowers on the allotment - I'll be planting LOTS more next year. We have a few birding friends who ring their garden birds. One did all his collared doves this year whilst another one was ringing goldfinches. They both thought they were seeing the same birds all the time but they discovered there were different flocks coming to the garden every day! It cost them a fortune in rings!

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  2. Like Elaine, Geoff Hamilton was my favourite TV gardener too.
    I too have a flock of goldfinches visiting regularly now. Although having read your comment about the bird ringing, I may have more than one flock.

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    1. I think it is nicer to imagine they are the same birds everyday. I know it is MY robin and MY flock of pheasants. They feel like wild pets!

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  3. We have goldfinches but not the other two you mentioned. They love the seeds of some of our flowers - wild sunflowers, cup plant, purple coneflowers. We also have purple finches.

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    1. Thanks for visiting. Purple finches sound beautiful!

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  4. So nice to find your Blog. I went over a number of your past postings and I really like your photos. Very nice. The ruins and burial sites are most interesting from a few postings ago. Here on the shores of Lake Michigan in USA the lake adds the interest in these gardens. People who visit always comment on it as the backdrop to the gardens. Interesting features make a garden along with interesting plants - like your toad lily. NIce. Jack

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    1. Thanks for visiting and for your kind comment. You garden in a beautiful part of the world. We are tucked away down a country lane in middle England ... nothing so dramatic as Lake Michigan in the background!

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  5. I grow toad lilies in my garden, too, and I really love them. :o) We don't have green finches here but little goldfinches and house finches. Wonderful to have discovered your blog.

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  6. Thank you for visiting. Enjoyed your blog too ... will visit again :)

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