Do your own thing!

Today I realised how much colour in the environment can influence a Garden Designer.

The notable influence for me in the last few weeks has been the Pugin Chapel  in St. Barnabas Cathedral Nottingham.

This place has  a very strong image.

The colour is red. But what a colour red . It is almost purple.

Blue softens the effect.

My mind then translated this into floral colour. 

Echinacea come in red.

This will be the plant for the next season to come.

Asters can provide the blue and purple.

Gardens should hold some association with pleasant  surroundings.

This is what makes them a place of relaxation.

Forget the fact that weather conditions have led to massive growth.

Rather use your garden to sit in .

Look at the colour schemes.

Then sit back and remind yourself of the effort that you have made to achieve this.

Checking out Chilli plants.

I have spent a lovely afternoon visiting a Chilli Plant.

I have never been very adventurous as far as cooking with chilli is concerned.

This may change!

Today I saw the vast variety of plants in this species.

They vary from mild  to lemon flavoured through to hot.

Colours also vary from green to yellow, orange and purple.

Varities  include Fajita, Haberneros, jalapeno and macho. 

The “hotness” of a chilli is measured on the Scoville scale. 

In 1912 Wilbur Scoville developed his now famous method to chart the comparative heat of different chillis.

Bell Pepper is 0 units

Jalapenois 2,500-5,500 units

Pure Capsaicin is 16,000,000 units.

Hydroponics is used to grow some plants.

Water with a feed is used with Growstones. 

For more fun why not visit the Chilli , beer and artisan festival at Chillibobs ,Rolleston . NG235SJ   on July 11th-12th . 2015.

Bring on the Bonsai!

A few  weeks ago I went to a Bonsai demonstration .

It was given by Corin Tomlinson.

His father Harry wrote well known books on this topic.

It was great to see that his sons are carrying on the business since his death.

I have been to several classes at the Bonsai school in Arnold, Notts. 

Corin showed us how to reduce an ordinary small conifer to a perfect bonsai..

It is a relaxing pursuit.

On display were various bonsai trees.

These included a group of Acer, Lilac, and many others

Some were grown over a stone.

I rushed home to check my own example.

Time does not allow me to do this at the moment.

However, I was glad to renew my interest in this creative activity.