Meadows and memories of Dixter

The first thing you see when entering Great Dixter is the Meadow, where constant change slows down a bit..... just a little bit. The past six months were spent watching what happened here.

This is the front meadow over the course of the 6 months of my time...

March First

Here are the candy colored hues of the crocuses and the narcissus blooms, only a taste of what was to come.

March Thirty First

Narcissus pseudonarcissus

April Seventh
Narcissus pseudonarcissus sleeps and Frittilaria meleagris weeps.

April Twenty First

The purple mottled foliage of Orchis mascula, or the Early-purple Orchid, a native plant to England.

May Sixth

Narcissus poeticus, one of the most beautiful of it's Genus.......

Don't you agree?!This is always the last Narcissus species to bloom.

Hoop petticoat, Narcissus bulbocodium, in a small clump near the walk.

May Twelfth

The meadows are awash in blue with all three Camassia species, C. quamash, C. cusickii, and C. leichtlinii, in bloom now competing mostly with the bright yellow flowers of Ranunculus auricomis.

An American native, Camassia quamash in the meadow.
May Twenty-first

The meadows are still predominately blue and yellow in color with touches of pink. This is due to the 3 Camassia species, Ranunculus auricomis and the lovely orchid, Orchis morio. The beautiful bloom of Orchis morio, the Green-winged orchid, one of the other native orchids of England.The arching head of dock, Rumex acetosa Cammassia quamash, Ranunculus auricomis and Red Clover, Trifolium pratense, make a colorful combination. The meadows are always teeming with insects and life.
June Third

This is the most diverse I have seen the meadow in colors and plants yet. There are yellows (Ranunculus auricomus & Rhinanthus minor 'Hay Strewing'), whites of the ox-eye daisies, , pink, and fuschia/magenta flowers of the orchids, and the tans, browns and oatmeal (is this a real color!?) colors of the grass seedheads, which sway with every passing breeze.

Ox-eye daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare, and Dactylorhiza fuschii, or the Common spotted-orchid in the background. Rhinanthus minor 'Hay Strewing' is my favorite plant in the whole meadow. This plant parasitizes the grasses in the meadow, slowing down their vigor so that other plants can establish themselves . Without this plant, the competition of the grasses might prove too much and choke out the other plants in the meadow. This native to England, has the common name Hay Rattle due to the noise it makes when the wind shakes the pods that hold the seed.
June Ninth

You can notice the meadow slightly starting to go over now.

June Sixteenth
The colors of the meadow seem to have softened a bit. There are the soft purple of the orchid blooms, enhanced by the white petals of the ox-eye daisy set off of just so by the small yellow blooms of Ranunculus auricomis, otherwise known as the meadow buttercup.
June Twenty-third
The dominant color of the meadow now happens to be browns, tans and the many shades between due to all of the grasses that hold their seedheads high.
The lovely disc-like seed pods of Rumex acetosa take on a colorful transparency.

July Seventh

The meadow is full of ripening seed by this point and takes on subtle tones and hues. The purple gray haze is the bloom of Agrostis tenuis, which gives the meadow a soft peaceful feel, against the bright green of the yew hedges.
July Thirty-first
As the meadow continues to go dormant, it displays the many brown and tan shades of another season that will soon come to an end........

August Eleventh

The meadow has started to get cut here. The cuttings then go to other gardens that would like to create a meadow where it is laid on the appropriate area, in hopes of the seed falling into the ground to establish themselves. And here it is freshly cut.

August Nineteenth

Within a few days, the plants were already recovering from being mowed.
September First
The meadow is fully green again and is waiting for the fall crocus to emerge. It was fascinating to see how quickly the meadow changed over the course of time and helped give me a better understanding of how plant communities can work together.


So while watching the meadows at Dixter, I felt it gave me more of an intimate connection with a part of the garden, having noticed all of the subtle details and changes that could've gone unnoticed while on the way down the path towards the house. So to see these lively areas change, in color and texture and grow in height, there was a touch of sadness to see them get cut because I knew my time at Dixter had almost come full circle.
I'll never forget the beautiful house that anchors the whole place, and the changing colors of it's orange tiled roof in the everchanging English light.. Or the many combinations of colors be it as simple as the piercing orange Kniphofia blooms against the soothing blue sky......
or the stock beds with its ever changing symphony and cast of characters...
whether they were more subtle
or dramatic
they kept me watching and involved.

or to be in the exotic garden and feel like a child lost in the jungle while drooling over the many jeweled toned treasures we call flowers......

I won't ever forget..

But time doesn't stay still and the seasons march on, being reminded by the gourds on the compost pile
or the apples ripening on trees

my memories of Great Dixter will be everlasting and to my friends there, it doesn't matter if I met you once, worked with you everyday, bothered you at your computer, or lived across the hall from you...... you all made it that much more amazing and unlike anywhere else i have ever been. Thanks for adopting me into your world of garden eccentrics....... you made my 6 months there worth every second.. thank you so much!

London Parks

My time in England is running low and I was happy when a friend took me around to see a few public parks in London. Seeing parks and public spaces is another high point of interest for me since, having grown up in NYC, I can understand how important a green space can be in a sea of concrete. Some public parks can feel sterile and when they do, they are usually empty.
So it was refreshing to see some spaces that have the feel of a park but with a modern twist to them. We all need to adapt to the times and these are interpretations of how the city park has stepped into the 21st century.

This is the Thames Barrier Park, which is about 22 acres, and is set right on the river. The park consists of open public areas and also areas for contemplation. One could ponder many questions while walking along this shrub and herbaceous garden. I would imagine the hedges to be just like the water of the river when it ripples, creating a sense of calm. I could be completely wrong though, and should just enjoy it for what it is. The plantings are simple too so there wouldn't be the need for a lot of fussy maintanence. So you could expect to see plants that can handle the different seasons.
Once you are in the garden "valley" your walking pace turns into an enjoyable stroll. Even without looking directly at the plants, you are aware of the textures as you walk by them.

Simple bands of color and texture. There was an abstract quality to the garden, and while I don't think it works all the time, it worked here.

It was a surprise to see meadows throughout the park. Natural plantings inviting biodiversity into an urban environment. Paths were mown through the meadow so people wouldn't just trample through the high grass and plants. Something I have noticed is that if you want to do a meadow and think it looks messy, simply mow one width of the mower around it and you have a nice contrast as you see above. People were using all areas of the park, playing and relaxing. There were lots of young families too, which made me think of the way the children would grow up with memories of playing in the park, which would then seem so dated once they had there own children.There was something about the cafe and how the large windows still let you feel as if you were outside. What was even better is that if you look at the writing on the windows of the cafe, you'll see the latin names of all of the plants in the park, acting as a form of ornamentation. Nice touch indeed. The next park was created over a large tube station. The inside was so shiny and modern and then you were transported by escalator to a lush green oasis. This is Canary Wharf which was created by Wirtz. You are then surrounded by tall office buildings but see Taxodium distichum towering over you too.

Stone pools are in raised beds so the water and reflections are closer to eye level.
Water has often been used to drown out background noise, perfect for a city. Burms help keep the turf areas interesting, with walls slightly curved inwards. This is to surpport the back of the many people who come to seek some quiet time while passing through, while still acting as a planting bed. This wall acts as two functions, but discreetly. Sometimes whats intended is not obvouis and these details are fun to find.

One thing I didn't notice was what the park arborists do with dying trees. Instead of cutting it directly down they cut off all of the branches and notch the ends up with a chainsaw. This is so the rest of tree can act as a wildlife habitat, helping insects and animals. If you look closely too you'll also see the bat box that was carved out by them too..