Wild Rose Designs

Though not an avid gardener I do go through phases of spending lots of time and money on my garden. Last year due to the awful Summer, I spent neither. But over the years I have accumulated a collection of shrubs and plants that have survived my sporadic attention and all too often neglect, those that aren't man enough fall by the wayside to be replaced by something else. This year I've noticed that many of my patio plants have fallen - I can't say whether this was due to my lack of care or to nature. But a couple that have survived to live another day are a yellow Camellia that I inherited from my Mum when she moved from a house to a flat and a pink Tree Peony. The Camellia had lots of flowers this year and I'm relieved not to have killed it off as my Mum loved it, and as she was a keen gardener she took great care of it. The tree peony I've had for a few years now and each year it produces just one bloom. Oh but what a bloom it is! It's about six inches across and really beautiful. Each morning when it is bathed in sunlight it opens up to reveal a stunning interior of yellow stamens and then as the sun goes down it closes again. Sadly within a week or so it will be gone for another year but I live in hope that one day there will be other blooms to join it. Maybe I'll have to try a larger pot?

The yellow Camellia

My Beautiful Tree Peony