I have two sisters.  One (if I were to try to describe them) is a farmer, the other is a gardener.  The gardening one, over the years, has been

– someone to enjoy taking around my garden

– someone to visit gardens with

– someone who has given me lots of ideas, inspiration and plants.

Here are just a few of the plants my sister has given me:

Lewisias

I wasn’t sure that Lewisias would work in my garden (1200 ft in the Black Mountains), but I was advised that if I planted them in a dry stone wall they’d be fine.  And they are.

Bay trees

Just re-potted the six bay tree cuttings into these bargain pots from Homebase (half price).  Hopefully they’ll weather with time (the pots that is).

Thrift

Thrift reminds me of holidays walking along the Pembrokeshire coast path.  We might not have a seaside location here but the thrift seem really happy in a pot next to the wood shed in the yard, probably the hottest spot in the garden.

Lilacs

Newly potted up lovely old fashioned single smelly ‘lilac’ lilacs from my sister’s garden.

Shuttle cock ferns

Shuttle cock ferns are doing really well next to the wildlife pond.

Pampas grass

Not sure if pampas grass will survive here, but we’ll give it a go!

Hostas

My sister has lots of hostas.  These are just some of the many she has given me, all accurately labelled.  My only job is protecting them from the slugs.

If I put my mind to it, I could probably list 50 different plants my sister has given me over the years.  So, thank you, and HAPPY XXth BIRTHDAY!

P.S. And, she’s probably right about the Bistort which has flopped all over the path after all this rain.

Bistort on path