Birth Flower For September - Aster

Lilac Aster

Aster Seed Heads

The birth flower of September, the Aster, represent to me the changing of the season and the bringer of Autumn.
The meaning of the flower is love, passion, wisdom and magic. With the name coming from the Greek word for star, when the flowers are over and the seed heads are left, you can see how they got their name.
I think they look even more beautiful, twinkling in the morning sunlight as seed heads.

Birth Flower For August - Gladioli

White Gladioli

Cerise and Red Gladioli Flowers

Say the word Gladioli and images of Dame Edna and Morrissey spring to mind, plus words like brash and masculine, describe Gladioli to me, until I gave them a closer look, when photographing them for my birth flower series.

Gladioli represent strength of character, moral integrity and sincerity and since my birthday is in August, it's the birth flower for me.

When I was looking for Gladioli to photograph, they always seemed to be planted singly, rather than in a group, which makes them look a bit standoffish and haughty and I therefore found it difficult to find the right composition, apart from a beautiful white one with a splash of raspberry in its throat. It reminded me of raspberry ripple ice-cream.

I remedied this by buying a couple of bunches from the supermarket. A gorgeous clash or red and cerise.
I think on reflection, I judged Gladioli far to harshly, rather than taking the time to get to know them.

Whether you like the bold colours or the soft hues, I think the key is to plant them in a group, something we gardeners don't always get right, when planting bulbs.

Birth Flower for July - Delphinium (Larkspur)

This month the flower in the spotlight for birth flower of the month, is the Delphinium or Larkspur as it is also known as in the US.

The Delphinium represents levity and lightness, feelings of love and an open heart.

Delphiniums, despite their stature, are quite delicate in nature. Their perfume is subtle and their blooms can be easily marked by the lightest touch of rain.

I think plant breeders love them, as this one with its iridescent flashes of purple on the blue is quite striking but looks quite unnatural.

Apart from my love of them, they are also adored by slugs and snails and need to be protected from them, from the minute they appear in the soil in spring right through until they finish flowering.

After visiting this beauty in a garden this year, I have been inspired to buy a couple from the garden centre. I shall have to be on my guard though next spring, if I want to see them in all their glory next year but it's definitely a plant worth the trouble and slug pellets.

Upton Country Park Walled Garden

Since a child, I have been enthralled by walled gardens. I loved the paintings in the Ladybird book Rapunzel, of the fabulous rows of flowers and vegetables in the forbidden garden and I loved the children's programme The Herbs and all the goings on behind the gate.

Upton Country Park, a 100 acre award winning woodland and garden, is not 10 minutes from where I live in Poole and has the most wonderful walled garden. Restored in 2012, it originally provided fruit and vegetables for the house, an impressive Georgian grade II listed building.

Around two sides of the parameter, are two avenues of herbaceous borders and inside the sides are lined with more herbaceous borders and a tea room.

I've yet to see the fountain in the middle in use but it looks fantastic fun for the children to run through.

Early this morning, not long after it had opened, I had the joy of walking in solitude and to photograph the plants - a simple pleasure, although I could hear the faint sound of school children visiting the woodland in the distance, they gave me long enough on my own, to get up close and personal with the plants and to enjoy and photograph their beauty before the moment was gone.

Birth Flower For June - Rose

Pink Rose

Lemon Rose

Soft Pink Rose

Vintage Roses

Pink Rose

Salmon Pink Rose

Just snuck in on the last day of June, as this month it is the turn of the Rose as the birth flower.

As you can tell by the amount of photographs, roses are one of my favour flowers. Full of nostalgia for long summers days past, when as a child I would collect the petals and put them in water, thinking I could make perfume.

The rose symbolises love and affection. Red roses mean love, passion, beauty and perfection and white roses mean innocence, purity and remembrance.

I love pink roses, which have to be scented. I can't understand the purpose of a rose without scent though.
It's impossible to walk by a rose without first having a sniff and it's so disappointing when there is no scent, however beautiful the bloom.

Over the next few weeks, is the best time for the beautiful, graceful rose. Keep dead heading them, to keep them going as long as possible and enjoy them whilst they're here.

Birth Flower For May - Lily of the valley

Lily of the valley

With a very wet spring, Lily of the valley have been in very short supply, so I had started to wonder if my project of photographing the birth flowers, would come to an abrupt end.

Luckily, whist out on a job, my client had some in her garden.

The Lily of the valley signifies humility, chastity and sweetness. In Victorian times, a gift of Lily of the valley counted as a romantic message and it also signifies a return of happiness.

This delicate, sweetly scented flower, was indeed rare this year but that made it all the more special once found.

Birth Flower For April - Sweet Pea

Sweet Peas in a vase

Sweet Pea

I'm not quite sure why Sweet Peas were chosen to represent April as a birth flower, as it's going to be a couple of months before they are flowering but there is no mistaking why they were chosen, for their beauty and fragrance.

The Sweet Pea represents pleasure or goodbye and the Victorians used them in their bouquets, to show their gratefulness.

My summer garden wouldn't be complete without Sweet Peas, for me the most quintessential summer flower.