Katy's Garden

Yesterday a visit to a private garden in Benzweiler, open to the public for one day. The pubblicity was in the Hunsrück-Mittelrhein GartenRoute booklet from the tourist office, a booklet that had been lost in the pocket of a jacket until a few days ago. Pity, there are lots of private gardens in the region occasionally open for visiting, and I wish I had seen more of them. Next year... The Country Garden I saw yesterday is not as such memorable (a bit too wild for my taste, even for a country garden) but it´s full of inspiring little ideas, and it includes a tiny shop and green house selling garden plants, bedding annuals and herbs. Some of the perennials for sale are definitely more unusual and interesting than the average GC choice. The really funny thing is that I - unexpectedly, I never win anything - won the first prize of the raffle organized by the owners, and got myself two tickets for the big garden show in Bingen... the hubby is not happy, but such are the dangers of indulging a gardening wife for half an afternoon.

I bought myself a Cosmos atrosanguineum, the famous chocolate cosmos. Such a splendid colour, and the scent is enticing. This morning I found a bee asleep in the flower, voluptously curled around the central tassel of stamens. It flew away in confusion when nuzzled, with a visible list to starboard and a somewhat drunk sway.

Today yet more cuttings, Hydrangea quercifolia "Snowflake", Hoya imperialis, various macrophyllas that I promised to a british friend.