An afternoon at the park

crocosmiaeatonparkI think my corms may be congested. Let me explain…

This is crocosmia Lucifer, and this is what it should look like at this time of year: a stunning display of vivid reds and oranges in a sea of lush green foliage. Isn’t it fabulous? These plants are growing in Eaton Park, Norwich, planted in repeating blocks, in a series of formal gardens surrounding a central fountain. The kids and I visited the park last week, and as well as enjoying splashing in the fountain, riding a tiny train and clambering around a huge, sandy adventure playground, we explored the formal gardens. The children ran around the symmetrical, lawned paths and called it a maze. I took lots of photos, inhaled the scent of the lavender and listened to bees buzzing madly. It was inspiring.

I already have a few patches of crocosmia in my garden (no idea what variety as they were freebies from my mum’s garden). Unfortunately, one of them looks like this:

Mycrocosmia

It’s a very sad state of affairs and I’m not entirely sure why it’s happened. Last year and the year before, they were beautiful. It may be that the corms underground have become congested or perhaps the weather this year was too hot and dry at the wrong time. The plants are growing under the roof overhang, and are consequently in a ‘rain shadow’ (an area that is sheltered and receives no direct rainfall).

I think I’m going to have to dig them all up and move them to another spot in the garden, which means I need to decide what I’m going to put in this border to fill the sizable gap they will leave behind. In fact, I’m going to take the opportunity to renovate this border. Hopefully you’ll see a follow-up post on here soon.

I’ll end with some pictures of the lovely plants that we saw at Eaton Park. I wish you could smell the lavender – it was glorious!

Lavendereatonpark

Hugethistleseatonpark

Daisiesbordereatonpark

Floweringgrasseatonpark

 

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