The garden opened for the National Garden Scheme at the beginning of the week and yet again, the weather was not that kind to us. Let’s hope our final opening for them on August 1 has a gorgeous sunny day. Just before that I had 50 entries to judge in the first round of the Radio 2 Big Bee Challenge. The competition was open to six to 12-year-olds and I had to put two of the 50 through to the next round. It was quite fun looking through and marking them all. This weekend sees the preparations begin for the annual Macmillan Coastal Garden Trail which takes place next weekend. Today, Saturday, sees all the garden owners meet up for a tea party at the Horizon Centre. I shall be handing out the garden owner packs and answering any last-minute questions they may have. There are 15 gardens opening this year, nine in Brighton, five in Seaford and one in Alfriston. There are a number of new ones too.
This week, quite a few of my garden visitors have asked about a gorgeous fluffy pink flower around my pond area. I’ve got two large clumps growing in the ground. It is called trifolium rubens, with a common name of red clover. It is a perennial that dies back to below ground level each year in autumn, then fresh new growth appears again in the spring. It has trifoliate blue-green leaves covered in soft hairs, which offer a beautiful contrast for the conical clusters of magenta-red flowers, which open from silvery buds in summer. It is also very attractive to beneficial insects including butterflies and bees and looks amazing in naturalised planting styles. It will tolerate full sun or partial shade, is fast growing and fully hardy. More importantly it is generally found to be disease free.