Looking good this week

The top image is my homage to Diarmuid Gavin's 'Lollipop' garden at Chelsea 2004. I managed to pick up the coloured 'saucers' for a fiver each. They are underplanted with Matteuccia struthiopteris, which struggle in the dry conditions (this area is under the canopy of a horse chestnut). To the left is an Acer palmatum, bought last autumn from B & Q for £8 (it's a great time to buy them, when the leaves have fallen and they are trying to get rid of old stock). The leaves look good with the afternoon sun on them.

In the foreground is Euphorbia mellifera (honey scented flowers in May). It's meant to be placed in full sun, but it's coping well in this sheltered spot.

The second image is my Dicksonia antarctica. I could only afford a small one with hardly any trunk, but it's doing well and looking good against an old brick wall next to Hydrangea petiolaris. I read somewhere that watering the wall helps the Hydrangea 's pads to 'stick' and this seems to be doing the trick. The other plant is Ficus benjaminans which has been with me for over ten years and is outside for it's summer holiday. The plaited stem is a bit naff, but I can't bring myself to get rid of it.

Dickie