A Long Shot But....

...does anyone know the plants in this picture? Next year I want to recreate my Great grandmothers flowerbed for my Mum. Not very clear but can anyone hazard a guess?

My great Grandad's on the left

 

What a nice thought. Unfortunately it is not easy to guess the plants in the picture.

 

Lovely idea, but yes, a long shot. I don't recognise any of those plants - black and white doesn't help either :(

Can you mum remember anything from the garden - scents, colours, etc? That might be an easier way to re-create it.

 

It IS a lovely idea and even if you can't recreate things exactly, you can certainly keep the spirit. That daisy-like plant with the hangdog petals (bottom right of photo) might well be an echinacea. Even if it isn't, a clump of it would give the right sort of feel to things. I've no idea what the large plant which appears to be growing on a trellis might be. How about growing a rose from the right era instead? Catalogues are good sources of information if you need to find out which roses were fashionable at a certain time.

As Aaron says, find out what your Mum remembers. Then I would suggest using a huge dollop of artistic licence.

 

Could it be Echinops or Erygnium?

 

They do look like sweet peas, Woo. If so, someone would probably remember the scent! They've got some of the old-fashioned ones growing in the vegetable garden at Sissinghurst (they have a bed which is all about attracting pollinating insects) and they look and smell wonderful. They're growing over some stout wigwams made from (I think) willow twigs, which is definitely the way to do it, because you can just leave them to scramble around as they see fit. In the past I've found sweet peas a bit of a pain - greedy, thirsty, scraggy and martyrs to slugs and snails - but maybe I'll have another go!

 

A very difficult ask,:lollol:I think the plant front right could be echinops, the tall shrub behind perhaps a Camellia? No clue on the plant at the left of the image. Does your family still race pigeons Arch?:gnthb:

 

No, no...it ended with him, he died of TB shortly after this picture was taken. No one else could stand them!

From what my Mum remembers, she had Lupins and Antirrhinums, but that's all she can remember. I was wondering if a Teasel was wrapped up in that mess on the right somehow?

 

Changed my mind on the plant I thought was Camellia, now think it may be privet ( Ligustrum ). The plant on the left could well be Teasle.:gnthb:

 

Do them in the bottom right look like poppy seed heads?
John

 

There's a flower in the bottom right corner, almost out of focus, that has those 'bent back' petals I associate with Helenium or Echinacea.

 

The one on the left.........the mesh-could be to keep birds out ( it does not look in need of support) so a possible clue to the plant there-I would hazard a currant bush of some kind ( maybe blackcurrant or gooseberry ) , the plant on the trellis looks to me like a cordon apple ( maybe pear) has been trained along it with possibly woodbine there too. The ones in the foreground are, I think, ox-eye daisies just going over. The ones in the right hand side bed, the furthest to the left look like lilies a bit too. Hard to see-and even if I could see the chances of me getting it right are slim.

As suggested go with the idea of this garden-and as mentioned pummel your Mum for any info.


Great photo that.