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Ella Beard

@ellabeard11.bsky.social
1K followers 180 following 432 posts

Gardener, Acer, Dahlia & Hosta lover, knitter, cat rescuer. Baker.

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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
Morning, Inula hookeri flowering prolifically to provide a little sunshine on a grey morning. A day of cutting back copper beech hedging with hand tools today. No nests found, so won’t be disturbing the birds, but still prefer the quiet of doing it by hand!
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
Morning, the fragrant perfume of the honeysuckles are filling the garden this morning. Looking forward to the day in Oxford and a theatre trip this evening to see @jojo_radebe in #KinkyBoots hope you have something good to look forward to. Enjoy your day. See you later!
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Morning, a few flowers from the garden, the sweet peas smell just lovely. Waiting for the rain to arrive, but thankfully a cooler night.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
Morning, another hydrangea doing well despite the heat and dry. A small hope for some rain today. Have been out in the garden deadheading for an hour. So cool.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
Flowers from the garden and some freesias a friend brought me . Preparing to be hot 😊
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Morning, Hemerocallis ‘Frans Hals’ the brightest of our day lilies. Love the transient nature of this.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Morning, a bit different today. One of Sunday’s joys was visiting various artists on an open studios tour. Didn’t expect to find the botanical artists drawing a live Lichen morph of the Giant Prickly Stick Insect.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
Morning, Verbascum chaxii album is fascinating, those glorious furry purple stamens. Spent last evening at an open air performance at a local campsite of Sense and sensibility by the Pantaloons. All parts played by 4 actors. I still hurt from laughing so much. Have a good day.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
This came up as a memory. I remember the days when I had the energy to do pots and hanging baskets at the front as well as the back! Loved the Black velvet petunias. Grew then again the following year and they flowered in red and white stripes!😂
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Francoa sonchifolia, so much detail closer in. Warm day, but with a cool breeze coming up. May even get some gardening done other than watering pots!
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Morning, the ‘really red’ of Crocosmia Lucifer. The arching stems are tall and give value as flowers and later the seed heads. Many find this one a thug, but it’s very well behaved in our garden, unless you try to dig it up! Have a good day.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
Morning! This hydrangea was here when we moved in 10 years ago, some years it’s better than others. This is a good year. Cooler today here thank goodness. Happy July. 🌸
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
Starting a Knitalong with Rowan, a small blanket and cushion designed by Chloe Thurlow. These are my colour choices to blend with the Morris & Co Acanthus fabric.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Morning, perennial Geranium ‘Ann Folkard’ looking a lot brighter pink than I expected, but maybe the effect of sunshine. Saying goodbye to wonderful Grandson for 7 weeks today. Changing so quickly, he will be walking next time they visit us. Have a good day.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Morning, up early, too hot to sleep despite a fan on all night! The cats knocked this unnamed rose bud down so I put it in a tiny vase with a few pinks, a knautia, alchemilla mollis and Heuchera flowers.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Rose Cheek to Cheek has climbed one of the obelisks my OH made. It’s a beauty.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
Morning, little posy having a drink before I take it to a friend. I love picking flowers from the garden for friends and for our house. I try to pick so there aren’t obvious holes in beds- except when it’s something like rescuing peonies from the rain! Have a good weekend!
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
The first passionflowers have bloomed. I’m happy with it against this section of the wall where there are pots of pelargoniums, petunias etc beneath. I won’t let it get enormous…
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Morning, this tiny little rose is barely 1.5” across, gets paler as it matures and has a gentle flowery scent. It was here when we moved in and I have no idea which rose it is, I just enjoy it! However if you happen to know the name I’d be keen to hear. Have a good day.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
Morning, this Lewisia, luminous at dusk has a lovely clear white flower with stamens tipped in orange. Lots of plans today, hope you have a good one!
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
Morning, Geranium ‘Splish splash’, for some reason not as many lavender splashes as in previous years despite flowering prolifically. Have a great weekend. 💜
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
Morning, Thunbergia alata ‘Sunny Suzy’ starting to climb its frame and flower. It will hopefully completely cover the frame and be a mass of yellow flowers over the next weeks. Busy day ahead, hope you have a good day.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
I love William Morris designs and the lovely subtle sludgy colours they come in. I was thrilled to find the tiles in Morris like shades for a mosaic I am going to make later in the year. Loved receiving the parcel they came in. #mosaic
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Morning, a different Iris sibirica, this is Kaboom, a great name for it I think. A hair cut in half an hour then visitors today! Enjoy your day 💜
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Good morning, the last of the lost bulbs Amaryllis has flowered. This is Lemon Star and is the only one where the 2nd bulb had rotted. However… 2 stems of flowers! I have moved the rest of the bulbs outside, feeding the leaves 🤞🏻for next year. Sunny morning here.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Morning, the stubbornly earth bound, supposedly ‘climbing’ rose Wollerton Old Hall. Never grown much above 2’ high, but produces 4 or 5 very fragrant flowers. Perhaps I should move it?🤔 Grey windy, rainy start to the day, but have lots planned so 😀
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Morning, a bit different… our first full pick of strawberries this morning. We’ve had 1 or 2 at a time, but today there are strawberries for breakfast!😋 Plenty more ripening too.🤞🏻Enjoy your day.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 08/06/2025
Morning, everything still dripping from yesterdays torrential rain on my 5am walk around the garden. These Astrantia - a seedling cross from the many varieties in the garden -were not affected at all. They keep flowering for weeks and last ages in a vase. Happy Sunday🌸
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
I picked ALL the peonies left and am glad I did as we had torrential rain for over an hour. One of three vases. Not complaining, lovely to have a house full of flowers.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
Morning, thunderstorms forecast today so I shall go out and pick the last of the peonies before they are flattened in the rain. This is a rather lovely Tiarella with its sparkling starry flowers growing in the light shade of peony Shirley Temple and a tree.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
Afternoon, freshly grouted birthday flower of the month for June. Hope you can tell it’s 🌹🌹. Thought this was done, but just spotted a bit of missed grout! Oh well! From a kit by @RachelShilston as before. Love the colours in this one. Off to mix a tiny bit more grout 😂🌹
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
Morning, this is the petite Lewisia ‘Sunset Strain’ bought last weekend at the plant fair. I also bought a white one, but I love the subtle shading of this one. Still some space to fill in this bed!
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Hardly any sleep so up early this morning! This is the small 5” high but mighty Dianthus Dinetta or Maidens Pink. It’s a lovely burst of colour and should keep flowering over the summer as long as I deadhead it. Overnight rain again, but hoping for a rain free day.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Morning, a little sun in the afternoon, caught these peonies just in time before more rain. Bought as Shirley Temple, they are beautiful, but slightly different to my other Shirley Temples.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Morning, heavy rain and strong winds. Photo from yesterday. This is Dactylorhiza foliosa, an orchid from Madeira that grows well here. I keep meaning to split this clump, but it’s not an easy one to replace if I damage it. It really is this spectacularly purple.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Sings 🎶 ‘June is bustin out all over’. Hosta June was split into three not 8 weeks ago but has already refilled her pot.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Morning, Rosa It’s a Wonderful Life. I love the mix of peachy pink tones in this one. It’s lightly fragranced and is growing in a large pot on our patio. Lovely trip out yesterday to a @RarePlantFair at High Glanau. Surprisingly I may have bought a few plants.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 01/06/2025
Morning, wishing you a peaceful - or exciting Sunday, depending on your preference. The last pair from the lost bulbs collection are flowering. These are ‘Picotee’, presumably for the finely red lined outer petals. Only one more to flower now. 😊🌸
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
Morning, this is the lovely Rose Secret Parfuma. A new one earlier this year I planted in a large pot. It’s rewarding us with delicate white pink extremely fragrant blooms. Oh for smellovision! Have a good Saturday.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
All the pinks in this very ‘ordinary’ pelargonium flower head 🌸
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
Morning, this unnamed DA rose is not my colour choice, but it’s so bright and cheerful and only cost a couple of pounds as a rescue plant. This is its 2nd year and it’s doing well, or it will be once I’ve got rid of that black spot!
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
May’s birthday flower of the month Lily of the Valley - a mosaic from a kit by Rachel Shilston.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Morning, Rose Gertrude Jekyll in fully open flower. Have been encouraging it to cover this trellis for three years now. Right beside our patio table. The scent is lovely. Photo taken before the strong winds and heavy rain. Haven’t ventured out to see if any damage. Off to Aulden Farm to covet Iris!
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
Morning, this little pot of Cupid mixed dwarf sweet peas are the first to flower. The scent is delicious. I’ll move them onto the outdoor table when we sit to eat or drink.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 25/05/2025
Morning, I don’t just grow the pretty things in our garden. I grow the practical, tasty ones too. This is 1 of 7 veg beds. These are Broad beans & Romanesco Cauliflower. There’s a bed of strawberries, one of Rhubarb, Runner beans, potatoes,leeks, salads & lots more. Love to eat fresh.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
Morning, the low growing small flowers of Geranium sanguineum ‘Frivolius Pink’ in close up. It forms a short mound of foliage covered in delicately veined flowers. Great ground cover
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
Morning, the beautiful & fragrant blooms of Philadelphus, mock orange blossom. A small tree halfway down the drive and a more petite version under the kitchen window. The scent is amazing. Flowering really early this year. Visitors gone home. Wonderful time, all is so quiet now.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Morning, the first open flower of Iris Sibirica, the original clump of these was in the garden of our first house in 1987, we split the clump and it’s come through 3 house moves since then, increasing each time. I love it despite having lots of other varieties. Have a good day.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
Good morning, the view along the garden from the Little House in the garden towards yesterdays wall. Obelisks and arches made by Matt, who is lurking under the wisteria! This long bed is full of roses, Iris, peonies, acanthus, and later dahlias. Hope your Monday is a good one.
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Ella Beard @ellabeard11.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
Morning. The only walled part of the garden, summer pot planting has started. The passionflower on the wall survived winter so we have🤞🏻for flowers. More pots to fill with cuttings of pelargoniums from last year. Sticking to white and salmon colours. Hope you enjoy Sunday.💐
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