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A COLOUR SPLASH IN AUTUMN

It's October, and we imagine the garden to be full of browns, yellows and oranges.

Not so!



Salvia Black 'n Blue



Aster Barbados



Dahlia Happy Wink

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MAY

There's always so much to do in my garden in May.

At this time of year I could do with an under-gardener!

All these beautiful blooms are now over for another year.

Blue Veronica and Helichrysum - white Rhododendron and purple Iris - white Iris and pink Poppy.

Thank goodness I found a little time here and there just to relax, take photos ...

and admire the fruits of my labour.

o

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THE MONTH OF APRIL

Warmest since records began more than 350 years ago!

Heads of Cowslip.



Unlimited sunshine!

Red Admiral butterfly on fragrant Lilac.



Snow showers!

Amelanchier blossom.

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BLOOMS FOR JUNE

I have three varieties of Oriental Poppy in my garden.

The red/orange one above sticks out like the proverbial sore thumb amongst other muted tones that is this side of the garden.

It's not that I don't like it, I just don't like where I've put it!

I was originally given a division by a good friend from a plant which originated from her parent's garden, so it has sentimentality. I've tried to move it, but it just keeps coming back.

I've found Oriental Poppies are like that, once they've settled in they are very difficult to move. Rather like an unwanted lodger or squatter!



I bought Patty's Plum for the garden when we first moved in. It was all the rage back in the late eighties, being regularly mentioned in gardening programmes and magazines alike. It's popular still now, even Carol Klein has recently mentioned having it in her Glebe Cottage garden in Devon.

Again where it is just isn't right, it's in a position in full sun all day, and for anyone who knows this variety will know that the flower petals that open in a beautiful pink/purple colour, soon turn a rather muddy brown when scorched.



Princess Victoria Louise is especially loved by the bees in my garden (see previous post).

It's petals open in a salmon pink colour, which I confess to not liking very much, but soon fade to a pale pink which I much prefer.

However much I love Oriental Poppies, I'd rather look at them in someone elses garden. The leaves can look scruffy (I'm an obsessively tidy gardener), the stems can droop, and when finished there's a gaping hole in the border.

To get over this I keep the foliage tidy, and after flowering has finished I leave on the seedheads for a while, before cutting the whole plant back for a new flush of growth.

Nothing goes to waste in my garden. The foliage is composted and the seedheads dried for decoration.

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ORIENTAL POPPIES AND BEES

I've had the day off work today, and early this morning I took a leisurely walk around the garden, dilly-dallying with the camera. Lou if you're reading, I was in my nightie!

I noticed bees around the Oriental Poppies buzzing in the most crazy way outside and inside the flower head.

They were loving the rich velvety centre ...



and the silky-smooth crepiness of the petals.

o

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RASPBERRY AND ORANGE SQUASH

Raspberry ~ pink Bergenia flower.



Orange ~ buds of Berberis.



Squash ~ seeds I sowed today.

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HYACINTHS

Doesn't everyone love the smell of a hyacinth? I do, and my favourites are of the blue variety.



Back in September, after buying a few plants from a catalogue, I acquired a free bag of bulbs, and back in October I placed three on the top of old jam-jars, filled almost to the rim with water.

From this ...



... to this.

I lost one to rot, but the remaining two are now in flower, and smell bloomin' lovely.

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... pink Dahlias in October sunshine.

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... the last climbing rosebuds of summer, reach for the sky
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... I remember my grandad growing bunny rabbits in his garden!

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HOLLYHOCK

I have one Hollyhock plant in the garden, and it looks stunning! It has lots of flowering side shoots and one main stem which soars into the sky, and the leaves seem pretty free of rust this year too. Picking off infected leaves during its early growth may have helped?

Did you know Hollyhock flowers are edible? They can be picked fresh and used in salads or brewed for tea. Buds can be sauted in butter, and leaves (I would imagine rust-free) can be used in middle-eastern recipes.

Please be aware if you suffer from allergies.
o

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CYCLAMEN

A plant ideally suited to cooler temperatures and weaker sunlight, the cyclamen looks beautiful amongst fallen leaves.

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PLANT COMBINATIONS TWO

Another plant combination which I have been enjoying in my garden over the past couple of years is with Statice and Sedum. This photo was taken about a week or so ago, the Sedum is now just starting to turn a blushed shade of pink.



I have plans to grow more Statice from seed next year. It really does look great in both borders and on sloping banks.

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BUDDLEIA

The Butterfly Bush, a very much maligned and misunderstood deciduous shrub. Why, because it effortlessly self seeds on development land and derelict sites, through cracks and bricks in buildings, and along our railway lines and sidings.

A thug to some perhaps, but contrary to belief the form of Buddleia I have in my garden is no problem at all, and its dark pink flowers on arching stems are a welcome edition to any garden in late summer.

Every year, an established bush will need a hard cut back to 3 or 4 buds in early Spring.



Named after the Reverend Adam Buddle (1660-1715), the nectar rich flower spikes are loved by butterflies and other insects.

Silhouettes of a Comma and Red Admiral butterfly, or two fairies, you decide?

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JAPANESE ANEMONE

The three main species of Japanese Anemone come from China and not Japan. This is a great plant for late summer/autumn colour. Beautiful flowers are borne on tall stems and once established this plant will need plenty of room, width and height.

For a couple of years now I have been meaning to move my two plants, a job which just doesn't ever get done. I really must get around to it this Autumn, as although the plants are happy enough where they are, they are not blissfully happy. The aspect is good, in semi-shade, but the soil just isn't damp enough, which leads to many of their outer leaves to flop and frizzle up.

Every so often a seedling will appear around the adult plant, which means I am able to make a new plant for free, which makes me happy!

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HOLLYHOCKS

Doesn't everyone love hollyhocks, so English country garden and so pretty with it. But what about the rust?

I have dispensed of hollyhocks in my garden because of this very reason, rather disappointing as I really do love them for their stature and colour. This year one has made an appearance, growing through a flagstone, quite short and this little beauty has no rust to speak of. Maybe I could just reintroduce some back into my garden next year? I may well do so, and see how they do?

My dad will be pleased. I don't think he quite understands my liking for plants which only possess the most perfect leaves!

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THE CALENDAR - PART ONE

I knew when Summer breathed
Not by the flowers that wreathed
The sedge by the water's edge
Or gold
Of the wold
Or white and rose of the hedge
But because in a wooden box
In the window at Mrs Mocks
There were white-winged shuttlecocks.

By Barbara Euphan Todd

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POPPIES

Did you notice poppies were voted the most favourite self-seeder in my June poll receiving 43% of the votes? Nigella (love in the mist) and verbena bonariensis came in joint second with 23%, and borage trailed in last with 10%. I have all these self-seeding in my garden, hence the choices!

Luckily I took a photo at Denmans of their colourful patch of poppies, because in my garden the ones that have flowered have now gone to seed. The flowers only last a day or so and with the winds we have been having they haven't stood much of a chance.



I was very kindly given this Arte Y Pico award recently by Gillian at Reflections in the Afternoon whose lovely blog shares my liking for the garden, illustrations and artwork. I would like to pass it on to Christy at Sweet Tidings. She has already received this award, but I am sure she won't mind receiving it again! If you haven't already made a visit, Christy has a lovely blog packed with crafting, cookery and lots more besides.

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NATIONAL INSECT WEEK

This week is National Insect Week here in the UK, it runs from the 23rd to the 29th June. If you click on the photo above you can just about see the butt end of a lovely bee checking out the nectar in one of my foxgloves!

Honeybees in Britain are in decline. It is estimated that in 10 years time, if nothing is done to protect them, the honeybee will disappear from Britain by 2018, see Eco Home & Garden. No bees, no food on our plates as bees don't just make honey they pollinate more than 90 of the flowering crops we rely on for food.

Albert Einstein predicted that if something eliminated bees from our planet, mankind would soon perish.

Here is a list for plants for bees. I am sure lots of you have many of them already?

Don't forget, especially this week is - bee kind to bees week!

This post is dedicated to Life in Red Shoes. You guessed it, I have been out in the garden with my camera! Also to say to Lavinia Ladyslipper at The Birdbath Chronicles, I am still here!

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THE LONGEST DAY

Here in the Northern hemisphere we usually mark the longest day on the 21st of June, but because this year is a leap year, the longest day is one day earlier, the 20th of June. From now on the days will get shorter, so less time to spend in the garden.

Apparently Midsummers day is on the 24th? Traditionally on this day St John's Wort was gathered, thought to be imbued with the power of the sun. Other special flowers (Vervain, trefoil, rue and roses) were also thought to be most potent at this time, and were traditionally placed under a pillow in the hope of important dreams, especially dreams about future lovers!