my photos

BASKING IN OCTOBER SUNSHINE

Monty Don said on Gardener's World this evening that he's been pleased with how his Dahlias have done this year, and so have I.

The one above is Happy Princess, one of the five dark-leaved varieties I ordered from Unwins at the beginning of Summer.

Ordered at the same time were plugs of New Guinea Impatiens, which I planted four in a trough. Usually this is the time of year to turf out the Summer bedding, but I can't do much at the minute as they are still flowering away like mad! These are great value plants, which are tolerant to a bit of drought and sun.



This beautifully structured nest came out of one of our neighbour's trees.  The bronze leaves on top are from the shrub/tree Amelanchier. Does this nest belong to a Crow or Magpie, anyone know?

I've been secretly longing for this monstrosity of a conifer to come down, at least the top section anyhow. Magpies seemed to favour it, and the sound of a magpie is not the kind of birdsong I want to be hearing at any time of the day.

I shall miss the little Dunnock though, who did like to sit right at the very top and sing it's little heart out!



I've seen an increase in Red Admirals in my garden this year, four together on Michaelmas Daisy. Even today there was one catching up on last minute nectar from Verbena B.

Other plants they've favoured over the summer months have been Giant Scabious and Cosmos.

I know their caterpillars like to feed on nettles, so I keep a big patch in an unused spot at the top of the garden. The butterflies like to feed on apples, so leave out some windfalls if you have them.



This fern looks especially lovely in Autumn light. I've a few different varieties planted in part shade around the base of a tree.

We were down in Somerset for a few days this week, and on a cycle ride I noticed the edge-ways were covered with Harts Tongues. The first time I've ever happened to see so many growing together in the wild.



My garden this year has again been filled with many different varieties of bee. Most of them I'm not familiar with, but I'd be interested to learn more about them in the future.

The small one above is on another one of those Dahlias, this time Happy First Love. This variety has almost a paint-brushed effect on the petals.

Sadly all five are coming to an end now, but I shall try my very best to overwinter them, but cannot promise any success?

.

my photos

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

my photos

BLUES

Have you noticed how blue flowers remain visible for longer at dusk?



This is because the eye is more sensitive to blue than other colours in dim conditions, and also because the light after sunset has a blue cast and so it is reflected back by blue objects - Andrew Lawson (The Gardeners Book of Colour).



Geranium, Centaurea, and Campanula.

o

my photos

PRETTY IN THE GARDEN

I notice there's already two blooms on my Papaver Orientale Patty's Plum, planted when all the rage back in the late '90s.

I find it's colour a bit wishy-washy, but the bees seem to like it!

A garden dilemma.

Where to put eight large divisions of Rudbeckia?

Giving an abundance of striking yellow blooms right when you need them in late Autumn.

I know it's invasive, I've dug it out of the garden before.

I put it in a large pot, but it didn't want to know.

It's a thug (a beautiful one at that) of which needs to be kept under control.

Rather like Periwinkle!

Good for ground cover, in both sun or shade.

I've noticed a few self-seeders in the garden over the years, including the one above.

Do you know what it is?

It's getting on for 90cm tall, and I'm very happy it came to live in my garden.

I was thinking maybe a Stock of some kind?

Uurgh!

It's not all pretty in the garden you know!

Edited - Thanks Flighty, the mystery plant is Sweet Rocket!

o

my photos

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.

o

my photo

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

my photo

SNOW IN SPRING

The sunshine arrived weeks ago, and it just won't go away!

Flowering now in the garden is Amelanchier, also known as Snowy Mespilus.

The bees are loving it.

I recorded snow in April on my blog back in 2008, which did no favours to the blossom above.

There's nowt so queer as British weather!

o

my photo

A WINTER STAR PERFORMER

The admirable Clematis Cirrhosa.

From November to April the Winter Clematis flowers flat-out, the month of March being no exception.

I have five well-established plants trailing over a wooden structure which separates the utility area from the main garden, three being var. Balearica, Wisley Cream and Freckles!

The South East has seen a hard winter this year, and the coldest on record for three decades. I am seeing a show of flowers on the Clematis more spectacular than ever.

Great for Bumblebees! The few who dare to 'brave it' in the coldest and darkest of months, can be seen buzzing around Clematis Cirrhosa in search of nectar.

o

my photo

MAHONIA

The flowers, tiny, fragrant and narcissi-like, on a stem. The foliage is like holly.

Otherwise known as the Oregon Grape and a member of the Barberry family, this evergreen shrub appears to do well in any situation, in full sun with dry soil or in shade with moist soil.

In the photo above, Mahonia is planted in a woodland situation in semi-shade. After a hard pruning, lovely new growth has sprung back. If no attention is paid to this shrub it will grow to be a monster!

Plant Mahonia near an open window or front door, its intoxicating scent will waft through the air as you sit or walk by, and winter bumble bees will pay interest in it too.

my photos

FOXGLOVE

After flowering last year, I allowed the foxgloves around the garden to set seed. The result is good, and many new plants have sprung up, in the right place and equally some in the wrong place.

After a spring tidy today, I have found many a new home. I haven't the heart to move the one in the photo above, it has decided to grow from a crevice in the wall and looks to have settled in rather nicely.



The photo above, taken in my garden last year, shows the beautiful speckled-pink spires of a foxglove, nestled amongst a pale pink peony.