Tags
Aeoniums, apple juice, Calamagrostis brachytricha, Calamagrostis x acutiflora Karl Foerster, Carers Trust, Cercis canadensis, Cerciscanadensis Forest pansy, grasses, Horatio's Garden, Hospice UK, Leonard Cheshire, Macmillan Cancer Support, Maggie's Centres, Marie Curie, MS Society, National Garden Scheme, NGS, Parkinson's UK, Perennial, Queens Nursing Institute, six on saturday, stipa tenuissima, Verbena bonariensis
Tomorrow my garden is open in aid of the National Garden Scheme, NGS. For those who do not know, the NGS is a registered charity which in 2017 raised a whopping £3.1m, not bad from open gardens and selling tea and cakes, This was divided amongst the following charities: Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie, Hospice UK, Carers Trust, Queen’s Nursing institute, Parkinson’s UK, Perennial, MS Society, Maggie’s Centres, Leonard Cheshire, Horatio’s Garden and not amongst gardeners as one friend thought.
I have worked flat out in the month of September, weeding, digging, trimming, edging, sweeping, deadheading and watering to prepare the garden as best as possible. I am on first name terms with the chaps at the dump. Rather annoyingly then that the weather has decided to be somewhat inhospitable blowing in a gale and rain. Undeterred I am hoping that a hardy group of gardening types and perhaps Aeonium fanciers will show up.
This splendid bunch have been donated by a very generous chap who prefers to remain anonymous and I shall be selling cuttings for folk to take home. All in aid of NGS. Absolute Aeonium heaven.
2. There will be a selection of cards, old gardening magazines and apple juice for sale. The apple juice has been pressed from the tree in my garden.
3. The roses may be almost finished but there are Cosmos and Zinnias. The main sight is perhaps the Verbena bonariensis.
It has self sown all around the garden and in the cracks in the paving.
4. Blowing in the wind will be a mixture of grasses which are at their peak in early Autumn.
Calamagrostis Karl Foerster, Calamagrostis brachytricha and Stipa tenuissima
5. A small tree which is always admired, not least by me, Cercis canadensis
The red toned heart shaped leaves are delightful.
6. There will be some shelter from the worst of the weather inside my rather grandly named summer house. (It is neither summer nor a house).
Joining our host the Propagator who encourages us to list our top six from our gardens. Thanks for reading.
Now if the weather would just be kind….
Thank you to all my helpers and cake makers, lenders of time and lenders of other bits and bobs, givers of general moral support. I certainly would not be able to this without you. Wishing you all a lovely weekend wherever you are. D.
It is all looking wonderful! I do hope the weather spirits are kind.
Looking forward to hearing how it goes.
Raising money for some wonderful causes.
GOOD LUCK!!!!!
Thanks so much
You’ve put in loads of work for such a worthy cause, and your garden is looking beautiful, I’m sure. Wish I could come visit!
Thanks so much
I hope the weather gods smile on you! Love the grasses and the heart-shaped leaves and that non-summer house! Looks like a lovely spot to relax and read a book in.
Thank you so much
Good luck – hope the storm misses your garden altogether! 😉
Thank you
I wish I was there. I love Aeoniums. Garden looks wonderful, I love the Cercis too – is it a ‘Forest Pansy’?
Thank you so much. Yes a Forest pansy
Good luck!
Thank you
I do hope the weather improved for you. So disappointing if you don’t get a lot of visitors when I can see how great your garden is looking.
Happy to report that despite the weather which was showery 95 visitors came and I shall have about £1100 to donate in memory of my lost loved ones
Excellent
Hope you had ok weather yesterday! It was a bit wet and wild here. My cercis is looking very sickly in comparison to yours. I think it suffered a bit from aphids or scale earlier in the year. Hopefully next year will be better.
Fantastic Aeoniums! I hope it was a great success…
despite the weather 95 garden folk turned up and helped me raise £1100
As much as I like redbud (Cercis), and will be featuring a seedling of it a weed from Saturday, I am still none too keen on the purplish ‘Forest Pansy’. It looks so good in green that the purplish color looks odd to me. My colleague down south uses it because he says it holds the purple color well, like purple leaf plum.
It does hold its colour well in my experience. I also like the green version.