Six on Saturday: 21/11/21

Tags

Allium sphaerocephalon, buxus sempervivums, Calamagrostis brachytricha, Cercis canadensis, Forest pansy, Hornbeam, hydrangea arborescens Annabelle, Leucanthemella, six on saturday, stipa tenuissima, topiary box, tulips

Have you noticed how brown things have turned? My six today are mainly all a bit brown.

Hydrangea arborescens Annabelle

Starting with these, the remains of Hydrangea arborescens Annabelle, my first of the six I have to share with you and our host The Propagator .

As the ball heads dry out, they become delicate to the touch with a slight rustle to their sound. Gone may be the creamy lime green of summer but beautiful nonetheless. Last year I cut and then touched some of the flower heads with gold spray to make Christmas decorations. I thought they were rather pretty.

Hornbeam

The hedges of Hornbeam have taken on their winter form, curled brown leaves, crisp and pleated will remain throughout the winter before shedding in spring as the leaf buds begin to swell.

Leucanthemella

The daisies of Leucanthemella which I love so much have lost their fresh as a daisy look and are beginning an elegant shift into decay. The flower heads are dark brown, almost black, slightly bowed and the foliage is slowly fading from green to brown. The stems are holding up well and I shall leave them throughout winter to act as shelter for creatures and insects.

Cercis canadensis

The glorious red heart shape leaves of the forest pansy have gone. Dropped and bagged up with other leaf litter. All that is left is the bare, so bare branches of the tree. That is it until spring. Underneath, a mixed bag of 30 orange and yellow tulips have been planted, along with 25 Allium Sphaerocephalon, the burgundy drumstick allium.

Leucanthemella stems, box shape Box all mulched.

Not brown at all are the evergreen Box. Slowly growing and slowly beginning to take on the square form I am looking for. Topiary takes time, lots of time. Eventually these box shapes will create strong winter structure. What can I say, they’re getting there.

Golden brown Stipa tenuissima and Calamagrostis Brachytricha

I am slowly working my way around the raised beds, bulb planting, weeding and mulching, topping up the bark chippings on the pathway. These grasses are energised by a breeze and arguably look interesting all year round. A lighter shade of golden brown.

These are my six for this week. I hope you have a good weekend and thanks for reading wherever you are. D.

In a vase on Monday: 12 October 2020

Tags

aster lateriflorus Lady in Black, Calamagrostis brachytricha, Dahlia Bishop of Auckland, dahlia Downham Royal, in a vase on Monday, penstemon garnet

Hello Cathy and good morning reader. It is a while since I got myself organised enough to put a vase together for this delightful Monday meme and here it is.

In a vase on Monday

There are dahlias and grasses and the prettiest Aster.

Prettiest aster

This is Aster lateriflorus Lady in Black. Plum coloured aster type foliage on to which, in the middle of October, burst thousands of tiny daisies. A great display very late in the garden year.

Rich dahlias and penstemon

These dahlias, Downham Royal, Bishop of Auckland, and penstemon Garnet are flowering happily and will continue to do so until the first frost arrives. I hope that frosty days will not be here for a while yet but who knows, the weather this year has been extremely different.

Grasses are glorious this time of year and this is a favourite of mine.

In a vase on Monday

This is Calamagrostis brachytricha and it looks splendid at this time of the year. The seed heads are a pink tone which catches and holds any moisture, dew or rain, making a delightful sight.

Calamagrostis brachytricha

What else can I tell you? It is definitely Autumn out there and the nights are drawing in rapidly. The virus might be driving us all to distraction but a really good distraction is outside and in our gardens. Let’s celebrate our gardens and rather than lamenting summers passing we should try to enjoy the changing seasons, picking flowers, fruits, vegetables and foliage while we can. Taking part in this Monday vase meme is a good way to do this. Join in, make a link back to our host Cathy and share your vase with bloggers around the globe.

Have a great week wherever you are and thanks for reading. D.

Six on Saturday: another month gone

Tags

bonfire, Calamagrostis brachytricha, Crocosmia Lucifer, digitalis, foxgloves, frost, geese, molinia Transparent, November, six on saturday

Nearly, (another month gone).

How can it be the last day of November?  How can we have had so much wet weather? How can Brexit still be on the agenda!

Thankfully our gardens keep quietly changing with the passage of time, seemingly oblivious to the date or political climate, gently reflecting the changes in the weather.

My six to share with you and The Propagator are here, below.

1.

Golden. Molinia Transparent. I absolutely love this grass. The warmth its colour generates is fabulous at this time of the year.

2.

Frosted Foxgloves.

These hopefully will generate a splendid show of white next year. I say hopefully because as a biennial it might be 2021 before they flower and they could be the regular pink version. My fingers are crossed.

3. Calamagrostis brachytricha. Catching the sunlight, holding its distinctive form.

4.

The seed heads of Crocosmia Lucifer are arching over the top of Stipa tenuissima. I like the contrast in texture between the two, almost as much as the fiery red flowers I grow it for.

5. Geese are on the move, please press play.

6. Now the leaves are down it is a good time to start tree work, planting and or pruning. This mornings debris warranted a bonfire.

Wishing you a good weekend wherever you are. D.

Six on Saturday: National Garden Scheme

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.

Six on Saturday: last days of summer

Tags

Aeonium, Aster, Calamagrostis brachytricha, Calamagrostis x acutiflora Karl Foerster, Rose "Lark Ascending", rose a shropshire lad, September, six on saturday, Succulents, Symphyotrichum Little Carlow

Beautiful Rose, a Shropshire Lad is flowering again. A soft, gentle scent can be detected, deep within the many layers of petals.

Rose Lark Ascending is also flowering, continually to be honest. How gorgeous it is looking in this September light.

Rosette type flower in the form of an Aeonium. I have no idea which variety this is but it is looking particularly handsome in this light. The succulents will need to come under cover at any minute but today they can soak up the last gasps of summer.

Grasses are at their most glorious right now. This is no exception. Calamagrostis brachytricha. My new favourite.

Mind you, I still think Calamagrostis Karl Foerster takes some beating, especially back lit like this.

Last but not least are these delightfully cheery Aster

Now known as Symphyotrichum Little Carlow. How are we supposed to keep up with name changes? Mind boggling.

These are my Six and I have put them together to share with you lovely folk and The Propagator our host.

With one week to go to my NGS opening I fear that the weather will have changed to soggy yuck. These images will be a mere memory.

Right , I need to get a wiggle on. ‘Jobs to do ‘ list awaits!

Enjoy your weekend, wherever you are and thanks for reading. D.

In a vase on Monday: welcome

Tags

Aster, Calamagrostis brachytricha, Hydrangea arborescens, in a vase on Monday, Miscanthus sinensis, September, Verbena bonariensis

A vase full of garden flowers to welcome U3A Haddenham to my garden this afternoon. All 26 of them.

Aster, Verbena bonariensis, Miscanthus , Cosmos, Hydrangea arborescens pink Annabelle not yet pink.

Their visit was to raise funds for the National Garden Scheme. A friendly bunch not deterred by the rain. Tea and homemade cakes consumed they departed as jolly as they had arrived.

Joining Cathy and the other bloggers with their vases of flowers.

Thanks for reading, have a great week wherever you are. D.

Six on Saturday: stunning September

Tags

apple juice, Bees, Calamagrostis brachytricha, Cosmos, dried alliums, Echinacea Delicious Candy, sanguisorba canadensis, September, six on saturday

The weather the last few days has been glorious, warm, with highs of around 20c, blue skies and long shadows. Yet for gardeners it is a struggle to keep a garden looking fresh as it is so very dry.

Dry Alliums, hanging in the summer house. These are to my mind too pretty to compost and are almost as lovely as the Spring forms when they appear in shades of purple. These dried out skeleton alliums act as a reminder to pop a few more in this autumn. The first of my Six on Saturday

2. To quench the dry

These are my bottles of apple juice collected from Mr Nutkin, Tring’s Own Apple Juice. For £1.50 a bottle he can convert your apples and pears into juice. It prolongs shelf life of the fruit for up-to about 18months and is delicious too. Worth every penny.

3.

Bees are happily doing their thing on the Cosmos. No bees no fruit. Very welcome here I say.

4.Sanguisorba candanensis

I love these and they grow well on my nasty hard clay ground.

5.

These are the lovely tails of Calamagrostis brachytricha. They come into their own late in summer. Tactile.

6.Something sweet

This is Echinacea Delicious Candy. That colour is not enhanced in any way. Glorious in yer face pink.

These are my 6. Please join us and refer to the Propagator above to find out how.

Have a great weekend wherever you are. D.