Tuesday View: 9 August 2016

Tags

Calamagrostis x acutiflora Karl Foerster, Echinacea purpurea, Echinops bannaticus Taplow Blue, eupatorium, Joe pie weed, Thalictrum Elin, Tuesday View, Verbena bonariensis

Morning view with bright sunlight

 

I have not managed to update my Tuesday view for a couple of weeks and the main difference seems to be the bleaching of the grass Calamagrostis Karl Foerster.

Calamagrostis Karl Foerster

 

The Tuesday View is hosted by Cathy at https://wordsandherbs.wordpress.com It is a meme for us to watch and share the development and seasonal changes to an area in the garden.  If you would like to join in please be sure to add a link back to Cathys blog.

Eupatorium, Joe pie weed is now showing its full colour and has reached a height of about 1.5m.  I have had to water it the last few weeks as it shows droopy leaves when it begins to dry out.

Joe pie weed with Echinops and Karl Foerster

Flowers of the Joe pie weed mingle with Verbena, Thalictrum elin towers above

The purple of Joe pie sits happily with the ever delightful Verbena Bonariensis. The Verbena has self sown itself around the beds and is suggesting a take over bid.  The magnificent Thalictrum Elin has finished flowering and its remains tower above.

Echinacea purpurea

Since last time I posted the Echinacea has opened its petals to reveal its lovely form.  I love a daisy shape flower, don’t you?

The forecast remains pretty good for this week so I hope you get a minute to sit in your own garden and feel the grass tickle your toes.  One final thing I must show you, not in this view but in the garden cutting beds.

Lily

The scent of this Lily is so powerful I bet you can almost smell it.

 

 

Tuesday view 19 July 2016

Tags

Calamagrostis x acutiflora Karl Foerster, cobwebs in the foliage, Echinops bannaticus Taplow Blue, Eupatorium purpureum, Golden Oats., Joe pie weed, Stipa gigantea, Tuesday View

Today is unusually hot at about 32 degrees. Lovely if you have the sea to look at, less so elsewhere. My view is not of the sea but of the garden border. To help cool you down I have decided to share the pictures I took yesterday morning as they are soft and hazy and misty.

A view of a web

The flower heads are forming on the Eupatorium but I have noticed that the leaves are drooping today in the heat, better give him a can of water later. (Must be a him? joe pie weed).

The golden oats of Stipa gigantea are really golden now, such a great plant if space allows.

Golden Oats

Calamagrostis Karl Foerster is also looking good, upright with burgundy seed heads. I have had to stake a couple of them this year as they took a battering by the high winds a couple of weeks ago.

gentle colours

a haze of soft colour thanks to the pink Achillea

Whatever your garden view today you can pop along to Cathys blog and share it with us.  https://wordsandherbs.wordpress.com as she is hosting the ‘Tuesday View’

Forgive me reader, it is many days since my last blog

Tags

Cerciscanadensis Forest pansy, Dahlias, Echinops bannaticus Taplow Blue, Euphorbia characias subsp.Wulfenii, Nymolle Denmark, Passionflower, Sambucus Nigra, Sweetpeas

So this month. blogging efforts have been hampered by laptop failure. Tedious but it has made me realise how much I am beginning to enjoy the sitting down and writing process.  So that is good. All fixed, I am now back to it and catching up with news from other bloggers.

October is about Harvest and I have already written about the fruit harvest but have recently been given a ceramic wall hanging which sums up October.  This is now hanging in my kitchen.  It is by Nymolle Denmark and simply called Oktober, thanks Sam, I love it.

October is no longer Summer and not yet Winter, but this Autumn has crept up on me as family life has been quite full on.  True there are signs that Summer is fading, the sun really has little real heat left in it although the daily temperatures are mild, remaining in the mid teens centigrade. The benefit of the warmth is that Sweet peas are still available for picking:

The mild October also means that the Dahlias are delightful and remain ready for picking

On my west facing wall, the Passion flower is still flowering and although I have yet to see any fruit, it thrills me with its exotic looks, each time I come through the front door.

Of course we all know that the mild spell cannot last , the clocks changed last night and the forecast is for gale force winds tonight.  To try to hold onto the beauty in the garden I dashed around with my camera to collect images of other plants looking good. Below is the wonderful Dogwood, Cornus  sanguinea ‘Midwinter fire’  which I have growing in a large half barrel.

  Aster species unknown

   Above is the magnificant Forest Pansy Cercis canadensis which is looking abolutely stunning at the moment.  This is a small tree which makes a spectacular feature in a small garden. Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii Echinops bannaticus ‘Taplow Blue’Dark berries of the Sambucus nigra

October is always a busy month in the garden and this year is no exception.  The mild spell has meant that the grass is still growing and yet heavy rain and wind has made it necessary to just grab the opportunity for cutting whenever it lends itself.  Then there are the falling leaves which are really only just starting to fall.  These are collected and saved to make a mulch for the garden, especially important on chalky soils. If you have never done this can I suggest you give it a go this year.  Stuff black bags with the collected leaves and tie a knot in the bag, pierce the plastic with a fork and hide your bags in a dark corner of the garden. That’s it! Leave for a year or more to rot away following which you will have a crumbly earthy mix ready to mulch your flowerbeds. Mulching in Spring 2013 

Anyway the forecast for gale force winds has caused a huge amount of debris in the lanes around where I live, but I moved all my pots into a sheltered spot and lay down the bird table so I am relieved to see that we have escaped without any damage.  This area of the Chilterns seems to have escaped the worst of the weather and I hope that you are all safe and that your gardens have remained in one piece, where ever you are.