There has been some beautiful weather here this week but noticeably the evening light is dropping sharply by about 1900hrs. Consequently the temperature has dropped sharply overnight. As a result the mornings are dewy and the light is just plain lovely.
My six to share with you lovely readers and our host The Propagator are snapshots of the garden in the autumnal light.
Morning light with Verbena Sunlight warming the wall with Vitis coignetiae Shafts of light on the yet to open Leucanthemella White penstemon illuminated in the sunlightFoliage of variegated Indian bean tree Catalpa bignoides pulverulentum Still plenty of colour from the white Sanguisorba canadensis,, Verbena, Rose A Shropshire Lad, and the pink from the plant formerly known as, Sedum Autumn JoyThe incredibly beautiful AeoniumDrifts of fluffy Stipa Calamagrostis
More than six this week but I’ve kept the narrative to a minimum, hoping that’s allowed.
Have a great weekend wherever you are and thanks for reading. D.
Did the earth move? How was it for you? Double entendres, you know the sort: nudge nudge, wink, wink. Well on Tuesday the earth did move.
We had an earthquake which measured 3.6 minor magnitude. The only casualty here was Gertie the goat who toppled off the beam on which she was placed. Poor Gertie.
Goat down.
Joking aside, it has been a strange week but the weather has been improving and people are mentioning an Indian summer. My six on Saturday to share with you and The Propagator are some of the prettier sights of the week.
Drifts of self sown Verbena
I realise, as I stroll around, that Verbena bonariensis is one of my must have plants. I love its vibrant purple colour and its tall swaying stems which bring butterflies into the garden.
Californian poppies
This is a second flush of Eschscholzia. A packet of seeds are such good value. I love their warming orange colour against green and purple of the verbena and nepeta.
Dahlia Bishop of Auckland
Dahlias are super at this time of year. They might be a bit of a faff, all the lifting, storing, mollycoddling but catching the rays like this, they are unbeatable.
Dahlia Downham RoyalClipped hedge and topiary
This is a good time for clipping hedges to get them neat and tidy for the winter months. When everything else is bare and brown the structure of these are the backbone of the garden. It is a busy time of year and this trimming is worth the effort.
Hedges
I am enjoying the combination of Hydrangea arborescens Annabelle below the mega growing Vitis coignetiae.
Vitis and Hydrangea
Finally, before the clock strikes midnight and is no longer Saturday my last fave from this week is Sanguisorba canadensis.
Sanguisorba
I hope you’re having a lovely weekend, wherever you are and thanks for reading. D.
When life becomes very challenging and in the case of this week, frankly unfair, I usually can divert my mind and seek distraction from my garden. I can easily lose half the day or an evening working. It always does me good to be outside, to breathe in the air and fill my head with plans. That’s the thing with gardening, it is so very optimistic, always looking forward. This week has been one of those tough ones but the weather has been against me and I have been trapped in by Storm Ellen and Francis. So much rain, damaging winds, ghastly.
The most I have managed is a bit of dead heading and a wander about. These are my six to share with our host The Propagator and you.
Cardoon
The ornamental artichoke, Cynara cardunculus has been dead headed and has put on a couple of new flowering heads. What a colour, arranged like a purple flat top. I have picked some of them and hope they will dry.
Dahlia Downham Royal
The wind has broken the stems of some of the bigger dahlias. This one has defied the weather and is still standing Dahlia Downham Royal . Good strong stem and great colour.
Dahlia Bishop of Auckland
Another dahlia that has managed to survive the weather and is flowering well is the Bishop. This has attractive dark foliage and super single red velvet petals. This is its second year and is definitely a keeper.
Foliage
The thing about the Forest pansy is the wonderful heart shaped foliage in rich red. So striking. Here it is, its foliage dripping wet but noticeably curled. I am not sure why it is curled, probably as a reaction to the high winds.
Across the garden
The claret coloured Joe pye weed is flowering as too are the white Sanguisorba canadensis. These are a favourite, a later flowering sanguisorba that need no staking and who cope exceedingly well with my heavy clay soil. They have even self sown in places.
Sanguisorba canadensisDistinctly autumnal Weighed down by the weather
Apples have been literally shaken out of the tree and are scattered all over the lawn. Usually the apples are not ready until late September or even late October so this is not a natural drop.
The garden looks distinctly late summer, autumnal even. The light is lower and the skies are grey. Saturated by the heavy rain, shaken to the core by the winds. The main damage has been stems broken on dahlias and the willow leaf sunflowers which are very tall have been scattered into weird shapes spread over the border.
Helianthus salicifolius
The forecast for the bank holiday weekend is unseasonably cool, a mere 14 degrees today which is not summer but a bit drier and calmer at least.
These are my six. Wishing you a speedy recovery, you know who you are, and for the rest of you I wish you a good weekend, wherever you are and thanks for reading. D.
Having battled through the overly dry and often windy summer, the garden is still giving us lots of flowers. By ‘us’ I mean us gardeners joining Cathy on her Monday meme.
I have used my special vase to accommodate them all. At the white end I have the daisy types I love so much: Cosmos ‘Purity’ and ‘Cupcake’, Leucanthemella serotina, Sanguisorba canadensis, and a late flowering Aster. It has changed its name and now I have forgotten which variety it is.
Moving towards the yellow there is Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’ next to Helianthus salicifolius, fresh orange Calendula, Zinnia from a ‘Giant Dahlia mix’ packet of seed.
To the pinkier tones of Aster, now known as Symphyotrichum lateriflorum ‘Lady in Black’, Dahlia ‘Totally Tangerine’, Persicaria affinis, Persicaria Firetail and Dahlia ‘Arabian Night
It sounds as if this wet weather is with us all week. Wellies and anoraks at the ready!
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.
I am joining The Propagator with six plants from my garden which are still looking good this Saturday.
In no particular order, first off the wonderful Cercis canadensis or Forest Pansy
I have had this small tree for about ten years and it spent nine of those in a large pot. Now in a raised bed it has room to spread its roots and it has grown by almost a third. Each new leaf is a delight, heart shaped, shiny and back lit they have a translucent quality to the glorious deep red.
2. Ground cover in a shape not unlike a lucky clover, this is Trifolium repens William. I like the dark foliage.
This is number 3 , Sanguisorba canadensis
It is a magnet for pollinators and seems to be thriving in my heavy soil
4. Jolly annuals, this is Zinnia, one of a mix pack of oranges, pink, reds and yellows. I rather like this pale pink one.
5: please excuse the poor picture but Dahlia William Morris is a corker. Dark foliage and a strong coloured red/ orange Dahlia flower.
Finally number 6 another annual, this is a claret sunflower.
I love the garden at this time of year when the light levels change and dew appears, I wonder what your six might be? Wishing you a great weekend. D .
Evening all. First off a Vase to join Cathy. I am late for In a Vase on Monday but I hope I will be forgiven.
These are roses from David Austin, rose ‘A Shropshire Lad’ with dahlias from Sarah Raven and opium poppy. ‘Black Single’.
I hope you had a Vase to share with Cathy and the many other growers from around the world.
Now to my Tuesday view. Cathy Of words and herbs , rather than rambling Cathy who hosts IAVOM, encourages us to record a view in our gardens throughout the year. It is both a useful record and interesting to see the impact the weather and seasons are having on our chosen spot.
From the ground up, this shot shows the carpet of Persicaria affinis catching the morning sunshine. This is a very happy plant and I will have to be cutting it back before it takes over the lawn.
Molinia Transparent is doing its job well. A transparent screen.
White sticks of self sown Sanguisorba canadensis mingling where they choose.
Behind the Molinia is Coreopsis moonbeam, still flowering.
Today has been lovely but in exposed parts ( the garden, not me) there was a nip to the air. Autumn is coming in fast now. We need to make the most of these last flowers of Summer before the scene turns brown and crisp.
Just look at these lovelies.
Erigeron, stipa, now known as Nassella tenuissima, verbena bonariensis.
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