Thursday 30 October 2014

The sun has (still ) got his hat on...

Most Octobers end rather gloomily, as they merge seamlessly into Novembers, bringing dark and grey and cold. Not this one though! It is like a parade full of cheerleaders who just won't go home. The sun is still shining with a pleasing amount of warmth, and the flowers are being fooled into the longest blooming period EVER! I found a new delphinium flower today, the geraniums are beginning to flower again and the roses think it is still June.



Although there are inevitably gaps in the borders where I have had to cut back, the general feeling is still one of fullness. The Hypericum is flowering again albeit sporadically, and the dahlias have never stopped.


The Hostas that are in the chimney pots have been cut right back, as have all the others in the garden - except one, which is just coming into flower and is as perky as the others were in April !

The Molinea has come into its own this year, as the light has been perfect, and shown its delicate seed heads off to perfection, as they have almost glowed in the mellow October sun. The phormium 'Red Sunset' is more tender than it's green cousins, so will be wintering in the greenhouse when it gets cold.


I bought this Pampas grass about twenty years ago at a really good specialist nursery , and it is by far the best I have seen. The plumes do not stand regimentally upright, but are fulsome, luxuriant and a soft shade of pink.


Now, a little conundrum for you ... how do you get a 5' x 5' banana into a big enough, warm enough billet to get it through the winter ? How do you even get it into the house ? Monty Don makes it look so easy ! However, I am determined it WILL get through this winter with every leaf intact, and have been heard to say that, if necessary, it can come under the duvet with me, if that is what it takes !!


These chaps are enjoying the wonderful sunshine until it is time to form an orderly queue at the greenhouse door. If we keep them dry and protect with fleece/ greenhouse heater during severe cold, then they should get through the winter unscathed.


Before you think it, yes, I know that this Gunnera is in totally the wrong place, but it would be impossible to move/ threaten/ kill now. There used to be a rather nice pond there at one time, until we got Gus, the Aquatic dog, who flung himself in for a quick swim at every opportunity, several times a day. Quickly tiring of dripping dog and muddy paw prints, we filled in the pond and made a bog garden, putting in a tiny little Gunnera ...

(BTW that IS a man standing next to our chimney, as he works on the adjacent one!)



We got this new Lutyens bench a few weeks ago, and it is already beginning to soften in colour and, as it  weathers it will become silvery grey. It is my favourite place for sitting and contemplating. 



Dahlias and Asters are still flowering, as are random sweet peas !


I have only really just discovered the joys of Erysimums, and the one in the photo is 'Bowles Mauve'. They are my kind of plant, as they stay the same, without staking, pruning, coaxing or cutting back. I love the long flowering period and the compact shape. I have planted out half a dozen young Erysimums of different colours/ varieties and am interested to see how they progress. I bought them on offer from 'Hayloft Nursery', online, a couple of months ago.


Cotinus Coggygria 'Royal Purple' never disappoints, whatever the season, and can make even my flower arrangements look good!


Come on 'Sexy Rexy', it's October, not June ! This ridiculously named rose was planted about six weeks ago, and is determined to flower before the end of the season.


The vegetation in 'Top Pond' (as it is imaginatively called) is beginning to die back as the water temperature drops.


The first time I saw the sun streaming through the bark of this Prunus Serrula, I thought that the then -children had tied some sort of dayglo streamers onto it !  It is a beautiful sight, as there are always ribbons of bark hanging off it, and when they are backlit like this, the effect is stunning.


The sub tropical garden is untouched by the advancing season, and dahlias and cosmos are still flowering strongly. The Ligularias have died back, but other than that it remains unchanged. Fatsia Japonica (in the foreground) is totally hardy, and will remain unchanged through out the winter, apart from a few flowers it is beginning to put out. The ferns will disappear, unless they are evergreen, although I have to resist the urge to cut them back anyway, as they look very sad.


The Tetrapanax in the foreground has grown well this season, as it has relished the conditions. It is tender, but has come through two winters with just a thick mulch over it. It is in quite a protected position here, so the micro climate must be beneficial.


Tree ferns and cordylines, mostly newly planted this season.


Nothing says 'smug' like trimmed hedges and a cleared veg patch !


Promise not to snigger... above is the beginning of my beech arch, which has been long in the planning. I have never cut the hedging nearest to the gate and have encouraged it to grow unchecked , in the hope that, when tall enough, it could be formed into an arch above the gate. I had only the haziest idea of how to accomplish this, so when it came to it I had to consult my gardening guru, Google. Google said lots about metal frames and wire and supports which I totally ignored, and I am relying on good old garden twine to bind the whippy branches together to form the shape I want. My assumption is that as the branches age and harden, they will form the arch I want, if I continue to tie in and shape and prune a little. At the moment it is a little lopsided but I am hoping that next season's growth will allow me to even it up.


The grass really is this ridiculous emerald green when the sun is on it and I promise I haven't been photoshopping! It is probably the moss and not the grass giving this effect!



Although it isn't visible, the pond is entirely covered by a huge net to stop the leaves from falling in. We had to cut down all the vegetation in and around the pond before we put it over. 
We are trying to open this area up by cutting down some ivy covered elders, to let more light in. 

So, there it is, a garden in deepest Lincolnshire, UK, at the end of October, looking more like a summer garden that an autumn one, photographed on a day when it was warm enough to sit outside . What a gift this weather has been, and hopefully it will make the winter, when it comes, seem a little shorter.

This post is part of the 'End of the month view' meme, hosted by Helen, at  'The Patient Gardener'. Many thanks for that, and if you visit, you will find a huge variety of blogs and gardens to visit from around the world.






















Friday 17 October 2014

It's ok if you half close your eyes ...

Fuchsia 'Lady Boothby'

The garden is slipping into decrepitude, but, like some ageing grand dame of the theatre, it refuses to slip away quietly into its dotage. Although there are swathes of foliage growing more dank more by the day, there are still some plants gamely putting on a show and flowering as if it is July.

Should someone tell 'Sexy Rexy' (below) that it is October ?



Poor old 'Bonica' is flowering for the first time ever, as, newly planted in early summer, the *** dog dug it up not once, not twice but THREE times ! It has overcome adversity, however, and is determined to flower before the end of the season.



Aconitum is one of my favourite perennials, and can be the last man standing of the season. It is hardy, reliable, and doesn't need staking. The blue is a fantastic shade, not really represented well by the camera. I started with one clump and have divided it every year, so it is now dotted all over the garden, at the back of borders, waiting in the wings all summer, before stepping into the limelight from September until November.



And the dahlias are still flowering, not as profusely as they were earlier in the season, but enough to give colour to the beds.


The dahlia above is one of the 'Bishop's Children' I grew from seed this year, and is one I am trying to hybridise, because of the yellow stripe.


This one may be 'fascination', if my memory serves me correctly, as the label is lost in the mists of time.


This is an unnamed variety which has flowed profusely all season, and has been a great asset to the garden.


Another unnamed variety which the bees have flocked to ! It has been smothered in blooms since early summer.


Anenome 'Wild Swan' is a new addition to the garden and this is its first flower. I had to photograph the back of the flower too, as it is equally as beautiful as the front. I love those delicate lilac stripes.




Although I don't really like Asters, they are part of the backbone of the autumn garden, and it would be difficult to get good colour without them. These are not consumed by mildew as many varieties seem to be .


It has been a good year for Passionflowers as they have enjoyed the heat and long growing season. Mine has no fruit though, which I find odd, but is still flowering strongly.


What is not to love about Cosmos ? Still flowering well and looking as fresh as they did in June.


This Hypericum is part of a big second flush of flowers, again due to the long hot summer I guess.


Penstemon 'Wine' is a beautiful rich deep magenta, and it is so easy to take cuttings from. I have a load growing on in the greenhouse, so that I will still have some next year, even if this one succumbs to the frost.

These photos of mine are deceptive, in that I think they give an unrealistic view of the garden. The garden is dying day by day, and the foliage is browning . Most of the beds are well on their way to their winter slumber, and the garden is definitely autumnal. there are growing tracts of bare soil, and I am starting to cut back now. However, there are still many reasons to be cheerful, as shown in the photos of the blooms above, as they seem to defy the advancing season.


Thanks to 'May Dreams Gardens' for hosting 'Garden Blogger's Bloom day' again this month. Do pay a visit to see lots of lovely blogs from across the globe.








Tuesday 7 October 2014

I had a little fig tree nothing would it bear ...


September has been kind to my fig tree as it has been bathed in warm sun throughout the whole month.There has been little breeze and temperatures have been relatively high for the time of year. It has been a record breaking month in terms of hours of sunshine. The wellather changed dramatically at the weekend and Autumn started with a vengeance, with a drop in temperature, torrential rain and high winds in certain parts of the country.


Because the weather has been so benign, flowering periods have been extended and seasonal dieback has been slowed right down. Like the Bedding is still going strong as are late summer flowerers like dahlias. There has been no real frost as yet to check growth.


The fig tree, like everything else in the garden, has enjoyed these conditions, and has continued to grow with the heady mix of warmth and a little rain. Other parts of the country have had so little rain that growth has been affected by drought conditions, but here in deepest Lincolnshire, the mix has been just great.



Little figlets have continued to swell and develop, but, correct me if I am wrong, these would ripen in January time in a hotter clime, so they have no chance here !

Like the nut tree in the nursery rhyme , though, my little fig tree has not been prolific. In fact it produced only one fig all season! That was not silver or gold, but was admittedly delicious, if short lived ! Hands up, it was mainly my fault with my over zealous pruning ! I have high hopes for next season.

The fig tree is looking the healthiest it has looked all season, and is lush and well foliated.

Looking at it now, it is hard to remember how sad it looked in Spring, as it had very sparse foliage due to my, erm, pruning, I'm ashamed to say. Well it overcame that hurdle and began to grow strongly in late Spring, only to be knocked back again, as the shed roof was renewed. It had to be cut back again to give the roofer clear access, and even had to be prised away from the wall at one point.


It all goes to show what a tough cookie this tree is, and I have developed a new respect for it, having seen it recover so heroically from adversity.


The  'Polish Spirit' clematis which twines through the fig tree, has also taken a battering and had to be cut down when the shed was reroofed. I wasn't unduly worried as it is a well established plant, but it did sulk for a couple of months before making an appearance again.


There is no sign of autumn in the foliage as yet, and both the fig leaves and the clematis leaves are still a very fresh strong green, unchanged from earlier in the season. Cooler night time temperatures will no doubt work their colour- changing magic soon! I expect that the photos next month, of my fig tree, and many of the trees being followed in the 'Tree following' meme will look very different.

You can check out the huge diversity of trees over at Lucy's lovely blog 'Loose and leafy', and many thanks to her for hosting the meme every month.