At this time of the year the garden here becomes shadier. The sun slips lower in the sky and neighbouring trees cast their shadows. Like the garden I am sliding towards my winter dormancy. But before I curl up there are a few more sixes to be posted. Recently I have muttered to myself, ‘Call yourself a gardener?’
The first was on the tragic occasion of admiring the emerging flower stem of a nerine and seconds later stepping on it. The second on dead heading a rose still in flower, which was swiftly followed by chopping back branches on the tomato plants and finding a perfectly formed truss of green tomatoes among them. But these things happen, don’t they?
My first six is also a disappointment
This week I dug up the last of my sarpo mira potatoes. This is the total haul from two plants. Barely enough to mash and I was certainly crushed.
Two
The tale of woe continued. Into the greenhouse I went to pick some tomatoes. I noticed that the romano peppers needed tying in again. But as I brought the stems together to tie them in they snapped. But these things happen, don’t they? This photo was taken after a good many of the peppers had been used for the evening meal.
The sun was shining on these tragic events and the birds were singing so even as I chastised myself for not staking, not tying in, not watering, not being more careful, and not being out in the garden more I couldn’t avoid seeing some positives and here they are.
Three
This bright cheerful zinnia, grown from a tiny seed, continues to shine.
Four
The astrantia major are flowering again.
Five
Autumn is coming and softer colours take their place in the garden. I call these ice plants but I’m going to venture to suggest the Latin name of Hylotelephium spectabile. Yes or No?
Six
Miracles happen. Last week I featured the bulbs of Colchicum speciosum ‘Album’, which had just arrived. I planted them the very same day, idly thinking that I would have to wait a year before the flowered. That would give me time to spread out the lamb’s ear plants that I wanted to surround them. This week I found this amazing sight.
So I add to my crimes, ignorance. I had no idea the bulbs would flower this year. What a blissful ignorance it was. Without it I would not have been half so thrilled and excited as I was when I saw this flower and I didn’t step on it!
Gardeners come with different skill levels and it is great fun to be part of The Propagator’s Six On Saturday crowd, where we are all sharing, learning and always enjoying gardening. I really recommend you stop by and take a look.
Pride before the fall and fall the persimmons did. Two branches came down, both heavily laden with fruit. They broke from the inside so nature has done a good job of opening up the tree.
No sooner had the delphiniums put up their second flush of flower stems than the storm arrived. Of course I hadn’t got round to tying in the tops but the ties at the bottom seem to have helped steady the stems enough to keep them safe.
The stately cosmos that was just opening out its flowers was not so lucky. I had tried to push a cane into the ground but there was no give at all. The plant snapped off at the bottom. All was not lost as I cut back the side stems and brought them inside to fill a vase.
The fruits of the passion flower are ripening and providing a focal point over the top of an arch. These is the more common Passiflora caerulea and although the fruits are edible when very ripe I prefer to leave them be.
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Indeed the doorbell rang a moment ago and although it was not the aforementioned plants I was excited to receive the first of the bulb orders. Excited on two counts: Yes! I had my six for the week (it was touch and go) and I could cross Colchicum speciosum Album off of the wish list. I hope they are going to like the space I have ready for them. Fingers crossed that it is sunny enough.
Cutting back plants after flowering really can work. The alchemilla mollis which were sheared to the ground have come through again and at this time of year they look beautiful with their dressing of early morning dew.
This is Geranium ‘Brookside’. It roamed through the garden in early summer, knowing no boundaries and so cutting it back when it finished flowering caused me no stress. The plant needed to be tidied up. This week I noticed it was flowering again.
Also starting up again are the seedlings of Nigella, love in a mist. I have a carpet of them which I should probably be thinning out and sharing around the garden. But I might just leave them all here to keep the weeds down and see how they come through next year.
In the greenhouse I have managed to keep a tray of foxgloves and echinacea pallida seedlings alive and it looks like some potting on needs to be done. Temperatures are on the up next week so they I hope they will put on some good growth once moved into a pot.
Encouraged by the good example of others I decided to try some winter vegetables. I rescued a tray of rainbow chard and perpetual spinach from certain death and planted them out a few weeks ago. The pesky slugs made straight for them but they have pulled through and growth looks good.
Last November I planted out bare root roses in a new border and Darcy Bussell is still flowering. I am impatiently waiting for the roses to become fully established but even in the first year the flowers have been rewarding.
From the Albert 1er gardens just off the Promenade des Anglais. A great selection of tropical plants, all of which were unknown to me except under the vague heading of palms or cactus like things. This one did have an information board close by so I can tell you it is Asparagaceae Dasylirion Longissium LEM. or Totem du Mexique. Frost resistant to -12 degrees apparently.
From a sun baked border at the Musee Matisse in Cimiez. A mixture of the familiar and the exotic.
I have long wondered if I should incorporate some grasses into the garden and I love this combination. Does anyone knows what the planting is? I don’t think it would fit the scale of my garden but it was so light and feathery that it did go on the ‘in my dreams’ list!
More beautiful grasses and ? I hope the photo is clear enough for you to put forward suggestions.
A riot of colour to end on. I wish I could get my garden to look like this in September! Maybe this is the result of good deep borders and planting for height. Something for me to consider.
A persicaria – labelled as ‘pink’ so I can’t add any further information. It goes some way to my getting persicaria into the garden but I am on the hunt for some of the dark red ones. I planted it next to the salvia ‘Blush Pink’ bought earlier in the summer and I hope they will be happy soul mates.
I singularly failed to record the other great gardening activity of the weekend which was the apple picking. It was a smaller crop this year, both in numbers of apples and size. Some were little bigger than a golf ball but as they all go for juicing they were all picked. In about a week I will know how many bottles this year’s harvest produced. The bent double apple tree of a few weeks ago is now nearly horizontal so I took a picture of that!
Every week I think about including this Cleome ‘Senorita Carolina’ in the six but for some reason it stays on the sub’s bench. This week it makes it into the team. I really don’t know why it has taken me so long, it’s been flowering like this all summer. The real colour is slightly less vibrant than captured here. It’s a tender plant so if the winter is anything like last year I shall probably lose it.
Just coming into flower is the Anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’. Earlier in the year its poor leaves were scorched by the sun but as the season moves on it’s site is more in the shade where the splash of white shines through.
Given the size of the apples this year I was surprised and impressed by the persimmon fruits. They are much larger than last year and although I am not a great fan of the fruit I do enjoy their orange colour as they ripen in November.
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