The first storm of the winter arrived this week. Some parts of the UK suffered more than others. Here the weather was blustery and gusty for a few days but only minor damage occurred. Here’s my contribution to the Six On Saturday meme:
One
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.
Two
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.
Three
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.
Four
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.
Five
There is a paragraph in the participant’s guide that encourages mention of gardening projects and time this week has been spent preparing the ground for some new plants. It’s not a very exciting photo so here’s a link to the planting that inspired me: Nice (no 3) I was very taken by the combination of gaura and pennisetum, and I am going to try it out on a smaller scale here. Gaura ‘Whirling Butterflies’ and Pennisetum villosum have been ordered and two corners have been cleared awaiting their imminent arrival. Both should be shorter and smaller varieties of the original planting.
Six
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.
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.
Here’s the largest fig tree. This was tentatively pruned back early this year but I can see it really needs to be brought down in size. Ruthlessness is a gardening skill I am beginning to develop. Cutting this tree back will give the summer borders more of a chance to keep going through into autumn. I will be able to bear any loss of fruit as I don’t see much of it anyway!
Because the PO’s interest were in fruit and veg the flower borders had been left to their own devices and I have been reclaiming them from the weeds. One corner was in the grip of ground elder and I spent the first two summers digging it out. I think I am now at the stage where I can plant this corner up. My dreams have recently focused in on a white hibiscus and a Trachelospermum jasminoides to cover up a fence. That’s my dream for autumn or spring planting. For the moment this is how the corner looks now. Each summer I plant a group of annuals to keep the ground covered. This year it was Zinnias which are filling out now.
A close up of that corner showing the convolvulus cneorum bought at the Beth Chatto garden now in situ among the erigeron karvinskianus. I’m happy with the front and I hope I will be happy with the back, now I need something mid border to bridge the gap. I have persicaria on the wish list so maybe there is an opening for it here.
Three 9cm pots of Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Album’ were planted out earlier in the summer. I have to be patient but next year I am expecting these diminutive plants to transform into dreaming spires of late summer interest. They should reach 1.2m. Some way to go then!
In my dreams, particularly in my day dreams, I see a luxuriously verdant garden seamlessly moving from one season to the next. At this time of the year I find myself struggling. The summer border becomes increasingly shady as the big fig tree branches out. There is just enough sun to encourage the roses in a second flowering and this one is Gertrude Jekyll.
A long term dream has been to fit in a water feature. My original expansive daydream of putting a rill down the middle of the lawn was strongly vetoed and probably rightly so. Instead I have in mind a much smaller feature to replace this laurel bush. It also shades the summer border and doesn’t add any great interest to the garden. Taking it out will leave a large hole – the first step towards the pond.
The trees in the garden are beginning to put on a show. First up is the persimmon tree. There was a bumper crop last year but I’m not a fan. I inherited it with the garden and it does look fabulous in winter when the leaves have dropped and the orange fruits remain.
I also inherited a number of apple trees and here is some delightful apple blossom from one of them. Again, there was a bumper crop last year, we don’t store the apples and there are only so many we can eat so the majority of them are taken off for juicing. We are still drinking the 2017 vintage.
The leaves on the fig trees are just opening. Not such a good year for figs for me last year and the squirrels always get the best of them. I managed to bag a handful!
And after my winter pruning efforts it is always a great relief to see new leaves on the vine. It does produce grapes but so far they have split before we get the chance to taste them. The grape variety is Black Muscat, which I understand is also known as Black Hamburg. Again, I was fortunate enough to inherit this well established vine which shades the pergola.
There is a great foaming wave of Choysia in one sunny corner of the garden. It’s perfectly lined up with a view from the window. Many thanks again to the previous owner.
Finally, all my own work! The white triumphator tulips are still hanging on and are a great companion to the irises that have just begun to flower. There is also a glimpse of the almost open allium ‘purple sensation’ – something for next week!
n20gardener 