The high points of my gardening year are the June riot of colour and the September harvests. In truth we have been enjoying raspberries, figs and blackberries for a few weeks now. The erratic early summer weather did for one of my cucumber plants but the survivor put out enough cukes to keep the salad bowl well supplied. There is colour in the garden thanks to the roses and phlox but this week is mainly a veg and fruit focus.
One
Dwarf French beans. These are Safari. This is the first time I have grown a dwarf variety and so far so good. They have cropped well enough for me and taste good. They don’t seem as squeaky as other French beans. I’m freezing those that are surplus to requirements. They are perhaps slightly fiddlier to pick than climbers from a wig-wam but I won’t have to untangle all that twine at the end of the season. I sowed a second round a few weeks ago which I hope will give me a crop in October.
Two
Tomatoes in the greenhouse. My greenhouse is in partial shade and the windows need a clean but temperatures still climb. They have only just started to ripen in the last week or two. There are plenty of tomatoes but will they all ripen? These are San Marzano 2 and Tigerella. I also grew Green Zebra, Golden Sunrise and Alicante.
Three
Onions, small but good enough. The onions did better this year due to the higher rainfall. I don’t plant many because I never have much luck with stored onions. I am sure these will be used up before they start sprouting. The variety is Sturon and I will grow these again next year. The red onions were even more diminutive and were used up very quickly. They were growing in the rain shadow of one of the apple trees. I will try to do better with the red onions – time to start the winter Japanese varieties now.
Four
The large fig tree has cropped well this year and for some reason I didn’t see the squirrels stealing the fruits. Perhaps the wasps put them off. Picking the figs had to be carried out with great care. This tree is going to get the big trim over winter and it is much needed. On Friday I watched the wind blow through the leaves with some trepidation. I’m hoping we don’t get a big winter storm this year.
Five
It is apple picking weekend here. This is because the next few weekends are taken up with other plans so it is now or never. All the apples will be picked and taken off for juicing. In a week or so I will collect the results. I finally got round to buying a telescopic apple picker which I hope will mean less teetering on the ladder.
Six
There is one flower for the week. This stray sunflower has been brightening up a corner of the garden. It is like a lighthouse shining through the dark, calling to the butterflies and bees. I didn’t plant it and can only think that it came from the sunflower seeds in the bird feeder. For which I am very grateful!
Apart from the great apple harvesting that has to be done this weekend I am hoping to make a start on some bulb planting. I’ve not placed a big order yet but I have some crocuses and Tete a Tete daffodils to ease me in. Planning for Spring has started.
Mr P hosts the Six On Saturday meme and all the links to other posts can be found in the comments section. September on show from gardens around the world. Lovely.
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.
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 