On the whole it was a gloomy, wet and windy week here but a little milder than of late. It was with some trepidation that I ventured out into the garden to collect this week’s six but gardens have a great way of taking care of themselves and providing a few surprises.
One
One of the major projects of this year was the laying of the garden path. It was laid on top of the old path which worked well in most places but as the path rounded the corner to meet up with the lawn the height differential came into play. The weather was so hot and dry that plans to build up the lawn height were put on hold until about a month ago. Part of the lawn was stripped off and the soil level was built up. My lawn is a patchwork quilt of grass, creeping buttercups, wild yarrow, clover, daisies and much more. The stripped off turves did not hold together and when re-laid there were several scrappy patches which needed seeding. I had given up hope of the new seed germinating but I really was very excited to see that the first new shoots have appeared.
Two
This new growth reminded me of one or two other things in the garden that had sorted themselves out. Last winter I lost a French lavender plant given to me as a house warming present. It had done so well over its first summer but winter was just too much for it. Or so I thought. A few weeks ago I noticed new shoots of lavender appearing alongside the English lavender I had planted in its place. This is the strongest of the bunch and I’m hoping that sheltered by the English lavender it might make it through this winter. There are a couple of smaller seedlings that I am going to lift and overwinter in the greenhouse. I would love to report back to the giver that I do still have the French lavender.
Three
This young yew tree was given to me by the birds! I can’t bring myself to pull it out and would love to find a corner of the garden where I can nurture it along into something significant. Maybe I can start up my own wild hedgerow along the back fence. I’ve got a few wild blackberries that need to be taken in hand. Throw in a dog rose and some years of patient waiting and I could be onto something.
Four
The back fence is already home to Iris foetidissima and these have helpfully self seeded very successfully. The orange berries glow brightly through the gloom and a good colony of these in the dark corner will provide a much welcomed lift to the spirits through winter.
Five
I collected some Hollyhock seeds to bring with me to the new garden and now the seeds from those plants are starting to colonise well. I have had to take a few in hand as they managed to get themselves going some distance from the main site. I never know what colours are going to appear which is part of the fun.
Six
Another great self seeder is the foxglove. I did not have any in the garden so I bought a packet of seeds and did some sowing around the end of August. There was a good success rate and I have moved some out into the garden and left some to overwinter in the unheated potting shed. I’m hoping this belt and braces approach will give me a reward.
The fireside keeps calling me but the garden won’t let go just yet! Have a look at what everyone else is up to by visiting The Propagator’s blog – there’s no way Mr P will be putting his feet up just yet!
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.
This is the top end of the border. Sweet pea, cosmos purity and nicotiana lime green were sown from seed. The lambs ears in the foreground looked bedraggled in last week’s six. Will they survive after the freezing weather of this week? This path is staying. It’s not very attractive and if I had a magic wand it would be transformed into a lovely brick cottage garden path. I have also planted alchemella mollis and geranium brookside, both of which tumble onto the path edges.
n20gardener 