Flowers, flowers, flowers.

Even though this Summer has been one of the wettest, dullest and coldest ever the flowers have played a blinder. If anything they have been better than ever. I think this is partially due to the fact that as the garden matures there are more areas of shelter and windbreaks. Did’nt see this lovely Hollyhock until it started to flower. Supposedly black, it is more like a very deep purple to me. Is there such a thing as a truly black flower?  This one came up through a pink flowered Fuschia.

Cosmos of course never fail to please. One of my faves. They mature fully from a Spring sowing and provided you keep them deadheaded will flower until well into Autumn.

White Mallow and Feverfew in the shady border by the chalet. This border has filled out really well. It was begun in March 2011.

Earlier this year we buried our dog Alice here…it was a place he liked to sit. A packet of wildflower seeds was planted and from it came mostly these beautiful Corncockle. As purple is my fave colour I really like them.

Even Lavender which likes good drainage and lots of sunshine has done ok.

The archway above the garden gate is not as heavily clothed as other years…but not too bad either.

Finally this variegated Lysmachia in dappled evening sunlight. It is doing well under the shade of the Birch tree.

After the storm.

At last the wind and rain have stopped. For two days we have had strong winds blowing in from the west accompanied by non stop rain. Apparently there has been a month’s rain in the last two days, that’s about 4 inches. The rivers, ditches and lakes are full to capacity and the waterfall, which is usually a Winter feature, is back on the mountain.

 In the garden the worst fatality was the Angelica. It had put on tremendous growth and was standing, rather magnificiently, at about 6 feet tall. It is however battered to the ground this morning. It will,  I’m sure,  rise again.

By the garden gate the Honeysuckle is coming into flower. I’m so glad this was’nt damaged as it has grown well. The scent is lovely and I really like the flowers. I grew this from a cutting.

Now is a very good time to start taking soft wood cuttings.Was watching Gardener’s World last night on the BBC, Carol Klien gave a good tutorial on how to do this. Carol is brill, I love her easy relaxed way of presenting and teaching.

In the micro-climate of the polytunnel all is well. Growth is rapid right now and everything is lush. Produce is in abundance, right now we are harvesting Lettuce, Spring Onions, Beetroot, Herbs and Spinach. Spinach goes to seed quickly but I sow some new every few weeks. There’s nothing to beat your own fresh Spinach. We also grow Swiss Chard which lasts a year before going to seed but proper Spinach is my fave. I love Nasturtiums in the polytunnel. They are of course edible, but they also attract beneficial insects which prey on nasties like greenfly.

These Nicotiana have come into flower in the last few days. Cosied up in a pot in the closed polytunnel, it was’nt opened for 3 days, has encouraged them to bloom. Thanks, whoever invented polytunnels. It certainly makes life easier, at 600 ft above sea level here, it would be impossible to grow fragile things without them.

Every available receptacle has been used to capture rainwater. The way our weather is changing, who knows, we could be back to drought conditions again next week!

Happy gardening!

As October ends…

many of the trees have shed their leaves, withdrawing the enegry and nutrition within to tide them over the coming Winter. The Ash and Hawthorn are already bare, others like the Beech and Oak hold the leaves for longer and very slowly lose their colour.

The seed pods of Honesty are now turned brown. Soon these silver discs will disintegrate allowing the seeds within to drop to the earth where they will throw up an abundance of new plants next Spring.

The Latin name for Honesty is Lunaria, I presume this refers to the moonlike appearance of the seed pods. It is also called Money Plant or Silver Dollars.

This Polygonum has been flowering for months now. It’s not as invasive as it’s more famous relative the much hated Japenese Knotweed. I still would’nt put it in a border though, just to be on the safe side, this one is planted in a corner on it’s own which it has filled very nicely.

This little Primula which is in a tub by the back door has decided to flower now. Is it flowering very early or flowering very late? I can’t decide which. I think plants are a bit confused with the strange weather this year. The Summer was cold and wet so plants must have thought it was Autumn, now it is still wet but very mild. Plants thinking it’s Spring maybe?

Sedum spectablis is still providing a great splash of colour…

while also sending up next’s years shoots! Surely these don’t usually sprout like this until Spring?

The Black Hollyhock is still flowering too. It is getting shelter and support from the Twisted Willow it is planted against.