September – the frog days

Ch– ch- ch- changes

Pond installed at the end of the month. Within 12 hours there was a frog in it, peak frog so far is three, keeping a watch on it every day like an anxious parent hovering over a sleeping baby. No plants yet, and the space around it needs filling in with greenery, but it will be a good addition to the garden. Have split up a large clump of grasses and planted them in front of the pond to screen it.

Cut back lots of brown shoots from contoneaster against the east facing wall. Now has a smaller frame but hopefully healthier growth, no sign of berries yet.

Successes

Have had lots of berries on the pyracantha (although not as smothered as in previous years), looks like the wild garlic is growing back in the east-facing bed. Shoots at the base of the cordyline look healthy as does the flush of leaves at the top, but the bark above the new shots has started to split. Lots of feverfew self-seeding around the place. The sedums have flowered really well this month as have the Japanese anemones

Nandina putting on growth after it’s pruning in the spring. Half a dozen fruit on the Raspberry and a new cane is sprouting. Berries starting to appear on the ‘Burncoose’ white skimmia in the back bed. The lemon verbena and the hyssop have both grown well this year.

The cosmos has continued to flower and produce buds throughout the month – a great success, I will plant more next year.

The transplanted alchemilla has done well and the heuchera moved for the tree removal is doing well. 

Hmms

Has been a poor year for the astilbe, no flowers on the acanthus. Have been disappointed in the hydrangeas. The fuchsia survived its move but not much new growth and few flowers. Some buds on the nigella seeds sown earlier in the year, but almost no flowers. One slightly spindly sunflower made it from my random chucking of seeds at the ground. A couple of verbena bonariensis and one zinnia, also made it, but generally the seed sowing wasn’t a huge success.

Generally it’s been a quiet month – not enough time to spend in the garden.

Weather

Started in a mini heatwave, rain and high winds at the end of the month – heading towards another mini heatwave in early October.

August – dog days

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Lots of movement promoted by the removal of the old Photinia. Cleared the bed around it leaving the huge clump of anemones to fend for itself.

  • heucheras and hydrangea to the main west-facing bed.
  • small clump of Japanese anemones,,small skimmia to the bed between the bay and the echinops. Pinks to that bed too.
  • some of the little black and green grasses, which were edging the bed, to the West-facing bed between the Bay and the berberis
  • moved the small skimmia from in front of the bay to beside the original skimmia in the east facing bed.
  • moved the three failing Actaea to around the lilac in the West facing bed – let’s hope it can revive them. By the end of the month two of them looked dead already – but they died right back last year and revived and may do so again – the third is valiantly clinging on. 
  • transplanted some self-seeded Campion from the bed under the photinia to the bed with the verbena and lavender. Lots more self-seeded plants in the lawn in front of the old photonia bed.
  • Moved some clumps of sweet woodruff out of the photinia bed with varying levels of success – clumps in the west-facing border with the other transplantees seem to be doing fine, Clumps round the cordyline have turned up their toes.

Successes

The echinops/achillea combo has been as good as ever, enhanced by the yellow fennel and white cosmos, which has flowered magnificently throughout the month with lots of buds still coming.

A good year for Japanese anemones – they must like the wet. Clumps along the east side in bud or flowering, clump under the ceanothus which I thought died years ago has produced buds (but not flowered). Heleniums looked great all month. Lots of green growth on the hebes; no longer just on the ends of long stems but the centre of the plant is filling in. The hard cut-back seems to have succeeded.

Lots of flowers on the little dahlia. Masses of new shoots on the trunk of the cordyline (should I be cutting them back?) Took out lots of the dead lower leaves in the crown and there’s still strong growth from the top. Fleabane daisies are flowering beautifully. The corydalis is everywhere, bringing a flush of yellow in the walls and up the steps. Lots of flowers on the hyssop. Flowers on the sedums.

Hmmms:

Spent a lot of time hacking back the blackberry, buddleia and honeysuckle growing over the wall from #87 and the ivy from #91, muttering under my breath all the while.

Think I lost the Peacock orchids in the tree removal, but will wait to see if they survive the trauma – might get something next year? Gladioli bulbs planted under the cordyline have not survived.

Fuchsia is flowering but nothing like the height it had last year – recovering from the move or just not as good a position or weather as last year? Burncoose hydrangea in back border has green growth but no flowers, in fact none of the Burncoose plants are doing much except the skimmia in the back bed:  green growth but no blooms on the guelder rose and honeybush, some growth on the nandina.

Acanthus in the back border looking sad – no flower spikes this year

Weather:

A poor summer. Cool and very wet, although September is starting with a mini, back-to-school heatwave.

July – green is also a colour

Ch ch ch changes

Hasn’t been much time to do much in the garden what with visiting Dad in Devon, Dan in Edinburgh and starting work at GamCare, but it all seems to be doing its thing; it just needs more colour. Did plant a rudbeckia in the gap near the Shasta daisies and moved the worst of the three actaea to the West border in front of the Bay, replacing it with the heuchera from the green pot which was being swamped by the fast growth of the other plants.

Confirmed that the photinia is definitely dead and am having it removed next month– possibly to be replaced by a pond. In preparation for the tree felling, moved the hydrangea, heuchera, pinks and a small clump of Japanese anemones to temporary homes in the west facing bed. The large clump of anemones and the fuchsia will have to take their chances…

Successes

The gaura is now romping ahead, it has happily survived the move. Lots of shoots coming out of the bottom of the Cordyline – waiting to see what happens. The feverfew which was the dominant thing in the garden in June is now over and I’ve cut most of it back revealing the buds and flowers  on the heleniums and day lilies. Looks like there might be a second flush of growth on the geum I cut back after it flowered in May. Shasta daisies and bell flowers in bloom, lots of flowers on the hyssop. There is a forest of tall dandelions in the lawn which looks spectacular in the sunshine, when we have any.

Buds starting to come on the Japanese anemones. The delphiniums are starting to grow, apart from one that’s been massacred by slugs. The plants under the photinia look fine. Lots flowers on the cosmos grown from seeds. The Poundland honeysuckle is now definitely growing up my bodged-together climbing frame of bamboo canes. The self-seeded dill is 6ft tall and the prettiest thing in the garden.

Hmmms

I need to get something to go in the gap between the Echinops and the Bay and I need to do something about the bed with the alchemilla and the actea in it because it’s not really doing very much and that’s now a very boring patch of ground. The garden is a  moving carpet of snails – never seen so many, for once outnumbering the slugs. Presumably they’re enjoying the weather.

Weather

Wet and gloomy all month. Amazing to compare the pictures with July last year when everything looked parched.

June is busting out

Ch ch ch ch changes

  • Took the salvia out of the big pot on the patio and planed it in the west facing bed by the guelder rose. Will disturb the seeds scattered there, but there’s been so much digging by foxes  recently they’re probably toast anyway.
  • Planted up the big green pot to brighten up the corner by the tool store.
  • Planted out the chocolate mint from a pot where it had grown pot- bound and looked doomed, into the ground behind the hebe. Not sure if I care if it spreads there – welcome ground cover if it survives!
  • Planted 2 salvia blue angel in bed with the guelder rose. Moved the little yellow foxglove to under the bay – think it needs more shade.
  • Lots of shoots coming from low on the trunk of the cordyline, will leave and see what happens.
  • Delphiniums strong enough to go back into garden. Planted three in bed between the dogwood and the lilac. They look healthy enough but not putting on much growth.

Successes

  • Might have been wrong about the bulbs I put in last month. There are shoots from the gladioli and the peacock orchids – not as many as I planted, but better than I was expecting.
  • Mid-month cut the allliums – seed heads drying brilliantly in the house.
  • Feverfew looks fantastic along east facing side.  Heuchera still flowering in east facing bed by end of the month.
  • Transplanted helenium and day lilies have lots of buds on them. Cosmos and marigold seedling coming along. Achillea looking great – is taller than echinops, is that usual? Lots of buds on the shasta daisies and wildflowers in the lawn. Mowed the lawn once this month when the cloud of dandelions starting going to seed and it shows there’s now no grass at all at that end of the “lawn”.
  • Nandina putting on lots of new growth after its pruning.

 Hmms

  • Pictures from other years show the acanthus in full flower by the end of this month, but there’s no sign of that yet.
  • RHS advice is that the photinia may have fireblight. Tree surgeon called for advice says that’s unlikely, it’s happened too quickly – tree might just be dead because of the weather conditions in the last year. No idea whether to get rid or hope it will regenerate if cut back.
  • Creeping Jenny has been scorched by the heat and looks very sad. Verbascum over, have flowered but have been disappointing – lack of height and longevity. Burncoose stuff from the big order in the spring has been patchy: skimmia, viburnum, honey berry have done well, fox gloves and verbascum disappointing, Alchemilla and hydrangea OK but nothing spectacular.
  • Fuchsia being eaten by something, Thought it was leaf cutter bees – cute – but now not cute at all, plant looking very ragged

 Weather

No rain at all until mid month then 3 days of rain in the last two weeks. Has been hot – temperatures up to 30 but the month is ending with high winds and temperatures round 18. No wonder the photinia has had enough.

May – a masterpiece

Theses posts are just for me – a record of the garden month by month: what’s working and what isn’t and how it changes over the year. If you land here by accident, welcome. Feel free to walk on the grass.

Ch-ch-ch-ch- ch-changes

Dug out (large) stump of the choysia killed in January’s snow. Planted the surviving dahlia tuber at the beginning of the month, which survived initial slug attack and by the end of the month had put on good growth.

Advice from RHS for my nandina domestica dilemma (see hmmms for April): This is possibly due to apical dominance, where the upper most shoot produces hormones that repress the growth of lower ones  … Cut back the main shoot now by a half or two thirds. This should encourage bushy growth from lower down. Bear in mind, these plants are fairly slow growing, so it may take a while before the plant fills out. Took out the leading shoot mid-month, let’s see if it makes a difference.

Kill or cure pruning of the lilac which produced long, whippy stems this year which bent over before flowering, hiding the flowers and obscuring everything at the end of the garden. Have cut back hard and will try to keep it trimmed so next year’s growth is less unruly. 

New stuff:

  • Six strawberries planted experimentally in a lined sieve.
  • 8 Peacock orchid bulbs planted in the edge of the bed n front of the photinia. Bulbs quite elderly not sure they’re still viable.
  • Patch of last year’s (maybe year before that’s?) honesty seeds in a little grid between the bay tree and the echinops.
  • Six delphiniums in small groups along the West facing bed, 2 by the rose and four in the centre west-facing bed. Two annihilated by slugs, three surviving, one put into a pot to recuperate before being planted out when it’s strong enough to cope.
  • Cosmos seeds planted in the centre patch of the main bed.
  • five gladioli bulbs planted around the cordyline but they feel very soft and dead – stored too long?
  • Marigold seeds in little box on top of the pier and the yellow pot that hangs on the drainpipe. Some planted into the bed by the shasta daisies – the slugs will love ’em.
  • Towards the end of the month scattered Verbena seeds, Black Swan poppies and blue ball cornflowers in the back border;  Black Swan poppies, escholzia and Nigella in the side beds around the cordyline and between the dogwood and the bay. Cornflowers and zinnias in the patch next to the honesty and the echinops. Stuck in some very randomly placed sunflowers along the West facing wall without any stakes.
  • Sage, thyme, rosemary and oregano planted in pots.

Successes

It’s May, it’s impossible for the garden not to be luscious, and it looks fabulous. The only real frustration is not being able to capture its magnificence in photos. Pretty much everything has romped away, especially the weeds. Am trying to be relaxed about what the RHS are now calling ‘hero plants’, which means the lawn is 80% dandelions, ragwort and green alkanet, while the borders are full of purple dead nettle, lesser celandine, Kenilworth ivy and herb Robert (I know these names because I am photographing everything and running it through Picture This like a horticultural scene of crime officer).

Corner near the maple looks great – aquilegia, loosestrife, heuchera and alchemilla looking good, further along, the euphorbia is brilliant green and the day lilies and clumps of heleniums (transplanted in the autumn from the opposite bed) are doing well. The alliums have been brilliant all month and the woodruff and creeping jenny are covering the bed around the photinia (and threaten to engulf the ornamental grasses).

Clematis has survived its emergency transplant away from the ivy and is growing (slowly) up the pyracantha. Honeysuckle also growing (slowly) up through the ceanothus.

Corydalis is rapidly colonising the walls and steps around the patio.

Patch of Japanese anemones under the photinia is suddenly huge and spreading left and right. It will need to be divided in the autumn.

Hmmms

A few cosmos seedlings have come up but not much other seed success (though possibly not enough time for them to have done much yet). Something – foxes/cats/very large squirrels? – has been digging holes in the west-facing bed which will disturb the seeds – I may go back and top up supplies.

Cut black-spot affected leaves off the rose – not much rose left.

I curse my perennial foe, the slug.

Weather

Despite solid rain through April there’s been almost no rain in May and the soil already looks dry and dusty. Weather has been better, with a few really nice days but still cool and very windy.