October has been wet. There has been a lot of rain, with some sun and some frost, but it has mainly felt wet. The garden is soggy and so it is hard to do very much, yet I have probably achieved more this month than I have in a while. Go figure.....
In the front garden the Cypress trees are going to need to have some height removed in the Spring. Just a little off the top.
The buds on the Magnolia tree are fattening up nicely. They are signs of future happiness to come.
and in the driveway the Pin Oak, one of my favourite impulse buys, is developing into a very fine tree. I love its autumn plumage.
My beloved ginkgo is also reaching its autumn peak. This beautiful tree, my companion for over twenty years that has suffered much, is now growing well and is the tallest it has been for many a year. It is doing so well I am starting to consider whether I should replant it out into the garden again. I hestitate with this as I would hate to set it back again, but freeing it from its container back into the ground is something I would like to do. I will make a decision at some point when the time is right.
The Heptacodium miconiodes has reached its pink bracts stage, once the white scented flowers are over these lovely pink moments are left. I am so fond of this shrub. It does get a little large, but thankfully responds well to tough pruning.
The Long Shoot is looking quite wet. The grass is still growing well as we have only had a frost or two. There is that silvery sheen of wet to it which does not seem to dry away at the moment.
and when I look down the increasing numbers of cyclamen that have ant-seeded themselves around are adding more silver to the lawns. I am looking foward to their flowery display in the Spring.
This is also the time of year when I congratulate myself again for the repeating sedums in the Pond Border. Originally one broken off stem from someone else's plant has now been propagated to give this much joy.
I walk around to where one of the Prairie Borders used to be. This is now a newly planted shrub border and is very much work in progress. It is so new I have not got a name for it yet. I cannot keep calling it the ex-prairie border as it feels wrong to define it by what it is not. I do like how it has opened up this space though, suddenly there is a new way of looking towards the Wild Garden. I like this.
In the Wild Garden the Liriodendron trees are also having their best autumn moment. They are not quite a peak autumn, but the colours are lovely. They have been in the garden about 15 years now so I am hoping that soon they will flower. You will know when they do as I will be so excited I will tell everyone!
The Catalpa Tree, that moved with me to this garden alongside my beloved Ginkgo, is also doing well. Yes it has a bit of a lean, but is also has just on the edge of this photo a stem that is growing upwards. At some point the leany bit will be removed and the straighter upward pointing stem will become the main focus for the tree.
At the very top of the garden the Garrya is looking amazing. It is determined to convert me into loving it and I think it may have succeeded. I looked back to when I wrote about it previously and was amazed to see it was ten years ago (time flies). Ten years on I am so glad I did not remove it, it definitely deserves its place in the garden now.
The Courtyard is looking a little sparse. Several of its inhabitants have moved indoors for the winter and several have planted out into the ex-prairie border (I will give a name, it just needs to tell me what it should be).
The Smell me and Dye Garden looks well past its best. Once we have had some serious frost I will give a little bit of a tidy but I am wanting there to be some self-seeding so I am in no rush to do this.
and His Gingerness stopped in the perfect position to photo-bomb this view of the garden through the Whitby Arch. It never does to argue with His Gingerness and he was so perfectly framed....
The pond is full of water and a bit too many plants. I will give it a sort - promise.