I missed the July EOMV (End of Month View) and in a determined effort not to miss August as well, this post is better late than never.
The garden is beginning to look tatty now, mainly due to a lack of care lately, but also everything is starting to look past its prime. It is also partly due to the lack of rain and me getting fed up with watering every day. However, the roses are in their second bloom and the Compassion Rose is full of buds and looking splendid.
My eldest daughter and grandchildren (3 + 7) came to stay over the weekend and I was hoping that we could pick lots of raspberries. Sadly we only managed to find 5 that had ripened, which were eaten within minutes. The Malling Raspberry has a lot of fruit, which when ripe I will be able to make some jam, something I have not done for many years.
Well overdue a bit of a chopping back is the south facing patio at the side of the house. Something has turned most of the Passion Flower leaves into a good impersonation of doilies. It has been very disappointing this year with very few blooms and I am not sure why.
The Fuchsia and Japanese Anemones continue to flower and will probably do so until October. I know the Anemones will flower probably until the first frosts.
The beautiful white Agapanthus, which I think is called “Queen Mum”, has just about finished now but has been glorious this year. Sadly, the Gerbera, just peeking through at the bottom left of the photo, has only produced two flowers which has been a great disappointment. This is despite feeding it so I think it probably requires repotting – something to add to the ‘Jobs to be done’ list.
A few months ago while browsing through a magazine and came across a lovely photo of a French patio with a large white Hydrangea in a pot with a white Hardy Geranium (Cranesbill). It looked so lovely I went on a garden center hunt for a white Hydrangea. It has not flowered. I was unable to locate a white geranium but was recently given one as a present, which I think is a Kashmir White. So fingers crossed that next year I will be able to emulate the lovely patio pot that was in the magazine.
Moving down the garden, there are some very pretty dark pink Cosmos, growing amongst the Penstemons and Salvia, as well as what is beginning to look like a Cosmos tree! It has a trunk about 5cms thick and is about 4ft tall but shows no signs of producing flowers. It is most odd has anyone else come across anything like this?
We had a very windy day or two last month which devastated the wildflower garden. I gave it a bit of a tidy up at the time but left lots of the poppies and cornflower so they would reseed for next year.
Another plant on its last flush of flowering is Echinacea “Summer Cocktail” purchased from the Crocus website. It hasn’t flowered as prolifically as their photos show but maybe because it was its first year in the garden. The Rudbeckia ‘Little Gold Star’ has only really just started to flower and is looking good.
This is the time of year that the Sedum is beginning to come into its own with the flower heads starting so show a rosy glow.
At the end of last year I was given a box of Dahlia tubers by my boss and I almost forgot to get them out earlier this year. They are all yellow and have been wonderful, giving lots of color into an otherwise boring part of the flowerbed. Just along from these is another Dahlia which I left in the ground over the winter. I don’t recall the flowers being as large but this year they are the size of dinner plates, but unfortunately on short stems which has made using them as cutting flowers as pointless exercise.
The north facing border continues to be a disappointment, apart from the ferns which have grown to enormous height this year. The Hydrangea has not produced any flowers and the pink Astilbe which in past years has flowered in abundance, has been very meagre this year.
Finally, the front garden. I really must remove the Buddleia in the flowerbed under the front window. Last week I had to cut it down to below the windowsill level as it was blocking the light out of lounge. Every year I say I will get rid of it but this time I will do something about it.
The Iceberg rose is also in its second flush and in past years has continued to flower throughout the winter and I have had roses on Christmas Day.
There is not a lot to say about the front garden, save that I keep it tidy, mow the lawn and spend very little time there. Another shrub that needs a good trim is the Skimmia, but is does give privacy from people who walk past, and this is a busy road for pedestrians. I often wonder where they all come from or where they are going. I am very near the station and there are a few shops (mainly carpet shops and take aways) at the top of the road so perhaps that is why.
We are now in the lovely month of September, it is my favorite month. I particularly like the slightly chilly mornings and warmth of the mid-day. It always reminds me of going back to school in summer dresses, jumper and blazer, then sitting on the school field at lunch time having discarded the jumper and blazer, enjoying the last heat of the fading summer. Ah, memories – what a long time ago that was. September, however, is the month of spiders and spider webs. Already I am having to wave my hand in front of me, to break any webs, as I go out of the kitchen door.
Thank you Helen at Patient Gardener for hosting this monthly meme. Please visit her blog and check out the other contributions to the End of Month View. It is surprising how gardens differ so much at the same time of the year.
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