Christmas wreath making

Bountiful Verbena bonariensis

     Butterflies love Verbena bonariensis

    

    Blue tits love Verbena bonariensis

    I love it too - especially at the moment, as it still looks good when many other flowers are fading,  

    even standing up well on windy autumn days, electric mauve flowers dancing in the fading light.

   If it likes you, it will seed everywhere (my husband calls it Weedara weedariensis). If only all 

   weeds were as pretty, we'd be in clover...

Autumn borders

Aster la vista!

These cheerful late summer daisies mix well with other plants in most sunny borders. They are a real boon through the early autumn days - and not just for us. As the other flowering plants dwindle, Asters provide a vital source of nectar for butterflies and bees. The larger flower heads make great landing pads for larger insects and their mass of blooms means that they can stock up in one visit and don’t have to waste energy flying from flower to flower.

Now you Sedum

The flowers of Sedum spectabile are a magnet for butterflies and bees at this time of the year.  They are a great addition to the front of the border and will provide long lasting colour right through the autumn, as the nectar-packed flowers fade into attractive seed heads in shades of russet and bronze. They are easy to care for and will put up with many situations, but given a choice they’d prefer sunshine and free draining conditions.

Dahlia daze

Just when many of the other flowers are fading, Dahlias are still in full swing, providing a  sumptuous late summer spectacle until the frosts - and if we have a glorious Indian summer that can mean several more weeks of beautiful blooms.  Dahlias are greedy plants and need rich, well drained compost. Dead head them regularly to keep the flowers coming and then, once the frost has cut them back, lift and store the tender tubers somewhere frost free for the winter.

Border Edit

Pep up fading borders with some late summer additions: Perennial Dahlias, Heleniums, Crocosmia, Echinacea and Asters will enliven any scheme and unlike annual bedding plants, they will go on performing year after year. Add some foliage specimens like Cotinus coggygria, evergreen Euphorbias and shimmering grasses for a border that will keep on singing right through the autumn and, if you add in plants with berries and bark, through the winter too...

Worth the wait

We have to wait a long time for the late summer shrubs to show themselves, but they provide a welcome shot of colour and structure in the borders at the tail end of the season. Buddlejas and Hebes are among the most popular with butterflies and bees, but need pruning so that they don’t become too leggy. Large flowered Hibiscus look exotic, but are surprisingly frost resistant and hardy. Hydrangeas are good value and their big, blousy flowerheads (actually papery bracts) last well into the autumn.

Daisy daisy

Daisy, daisy

Bring some late summer cheerfulness to your garden borders with Echinaceas, Asters and Rudbeckias. August can be a tricky month in the garden, but these stylish perennial daisies will provide a splash of colour when many of the other flowers are beginning to fade. They mix well with grasses and other plants that like an open sunny position.

Heleniums

Helenium 'Moorheim Beauty'

Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm'

Snapping the bees

Bees and flowers work together for their mutual benefit - the bee above is heavy enough to push down on the snap dragon and cause it to open so that the bee can gain access to the nectar and cover itself in pollen in the process. A perfect partnership in action.

Late summer at Kew

The Hive at Kew Gardens is a spectacular sight - especially when seen from within. It has lots of lights on it too, so must look even better in the evening. There were no bees inside it, thank goodness, but plenty buzzing around outside on the wildflowers.

This lush border was looking gorgeous outside the Princess of Wales glasshouse - lots of large leaved Cannas, Begonias and Busy Lizzies in sumptuous sizzling colours.

Cut some flowers

There are some flowers that need to be cut on a regular basis -  Cosmos and perennial Dahlias will keep on blooming until the frosts if regularly dead-headed, but if you take a bit more stem you can enjoy the flowers in a vase and savour those summer moments - there are still lots of lovely warm days to come, I'm sure, but the garden is responding to the falling light levels and it is much cooler at the ends of the day...

Choose your colour scheme - these oranges and yellows are flowers - Dahlias, sunflowers and interloping Crocosmia from the veg patch...

... while the pastel shades come from the main garden, where it's all a bit more demure. There are less roses about, but lots of late summer Asters, Penstemon and a second flush from the monster Lupin (smaller and more delicate in its second flush).

Late summer border edit

Pep up boring borders with some late summer additions: Dahlias, Heleniums, Crocosmia, Echinacea and Asters will enliven any scheme. Add foliage plants like Cotinus, evergreen Euphorbias, dogwoods, grasses and the border will sing on right through autumn and winter 

Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple'

Dhalias

Asters, Persicaria, Miscanthus and Dahlias - a happy autumnal mix at Great Dixter

hornbrookmanor.co.uk

Summer is still here, but...

Hey hey, I saved a worm today...

Look after your soil - mulch with organic matter, but don't dig it in, as this upsets the underground ecosystem. #no dig gardening #worms #organic

'Phew! Spring at last

It's still too cold to sow much directly outside (you could try broad beans, peas and spinach), much safer to start them off under cover and plant them out in a few weeks time. Nothing is more heartening than seeing those tiny shoots appearing. 

Missing my hens on Pancake day

It's not the right time to get back into henkeeping, but as pancake day looms, I'm really missing them - and their lovely eggs. Once the avian flu scare is over, I think we might take the plunge again. It's lovely to have them around the place - they are good pest controllers and surprisingly they have great personalities too.

Hellebore Heaven

These humble woodland plants have been improved enormously by breeders in recent years; their shy, downward facing flowers are getting bigger and they’re being made to turn their faces up to towards us.  There are even some double flowered forms now, with flouncy, peony-like blooms, but I rather like the fact that you have to get down to ground level to appreciate them.  The simpler species forms also contain more pollen and nectar than the hybrids, providing a very useful food source for early Bumble bees.

Look for Helleborus orientalis cultivars for flowers in shades from darkest burgundy through to purest white.  More unusual but just as reliable are the lime green flowered Helleborous argutifolius and Helleborus foetidus, or stinking hellebore (don’t let the name put you off). They are striking additions to the border and have architectural evergreen leaves that give some interest through the rest of the year.  The leaves of Hellebores should be removed just as growth starts again as last year’s leaves are tatty, prone to disease and can hide emerging flowers.  Hellebores are good and hardy, often flowering where not much else will and are a great asset in the garden at this time of the year.

Winter stems

This is Cornus snaguinea 'Mid Winter Fire' which has bright burning orange stems - plant in large groups to get the best fiery effects.  Now is the time to prune Cornus by cutting out some of the oldest growth right down to the ground. Check which cultivar you have, as some won't need a really hard prune. 

The pliable winter stems of Rubus cockburnianus look like a roll of frosted barbed wire and need plenty of space. This plant is related to the bramble - I'll say no more.

Many Willows have brightly coloured young stems, but need pollarding to show them at their best. Willows are very vigorous and not always suitable for a small garden. They grow best near water.

Snow days

Brave shoots and daring buds are emerging in sheltered places - at the base of trees and in the hedgerows.  It is still cold and there is always the possibility of snow and harsh winds, but we are so very nearly there... roll on the spring.

Winter water

Even in the depths of winter water is enticing. I'm not sure I can bring myself to swim in it, as lots of people do, but a walk by a pond or down by the seashore is energising and head clearing.  Plants like willows and dogwoods with coloured winter stems like to grow in damp soil, so poolside plantings work well.

Ponds are good, but nothing beats the beach.

Which Witch?

Witch Hazels are wonderful plants, lifting the late winter gloom with their scented, spidery flowers. The one pictured is H. intermedia 'Pallida.' For orange flowers there's H. intermedia 'Jelena' and then 'Diane' which has red flowers. They are related to hazels, not witches, but have been used medicinally for thousands of years and also were used as water diviners, so perhaps they are related to witches after all.  

Grow your own bird food

Feed the birds by growing plants that will attract insects and then later on produce berries and seeds to help them through the winter. Verbena bonariensis, poppies, wildflowers and nectar rich Sedums, Hebes, Agastache.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/27/big-garden-birdwatch-cold-snap-may-bring-unusual-migrant-birds-waxwings-to-gardens

Winter birds

I have to pay back the birds for their pest control services and also I feel so sorry for them - the ground is frozen, the berries have all been eaten and spring is still a long way off. Great garden bird watch  https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/

Talking of frost

Seed heads (Phlomis russeliana) and grasses (Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster) are hard to beat on frosty days. Best when planted where the low winter sun can back light them or make extra sparkle.

Seed sorting

I should be tidying up after Christmas and sorting other things, but somehow, as soon as the last decoration comes down, I feel a pressing need to audit my seed collection. The rattling of seed packets is a great comfort in the depths of winter (especially when they arrive in the post - it's like another Christmas). Some seed needs to be sown fresh and won't store well, but in general if you keep seeds in a cool, dark place and they should be viable fro a lot longer than it says on the packet.

Kale and hearty

Dark green leaves are packed full of vitamins and antioxidants so Cavolo Nero must be brimming over with them. It's such a good vegetable to grow over the winter too. Mine gets swamped by whitefly in the summer (protect with gauzy netting), but in the winter nothing touches it - not even the frost; in fact cold weather seems to make it taste better. 

At this time of the year you can use it shredded and steamed with leftover Stilton, walnuts, cream and a bit of lemon for a simple pasta sauce. When using as a side dish, steam then sauce gently with butter and orange zest.  I often add it to soups - any old soup, but for a sensible recipe, see below or visit http://wealdentimes.co.uk/recipes/wt179/healthy-courses-for-a-guilt-free-feast/kale-and-hearty-detox-soup.php). 

 

New gardening course starting March: http://www.hornbrookmanor.co.uk/site/COURSE_2017.html

Gardening course for 2017

Putting things together for the new gardening course is making me feel that spring is close. I'm filled with hope and plans - and pacing up and down like a caged tiger at the window. Only January and February and part of March to go then... 

http://www.hornbrookmanor.co.uk/site/COURSE_2017.html