In some ways mid October has crept up on me but weather wise, it has come with a great big wallop to the back of the head. It's got remarkably cold this last couple of days and I'd be surprised if we don't get our first frosts quite soon.
Something I rarely do is compare the previous year's bloom day post, purely because I really only have 1 full years worth of posts as a comparison. I thought the garden was looking so good this October, I wanted to see just how different things were this time last year. Lo and behold, things are not that different really. My mind is obviously playing tricks on me.
The work I've been carrying out in the front garden is almost complete, the new arch was put in on Friday. I had hoped to get it done a few days before hand but could not coordinate time with my son to hoist it into position. The planting scheme in the front garden is loosely based, I say loosely, because my plans to have peach and yellow roses accented by the deepest of blue/purple perennial
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| Liriope muscari Royal Purple |
hasn't quite gone to plan. I have been attempting to source reliably hardy perennials in same shade as Salvia Amistad but they are scarce. Of course, I set out on my search a bit late in the year. I've already under planted all the roses with purple crocus, so come springtime I will be on the lookout for more. In the meantime to fill the gaps, I have used blues, yellows, oranges and reds. Following advice from a couple of you last bloom day post, I have successfully struck some cuttings and even after just 1 month they appear to be well rooted. I only need to get them through winter time on the kitchen window sill now. I live in hope that this sunny spot, between the hedge and fence is protection enough.
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| Salvia Amistad in October 2014 |
It's a toss up between the Salvia and Rosa The Lark Ascending as to which is my favourite new addition to the garden this year. I just love both of them! This rose is extremely healthy and very sturdy, it holds it's blooms upright remarkably well. It hasn't stopped blooming since I brought it into the garden back in June.
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| Rosa The Lark Ascending October 2014 |
Of all the other Roses, which are I'm sure putting down roots rather that blooming again - Port Sunlight and Lady of Shalott have lots of buds and the blooms that manage to open are pretty soon spoiled by wind.
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| Rosa Port Sunlight |
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| Rosa Lady of Shalott |
The only other blooms right now in the front garden are the Rudbeckia and Sedum Autumn Charm, charm by name, charm by nature. This sedum is always the last one to flower in my garden. I'm suspecting it may be a bit too pink to be out here but I'm letting it have it's moment before I move it round the back. I spent an age the other day looking for the label for the Euphorbia griffithii Fireglow - no wonder I couldn't find it, it's balancing itself on top of the Sedum, can you see it? I hate loosing plant labels - I like to keep them all for reference.
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| Rudbeckia Goldstrum and Sedum Autumn Charm |
Wandering through the gate, the side garden has some mixed feelings towards autumn. The Acer generally doesn't begin to turn bright red until nearer the end of the month and the star Magnolia is as fresh as ever. The Hostas and deciduous ferns have began their decline, whilst the Primulas are refreshed and perking up now that the air is cool and damp. I was complaining recently that the couple of Asters I grow were looking awful. They generally don't do well but I had completely forgot about this one growing round here. It's looking none too bad.
Under the Asplenium a few Cyclamen hederefolium flowers linger. I like the leaf on this one, it's silver coloured centre is quite attractive.
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| Cyclamen hederefolium |
The honeysuckle further down the fence is holding onto a few blooms this late in the year. It flowered beautifully back in June and has been producing blooms sporadically since then. I thinned this out quite a bit and in my over zealous pruning, have lost most of the berries.
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| Lonicera periclymenum Scentsaction |
Round the back of the kitchen extension the secret shady bed is still looking remarkably well. The Leucothoe have yet to show some Autumn colour but the Heuchera continue to flower this October. Sadly the variageted Euonymus has almost reverted to pure green foliage. Getting no direct sun I suspect is the cause.
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| Left to Right: Heuchera Crimson Curls, Caramel and Marmalade |
The gravel area outside the back door has had a bit of a redesign. I've extended both the shady and sunny side this summer.
The revamped shadier bed - a few Honeysuckle flowers on Lonicera periclymenum Sweet Sue at the top of the trellis. Heuchera and Astrantia blooms are hanging on in their but the star of the show here right now is the Mahonia. It's flowering earlier this year. I'm pleased it's now making a sizable plant. This bed now has better proportions I feel. I had no real need to buy any new plants, everything growing in this bed before had got a bit cramped and just needed spaced out a bit better. I did though treat myself to a lovely white flowered Japanese Anemone. Her name is Andrea Atkinson. She is full of buds but they refuse to open.
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| Mahonia x media Charity |
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| Astrantia Snow Star |
The sunnier side is looking rather bereft of blooms at the moment. I won't feel the benefit of my changes here until early next summer, in the far corner Astrantia Buckland and Sedum are flowering. The Sedum has been taking a bit of a battering. Not from the weather but from the cats casing the few remaining bees that are around the garden.
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| Unnamed Sedum, Astrantia Buckland and Euphoria characias White Swan |
This blue sage has been flowering all summer. I almost ripped this plant out in springtime but am kind of glad I kept it now. The dry year has really suited it.
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| Salvia x sylvestris Blue Queen |
Sedum Gooseberry Fool is a favourite sedum of mine. It's creamy white flowers have a tinge of bronze. It flowers later in the year too. The only down side is that the dying flowers look rather dirty and are not really very attractive.
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| Sedum telephium maximum Gooseberry Fool |
Through to the back garden proper, the climbing rose on the arch has thrown up a few flowers but they look awful, I didn't waste my time taking any shots. In the far right corner - also in need of extending since most of the plants have outgrown their allotted space. I'm not sure how much scope for extending there is here but I'm loathe to loose this planting combination. I had hoped to take Lady Emma Hamilton round to the front of the house but there really is no more room.
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Rosa Lady Emma Hamilton, Sedum Red Globe and Heuchera Palace Purple
in front of
Viburnum tinus Eve Price and Physocarpus opulifolius Burning Embers |
Lady Emma just fills the air with her citrus scent - you don't have to get up close to appreciate it, you can sniff her out at one hundred paces! Her bronzy foliage is just an added bonus.
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| Rosa Lady Emma Hamilton |
Further round in this bed a couple of late flower stems of foxgloves have appeared. They certainly don't have the stature of earlier blooms but are more than welcome this month. No signs of autumn on the Enkianthus yet either.
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| Digitalis x mertonensis |
Directly opposite, a clump of Persicaria is refusing to give up this year. Sunlight squeezing between the houses opposite just catch the foliage at just the right spot.
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| Persicaria amplexicaulis JS Caliente |
The hot sunny bed at the back of the garden, which most of you are familiar with, as it's the subject of my End of Month View. It's still giving it's all. Helianthus Lemon Queen stood up to the winds much better than I had anticipated. A few stems have bent over but I can't be sure it's the wind too blame - it could have been the cats up to mischief! I haven't the notion to struggle in there and tie them up. The Persicaria and Helenium have been flowering non stop since the
middle of July. That's not bad going in my opinion. Any plant that flowers for 3 months just has to be invaluable in the garden.
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| Persicaria JS Caliente, Helianthus Lemon Queen, Helenium Moerheim Beauty and Sedum |
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| Verbena bonariensis and Red Admiral butterfly |
We are still seeing some Red Admiral butterflies in the garden on sunny days. They are taking advantage of what blooms are left on the Verbena.
Before I invite you all over to
May Dream Gardens to see what's blooming in everyone else's garden this October, I thought I'd share with you some sunflowers standing out against the bright blue sky this afternoon. Thanks for reading.
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| Helianthus Lemon Queen |
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| Helianthus Lemon Queen |
