Six on Saturday: Shamed into action

I have been shamed by my fellow sixers!  The shorter days and colder temperatures have me reaching for the blanket, the gardening books and a cuppa.  I was even considering not posting a six!  But reading Mr P’s links to today’s sixes have encouraged me to get out in the garden.  I have not sown my sweet peas seeds, planted any bulbs and only just in time did I fleece my tender agapanthus plants.  But then none of us are perfect are we?  The very least I could do was to share six from my garden this week:

One

I garden in London and so get a little complacent about frosts.  But this week the lawn has had a light frosting and it was clearly a sign that cold weather gardening had to start.  Last year’s fleece was in shredded tatters in the shed and I hate all those white flaky bits.  I hot footed it to Homebase and found some delightful green bags of 35gsm fleece with very handy draw string pulls.  I usually fleece up the agapanthus armed with a stapler but these jackets were easy to pull over the plants and the fetching shade of green is slightly less obvious than white.  Job done.

Two

I was certainly lulled into complacency by the balmy days I experienced in Suffolk last week but the cold evenings are changing the colours of the garden.  The persimmon tree is looking beautiful even as the leaves are falling.

Three

The previously sun scorched hydrangeas are also taking on their winter hue.

 

Four

But elsewhere the summer container plants are still in good health and I will leave them out throughout the winter.  In mild years I have been able to carry the geraniums over into the next summer.

Five

The white antirrhinum sowed from seed is still in flower at this end of the garden but elsewhere I have collected seeds from another plant that has done its bit for summer.

Six 

I recently planted out some gaura and pennisetums  in a west border and alongside them I put in some Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’, which still thinks there’s time to put on a display.  Thank you!

Thank you too, to everyone who shares their gardens on a Saturday.  You provide inspiration, support and encouragement and always make me laugh!  What more can you ask for?  Well, if anyone’s free to plant a few hundred bulbs….

 

 

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Six On Saturday: Trees

Trees are on my mind at the moment.  The death of a fruit tree in the garden is providing the opportunity to plant something new.   Also I visited the Beth Chatto garden last week en route to Suffolk and made a point of following their tree trail.  So here are five trees that will be unsuitable for my garden but which looked so good in the autumn sun that I am going to share them.  All the notes come from the tree trail guide. The sixth is from my garden.

One

Eucalyptus dalrympleana or the Mountain gum.  A quick growing evergreen. The white bark, its winter colouring, was glowing in the sunshine.

Two

Koeltreuteria paniculata or Golden rain tree, Pride of India. The name golden rain refers to the thousands of small yellow flowers that hang above the foliage in July and August, as though about to pour down like rain of the tree.  A sight that surely justifies a visit to the garden in summer.  This tree in its golden autumn colours was beautiful.

Three

Araucaria araucana or Monkey puzzle, Chilean pine.  Native to Chile and Argentina and much beloved in British suburban gardens.  Which is surprising since they grow so big.  But our suburban street conforms and there is a good specimen not too far from me.   I have memories of these as a child, fascinated by its common name, it was one of the few trees I could easily identify.

Four

Malus hupehensis, Chinese crab apple.  Laden with beautiful red cherry like fruits in autumn and with white apple like blossom in May.  The crab apple tree is often put forward as ideal for the small garden but at a size of 5m x 4m it seems too big for the space I want to fill.

Five

Taxodium distichum Swamp cyprus.  In case you can’t read the label: from the mangrove swamps of the Everglades, Florida.  The knobbly knees on the left are the above ground growth of the trees roots.  I love this view of the garden.

Six

After those magnificent specimens here is my dead tree.  I didn’t get to see any fruit but I think it was an Apricot tree.  The tree was in poor condition when we arrived and the small amount of blossom produced this spring was swiftly devoured by pigeons.  It finally succumbed to bacterial canker over the summer.  I wonder if I am being over ambitious in wanted to replace it with a small tree.  I have a rowan or a hawthorn on my wish list but the location in a narrow border by the path may not be ideal.  I’ll be cutting it down next week and will see what the view looks like without it.

I hope the beautiful colours of autumn are shining through in your gardens – of if you are in the southern hemisphere that spring delights are on their way.  For a good look at both seasons stop by The Propagator’s blog where links to other sixes are added throughout the day.

Six on Saturday

There’s some tidying up of the garden to be done.  Deadheading still, fallen leaves to  be collected, mulching and planting bulbs but close up there are some gems to be found.  Here’s my six for this week.

One

Schizostylis or, and much easier to say, Kaffir Lilly.  This came in a pot of something else when we moved house.  I  love the strong pink colour at the end of the season so I’m glad it stowed away and I’m hoping that it will settle into its new spot and send up more flowering spikes over time.

Two

R.Scepter’d Isle.   No apologies for showing this one again.  Mid October, still flowering and sending out new buds.  It seems happy in my demi paradise.

Three

But not everything in the garden is thriving.  One of the four euphorbia characias wulfenii that I planted to give structure to the border is failing dramatically.  The plants around it seem unaffected.  Possibly too wet in this particular spot?   The other three are still looking good.  Has anyone else experienced this?

Four 

Here’s an update on the persimmon tree.  The leaves are turning and amongst the beautiful copper reds the fruit is also changing colour.  There may be a chance that I will have some ripe fruit yet.

Five 

Geranium Brookside against a healthy euphorbia.  This was a new geranium to me and I love the way it sprawls around the roses and euphorbias.  The flower shines out and the leaves are beautifully cut. The plants have spread out much faster at the sunnier end of the border and so the two languishing at the shady end will have to be moved on.  Right plant, wrong place.

Six

Please correct me if I’m wrong but I think I am introducing Arum Italicum.  It’s an inherited plant.  It grows in a north facing border in a very shady spot.  Its bright orange seed berries have died back and the white veining of the leaves is particularly eye catching at this time of the year.  A good autumnal photo to end on.

I hope you are still finding good things in your gardens and let’s hope the less successful ones aren’t harbouring something nasty.

Thanks to The Propagator for hosting. Read his blog posts and all the other Six on Saturday posts from around the world at The Propagator my plant obsession

 

 

Six on Saturday

Thank you to The Propagator for his support and sterling leadership in organising Six on Saturday and for everyone’s feedback, comments and likes.  As the weeks go by there are now fewer anguished cries and therefore more posts to come.

Here’s my six.

One

Cotoneaster horizontalis.  This grows in my front garden and many more suburban gardens of a certain era.  It’s not top of my list during the summer but in autumn when the berries come to the fore it is vibrant with colour and borders on the irresistible.

Two

The hydrangeas have also moved to autumn colours, their white and blush pink flowers shading to deeper reds and speckled pinks.  Their role as punctuation marks in the borders continue to have impact.

Three

Back to the front garden.  The black berries and turning leaf colour on this shrub are beautiful indicators of falling temperatures and the  ‘chill in the air’ feeling that comes with this time of year.  I think this is a viburnum but any help with identification is most appreciated.

Four

In a sunnier corner, summer digs in her heels. Osteospermum opens up its petals to soak up some warmth.

Five

Summer annuals are also being resilient.  This zinnia ‘lilac rose’ starts out a strong pink and fades gracefully with age.  Deadheading is easy and new buds are plentiful. It should keep going until the first frosts.  Threading through is geranium ‘brookside’.

Six

Water droplets glisten on Euphorbia characias wulfenii. For me a reminder that spring is on its way.  It was planted in the new border last autumn and so this spring will be its first flowering year.  I am looking forward to seeing its lime green flowering stems and to see if I managed to give it enough space to spread out unhindered.

That’s my Six on Saturday. Thanks to The Propagator for hosting. Read his blog posts and Six on Saturday The Propagator my plant obsession