End of Month View - October 2015

There's no doubt that October has seen the transition from summer into autumn. In spite of the amount of flower still around there is a sense that growth has stopped for the year. Cornwall rarely produces good autumn colour and most deciduous trees and shrubs lose their leaves without any sort of display. I don't have many deciduous trees or shrubs, in the picture you can see that the purple Acer has lost most of its leaves while the magnolia to its right is still lush and green. The evergreen tree above the maple is Ligustrum lucidum 'Excelsum Superbum', which will start to look ragged by the end of winter but looks great now. The foreground monster is Astelia chathamica.

Haknechloa macra 'Mediovariegata'

Hakonechloa macra and its varieties, which I love and grow several of, provide the exception to the rule for me, though it will be another month before there is much happening. Even then, it will be a warm straw colouring rather than reds or yellows. I have a couple of Miscanthus which do actually get some red tints; there's one just in front of the tunnel in the top picture.

There's no doubting the star of the show for October. I took a picture on 30 September of my Nerines just beginning to open. This is how they looked today, 31 October.

Nerine bowdenii

In this view back towards the house you can see odd splashes of colour on a range of plants, a bit of a last gasp. Fuchsias, Dahlias and Salvias are to the fore. There was one Helenium with buds still coming that was spared the chop meted out to the rest. I've added two new Helenium varieties into the mix since they've done so well and are such a hit with bees and butterflies.



Dahlia 'Cheyenne', Fuchsia Delta's Parade', Helenium 'Sahin's Early Flowerer'

It's also coming into Camellia season, at least for the autumn flowering sasanquas. The two in this picture are from my tunnel, but I have one flowering outside too. Both are scented, in the somewhat oleaceous way of the sasanquas. For scent I much prefer the spring flowering lutchuensis hybrids.

Camellia 'Gay Sue', Miscanthus 'Ferne Osten', Camellia 'Paradise Blush'

Finally, the sort of dirty washing in public picture that causes domestics, the glory hole that is the back and side of the house. Actually, looking at the picture more closely, I've seen it worse.

 

 

Please check out The Patient Gardener's end of month view, along with others following the meme.

End of Month View - September 2015

There seems to be a terrific amount of flower still around the garden, albeit looking a little tatty in many cases. The later in the year it gets, the less that seems to matter.

Hakonechloas 'Stripe it Rich' and 'Mediovariegata' flanking an Aster we were given years ago, name unknown. The Hosta is
called 'Chinese Sunrise' and I bought it for its elegant narrow leaves. The flowers are pretty good too it turns out.

Bulbine frutescens, Nerine and Fuchsia splendens, which struggles through the winters and starts flowering in late September. The Nerines are an unknown variety given me by my sister who lives in the north of Scotland.

The starring roles are taken by Fuchsias, Salvias, especially ‘Amistad’, Dahlias, Asters, Japanese anemones and Hesperantha. I’ve planted two new anemones recently, ‘Bressingham Glow’ and ‘Lorelei’; both seem excellent so far. The grasses are probably at their best around now too, Hakonechloa, Miscanthus and Chionochloa standing out.

Nerines are just beginning to flower and while one clump of Amaryllis has finished, two others are pushing up buds.

I’m grateful for the few remaining blooms on my Heleniums, but I also want them to finish so that I can lift them and move them around a bit, adding in two new varieties there too.

Salvia 'Amistad' and Hesperantha.

Our tomatoes are also at the stage where I want to clear them and start moving some of many potted things under cover before the wet of autumn really sets in. I’m well ahead of myself on the veg front, next years seeds are not just ordered, they’ve arrived. I clearly don’t have enough to do.

I’ve also gone and ordered about 20 new dahlia varieties for next year. The National Collection display field down at Penzance is a sight to behold and to coin a phrase, resistance is futile. (I’m going to grow them on my allotment, I’m truly turning into my granddad.) Then there are 2 more apple trees on order too. Well, I have a tree of ‘Suntan’, which is growing and flowering well, but flowers too late to get well pollinated. It’s also a triploid, so it won’t reciprocate on pollination, hence the need for two pollinators. I’ve gone for maidens on M9, I still think spindle trees should be ideal in my restricted space. (See my earlier post about fruit)

Dahlias 'Fille du Diable', 'Danum Torch', 'Weston Spanish Dancer', 'Chimborazo' and 'Akita'.

Bulbine frutescens is a succulent we’ve grown, in pots, for perhaps 15 years. We have a yellow and an orange form. This year, for the first time, I noticed it has a sweet and quite strong perfume. I think maybe the orange is the stronger scent.

It is very apparent when you take photos on clear autumn days that there is a massive difference in light levels between light and shade. With no clouds and little haze, there can be very little diffused light. The shadows of buildings and big plants are also getting much longer now, even in the middle of the day. On the other hand, as the sun gets lower, it sometimes gets in under the canopy to places it can’t reach at other times of year. Never two days the same, all part of the pleasure.

The house casts a lengthening shadow at this time of year.

This blog is my contribution to Helen Johnstone's end of month meme.

End of Month View - August 2015

I'd like to think that I possess enough self discipline to post a blog under this heading each month. We shall see. I have chosen a viewpoint from which to take the same shot each month. I'm looking forward to seeing those shots mount up over the coming months and years. Here is the first.

It's a roughly triangular plot, narrowest by the house and pretty much flat. The circular path was gravel until recently, when I paved it. When the slabs have weathered and plants have blurred the edges, I shall be happier.
At the moment, colour is coming from Dahlias, Heleniums and Fuchsias primarily. Notable foliage effect in this view comes from Schefflera taiwaniana, Zingiber mioga and Chionochloa rubra.

This picture was taken earlier this evening, looking through Stipa gigantea and Helenium 'Chipperfield Orange' to Chionochloa rubra. I often rush for the camera at this time of day, usually to be disappointed with the results!

Here's the Helenium again. The evening backlighting flatters the colour a little but it's still a superb plant. 1.2m tall but still self supporting, its been flowering now for three weeks. Nothing in the garden attracts half as many bees and butterflies. It is well behaved, stays in a tidy clump which gets a little larger each year.

The Chionochloa rubra was grown from seed I pinched from a well known garden and has been around for at least 10 years. I love its very linear explosion in a fireworks factory look. I have collected seed from it on several occasions but have never succeeded to germinate any. Perhaps it needs a mate. Its fellow kiwi is Astelia chatamica, another wonderful plant that I would not be without. Unlike Phormiums, it doesn't get duller with every passing year and it doesn't get remorselessly taller either. Spreads a bit, but is easily curtailed. Will tolerate shade as well, not that this one has to.

Chionochloa is only my second favourite grass. Top spot goes to Hakonechloa macra, in its various forms. This one is 'Stripe it Rich', which has a light green leaf striped white. It is one of the less robust forms and has taken three seasons to really get going, helped by this summers wet weather.

I am deeply indebted to The Patient Gardeners Weblog for inspiring me to put this blog together. I am conscious that I haven't really followed the brief, in that I've largely focussed on individual plants rather than the garden, but I'll try and do better next time. Helen's end of month view is at
https://patientgardener.wordpress.com/2015/08/30/end-of-month-view-august-2015/