My Little Garden 29th August 2020
How did we get to the end of August so soon…… and why are we talking about autumn? There are so many things left to do this summer and I may go into panic mode if anyone else talks about spring bulbs. The Propagator for one! Dare I read his blog?
I have had two highlights this week. The first was returning to a garden I designed and planted to find it looking rather nice. I can’t take all the credit as the owners have given it oodles of tlc to ensure a summer of colour. And the plants have been chosen to go on looking good well into autumn as well. There’s that word again! My second highlight was having photos retweeted by George Clarke; yes THE George Clarke, he of architecture and design fame. I always enjoy his programmes and enthusiasm for the job, and in his latest series, National Trust Unlocked, he visited Hidcote where I went last summer. Well I just had to share a photo and tag him didn’t I.
So after all that excitement, what’s been happening in the garden? He are my Six on Saturday for this week with a sad tale to start off with.
1.Storm Francis didn’t seem to be so bad here, but I got up on Wednesday morning to find my sunflower had snapped and flattened a Zinnia in the process. And I hadn’t even been able to get a decent photo because the first flower to open had been facing the garden next door.
I put all the buds in a vase and am hoping that some at least will open. But that’s it for this year.
2. In happier news that have been a few butterflies and other insects around in the dry spells this week. Small tortoiseshells have been the most frequent visitors and they tried out various garden delights including the Anthemis in the header photo. The shot below is some sort of hoverfly on the achillea.
3. And a few late sprigs of fresh lavender seemed to please the bees.
4. The latest echinacea purchase is looking good. This is in a pot at the moment but may be joining the other echinacea when I’ve made some room for it. Or I might leave it until spring, which is probably a much more sensible idea.
5. I grew this cosmos from seed and have just moved it’s pot down to the bottom of the garden so that it gives some extra height for late summer. The verbena bonariensis that’s planted there (or allowed to self seed) got a bit flattened by the storm so I need something to help it.The cosmos looks good and you can’t see the pot so I’m going to grow more for this purpose next year. I’ll take a better photo next week.
6. And I’ll finish with one my favourite roses - the very lovely Rosa Handel, a little battered but hanging on.
And that’s my Six On Saturday for this week. Links to lots more ‘sixes’ can be found on the blog of The Propagator who is the creator of this weekly collection, and there are many more excellent photos and blogs on twitter under the hashtag #SixonSaturday
https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/
Wishing you a great weekend! Next week I might mention autumn…..
