September in Bloom

It can't be the middle of September already - can it?  Seems like it is and it's time for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day courtesy of May Dreams Gardens...so here's what's blooming at Holly Grove this September...

Lilium White Heaven opened its buds on 1st September; it's as lovely as I remember when I bought the bulbs at the Malvern Spring show in April this year.  It is a very robust lily and about 90cm tall and the scent is gorgeous.

This is the first of my sunflowers to bloom this year.  A poor show for me with the first batch of seeds failing to produce anything.  It was an old packet so I'll be gathering some new seeds from this flower for next year.  I expect the weather has played a part too - not sunny enough for these chaps.

This little nasturtium has selfseeded itself right next to the little purple-black viola below; what a lovely combination!

I planted several violas earlier this year and they have been flowering non-stop since June. This one is viola Rosecastle Black, I also have viola Rebecca Yellow and a pale blue one that I can't remember the name of at the moment; all little gems.



I've planted two of these pretty blue autumn flowering shrubs in the past year - ceratostigma willmottianum - and they are beginning to settle in and produce their flowers.  With the leaves blushed pink at the edges they promise to be a lovely autumn addition to the garden.



We have several lavatera around Holly Grove, this one is lavatera Bredon Springs; they flower profusely from June to the first frosts.  Although a realatively short lived shrub they are so easy to propogate from cuttings (and they selfseed so easily in our light soil) that we are able to replace any losses.  They also have the advantage of speedy growth filling a space and adding height to a border in a single season. 



This malus Sunset has produced lots of lovely apples this year though it will be a little longer before they are ready to pick.  This variety provides a relatively late harvest around the end of October when the apples are a glorious bright red.

This unusual plant was a last minute purchase for a shallow basket.  I know it as cigar plant, cuphea ignea, it is a native of Mexico and therefore is grown in the UK as an annual.

These hardy fuchsias are growing in a very difficult spot at the back of the swing seat; they receive very little light and the soil is very dry as this corner of the border is very tight to the hedgerow.  Despite all of this they produce these lovely bright flowers and, hopefuly, they will grow into large shrubs providing interest through the autumn.

Well, there's more blooming at Holly Grove in September that I expected; have alook at other gardens in bloom around the world at the Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day hosted by  May Dreams Gardens.

Pots and Baskets

I spent some time on Saturday morning browsing around our local plant nursery for suitable candidates for our summer baskets and pots.  I wanted some of the usual suspects: bright red geraniums (more correctly pelargoniums) and various fuchsias.  There was a fair range to choose from but not as good as in previous years and the plants were larger and more expensive than I would normally pay.  This is due to me being well behind on the basket front this year.  I did manage to find a bargain or two at the supermarket to add to the fray!

I normally buy my pot and basket plants as plug plants and grow them on in the greenhouse from April.  This year it's the end of May and I'm just getting around to thinking of summer containers, so I've paid the price quite literally! 

The Handyman and I have agreed to cut down on the number of hanging baskets this year as the watering every evening takes up such a lot of time.  So until we work out an automatic watering system we'll restrict the number of baskets and plant a few more flowers in the borders where watering is less of an issue.

The afternoon was spent potting up the containers and phaffing around to get them in the right position.  It normally takes me two or three attempts to be happy with the positioning of the pots.  After that I can sit back and wait for the summer show, as long as I keep watering, feeding and deadheading they should go on until the first frosts.  Look out for updates on progress in future posts.

Poppy Power

It's a fantastic month for poppies in all their guises. They love the soil here at Holly Grove, light and free-draining and seem happy to settle in any position from full sun to partial shade. Some I have grown from seed, others have been bought as plants, however the majority have blown in on the wind and self-seeded.










The Oriental poppies were for the most part raised from seed, though a couple of plants were bought in and what a show they put on...


Not all success though, one of the purchased plants was Patty's Plum and this has been the least successful to date. Last year only one flower was carried and this year the plant produced a few buds and then promptly dried up and died - it was watered with the rest of the border and still failed. I've cut it back and fed and watered it and now we'll wait and see what happens.

Next up are all the gifted plants, some are large, almost succulent, glaucious leaved plants with bright red flowers whilst others hold tissue paper flowers on wiry stems in pastel shades. The wiry plants are covering a neglected piece of rough gravel and provide a welcome touch of colour. The red petalled poppies are to be found standing erect in any bare soil in the flower border on the edge of the large lawn, they are rather majestic and stand very straight and proud.










A short burst of flower from the poppy but always beautiful and surprising, and all those seeds to gather or allow to self-seed for next year's surprise plants.

Postponing and Potting

My intention to complete the greenhouse was good, however my effort was meagre. I managed two panels before I gave up for the day, my excuse being that I had some fuchsias and pelargoniums that needed potting up in their final position.

To be honest I needed a day without the frustration of construction, the weather was warm and balmy and to ease my conscience I first cut the grass on the circle lawns and front garden. Now it was time to treat myself to some creative fun assembling the soon to be (hopefully) sun-baked pots on the terrace. Every year I create large and small pots of pelargonium for the Handyman's pleasure, he especially loves the brightest red. This year I have the usual bright red, but also a delicate pink, called Appleblossom.

The red geraniums I have teamed with deep blue lobelia in black pots whilst apple blossom is matched with a soft blue lobelia (Cambridge Blue?) in blue glazed pots. I started to pot up the bush fuchsias and some coral pink Busy Lizzies (Impatiens) at the back of the house where they will live mostly in the shade, then I ran out of time and daylight and i still had the baskets to water...watering by moonlight, a sight often seen at HG.

I'm hoping to finish off the pots today and maybe add a panel or two to the greenhouse, but at the moment it's raining steadily, so the Handyman and I are going out to search for some new garden furniture to dress the party patio - now a six or eight seater, teak or metal, round or oval...hmm?

Summer Lovelies

Our Summer bedding in pots around the outside walls of the house is still looking good. Every year I pot up some pelargonium plug plants, bright red, for the Handyman. They are his favourite and remind us both of lovely times in France. This year's plants had a bit more of an orange tinge than we like but they have performed well in what, during July and August, was a wet and sometimes chilly Summer. They have loved the warmer and much drier weather of September and appear to be putting on a final flourish. They can be overwintered from cuttings taken in August or September, but I have so much to do within our acre that I usually compost the plants at the end of the season. Perhaps when I give up the day job and I have more time for the garden I'll try my hand at pelargonium cuttings.

The other regular visitor to our pots in Summer is the Busy Lizzie, Impatiens walleriana. Preferring a cooler sight, though they will grow in full sun, I set the pots along the back wall of the house - east facing - so they get the morning sun but sit in shade from about 11.30 onwards. They are such a cheery plant, covered in muti coloured blooms. Again, though they can be propagated by cuttings, my preference is to buy them as plug plants in the late Spring.

Various fuchsias join in the Summer colour, some hardy and some not. The hardy ones will be taken to the cold greenhouse to overwinter in their pots and be planted out in the garden borders on the arrival of Spring, the others will be added to the ever expanding compost heap.

For now I'll enjoy the final burst of colour from this trio of lovelies!

Sunflowers

Just had to quickly share this photo of our enormous sunflowers (self-seeded in the kitchen garden from last year's seedheads). They are over 8 feet tall and looked beautiful against the azure blue September sky.

Borders Full of Annuals

Whilst we are waiting for shrubs and perennials to fill out the newly formed borders I make use of a few annuals.

I haven't planted Godetia for years, though they were a favourite of my sons when they were small - I think it was the name they liked as much as the flowers - godetia! atishoo! Sewn directly into the border they have blossomed beautifully, though I probably should have thinned them out I couldn't bear to remove any of them - so a profusion of tissue paper flowers.

The sunflowers are planted at the back of a sunny border and provide a cheery face on the dullest of days. As usual I've lost a few as I forget to stake them on this windy site. In the border in front of these 6' giants are Californian poppies and nasturtiums winding their way amongst the hostas and rudbeckia. So a border of yellow, red and orange - hot stuff!

Next on the list of favoured annuals would have to be Cosmos. Lovely feathery foliage and icecream colours. Initially started in seed trays in April and then pricked out into 3" pots by my friend and fellow gardener, E. Then when the roots start to appear at the bottom of the pot and the last frost has passed, out they go into the border growing to about 3'6" in height and flowering from July to October.