Damp and Dreary...

Although it's mid-November, the temperatures remain remarkably mild, which has extended the flowering season somewhat. The geraniums continue to bloom in abundance, although I've had to snip off a few mouldy flower heads due to all this dampness.

The jasmine is clearly confused as it begins to blossom once more, and there's even a stray alyssum flowering in between the paving slabs. There's some honeysuckle still out and the chives and parsley are both present and correct.

The buddleia, which I cut back a few weeks ago, has new leaves and the mint, which I also chopped down, is thriving. I suspect that within a couple of weeks we'll see the first of the frosts, and that will mean digging up the begonias to protect them over the winter, but for now I shall enjoy their big, beautiful flowers for a while longer...

Autumn Arrives...

My small suburban garden is looking rather worse for wear after recent high winds and heavy rain. The begonias took a real battering, poor things, and there were terracotta tubs upturned, spilling soil on the concrete slabs. Soggy, brown leaves are in evidence, as if we needed any further proof that autumn has indeed arrived. The jasmine is playing host to numerous spider webs, which look quite pretty in the early morning sunlight.

A lovely fuchsia, given to me by a dear friend in July for my birthday, is currently in it's third bloom, adding a fabulous splash of colour beside my back door. The geraniums are still going strong and there's signs of primulas poking through the soil at the far end of the garden.

The chives and parsley are now in seed, and the rosemary, mint and thyme are all looking a bit worse for wear. I really do need to keep a close eye on the weather forecast now as the begonias won't tolerate sub-zero temperatures and if I want a gorgeous display next year I'll need to dig up the tubers and keep them warm and dry until the spring.

Was That It?!...

We're just a few hours away from September and I have to say I feel rather cheated out of a decent summer this year. Although there's been several butterflies, numbers are down on previous years, and bees have been almost completely invisible. Apparently snails are thriving - or so it seems by the destruction of the leaves on my cherry tree despite my best efforts at removing the little pests.

You can't go far wrong with geraniums, and mine are no exception. The begonias have done unexpectedly well too, but other plants have been well below par. The buddleia is a disappointment as is the red jasmine (both should've attracted the bees but both lacked significant blooms).

The mint was a good idea as it's now filled the wall planters after I replaced the lacklustre lobelias. It's also beginning to flower, which is good. The chives are putting on a great display as always.

There's rumours of an 'Indian Summer' but I won't be holding my breath...

Dragonfly Days...

I love hazy summer mornings lazing around in the garden. At the moment, the butterflies are still enjoying the buddleia, although bees remain conspicuous by their absence this year. I've just started to see a few Southern Hawker dragonflies making an appearance.

The begonias are now almost all in flower and although the majority of those which survived the winter in the shed are red, at least 1 white and 1 yellow are now in flower.

I was lucky enough to be given a fuchsia (Tom Thumb) as a birthday gift and it's now in bud for the second time, which is fantastic as I've never owned one before. The pink geraniums are also flowering and looking lovely.

The chives have begun to bud and a few are about to flower, so very soon there will be pretty white flowers along an otherwise bland wall. The mint in the wall planters (which replaced the failing lobelias) are thriving. Long may it last...

Hot, Hot, Hot...

It seems that today is scheduled to be the hottest day of the year so far, which is welcome news indeed after all the damp, grey days we’ve encountered so far. Disappointed with my planters, I threw the remains of the marigolds and Californian poppies into the compost bin and replaced them with dark & light pink geraniums. Much nicer.

The lobelias were an epic fail too, so the planters on the wall are now filled with mint, and three of my terracotta tubs have also been re-planted with herbs (1 mint and 2 rosemary). The begonias have been surprisingly successful.

Despite the fabulous buddleias there’s a distinct lack of butterflies so far. I’ve seen a few peacocks, a couple of tortoiseshells and a large white. Bees are thin on the ground also. Only time will tell whether they turn up or not…

After The Rains...

Yesterday was a total washout. Not only did the temperature drop dramatically but it poured for hours and hours. There were also strong winds, so when I stepped, with some trepidation, into my small suburban garden this morning I wasn’t entirely sure what I might find.

Thankfully, the fence remains upright and plant damage appears minimal, if a tad wet. Predictably there’s red geranium petals everywhere and several of the begonias have been de-flowered, but all-in-all I’m quite relieved. There’s a soggy mass of wet leaves in various corners which will need to be swept up but that’s about it.

Some of the water droplets actually look very pretty, especially on the begonias. The chives have started to lose their white flowers in favour of seed heads and they look structurally fascinating. Unfortunately, there are very few flowers left on the buddleias so it won’t be long before I have to cut them back for the winter…

OCTOBER 12, 2013 

Dull, Dull, Dull...

I’m not entirely sure what the weather forecasters meant by ‘Indian Summer’ but I suspect it involved rather bluer skies and substantially more sunshine that we have at the moment.

There’s only been one or two butterflies on the buddleia for the past couple of weeks now, although there have been more bees. The lobelias are hanging on in there, as are the geraniums, but they looking past their ‘best before’ date.

The chives are in full flower though, and standing tall and proud. The wildflower mix has a few remaining California poppies, cosmos and alyssum but there’s nothing to get excited about on the honeysuckle or jasmine.

I’m highly impressed with the begonias. Having never grown them before I wasn’t expecting great things, but they have thrived. That’s something that will definitely go on the shopping list for 2014…

SEPTEMBER 23, 2013