Sunday 18 October 2009

Sunday Safari 18.10.09

Things are still trudging along… I don’t imagine they will be with us for much longer…

Crocosmia dying away


The seed heads are also beautiful


Today I attempted to plant some of the bulbs… Still having difficulty… My mum is as bad as me and won’t tell me exactly which and how many she wants…

Some Cornflowers are still with us

So I’ve planted some of the Crocus, Snowdrops and my Allium ‘purple sensation’ in the back garden.



All a good plan, was it not?

Until when digging a hole in the border on the side of the house I hear a tinkling noise… continue to dig… look up to see this cat watching me… I watch it and realise it’s a kitten/youngster. One I had seen last weekend poking its nose under the fence.

So I spend the next hour being ‘mauled’ by a kitten and getting very little planting done!

It was cute though, and I assume some sort of crossbreed as it had a very short fat tail and big chunky paws – very unlike your normal tabby.

Not too sure I’ll welcome it when it’s older though if it takes a liking to ‘my’ birds!

My hand now has swollen scratches all over it… Allergies :(

Garden spiders are everywhere…


Pyracantha berries are ripe… Now I just need some Waxwings on them…


Aquilegia leaves add wonderful colours


Wild poppes are still flowering… Very strange.


Plenty of Scabious in flower still.


Coneflower dying off… I will collect the seeds once they’re dry…


I'm off until Thursday now, and will plant the rest of the bulbs in the front tomorrow. Then I'll make the decision for my mum what she will/won't have! ha ha, I can't sit around waiting for her any longer.

What's happening in your garden today?

11 comments:

Cheryl said...

Hi Liz......I love Crocosmia seedheads...they really are pretty.
It surprises me that many people seem unaware of the beauty in some seedheads.....only interested in the bloom.

I love the spider on her web. I am not afraid of spider's....in fact over the last few years I have become quite fascinated by their behaviour.

Glad you got some bulbs planted.
It is so exciting to think of what is to come....

Hope you have a good week and the weather holds for you...
Have fun.

ShySongbird said...

Lovely photos again Liz, I thought about you today and wondered if you were putting some of your bulbs in as planned :)

I think a lot of seed heads are attractive too and I tend to leave most until Spring as a shelter for some insects hopefully.

Oh goodness I know all about allergies, a real nuisance!

The Pyracantha berries look wonderful, my friend finds they are a magnet for birds in her garden, Waxwings would be amazing wouldn't they!

I hope you don't get the forecast rain to scupper your plans during the week.

Emma said...

Hi Liz, not been in my garden today as having a well earned day off! But when I look out of the window it still looks rather summery! Snapdragons, Verbena flowering, roses blooming, strange! Emma x

Liz said...

Hi Cheryl, my thoughts exactly, they add colour and structure to an otherwise dead garden not to mention being great hiding places for insects over winter...

Spiders I dislike, but they're not a problem outside as long as they're not putting their webs in places where I'm going to walk into them... I've picked up some of my mum's spider phobia :(

I think I managed to plant around 50/60 of the bulbs today thanks to little Kitty...

The last I checked the weather had pretty much completely changed. Not good. We'll see how it turns out!

Liz said...

Hi Jan, I have to agree about the seed heads! Also some are great for the birds to eat... Last winter I discovered that the Goldfinch love to eat the Verbena Bonariensis seeds!

Allergies are a real problem for me, especially to Rabbits. Within 10 minutes I'm swelling up and having difficulty breathing... Even after having tablets!! I'd love cats, my allergies aren't as bad to them but still enough to stop me ever having one.
This little kitten today was so friendly and cute. I could hear its bell tinkling away as it played in my and the neighbour's gardens. As soon as I began digging it'd stalk me and the trowel again and we'd have a game of attack the hand.
Lovely little thing.

We had Waxings here last year... Sadly my shrubs are too immature to sustain any number of birds... But hopefully in the future I will have some!

Liz said...

Hi Emma :)

It's similar here too, Roses, Verbena still flowering... I've stopped dead heading the Roses now so they can go into dormancy! Pinks, whites and yellows still going for it...

Nutty Gnome said...

I really, REALLY meant to plant some bulbs this weekend ..... but got diverted into digging up, splitting and moving rhubarb, moving a redcurrant bush and a gooseberry bush ... then I saw some'stuff' that needed tidying and some brambles to dig up and a support post that was wobbly, a path that needed more stones on it and then,all of a sudden, it was dark!!! :)
Do you want to come and plant my bulbs for me?!

Liz said...

Sure Liz, I'd love to plant your bulbs for you! ;)

I've had a productive day... Got all the snowdrops planted... Actually could've done with more, 100 just wasn't enough! I haven't even put any in the back border of the back garden... :(

I have some crocus left but still need to plant some in areas in the back garden.
After the bulbs were spent I cut back the over-hanging Buddleja and Rose so my neighbour can trim his 'grass' better


*By grass, I mean Dandelions, but at least he keeps them cut short!

Bluestocking Mum said...

Your photos are wonderful Liz. For some reason my Crocosmia is still in full bloom.

The spiders web is my favourite. There is nothing like the dew drops on spiders webs on a cool or foggy autumn morning.

warm wishes

Liz said...

Hi Bluestocking Mum - Nice to see you, thank you so much for visiting me!

My Crocosmia in the front is flowering actually! I was very surprised to see it doing so!! This crazy weather we've been having has a lot to answer for...

I wait for the day we have a hoar frost so I can get nice frost on a spider's web... Unlikely to happen around here though...

VW said...

Wow, I LOVE your photos. The ones of Crocosmia are pretty enough to frame and hang on my wall.
If you have time, stop by my post for this week and share your method for uploading great photos!