Friday 1 October 2010

End of Month View - September 2010

I'll be combining the End of Month View and using it as a good old catch up...

I'd planned to get some gardening done today but the weather is not being kind... Wish I'd done it yesterday when it was sunny and warm (the sun was rather hot when stood still!) I really need to get my bulbs planted, they're probably beginning to sprout in their box...

Hoverflies were loving the Asters, these were kindly given to me by a neighbour…

She had two Commas on hers… Not at all jealous…

Peeping over the hedge to catch one of her Commas


Feverfew??? Or something else which has self seeded?

This Aster is far too bushy, I will have to move it next year.

Jacob’s Ladder has self seeded and finally come into flower months after my other.

Russian Dwarf Almond’s leaves are turning a curious deep purple

And Clematis Marjorie is too.

Ladybirds are still in abundance around the garden, they’ve had an excellent year

Notice the second in the background to the left??

I will have plenty more Gaura next year now I’ve discovered how easily they root from cuttings in water.



Creepy Garden spider only gets larger…

Black Elder, I really hope it does something next year, for the past two it has been less than impressive.

Red field poppies ensure I have plenty more next year


Caterpillar of which Moth/Butterfly?? It was a big beastie





It wasn’t until I’d uploaded this image onto the computer that I realised there was a Ladybird hiding.



Fleabane is flowering again

Bergamot is almost finished



Little Alpine Strawberry may not quite have finished

The Hellebores are getting ready for their show




Star Magnolia leaves either suffered in the drought early in the summer or are feeling the effects of Autumn.


Hebes have not yet done anything, they are still small.


Notice the little spider?


16 comments:

Cheryl said...

You appear to have had a very good year in your garden Liz.

It certainly looks like feverfew, you can always tell by crushing the leaves....that would you leave you in no doubt at all.

Gaura is a very pretty flower. It does not do very well here.
I treat it as an annual.

At first I thought that caterpillar was the red underwing moth. But I do not think so now.
I believe it is not found in your part of the world, mainly the South. I will do a little more searching and if I come up with anything will let you know. Do not hold your breath, caterpillars are so hard to identify unless you have one like the elephant hawkmoth......

Have a good weekend....raining here and windy.

sweetmyrtle said...

just stunning ~ so gentle and beautiful. i LOVE visiting your garden. thank you so much for sharing the joy it gives you with us xx

Helen/patientgardener said...

I am fascinated with the idea that Guara will root in water. I have planted 3 on the bank and am worried I will loose them this winter. How do you do it?

By the way thanks for joining in on the end of month meme
Helen

Kimberly said...

Love your deep purple leaves and poppies! Beautiful photos!!!

Liz said...

Hi Cheryl,

In some respects yes, I've had a good year, but others I am very disappointed. The Cosmos still haven't yet flowered even after starting them off very early in the season. This has left my 'right' border almost completely bare for months now. The only success really has been the 'new' border with the odd plant here and there elsewhere in the garden. Most frustrating.

I'm surprised Gaura doesn't do well for you, all my plants survived the winter, they seem very hardy to me...

The Caterpillar could be the Yellow/Orange underwing, I assume the Cats look pretty much the same between the yellow and red underwings???
We have plenty of them here, I regularly see them, most often when mowing the grass and have to be very careful not to kill them!

Liz said...

Hi Ginny,

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoy your visits :)

I just need to work on the Winter interest in the garden now, I'm doing ok for Autumn interest with all the Asters, sedum and such. Just winter to tackle...

Liz said...

Hi Helen,

re: rooting Gaura.

You simply cut off a stem and put it in a vase, leave it a few weeks and it'll root - similar to Willow rooting in water easily.

I discovered this when I put some in an arrangement and because the flowers took a while to bloom and die, by the time it had finished I noticed the roots when I threw them on the garden to rot down.

I've done it with 3 now, and have one more currently in a vase waiting to plant out.

Liz said...

Hi Kimberly,

Thank you very much! :)

Hopefully those poppies will have spread plenty of seeds for me. I have helped them along a little, just in case!

Curbstone Valley Farm said...

Lovely Liz, I had no idea Gaura rooted so easily from cuttings. If I had, I would have done that to ours in our last garden. I loved how the flower spikes swayed in the breeze.

Miranda Bell said...

There are always so many beautiful photos on your blog Liz - am sat at home nursing a poorly back and feeling v. frustrated that I can't get out and garden with all the rain... so thought I'd at least catch up on some of the blogs I've missed over the summer... it's been a bit of a busy one! Take care Miranda

Janet/Plantaliscious said...

Stunning photos, you have such a good eye. Was fascinated to hear that you have had problems with Cosmos this year - I did too, although one plant is now flowering its socks (petals?) off. Top tip about the Gaura, yet another reason to get round to growing some next year.

Kala said...

Liz: As usual, all your images are lovely!

Liz said...

Hi CV,

It was definitely a nice surprise to see the Gaura had rooted and I think I'll be doing it plenty more. The latest one was one of the taller types, which I only have one of and would like an impressive row of them along a border...

Liz said...

Hi Miranda,

Thanks for visiting, sorry to hear you're not doing so well, but you definitely deserve a rest after your busy summer! Enjoy it and revel in the wonderful Autumn colours :)

Liz said...

Hi Janet,

Thank you very much for visiting my blog, I'm glad you enjoyed your visit and the Gaura tip!

I intend on growing a few more than needed for my parents... My dad likes to 'weed' everything out, so she has lost her Gauras and I figure they're so easy to reproduce, I might as well give her some.

My Cosmos still aren't flowering... I doubt they will. They're also still very small, one is around 40cm but the rest... Well, they're hardly worth mentioning. Most disappointed.

Nutty Gnome said...

A gorgeous peaceful wander through your garden today Liz, thank you - it's the nearest I've got to a garden given that it's peed it down all day!
My cosmos were rubbish too - a total no show!