Saturday 23 July 2011

Where has the year gone?

I’m deeply concerned that we’re speedily coming into August; where does the time go??

We’re into the mid-summer garden now and lots of plants are blooming, yet I still have this compulsion to buy more, more and yet more plants! Eeeek, I’m quickly running out of space, however the last batch I’ve bought is intended for the front garden; White Saliva, and a couple of types of Burnett.

I’m still yet to get some plants in the ground that I’ve bought over the past few months, I’ve been stalling so I’ll have to make a point of getting them in so they can get settled before Autumn arrives in September.

Dahlia ‘Happy Days’ and Isotama, I’m not too sure about the combination, however at least they are adding a nice splash of colour.

Bergamot is suffering somewhat from some mildew type thing, and I’ve discovered that another has survived winter and it’s just popping up now so it’ll be a few weeks before we see any blooms off it.

Dahlia Roxy is combined with Nemesia…

I can’t believe how much it actually smells of Vanilla, amazing.


This rose has popped up in the hedge near the other rose I’ve posted about previously… I’ve never seen one this colour before so I wonder why it’s just appeared.






And this is the first time I’ve had white cornflowers!

This is a darker shaded version of the mystery plant I posted about last week, I’ve no idea what they are…


I chopped these Nettles back a few weeks ago and it looks like they’re coming back with a vengeance… Oh well, they’re good for the ground and I can compost them again and add lots of nice nutrients.


This Shasta Daisy is at my parent’s, I stole some blooms that were laying on the ground… I’ve warned mum that next spring I’ll be round to steal some for the garden :D



They’re sharing a vase with Dianthus, Sweet Peas, Dahlias and some of my own Shasta Daisies.


The Hostas this year are doing very well with little to no damage on their leaves… I think it’s partially down to there being so little rain since February but also because we’ve discovered we have a little friend visiting us… A juvenile rat, I’ve caught it on camera with a slug in its mouth and then saw it carrying a Snail. It’s been seen on a number of occasions out in the open in broad daylight; twice it’s been so close to me I could’ve easily stroked it. Silly Rattie. We’ve set up a humane trap to try to catch it but it’s too small to set it off. However I haven’t seen it for a week or so now, and fear a local cat has caught it.


And here’s Rattie…





Gaura is blooming at last, although I do miss my long-stemmed type… These smaller varieties just don’t dance in the wind.


I always think they look like dolphins riding the surf… Or, and here’s a flashback to my childhood… A movie called ‘the last unicorn’ and there’s a scene at the end where the Unicorns are freed from the sea; long story short – they’ve been driven into the sea and they’re riding on the waves… Anyway, enough of the tangent!

Ladybird Larvae!



Copyright 2011 Liz.
All rights reserved. Content created by Liz for Gwirrel’s Garden.

18 comments:

Cheryl said...

HiLiz,

Monarda are very prone to mildew. This is the first year mine have not had it.

Rattie is cute....I havn't got a problem with rats provided they are not in the house. Sadly, Nella usually catches them before that happens. Still that is what she is here for. I still do not find it easy.

Your garden is full to over-flowing I should imagine.
So many blooms......will they last into autumn do you think?
I am concerned that my autumn garden will be a tad empty....everything seems to be moving so swiftly.

Each year is so different...we never know what to expect. All part of gardening I guess.

Su said...

I'm pretty sure your mystery plants are Morning Glory (mine flower all day too!). Do they have the right habit for Morning Glory?

Cheryl said...

BTW I also have that mystery plant.
Do you think we have been scattering the same free seeds from some gardening magazine :)

Liz said...

Hi Cheryl,

I'm surprised they're suffering with mildew tbh as they're in the most airy/woodswept border I have, so there's plenty of air movement around them. Oh well, they'll be fine.

With Rats, I'm certainly more worried than with Mice... It's more a worry of them coming into the house, and this one happened to be digging itself a nice home just over the fence underneath an old concrete post. So I've had to block it and hope Rattie has moved on. There are so many cats around here though that I cannot imagine it will survive long, that's why I'd sooner catch it in a trap and release it elsewhere.

There is a lot going on in the garden but I still have a lot of work to do for next year. The 'new' border from last year definitely needs things moving - the Monkshood for example.
I think, I will be ok for Autumn... I have the Asters, as well as Sedums and know plants such as Cosmos will bloom well into Autumn. Salvia should also put on a fresh flush of blooms and I hope the Astrantias will too.

Sorry to hear you're sitll having bad weather - I thought this weekend was supposed to be nice for everyone? It's been very nice here today and I've spent most of the day outside stalking lots of Butterflies.

Liz said...

Hi Su,

Thanks, I thought they were morning glory too, but don't seem to be growing as a vine? Are there different types??
I know nothing of Morning glorys, so couldn't say if they have the right conditions.
Ah, I've had a look online and discovered there are 'bush' morning glories!

Shady Gardener said...

ohmywoord! What do you do about ratty?

You have posted great photos! (I've never had monarda without mildew!)

I can't help you with your mystery... but it's pretty. :-) Best wishes!

HolleyGarden said...

I can't believe how the time has flown by, either! You have some very pretty blooms. I love that little mystery plant!

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

Oh, how pretty, Liz!
That Shasta daisy with curly center is awesome! Cornflowers are weeds in Russia, but I do have them in my garden (for the first time this year). Someone ate their heads... Mine are blue and pink.

Liz said...

Hi Shady,

I haven't been able to do anything about Ratty yet, we set up a humane trap to catch it, but it must be too light to set it off. So, assuming it survives to full maturity we'll try setting it again and hopefully will catch it.
However, I haven't seen it for a week or two now so either it's wised-up and realised it isn't a good idea to be out in full daylight and allowing me within inches of it, or it's been caught by one of many local cats.

Have a good weekend - even if it is Sunday now ;)

Liz said...

Hi HG,

I'm struggling to believe it's almost 8 months into the year, amazing. Yet at the same time it has gone extremely slowly.

Thank you for visiting my blog :)

Liz said...

Hi Tatyana,

Cornflowers are weeds here too, they're often found in cornfields alongside red poppies. However they're also lovely wildflowers that attract insects :)
I've had the pink ones before, and would like to try the deep burgundy ones too, but more recently cornflowers have generally fallen out of my favour, these are here because they were in a seed mix I bought and didn't know exactly what was in it! So it's nice to see them anyway.

Kyna said...

We just got our first Christmas themed book into the store last week. We ARE speeding through summer...I'm kind of glad, but kind of not. These temps are killing me, so I'm eager for fall so I can START gardening again, believe it or not lol. But I also dread Christmas...*sigh*

Lovely pics as always, Liz :D

Alice's Garden Travel Buzz said...

Liz
lovely images, as always.
I know when I stop by that you'll put forth a heaping serving of garden inspiration!
My garden is at its peak, which means .. as you say, where HAS the year gone.
xo

Bridget said...

Beautiful blooms, lovely pictures. I just love Shasta Daisies, have lots of them in my garden.

Nutty Gnome said...

Hate to worry you Liz, but I think those ladybird larvae are actually the highly invasive Harlequin Ladybirds. Check it out at http://www.harlequin-survey.org.uk If they are harlequins, then you have to tell the survey people so that they can map the spread. We had them last year and I've been squashing them this year!

Did you get my email about a local bloggers meet at our house to view (?!) the tea house etc? Hope you can make it and your Himself is very welcome too. Drop me an email :)

Your photos are as goreous as ever - so jealous of your skills!

easygardener said...

Lovely pictures. What a wonderful time of year for flowers.
If your plant isn't a climbing Morning Glory I would guess it is the non climbing annual Convolvulus tricolor.

Curbstone Valley Farm said...

How fun, you're still finding ladybird larvae! I haven't seen any larvae for the last month or so, although I did find some mystery eggs on the fennel blooms this week. You do have such a lovely variety of flowers still in bloom. I've grown Gaura in the past, in a previous garden, and I loved the way it swayed in the breeze. Although your shorter variety may not move as much, it's probably also not as prone to getting untidy at the end of the season. I must admit, I was surprised to see rattie, bold little fella, isn't he?! ;)

Anonymous said...

Hi Liz,

I too am worried about the time. All rather depressing really. We work so hard to make it all bloom beautifully and now, we are fast nearing the end of the season....
Best get out there to enjoy it while it lasts!