Oh my, it’s July already… Things go downhill from here, and I’ve already begun to feel it… the grass barely grows anymore, it’s so strange! I can’t help but think it’s due to lack of rain because it certainly doesn’t feel Autumnal yet I cut the grass for the first time in weeks yesterday.
This is the first year where overall I’ve generally been very happy with how things are going in the garden. Yes there are problem areas that need addressing, but the general feeling is that I’m pleased wherever I look.
The right border has some successes and others not so… It would seem I’ve lost a few things, so towards the ‘front’ (looking from the kitchen) of the border these gaps are quite noticeable, I have planted a Coreopsis, Scabious and some Verbena Bonariensis to try fill the spaces and I discovered the source of an aphid infestation – the Yarrow. I sprayed it a few times with soapy water and it’s done the job, however it’s well behind in growth because they were sucking the life out of it so I won’t have any blooms from it for a while yet; if ever… So for now the front is looking a bit bare as the Aquilegias and Lupins are coming to the end, however towards the ‘back’ it’s looking much better, probably because I only recently planted it.
Eye spy a little Potato to the lower left of the photo…
The ‘new’ border is looking so packed in… I think it’s a little too busy, so I’ll have to move things around. The feverfew is a very nice surprise, and actually I’m loving it against the Veronica and Geranium. I think I will pull out the Pheasant’s tail grass, it does have some fresh growth but it’s still looking so dead that I think it’s time for it to go and I’ll replace it with something hardier… I have a Stipa waiting to be planted but I’m undecided where exactly I want it to go.
I want to remove the Monkshood, it’s huge this year and it’s completely blocking out the plants behind it including the Aster ‘Lady in Black’ which I can barely see, so it can go onto the upper tier where the Summer house was.
The Buddleja border is now looking quite bare and dead, the seeds I scattered grew very well at first but then suddenly stopped, the Poppies are all tiny but I do have a few other seedlings almost coming into bloom; albeit quite late, I think it was the droughts earlier on in the season as they are in full sun most of the day
The Cherry border is going over now, I’ve cut back the Geraniums and hope I might get some more late blooms from Phaeum. I’ve been cutting off the seed heads from the Foxgloves to stop them seeding everywhere as next year I want more of a mix with the excelsior colours.
Copyright 2011 Liz.
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7 comments:
I feel like it was just spring, and our gardens have only just started to come into their own. I can't even think about Autumn, not yet...even though I know it's not all that far away. Even though you may see imperfections in your June garden, from here, I think it looks fabulous!
maybe your borders do not quite do what you envisage, Liz but I would give a lot for busy borders. Lots of structure and more colour going on than perhaps your critical eye sees. Grasses are the most difficult to place - they seem to need a place of their own or masses of open space. My nigella seeds went the same way as your scatterings - great start then vanished.
Hi CV,
Oh definitely, I can't believe it's July when really it still feels as though it's only May!
Just the grass is behaving strangely, thankfully we don't have that yellow hue quite yet when Autumn begins to creep in; however I disovered today that the Flat-topped Aster is beginning to flower when it isn't supposed to start until August! Eeeek.
Next year I want to get some Hosta's in the Buddleja border, everything on this side of the border ends up in heavy shade once the Buddleja gets big, so most plants don't last long there or flower much earlier so by this time of the year everything has finished and it's looking very boring.
Hi Laura,
I lost a lot in the right border; Hollyhocks, Scabious, Gaura, Bergamot, Sedum, Verbena Hastata, Verbena Bonariensis... So the gaps are very obvious... I'll have to find other plants to replace them for next year as it's only recently become obvious that I lost some of them and it's a bit late now for me to do much.
I have Nigella seedlings too, they're one of the few things that survived, and were very small for a long time but have suddenly grown much larger and hopefully I'll have flowers on them soon. Today I've chopped back the nettles to compost them and cut back the massive Geranium as it was becoming very leggy, and it's allowed much more light in for the little Nigella seedlings :)
The feverfew is delightful. Ours grows everywhere. Round the herb border seeding at will. I think I'll scatter some seed or transplant some seedlings. That's the joy of gardening - the unexpected.
Hi Liz. Your Feverfew and veronica look so pretty together. I do not know where June went myself. It is all going too fast. My borders are usually messed up when a plant grows bigger than I pictured it and then it has to be moved and something else figured out for its place. My Monarda Raspberry Wine did that this summer and now it needs moved to the back of the bed. I find a lot of my seeded plants take off and then got kaput. I can not figure it out. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Liz. your garden is looking very pretty, we are our biggest critics, where we see problems, others see lovely plants! Last winter was very cruel and I think a lot of plants died that should have survived, look at it as a planting opportunity and just hope that next winter is a mild one !
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