Six on Saturday - 23 October 2021

We have had wind and rain, warm days and cool clear days, all in the space of a week.  The nights are getting shorter, and there is loads to do in the garden.  I ought to be there getting on with tasks, but it always interesting to see what other are up to, and also having this log allows me to look back at plants, my thoughts when first planting them, and the changes in the garden.

1. Right up by the back wall I had a lovely clump of Corydalis cheilanthifolia, which had done very nicely for a few years, and I had also moved a piece to another area.  In my autumn clear up I was sad to notice that both had decided to pop their clogs.  However as I cleared along the wall, I found a self seeded one.  When a nice plant finds the place it wants to grow, l hope it flourishes there and also flowers next year.

2. The strong winds and rains tested some plants, and the delightful late flowering Salvia Leucantha bore the blunt.  It is destined to be removed, but with some many flowers, I'll prop it up and enjoy a further week or two of its handsome foliage and flowers.  The little rooted cutting was sent by the lovely Gill.  I have taken cuttings, and young plants will be planted elsewhere next spring.

3. I picked up a few ready grown Wallflower 'Sugar Rush' Primrose earlier this week, I may well pot them up individually so that they can grow on a little, then be placed around the garden and also in the Salvia Leucantha gap, once the plants are removed.

4. Last year I lost the prostrate rosemaries and also the Foxtail one.  I have a small one coming on: will this do for good drainage, as it is suspended between two rocks?

5.  Pear 'Beth'  when first planted in December 2019had plenty of room: 

Here is it this week in October 2021..

On one side even though cut to the ground last winter Fuchsia Delta's Sarah is a well over a metre high and finally flowering nicely. and on the other the upright Rosemary is starting to flower.  You can see smaller good rosemary replacements waiting to find their rightful place.  The pear obviously needs to have both the Fuchsia and Rosemary removed.  Fuchsia cuttings will be taken this weekend! Both plants are pending removal.

6.Each autumn till now, I have dithered about picking Apple D'Arcy Spive. It  is a late season Russet type apple discovered in the garden of  The Hall in the village of Tollesdunt D'Arcy in the eighteenth century. as also learnt that  they ought to be picked after Bon Fire night.  Of course that may have been to ensure non were wasted in the bobbin games, as these would have been precious keepers. 

Its leaves have supported upteem creatures, and yet there are apples to pick.

Joining in with the gang and following our leader as usual on a Saturday.

In a Vase on Monday - Colours of Autumn

 It is definetly autumn, and after the weeks of sunshine and wonderful light, today it is on the change with fine mizzle and mists, hence the addtion of the little brass snail.  I had to don waterproofs to go out and cut these flowers in the rain, and arrange them on the outside table, so there is still a splattering of drops on the arrangement.

As there is no sunshine I'm leaving this arrangement on the conservatory table along with pumpkins, nuts and chillis which are curing and adding to the 'still life'.

The red chillis are from the garden, and hopefully will dry well, and provide not only chilli flakes, but also seed to replant next spring.  In the vase are the Alstromeria Indian Summer, Golden Lonicera nitida 'Baggesen's Gold, and heads of Sedum (Old Name) Spectabile 'Autumn Joy' which have turned dark red.

On Sunday mornings I head out with a group of friends on a cycle ride.  We have each increased our confidence and strength during the last few months, and yesterday's ride found me suddenly stopping to investigate the small stall someone had put outside their gates.  A large bag of wet watnuts for £2 and a few free russet apples outside another house, together with a nice chat with the generous gardener, made for a rest part of the way through our ride. It was nearly 19Km not allowing for the wrong turnings and doubling back!  The most impressive feat is that I am mastering my phone, noting the route when I get back, but also using the Paper Ordnance Survey Map and then agreeing to share it. 

In the afternoon, yesterday, some from our book club attended an event: Meet the Author which was put on as part of Wells Literature Festival.  The Author in question is Lucy Atkins, and we had all recently read her latest book, which I recommend.

I'm joining in with Cathy who is the author of this weekly get together, and whom I was delighted to meet, though I have yet to visit her garden....some day!  In the meantime also as a regular contributor on Six on Saturday, I follow as each chapter is posted. 

Six on Saturday - 16 October 2021

1. If you go to a food festival and find a garlic stall that in addition to selling various garlic themed jars, but also bulbs for planting, how can one resist?  I bought a purple 'Rhapsody Wight' from The Garlic Farm on the Isle of White.  I was only mentioning to a friend about my growing garlic, and how succedssful it had been, and that I keep the biggest cloves to grow on. I promised her for next week, a few of my best cloves for her to try.  Now I shall be able to slit this bulb with her, giving us each two types to plant in the coming week or two.

2.  Serrutula tinctoria seoanei was moved to the front edge early in the spring, and it has settled in nicely.  That area of the bed is where there are also various marjorams growing and those have just been cut back, leaving a little more bare earth than I would have liked. The very large Teucrium has also been removed. 

3. Just along from there I have planted out small divisions of Alchemilla erythropoda: dwarf lady's mantle.  It has been dry for weeks, and I'll have to keep an eye on these and give them a good watering every few days till they are established, after which I find they are pretty resilient. I had to clear out Eryngium Bourgatii: Mediterranean Sea Holly which just died after flowering. Maybe it is one of the short-lived eryngiums having flowered for five years, I liked both its leaves and early flowers.  Empty spaces mean new opportunities to grow different plants, or move plants from other areas of the garden.

4. The Pelagoniums are being prepared for overwintering  by having foliage chopping down  etc.  Here  two pots of Pelargonium Ardens are ready to be moved to the shelf in the shed.  This is the first year that having had rain and continuing watering that they have flowered right through.  I had to cut flowering stems and leaves off.  Again I had to stop myself propagating this as I would soon run out of space.

5. When I inspected a few succulents growing in a trough by the front door, they all dropped off, into my hand and emptying the soil, I found the nasty little culprits: small fat grubs of the vine weevil. Shall I cry?  Maybe best not to admit it.  I have cut the stem of one of my favourites: Echeveria purple pearl and will pot up it some fresh compost, and keep the succulent in the conservatory. It was cut during the week, and yesterday the bottom of the stem was nice and dry and ready to go into some fresh compost. I have had this one since early 2018, however I had set some leaves a few weeks ago planning my 'succession planting', I may plant out a succulent bed for the summer next year.

This Jade Money is still in its original moss ball, and get the occuasional watering with house plant food.

It sits in this pot on some pebbles on the utility windowsill mostly.

But if a plant like this one has been growing in a little moss even since it was a tiny piece in moss gathered from a local bank, do I really need soil?

Crassula Kokedama 2018

6. I love trees and large shrubs in the Autumn, whether evergreen or deciduous.  I suppose that having a plant that has to grow all through the summer to flower late in the year has a whole summer long of growing and exposure to slugs and other pests.  Maybe that is why on the whole I go for the spring ephemerals.  I have a love/hate feeling about this little plant that always flowers in October. Should it go into the bin after it has flowered? I have said this each year for at least five!!! I would rather have something that is slug proof and will enjoy the fancy leaved cyclamen hederifolium instead. 

But then I am a ditherer and most likely will continue with both, all and probably more! I bet the Prop is definetely not a ditherer or he would not be on his 100 miles endurance run/walk race today. He still manages to gather us together with all our Sixes.  I reckcon he was a Centurion or such like in a previous life. 

Saturday Supper

I hadn't been shopping as I ought to have done.  The weather has been too nice.  It was either cycle into town or have a long walk, and garden etc... Heck! what were we to have for dinner? Could have been beans on toast, but with the creative juices running this is what I came up with.....

 Butternut squash, which had been lurking in the basket for a couple of weeks, sliced and roasted, then stacked one with the hollow over a ring from further up the fruit.  Stuffing, cooked seperately was red and wild rice with dressings of herbs and chilli oil.  Lovely Wookey Farm Yarley Cheese which one can grill, here I cooked in on a griddle together with herbs and pumpkin seeds.  Veg was the last half of a Romanesco with a dollop of home made garden pesto, garnish was baby beetroot leaves salvage from the beetroot just before they went in the pressure cooker. Beetroot is for today.

For drinks we shared a 500ml bottle of sulphide free Bartinett Cider which Colin and Julie from Honey Pot Farm brought round this Thursday.  Having enjoyed their many different types of Apple Juice, as well as vinegar, we thought we would their cider a try.  Having only recently had lunch at the Newt with their Bartinett Cider, we felt we were able to compare, and Honey Pot Farm's Cider will be on our delivery list in the future...

Six on Satuday - 9 October 2021

1. Just as I was wondering what new I could learn about things happening in the garden at this time of the year, when I was piqued by a friend's post on facebook about a change in one of her Dahlias.  Her David Howard had changed most of its petals, whereas on mine just a few emerged white. For a couple of weeks I was wondering whether David was developing a Mallen Streak, or was just going 'grey' as the Autumn encroached, or might have suffered from inadequate watering whilst we were away.

I had a bit of a dig around on the internet, as I had given away my lovely book on Dahlias, and came across the term 'Colour Fluidity'.  The link will take you to an interesting article on Longfield's site, together with more interesting articles on Dahlia growing.  I may just have one Dahlia in the garden, but it is still interesting to learn about such things.

2. When it isn't a spider, and don't we all have lots of those at the moment, and it still have eight long legs, and still doesn't look like a Daddy Longlegs, but with no waist and no ability to spin a web this Harvestman is enjoying the sunshine.

3. And this is not spiders' webs covering the sempervivum Sprite, and not a cultivar of a Sempervivumn Arachnoideum as far as I know, but the frost like hairs on the leaves caught my fancy.  Sempervivums and succulents seem to be having a resurgence at the moment. It is going through its green stage though when I bought it earlier on this year it was quite red.

4. When I found a late flowering small allium I felt I had to get it, and it is just starting to open its flowers now.  Allium thunbergii Ozawa which is a small allium will hopefully clump up in the gravel garden.

5. A single plant in isolation with plenty of space to itself with its flowers glowing in the early morning light is a joy to behold.  I hope the bidens survives the winter.

At the stage when I was helping plant out the Elizabethan garden at Kenilworth Castle I learnt that when prize plants were first grown, they were grown in singles with plenty of space and given due reverence.  On the whole I seem to favour that approach, though I also like mass planting too. The first potato to come to England was planted in Kenilworth.

6. The cyclamen hederifolium whether special ones in pots such as this 'Silver Shield' with pink flowers

or otherrs such as this all Silver leaved form in the garden, continue to bejewel my garden, and give me great pleasure.

Those are the Six on offer today to add to the meme which Jon The Propagator set up ages ago, and which each week some of us join in with.