In a Vase on Monday - The last of this year's roses

With gusts on the increase, and a need to trim the rose trees, the remaining buds on Rose Grace were put together and graced our main daytime sitting area over the weekend.

Starting with tight buds on the Thursday,  with more open roses, the arrangement was a delight.

The red chillies which were the last of the harvest from the garden plants are now nicely dried, but remain in place as a bright accent in the centre of the table. 

My neighbour Val offered me some of her purple flowering Verbena bonariensis, which I planted up in a border, but I cut the flowering stem from the seedling to allow it to bulk up for next season.  Together with some ivy fruits picked on a recent walk down our lane, and the flowering tips of Persicaria Red Dragon, a second posy was also ready to show this morning. And on the theme of 'upcycling' I added another item Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Filifera Golden Mop'that would have otherwise ended up earlier in the compost heap, as will both these arrangments in a couple of days.

I'm joining in with Cathy and from her garden she will have set her arrangement, no doubt with excellent props.

Laverne Socks No 2

 I haven't picked up my knitting needles since I finished these socks in July.  What with one thing and another, but now it is cooler, and I have received the hint that I am not sitting down enough, it was time to look through my knitting bag, sort it out and think of something interesting to knit.

When I came to pack these socks away, I found that I had knit the same pattern back in 2016.  There they were nestled up in my stock of new socks box. 

I've decided to move along and knit some wrist warmers to send to my sister.  I'm trying out a pair to judge the construction as I would like to knit ones that are longer in the arm for her.  I found a pattern on Ravelry called Spatterdash which I am attempting, but may well try different patterns after all, they are probably a little quicker to knit up that socks, and will make surprise Christmas Presents.

With all the challenges to use less fossil fuels, but the importance of keeping warm and comfortable, I think that wool will be making a great comeback, not that it ever fell out of favour in this household.

Six on Saturday - 30 October 2021

 At Six this Saturday morning, I was woken by thunder and lighting, so that was the clarion to sort out some of the pictures I took in the garden this week, and compose my post.  It has been amazingly mild but also with some strong gusty winds. Today the heavy rains have set in.

1. Seeing the vegetation sway around was the reminder that roses ought to be tied more securely against the fence and shrubs pruned back to prevent swaying.  I know that the general rules are that one ought to prune roses in the spring.  However I got carried away and in general had a fairly good trim back of damaged, crosses or diseased wood, and the roses look almost ready for Summer.  We shall see:  I will probably have some corrections to make in the spring when they get their first dose of feed.  I really did not think there were many roses left, but there were sufficient for me to make a little posy, which I shall show for my In a Vase on Monday.

2. A couple of weeks back I was asked about the 'shrub in the back-ground'.  It is the lollipop Bay Tree which originally was much smaller and it had a twisted stem.  It was given to me as a 'thank you' for assisting someone in an emergency.  It seems to be adopted as a home to ants wherever it is located, and thus all sort of plants sprout from seeds which the ants carry there.  There are violets and the bronze leaved Carex Comans Bronze Form which I used to have growing in my previous garden.  This year the early year trim was forgotten, and the growth is showing flower buds, so I shall postpone its pruning till next spring.

3. Clematis orientalis Bill MacKenzie has romped away in its second year and is providing a cloud a shining seed heads as it catches the low autumn light.

4. The Dwarf Forsythia which I have had for nearly ten years, has been moved again.  It arrived here in its pot, and then about three years ago it got transferred to the bed in which I grow snowdrops and other early spring beauties.  It liked it there so much, and grew so well that it was starting to outstay its welcome.  As the rose bushes were getting pruned, something got hold of me, and I got hold of a big spade, and before I could stop myself, it found a new home on the opposite side of the garden.  Of course something had to be removed first and that was the Japanese Anemone September. It just languished in the heat, and the soil was far too dry for it.  I did have to give it a good hosing down three or four times during the dry weather, but it did not rock my boat, and now it is gone. The Forsythia is behaving as if it had been there for ever and now hopefully with a good drenching of a few buckets of water, and the rain this weekend, it will settle in nicely.

5. There is still a little flower in the garden...

6. Some of the better leaved forms of Cyclamen Hederifolium are gracing the shed shelf.

With rain set in for the weekend, you would think that puts the breaks on gardening activity.  Well it may well do as far as hands on plants is concerned.  However, if I have time to spare, I shall be going over some of my notes from the Iris Ney's talk last night called "Galanthus in Good Company" as there may be some little plants that I want to learn more about and possibly source for delivery next spring. 

I am joining in with Jon The Propagator, as do a number of other keen gardeners who love to share Six Items from their Gardens on a Saturday.

Visit to Beth Chatto's Garden

 One of my dream gardens to visit has been Beth Chatto's. Top of my list of 'outings' from our holiday in Lavenham in Suffolk was a day out to these gardens.  Mr S did all the driving as it was still some way.

I was just so excited, that I wondered what the strange feeling was as I first arrived and could see a corner of the gravel garden as we approched the ticket office: it was the biggest beam on my face. I think it lasted all through the visit, and is here now as I sort out some of the pictures for this post.  

The gardens have a very good website and you can get a better view than any of my photographs can give by visiting different pages: both the gravel garden and the scree garden were of course favourites. 

The succulent display had me walking along it not just the once!

I came away from the garden with photographs of individual plants that I particularly liked, which I wanted to study a little more before getting them for the garden at home: Muarrubium bourgaei All Hallows Green and  Teucrium ackermannii.

Most areas for growing stock plants and the nursery areas are tantalising beyond public access but often within view, however the nursery has excellent paths and was very well stocked.  I came back with three little treasures that I had seen growing which I thought would grow well in the gravel area: Verbena bonariensis 'Little One', Limonium bellidifolium and Erysimum pulchellum. From the shop I bought a rather nice grey bowl for one of the succulents in the conservatory.

What I like is that there is a place you can get lunch, but it is not overtop just supplying 'fuel' for the garden visitor.  Good quality and straight forward with seating under cover but with open sides.  I think it was part of the covered area for shady plants.  On the day of our visit which was hot and sunny, it was an excellent place to leave Mr S. whilst I went up and down the paths in the sales area. Unlike the website, there are tables along the carpark  side facing a lovely field, where people can sit and have any snack they may have brought.  It does say no picnics but this is 'no picnics' in the garden, which is completely understandable.

In a Vase on Monday - African Sky

I was given a nicely rooted cutting of 'African Sky'early this year by  Angela.  As soon as this Salvia plant needed pinching out, I simply put the bits in the side of the pot, as Angela had shown me.

I planted the main plant in the garden, and kept an assortment of cuttings in a pot.  A little light prunning to prevent wind rock, suddenly provided me with a little inspiration for my Vase today.  I was going to go 'Cold Turkey'(more about that next week)regarding the post today, but African Sky provided the ultimate inspiration.

I have found out that there are Elephants in Nigeria, and I know these to be African beads, but I know they did not come from Nigeria.  As I have been reading my current book set under African Skies, I have been looking up the meaning of various words and been interested to see the various clothes, head gear and jewelry that is worn by the affluent.  In 'The Girl with the Louding Voice', Adunni the main character comes from the poorest of circumstances and is subject sadly to much abuse.  Adunni's Voice is loud and clear, and at first I was taken back by the 'poor English', but this is how she talked and strangely I found that I also read this in the 'French Creole from Mauritius' and the sentence construction and words were very similar.  I can now read 'Nigerian pigeon English fluently! What a great first novel by author Abi (Abimbola) Daré.

I haven't yet finished the book, but can whole heartedly recommend it. It is a real page turner, and I have had to pull myself away from it to get meals cooked, and this blog written.

By chance Angela who gave me this plant is also in the Book Club reading this book. She is also a member of the Wells Literary group and had been working hard during the current festival.

I joining with Cathy who has 'Sweet' arrangement this week.