Resilience in the garden

This summer has certainly thrown some interesting weather our way, with drought conditions and extreme temperatures (for the UK) up to 40 degrees centigrade.  I have been reviewing the garden to see what has shown resilience.  Above is Clematis heracleifolia New Love which is in a south facing border and which had no extra water.  It is shaded by a jasmine and winter flowering honeysuckle and it is flowering away happily. 

This aster novae-angliae September Ruby - is also doing well, albeit flowering earlier than usual.

Rose Ferdinand Pichard is having a second flush of flowers.

Buddleia has done well, but it is a survivor.

What surprised me was the hibiscus.  Both have done very well indeed - this is the smaller triple coloured one I have. It is only young and I think has only been in the border for two years.  It has has one bottle of water stuck next to it when it got really hot. Above is the pink flower...

...and here is the white/pink.

Here is hibiscus syriacus Oiseau blue, still in flower and having had no extra water. 

The miscanthus grasses are a little shorter than usual, but have done well.

This salvia 'Nachtvlinder' has also done well and has been flowering for a couple of months now.

Finally, this fuchsia, Thamar, which is in a pot but which has been reliably perennial for quite a few years. It has had an occasional watering, but hasn't had a lot of care lavished on it; however, it has rewarded me with these pretty flowers.

So, what have I learnt?  Shrubs have managed well.  They have longer roots so that they can reach moisture further down in the soil.  Having just had to dig out a very unhappy rose which had been in the border for twenty years or so, I can attest to the power of the roots.  I would expect the grasses to manage well and Buddleia seems to be one of the toughest plants I know.  

Re-evaluating my garden will be ongoing - removing some of the plants which didn't cope well and replacing them with tougher ones. I have a feeling that other people will be doing this too.  Climate change is making its presence known and we will all have to adapt.

November - the seasons turn

The temperatures have gone down a bit this week (although surprisingly, have gone up a bit this weekend) and the autumn colours are starting to glow.  However, there are still some plants bravely hanging on. Above is the 'old velvet' colours of the hydrangea flowers.

The standard cherry Kojo-no-mai is showing fiery shades...

...as are the blueberries.

Salvia Nachtvlinder is still in bloom, with its deep purple flowers.

Rose Kew Gardens is also still putting out the odd flower.

Fuchsia Thamar is the only fuchsia I have now - the others got rust and I got rid of them.

Liriope Muscari is such a reliable plant for me.  I really need to divide the poor thing and give it a bit more space.

Hydrangeas are still flowering at the bottom end of the garden.

I like the mix of the bright white flower against the earlier flowers which have turned green

The Magnolia is now losing its leaves - and that is a proper November sky.

There are still some autumn fruiting raspberries ( I ate this one straight after taking this photo).

Lysimachia Clethroides in the front, starting to go yellow, with the cherry behind.  I need to start on the pot insulation I think.  We have had one frost so far and there will certainly be more to come. 

More plants and a blog swap - 'From My Home to Yours'

 I had a very nice afternoon on Saturday as a plant nursery near to my Mum's house was having an open afternoon.  I was hoping that they might have some dark astrantias and dianthus. After seeing the dark astrantia at the Open Gardens last weekend, I have been thinking I need to try them again.  I have tried growing them in the border before, without any success.  I was pleased to find three different varieties: Hadspen Blood, Moulin Rouge and Ruby Wedding, so snapped them up straightaway.  I am going to grow them in pots this time and see whether they do any better for me.  I also bought a fuchsia 'Thamar' and a red Dianthus 'Dark Passion'.  Then I saw a lavender 'Hidcote', so that joined the others.  I was very pleased with my purchases.

 While we were having tea and cake (yes, more cake!) in an open barn at the nursery, I spied these baby swallows in their nest, waiting to be fed.  Every now and again, a parent would swoop in and the babies would immediately spring into action, beaks wide and chirping loudly.  The photo isn't too bad, but they were right up in the rafters and this was as much zoom as my camera could manage.

I am taking part in another blog swap; this one being organised by Betty   - I do enjoy these and haven't done one for a while.  This one is based around your home county and country.  You have to include four things, one of which must be hand made by you.  Of course, you can include as many little extras as you like, little souvenir items which are relevant to your home town or country, or little things your recipient will like.  You can get a lot of information about someone from their blog and also when you email them too. It sounds as though it will be a lot of fun.  The closing date for signing up is 20th June, so a couple more days if you are interested. 

Late Summer Colour

 To cheer us up after these rather dull, grey and definitely autumnal last few days, here is a nice burst of colour from the garden.  I must admit that I took these photos last weekend, when the light was better, but the flowers are all still going, though looking a little more bedraggled now.  Above is an annual dahlia, grown from seed, which I shoved in a pot and put outside the front door.  As it turned out, this is the best plant because the ones in the back garden have been decimated by snails!

 White cosmos, again grown from seed, also in the pot at the front door.

 A geranium versicolour showing beautiful veining.

 Rose Mary Rose, with the slowly opening buds of caryopteris.

 Crocosmia 'Honey Angels' with a shot of yellow to enliven the border.  This is a great plant, not too tall and it has come through the last winter or two beautifully.  I have ordered a couple more of these.

 A sugar pink phlox flower, bought as part of a a bare root collection earlier this year.

 My favourite geranium, Rozanne, which has been voted plant of the century by the RHS members. (I voted for it too!)

 Another cosmos, in a pot in the back garden.

 Clematis Crystal Fountain, showing the stages of the flowers.  I like the pom pom left after the petals have fallen.

 Hydrangea Endless Summer 'The Bride'.

 A pretty fuchsia 'Thamar', which is also in a pot and which came through last winter.

 A recent addition bought from Barnsdale; Helenium 'Ruby Tuesday' which is a compact variety, again in a pot. 

Beautiful rusty red flowers.

 More hydrangeas - Endless Summer 'Pink'.

A relatively new hydrangea, with blue flowers but no name.  I'm not sure how hardy this will be, but I couldn't resist the delicate blue/purple flowers.
The colours have definitely brightened my day and I hope you have enjoyed them too.

Geranium and Fuchsia

I am enjoying the combination of colours in the garden, even though some things are starting to look a little past their best. We have been getting lots of rain, which has attempted to flatten everything, but it has improved the soil considerably. The top photo shows Geranium 'Rozanne', which is one of my favourites as it obligingly winds itself through other plants, even coming out at the top of one of the rose bushes!

The above fuchsia is 'Thamar' which has flowers that face upwards - unusual in a fuchsia as most have downward facing flowers. I thought I had lost it due to the cold winter, as it is not supposed to be hardy, (however, it had survived in my garden for about three years) but luckily, it recovered and has come back better than ever. The garden is still colourful, but over the last couple of weeks, it is starting to look a bit more autumnal, probably being prompted by the weather. I do love the autumn, but would like to enjoy a little bit more of the summer first!