Final two roses and a couple of other plants

Having just had a really hot week (for the UK in June), the roses have finished their first flush, so here are the last two.  Above is New Dawn which is a reliable flowerer and scrambles over the arch.

Here it is a bit closer - a pretty pale pink.

Here is Blush Noisette.  I bought this years ago after seeing one growing at Barnsdale Gardens.  It is shoved in a pot but really doesn't get the care it should, although it does get fed twice a year and watered regularly in dry spells.  I cut it back pretty brutally and it still rewards me with these pretty and scented little flowers.  

Here is another of my favourites, a variegated jasmine.  It has a lovely scent and also gets cut back after Winter.  It needs an arch to scramble over, so I must get that organised!

Finally, a grass which I am very fond of, Calamagrostis Overdam.  It has green and white striped leaved and really pretty flowerheads.  It's a very graceful plant.

In other news, I have removed Rose Charles de Mills, which I am a little sad about. It was a healthy rose, with deep red flowers and was doing well, rather too well.  It had started to shade out other plants and it had started suckering throughout the border. It had one flush of flowers in the year, so didn't really justify a place in my small garden and was right plant, wrong place!.  It took a lot of digging out and there are some roots left in the border, so no doubt I will be finding more suckers in the future.  I am thinking it will be replaced with an ornamental grass and some salvias, as it is the sunniest part of the border. 

William, Ferdinand, Perle and others

The garden plants have enjoyed all the rain we had in Spring and are flowering away happily at the moment. Above is Clematis Perle D'Azur growing on the arch... 

...and from the other side.  These were taken a few days ago.

Here it is this morning, being very floriferous!

Rose William Shakespeare 2000 is also in full flower and attempting to take over that part of the garden.

Rose Ferdinand Pichard is well behaved and produces flowers packed with scent.

Rose Blush Noisette is also having a good year.

Clematis Princess Kate has been flowering for a few weeks now and... 

is still doing well.  Clematis Prince Charles is in the background.  Things will start to change again as we go into July and August, but I'm looking forward to seeing the phlox, the agapanthus and then the perennial sunflower and asters.  Gardening always gives you something to look forward to.

Things to enjoy in the garden - after Storm Babet

We survived Storm Babet but have had Storm Ciaran creating havoc in the South of the UK, with high winds and more rain as it moves away.  So far, the garden seems to be coping.  I  have all the normal Autumn jobs to do - collecting leaves, planting tulips and insulating my pots.  These will get done as soon as possible.   You can tell Autumn proper is here by the change of leaves - above is a blueberry.

However, there is still some colour to enjoy.  This is Salvia Cerro Potosi.

Rose Blush Noisette is also still in bloom.

Japanese Anemone Bressingham Glow has been flowering since July but the flowers are now more muted in colour than the bright pink they were in the summer.  This lilac-pink shade is still rather lovely.

Hydrangea Merveille Sanguine is putting on some fiery autumnal shades too.

Rose Gertrude Jekyll has put out one final rose which is beautifully scented.  I am enjoying it while I can.

Roses, clematis and an exotic-looking visitor

The garden continues to provide delights.  The final few roses are now in flower.  Above is a climbing rose, New Dawn.

This is Susan Williams-Ellis who is my latest addition (replacing Winchester Cathedral).

Another climber, Blush Noisette.

William Shakespeare 2000, who is making an attempt at garden domination.  It has grown really tall this year.

The clematis are now joining in.  Here is Venosa Violacea, twining around rose Ferdinand Pichard.

This is the lovely flower.

Clematis Frankie.  I bought this as a young plant and then planted it out. However, on the TV,  a clematis grower said you should pot them on and leave them for a year to develop a bigger root system.  I dug it up and potted it into a bigger pot and it has rewarded me by flowering again.

This is clematis Prince Charles, putting on a lovely show.

Here is Princess Kate who was potted on into a large tub and has rewarded me by being incredibly floriferous this year.

I couldn't resist a photo of this self seeded foxglove which planted itself in a pot by the shed.

The hydrangeas are also starting to flower.  Here is Endless Summer, the Bride (I think).

A mix of rose Jacques Cartier, a foxglove, and clematis Arabella.

This hydrangea is at the front of the house, in a large tub.  It provides a much needed splash of colour there.

Here is the flower - this is Endless Summer (Pink), I think.

The final flower (for now!) is Clematis Blue Angel.  I potted this one into a large tub this Spring and it obviously likes it!

The exotic-looking visitor is the vapourer moth caterpillar. It was busily munching away on a rose leaf, when I spotted it.  I brought it inside for identification.

It is quite an amazing looking creature with the long tail and antennae hairs.

I haven't seen one before, but apparently they are reasonably common. I put it back on the rose, but woe betide it if it tries to eat too much!