October colour in the garden

 The garden is changing now but is having a last hurrah before Autumn really gets going.  Rose Frilly Cuff is flowering again.

 This small and dainty Japanese anemone Bowles' Pink has been in flower for weeks.

 Rose Ferdinand Pichard is also flowering again - the first time he has repeat flowered.

 Aster September Ruby (I think) is almost fluorescent and does not want to be ignored.

 Helianthus Lemon Queen is adding a bright sunshine yellow.

 Aster Ericoides has delicate, small pale lilac flowers which are loved by bees.

 A miscanthus adds an elegant stateliness and moved beautifully in the wind.

 Aster Little Carlow is reliable and lovely.  Once the flowers have been visited by the bees, the centre turns red.

 Dahlia Merkii, looking a bit bedraggled.

 Hydrangea Confetti, which was a new plant this year and has done really well.

 Cyclamen Hederifolium with beautiful marbled leaves.

 An unnamed fuchsia which has flowered non-stop all summer and is still going strong.

I found this skeletonised leaf which had got caught on a box bush and thought it was beautiful.  There is still lots to enjoy in the garden.

Wall update: we agreed on a fence and got in touch with the builder, but he has not responded, which is really disappointing.  We are going to get another company to give us a quote...

Final images for Late Summer/Early Autumn

 Try as we might, there is no denying that Autumn, if not here, is just around the corner, and according to the weather men, will descend in earnest from this coming Wednesday.  However, to celebrate the glorious weather we have been enjoying for the last five days, more like July than September/October,  here are a few images from plants in the garden.  Above is Salvia 'Icing Sugar' which I bought at Gardeners' World Live and which has been flowering since June, despite the difficult conditions.  It still has lots of buds, but is not hardy so I don't think it will survive over the winter.  I'll just enjoy the bright cerise flowers for as long as I can.

 Aster Ericoides, which has become one of my favourite asters.  It is smothered in tiny lilac flowers which the bees love.  There is also a scent, but I haven't yet identified it - there is a honey perfume, but something else too and I'm not sure whether it is pleasant or not!

A lovely combination of an aster with the ever reliable Helianthus Lemon Queen, which has been featured on my blog several times.  I just can't resist the happy yellow flowers.

 A new plant, bought yesterday at the last garden visit of the season for us.  It is Spiraea 'Gold Fountain', although I'm not sure it is, because that is supposed to have white flowers.  Still, whatever it is, it is very pretty and the golden/green leaves give a real splash of colour.

I couldn't leave out the roses, so here is Blush Noisette, with a self seeded verbena bonariensis (and the washing line ...oops!)  Blush Noisette is a pretty rose with a lovely fragrance and I think this is the penultimate cluster of flowers, to celebrate the very last of the summer.

Gardening again

I was buying compost at the weekend and couldn't resist these rather fabulous tulips. I have planted them in two tubs, with some violas on top and am looking forward to seeing them in the Spring.

While in the garden, I took some photos of the lovely Miscanthus Sinensis Kleine Fontane which has now got white fluffy seedheads. They looked particularly silvery when the sun caught them, but by the time I had my camera, the sun had disappeared.

Aster Ericoides has been flowering for a while now and is smothered in flowers. I put a photo of it on my Blog a week or two ago and said I was relieved it was flowering before the cold weather started. Since then , it has been looking beautiful and is a joy to look at.

What a good value plant!

Asters in Autumn

I had intended to plant my narcissus and muscari bulbs over the weekend, but the weather wasn't conducive to staying outside for any length of time. I did manage to take a few photos and was very pleased with the aster display at the moment. They are the aster novae angliae varieties which are resistant to mildew and are very reliable. The yellow accent is provided by Helianthus Lemon Queen.

This delicate aster ericoides has taken a long time to start flowering but is worth the wait with small lilac flowers. I have been interested to watch the buds develop and was concerned that the weather would change before it had a chance to flower, but I needn't have worried. These plants are giving that final flourish before the onset of autumn proper.