Flowers outside...

Now the weather is cooler and we have had a bit of much needed rain, some of my normally very reliable autumn flowers are putting in an appearance and bringing me some lovely splashes of colour. Above is Japanese Anemone Bressingham Glow.  It is much shorter and much later to flower this year.  

Here is Symphyotrichum (Aster, as it will always be to me!)) novae-angliae Mrs S T Wright.  This one has seeded itself from the main plant which is further down the border.

Here is Symphyotrichum (Aster) Little Carlow.  For the last two years this plant's leaves have struggled against mildew, as it is near to a big Buddleia.  I may need to move it (again) or improve the soil.  The flowers are very pretty though.

Helianthus Lemon Queen, again, this is shorter and smaller than usual, but still has zingy yellow flowers, loved by bees.

Even the miscanthus is shorter, but still elegant, particularly when the breeze ruffles its silky flowers.

Liriope Muscari, a very undemanding plant. The stem in front is a herbaceous Clematis, New Love.

The hydrangeas are taking on their autumn colours of old velvet.

Salvias are still flowering - this one is either Raspberry Melba or Strawberry Melba!

This little clematis 'Neptune' is flowering for the second time this year which is unexpected, but very welcome.  these are the flowers at the top...

...and the bottom of the support.  I am enjoying this gentle slide into Autumn very much.

Autumn days and my thoughts on composting

It is a lovely October so far in this part of the country and I am trying to savour every minute that I can. Above is a 'Magical revolution' hydrangea, slowly taking on some autumnal shades.

This is the colour of the sky recently.

The perennial sunflowers are still going strong, but you can see how much more shade this area gets now.

The sunlight on the miscanthus flower heads is always so beautiful.

The asters are also still doing well - this is Symphotrichum Novae-angliae Mrs S T Wright (she will always be an Aster to me!).

More gorgeous miscanthus heads...

...and again.

In other news, I have emptied my compost bin and sieved the compost.  Those of you who are gardeners will no doubt be familiar with the whole compost making process and how to achieve the best results.  

I had a few bad years, because although I thought I understood the process, it needed some tweaking.  However,  I think it is now working well.   I have a plastic 'Dalek' shaped bin and you have to remove the whole bin to get at the compost.  I left it for two years, thinking all would be well, only to find it really wasn't. The compost had condensed into a solid mass  and there were no worms to be seen.  I emptied it out and started again, this time adding a layer of paper and egg boxes in between the kitchen scraps.  I also started to turn the heap a couple of times over the year.  Adding the paper layers and turning the compost have made the difference.  The resulting compost is now lovely and soft, crumbly with an earthy smell.

Having sieved the compost this time,  I shall refine my additions to the bin further.  While tea leaves rot down beautifully, tea bags don't.  Egg shells take a while too, but the pieces that are left in are small and will rot down and also provide some air.  Some compostable plastics take a long time to rot down.  I am not  adding citrus as the worms don't like it.  Potato peelings need to be added in small amounts as sometimes they have a habit of sprouting.  

It has been a real learning process but I am so happy with what nature and those clever worms have given me.  The compost will be added to peat free multipurpose compost for planting and potting on and as a mulch around some plants.