The wildflower meadow

This weekend has been spent smashing up hardcore, laying industrial sized paving slabs around the shed, shovelling earth from one area of the garden to another and ploughing up the wild end of the garden.  It's been a full on few days and both of us are now done in.  But it will all be worth it when this...

...becomes this

Tulips

The patio is breaking out in colour as the tulips emerge in an explosion of oranges, reds and purples.  I planted a mixture of earlies and lates, so I'm hoping this display will last a few weeks more yet. This is the best use I have ever made of my pots, definitely one to be repeated next year.

The woodland garden

Brimming with hellebores, leucojum aestivum, primroses, violets, pulmonaria and daffodils, the woodland garden is looking spectacular this year.  We will soon be in a position to split some of these plants and extend the woodland further down the garden.

Indian summer

The garden has continued to mature this year, and in late September is still looking good.  The new borders bloom renewed after the second chelsea chop of the year and the dilapidated greenhouse has finally gone.  September has been unseasonably warm, but now we have reached the autumn equinox, the temperature has cooled and autumn is most definitely in the air.  It may be the season of dread for many, marking the end of summer and the start of six months of short days and long dark cold nights, but for me its the best time of year, filled with the richest colours, clean and crisp air, and a lovely warm light.  We have chosen a few plants for their autumn and winter colour and are looking forward to seeing them make their mark on the garden.

Roses

The roses are in full bloom.  In fact, you only have to stand at the front gate to be hit with a delicious waft of Paul's Himalayan Musk.  Our garden is currently a feast for the senses, and the roses are taking centre stage.

Sunnyside in May

Sunnyside is in bloom on this the last day in May.  This afternoon has been spent moving a few plants around to alleviate overcrowding and to fill out the new borders which are looking a little sparse.  The nepeta walkers low has gone crazy this year and is permanently buzzing, and we are overrun with euphorbia oblongata, three of which you can see rehomed in the new borders.  I have also rehomed the clematis tubulosa and some white asters which were covering an almost dead salvia, now breathing again in a more generous space.  I seem to have planted everything too close together last year so now that the plants are maturing they are fighting with one another for space.  But that strategy seems to work rather well when you are extending the borders and in need of new plants to fill the space.  The roses are just beginning to open, Paul's Himilayan Musk is beginning to break out into bloom, as is Compassion.  Any day now the pergola is going to erupt all over in colour and fragrance.  Rosa Susan is really blooming her socks off this year.  She was a very poorly rose last year and I wondered if she would survive her extreme black spot (perhaps more aptly named black rash), but this year has fared much better, possibly due to a regular drenching in a heavily diluted apple cider vinegar solution.  

Rosa Susan

Recycling

One of my favourite milestones in the gardening year is dead-heading the first lupins.  As the flowers start to fade at the bottom and begin producing seed pods, the tops of the flowers remain gloriously resplendent.  A good old cull of these older flower spikes encourages continuous flowering, and (once stripped of their lower portions) produces many vases worth of beautiful blooms for adourning my bathroom.