Colour In September

In 2013, I followed the late Geoff Hamilton's advice and visited a garden centre or nursery each month of the year, purchasing a plant in flower. Doing this should ensure that I have something blooming in the garden every month of the year.

The plant I bought in September was Dianthus Sunflor Charmy. I took a photo of it blooming away earlier this year but I think I may have deleted it so here's one which I took last year.

The plant label stated that it should flower from early spring through to late summer, but this is the state of play at the moment. At least it's put on a little growth, it's more than double its original size now.

All is not lost though, there are still some new buds coming through so it may put on another show yet.

I may have been tempted to buy another plant in flower for September seeing as the dianthus isn't doing its thing at the moment were it not for the fact that I noticed this in my border.

This is Liriope Royal Purple, the plant I bought in August and which I though I'd lost. I ended up buying another plant last month to fill the August gap so this Liriope will now fill the September gap nicely.

I was so surprised when I saw it blooming there as I didn't notice it last year either, it seems quite happy though and so am I now that I know another of my purchases has been a success.

Harlow Carr In September

Things are almost turning full circle now. My very first photo from Harlow Carr back in January was of the heather, it was blooming at the time. Here is the same bed at the moment, the heather will be back in flower again very soon.

Things are starting to get tidied up at Harlow Carr, there were a couple of flower beds which had been stripped of plants and the earth tilled ready for new planting and this area by the stream is also having a makeover.

I don't know what these flowers are but they look fabulous planted en masse, there were great swathes of them blowing gently in the breeze.

Agapanthus Sarah is past her best.

Agapanthus Arctic Star is already spent. There's lots of flowers going to seed now that the summer months are coming to an end.

One seed head which is just as beautiful as the flower itself is the allium. They add interest to a garden for many months.

I don't know very much about trees but I was fascinated by these flowers. They remind me of nemesia. I don't know what kind of tree it is, I'd be interested to find out if anyone knows.

We ventured in to a large greenhouse which we haven't been in before. Growing there is this wonderful fig tree, it's trained to grow along the side of the greenhouse.

There's some figs on the tree but I doubt they'll ripen this year, perhaps they'll go on to give a harvest next year.

Also in the greenhouse is a passion flower. I've always fancied having a go at growing one but it's something else I haven't got round to doing yet.

I'm fascinated by the flowers, they're such an intricate design. The parts of the flowers are supposed to represent Christ's Passion and Cross.

As you might expect, the Kitchen Garden is fit to bursting at the moment. There's so much here waiting to be harvested, it's a good time of year.

You may wonder what is inside the mesh cage. Here's a closer look, they're blueberry bushes, presumably being protected against hungry beaks.

I've never grown celeriac myself but I know many people have trouble growing it. I don't think they have any problem at Harlow Carr.

The runner beans are waiting to be picked. I'm getting a steady supply from my own plants at the moment.

There was no sign of whitefly on the kale, a pest I can't get rid of when I grow kale myself.

I love the colour of this variety of kale, Redbor.

Courgettes and lettuce are growing in this tyre arrangement. I see the courgettes are suffering from mildew, something my own plants always suffer from. It doesn't seem to do them any harm though, I always end up with a glut.

The squash are growing nicely and are adding a splash of colour to the bed.

It's nearly harvest time for the apples. You can see how the tree has been trained to grow against wires, and the fruit nearly ready to be picked. This is Red Falstaff.

Crab apple John Downie.

Crab apple Neville Copeman is a glorious colour.

Here's the border I'm following, it seems fuller than ever this month. I expect it will start dying down again now ready for the winter months.

Harlow Carr has a wonderful Plant Centre, though I find that the perennials are well established specimens and are therefore, priced accordingly.

There's a good range of alpines on offer.

There was a sale on some of the roses but they'd been well picked over by the time I visited and there were none left which took my eye.

I'm sure many visitors will be going home with a cyclamen or two, their bright colours are very attractive during the winter months.

Gone are the summer bedding plants, autumn varieties have taken their place.

I'll leave you with some plants which are still earning their keep in the gardens during September.

I wonder how the gardens will look next month when autumn is truly upon us.

Mistaken Identity

At one time, dahlias went out of fashion. I, for one, am pleased that they've seen a revival in recent years and many people are growing them once again.

I often buy bulbs and tubers from Wilkinsons at a bargain price so I choose from the selection on offer there. This year it was Procyon and I have to say that it's put on a great show.

Another bargain purchase was Dahlia Blue Bell, I bought it very late in the season but as it was being sold off at just 50p, it was worth a gamble. The foliage has grown but so far it hasn't bloomed. I'm not too concerned, I shall save the tuber and replant it next year when hopefully, it will give me some flowers.

One variety I decided to search out this year was Bishop of Llandaff. I bought it from a garden centre and it was in a sealed package. A stunning dahlia having vibrant scarlet flowers set against almost black foliage, I don't think this is anything of the sort.

Definitely a case of mistaken identity. The dahlia I've ended up with is nice enough but I'm very disappointed that it isn't what I expected.

I shall try again next year for a Bishop of Llandaff, I hope I'll be more successful next time.

Photo Medley - August

I can't believe how fast this year's going. In meteorological terms, it will be autumn on Tuesday. I prefer to follow astronomical dates though, so for me, autumn won't start until the 23rd of September, still time for us to have a bit of summer. Time now then, as August comes to a close, for my round up of photos which haven't yet made it on to the blog this month.

Here's one from our holiday at the beginning of the month, Dalby Forest. It's such a beautiful place to walk and Archie loves it here too.

A few more photos from our visit to Wentworth Garden Centre Gardens where the bees were enjoying the flowers just as much as we were.

I think borders look fantastic when they're set against a wall for a backdrop.

The trees were underplanted with hostas giving this area a woodland effect.

This is the bee house which Mick attached to the fence for me a couple of years ago. It's never had any residents and I was going to move it a couple of months ago to see if a change of location would attract some visitors but before I got the chance, something moved in. Can you see that one of the little holes has been blocked up? I hope this will encourage some friends to follow suit.

Daniel bought me this red rose for Mother's Day a couple of years ago. It hasn't done very much until this year when it's put on a lovely show.

I always take far too many photos for my Harlow Carr post each month so here's a few more which I took this month. We had a brass band playing to us whilst we wandered the gardens.

These large pots greet us as we walk through the door, they display different flowers every month so I look forward to seeing the new arrangement on each visit.

I've never grown ferns myself but I find them fascinating, quite prehistoric in their look and the way they unfurl their fronds.

Many plants are setting seed at this time of year, I expect there'll be more seed pods to see on my next visit as we head in to autumn.

The cornflowers are in the Kitchen Garden. There's a wide variety of flowers grown there amongst the vegetables which, I'm sure, must help attract the pollinators.

Crocosmia Lucifer. A fabulous flower for a hot border.

It's a bank holiday weekend here so fingers crossed for some good weather. Mick has taken next week off work so I'm hoping we can get out and about a bit. Have a great weekend everyone, whatever you're up to.