We have had the most wonderful visit to Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire, a few days ago, to experience all the fantastic autumn tints that they have at this time of year, and I have just got to share the photos with you. There are not many places that I have been to that have stopped me in my tracks because the “wow” factor has been so great, but believe me, there was a “wow” round every corner at Westonbirt.
Are these the last flowers of summer or will there be more, who knows? When wandering around the garden, camera at the ready, I think it is amazing the plants that are still putting out new buds and that the odd flower or two are still enjoying the autumn sunshine. We have had a spell of warmer weather with the wind coming up from Africa and at last a load of rain arrived from Spain. What a difference the rain has made, it has given a very dry garden a new lease of life, just when I thought everything was shutting down. The roses are putting out lots of new buds, this one is Bonica, with plenty of buds still to come.
I went for coffee the other week with my friend Jean who is a brilliant gardener with an equally brilliant garden ! When I visited in the summer I didn’t think to take my camera with me and immediately regretted it, her garden is always looking so beautiful, this time I made sure the camera came with me. As soon as I stepped into the conservatory for my coffee, I was surrounded with a sea of salmon ! This beautiful Datura ( I think these days they are called Brugmansia, but I can’t keep up with all the new names) was in the corner, taking pride of place.
Once again, Christina is hosting a Foliage Day over @ Creating my own garden of the Hesperides. This time I thought I would just show a few autumn tints because the evergreens/golds/silvers will be with us for the next month and for the rest of the winter. This photograph is of one of our Horse Chestnut trees and the shrubs below. These shrubs are all over 6ft tall, so that gives you some indication of how tall the Chestnut tree is. Starting at the right, the shrubs are the golden Philadelphus, a blue cedar, variegated laurel and a cotoneaster hedge.
After last years bad winter that we had here, when we lost a few plants or had damage done in the garden due to the snow lying for so long, now is the time to begin preparing for winter and whatever the weather will throw at us.
Now is the time of year for us to repay the birds in our garden for eating all the nasty grubs etc. that try to ruin the look of our plants. I can’t say that I have noticed any damage to my plants, so the birds have obviously been doing their job. Now its my turn to say thank you to them by providing berries for the birds to help them survive the winter, as well as plenty of food on the bird table.
These amazing purple berries are enjoyed by the blackbirds, the berries are not easy for us to see, but the blackbirds just work their way along the Lonicera hedge, from one end to the other, feeding furiously as they go.
The really lovely hot weather that we have been enjoying, has meant that on a couple of mornings we have got up to thick fog. Not to worry, this is the best time to see the beauty of spider’s webs glistening in the sunlight when the sun eventually burns the fog away. Rather than just comment on the pictures I thought I would dig up a few facts, so all my information comes from Wikipedia and now I will share them with you, along with the photos I took a few mornings ago.
I have found in the past that no sooner have I planted a new plant , than there it is , all over the garden, sometimes this is an asset, especially when doing a new border, all the empty spaces fill in no time. Also the books and magazines tell us that it is good to have a linking theme round the whole of the garden.There are times however, when a firm hand is needed to sort things out. A plant that is welcome anywhere it chooses is Verbena bonariensis, this seeds about on my heavy clay, but it is never a problem. Only one plant was bought, but now it has spread through a couple of borders. Each year I wonder if I have lost it over the winter, but by summer time, there it is once more, keeping the bees and butterflies happy.
The weather in September has been quite kind to us in the SW of the UK, a bit of rain, a bit of sun, lots of cloud, bit of fog and not much wind. The last couple of days though, have been amazingly hot and sunny, poor plants just don’t know what to do. Some shrubs are flowering again along with autumn tints – they are so confused. There are a few plants that have been flowering all through the summer into autumn and I think the main one is lovely Verbena bonariensis, it just gets better and better as the weeks go by.
The garden is still providing us with plenty to eat, mealtimes are quite interesting still. We will never be self sufficient, would have to turn all the garden over to fruit and veg for that to happen, but it is nice being able to grow what is most expensive in the shops. Must grow more rhubarb, there was plenty for us to eat while in season, but it would be lovely to have some to freeze for crumbles etc. in the winter.
