power plant

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The garden looks so colourful and warm at this time of year, and I have tried to capture that in my vase today, as I join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her Monday meme. The grasses and asters are the main characters in the garden, but side roles are taken still by the Zinnias and Calendula, and even a couple of Cosmos flowers hanging on. I have picked quite a few of these last annual flowers (we may get a frost this week) to savour that brilliant colour. The Zinnias have been fabulous all summer; those planted in pots flowered earlier and are now over, but the ones planted out in the garden beds started to produce big healthy blooms a little later, in August, and haven’t stopped since. This yellow flower is Chrysopsis, an autumn flowerer that still hasn’t become well-known here, but performs without fail regardless of whether the summer has been dry or not. It pairs so well with the pale mauve Aster ‘Pink Star’. Another plant that has come through the drought well is Pers...

When we moved here in 2018 we knew that we wanted a greenhouse. The main intention was to extend the growing season – our last frost was May 22nd this year and the first frost in autumn can often be mid to late September. Overwintering a few less hardy plants or at least offering shelter from wind and rain would be a major advantage too. We also soon found that our exposed position on the top of a hill meant that a place to sit, sheltered from the wind, would be an asset. But we had other priorities, i.e. making a garden, getting our trees and hedges established, and then there was Covid, and then our doggie Anouk came to spend her final years with us. But this year it finally happened! Here it is, still empty on day one I shared a photo of the foundation a few weeks ago. There is a deep layer of frost-proof material under the paving, and concrete strips where the greenhouse is anchored. We needed planning permission for it since only certain designated areas can be built on here i...

Well, the calendar and the weather have coincided perfectly and yesterday it was a glorious 25°C with blue skies and sunshine. Today, the first day of autumn, it is very chilly and wet. Luckily I picked some flowers in the sunshine on Sunday, so I am joining Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her Monday Vase meme again today. Do follow the link to visit her and find links to many other Monday vases from around the world. Japanese anemones sometimes last well in a vase, and sometimes they don’t. But they are simply too pretty not to give it a try and these are holding up well after 24 hours in my vase at any rate. There are a few pink Cosmos in there too, almost the same shade and quite similar in appearance. The Dahlia I kept from last year ‘Feline Yvonne’ has produced another flower – small and a little crooked, but pretty nonetheless. I simply love that colour. The Miscanthus grasses go so nicely with it and give the arrangement an autumnal feel. The delicate magenta flowers...

It is much cooler this week here and the garden feels very autumnal. Quite a bit of rain has rejuvenated the thirsty plants and trees and the house martins have finally left, except for the odd straggler here and there. Although we aren’t seeing any leaf colour yet, yesterday some lovely red Geranium leaves caught my eye, and I had also noticed the hawthorn and spindle tree berries looking good… the beginnings of an idea for my Monday vase! My large hare jug (with autumn berries) seemed an appropriate vase. I chose some red and dark purple flowers: Verbena bonariensis, Verbena hastata, Strawflowers, Persicaria Blackfield and P. Orangefield. They contrast nicely with the Crataegus (hawthorn) and Euonymus (spindle tree) berries. Don’t the spindle tree berries look like tiny pink pumpkins! Finally I added a few sprigs of the lovely dark pinky red Miscanthus seedheads from M. ‘Red Chief’. Thanks to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for hosting this Monday meme. In a few days it...

I always enjoy joining Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her Monday meme. Finding flowers for a vase is such a pleasurable activity, and then the vase itself will usually last the best part of a week. I have in fact been picking lots of flowers for vases like this one… But my actual Monday vase this week was inspired by a Nigella flowering on the compost heap. And as I made my way back to the house, I picked up some of the last meadow flowers to join it… Some Queen Anne’s Lace, Yarrow and Knapweed. We have had so much Queen Anne’s Lace this year and it is finally going over. The yarrow is almost done too. And the knapweed is only flowering in a spot where the meadow was mown early summer. Early summer…. seems like months ago now. Summer was long and hot and very busy. I am looking forward to this less hectic season, although it was lovely to see the Nigella and be reminded of the glorious gardening months of May and June. The vase is what I call my Moon Vase. Did any of...