Autumn is setting in

I just love the colouring of the leaves on this Tree Spinach and it is such an excellent value annual herb. As I posted earlier in the year it starts off with the most gorgeous mauve/purple leaves which mature to a deep green and it puts on growth so quickly - my plants have reached 6 feet tall and they are only in 12" pots! The flowers are not particularly impressive (although they look set to make plenty of seeds for next year) and the autumn leaf colour is spectacular.

There is still no sign of the tadpoles but a friend has suggested that they might be hibernating in the silt. This seems a little early to me but fingers crossed. I'll keep an eye on the water feature over winter to make sure it doesn't dry out or freeze over.

The Hebe and Lavender cuttings I took a couple of months back have all rooted: an excellent result. I don't use rooting powder, I just pop three or four cuttings around the edge of a three and a half inch pot and water them in. I only need one lavender so I've given the others away. I'll keep the rest of the plants in the greenhouse over winter.

I've planted up six containers of spring bulbs so far. Two have white and yellow Emperor Tulips with Wallflowers I grew from seed earlier in the year, one has Narcissi Tete a Tete and Tulip Pieter De Leur (scarlet and Lily shaped) and three contain Narcissi Jet Fire. I'm very careful when I plant my bulbs in pots to ensure that they are well drained. I start with a good covering of crocks in the bottom, add a couple of handfuls of Perlite to the compost and sit the bulbs on a thin layer of sharp sand.

The seeds of Dianthus 'Siberian Blues' I sowed about a week ago are starting to germinate. I'll prick them out when they are large enough then move them to the greenhouse until late spring. I'm sure there are plenty of other things I should be sowing now so I'll have to have a rummage through the seed boxes.

Georgie

Introducing Timmy Tiger

This is one of my cats, Timmy Tiger. He was a stray and came to live with us four years ago. He loves 'helping' me in the garden as you can see from the picture. I think he's saying: 'Please don't plant those bulbs. I don't like it when you put those nasty sharp Pyracantha cuttings on the borders to stop me digging them up.'

But I did plant the Dutch Iris and Crocus Ruby Giant. I couldn't find a space for the Allium Purple Sensation though, so I'll have to wait until some of the perennials have died down. The rest of the spring bulbs will be planted in pots over the course of the next few weeks.

I had a good tidy up in the veg plot today. I picked my final Crystal Lemon Cucumber and had it with my lunch; discarded the Tomatoes Tiny Tim; moved the Chilli pots onto the half barrels so they catch more sun; and took a few leaves of the Physalis plants to help the final fruits ripen.

All the plants in pots got a thorough watering which gave me chance to examine them at close quarters. There are lots of buds on the Chrysanthemum and the Fennel, Coriander and Fatsia are beginning to set seed. All five of my Cyclamen have survived over the summer and have lots of healthy new leaves with two in flower. And the Berginias have new glossy leaves too but they are all nibbled - I suspect snails.

The sad news is that I could see no sign of the tadpoles today. I moved the pond weed around a bit but nothing. I'll check again tomorrow but it's not looking good.

Georgie

Elusive butterflies and other musings

I've said it before but I think it's worth repeating, it's been a dreadful year for butterflies here. The picture is of the only Red Admiral I've seen and it certainly didn't want its picture taken! But I quite like the composition of the Verbena Bonariensis and blue sky so I'm sharing it anyway.

I had to move the Tree Spinach today. I have two plants in 12" pots and they have grown to a massive 6' high. Currently flowering they were just too top heavy and kept falling over so I've put them by the fence and tied them to it. The leaves are now turning to brilliant yellow, orange and red and looking great. I'll certainly be saving seed for next year.

I picked one of the last of the Richmond Green Apple Cucumbers, more Tomatoes, Physalis and a couple of Alpine Strawberries. Apart from the Strawberries the plants are all looking a little worse for wear now and I suspect it won't be long before I gave to pull them out. Just as well really because I'm going to need the pots for the spring bulbs.

The hardy Fuchsias - Alice Hoffman, Beacon, Hawkshead, Lady Boothby and Tom Thumb - are still flowering their socks off, but most of the most tender ones (apart from Swingtime and Carmel Blue) have finished flowering, so I've cut them back and popped them in the greenhouse for over-wintering.

There are still plenty of bees around and some of the biggest garden spiders (and webs) I've ever seen. I've read that lots of spiders means a healthy garden; I do hope so. But I wish they'd learn to build their webs lengthwise down the garden rather than across it - it breaks my heart when I have no choice but to destroy them.

Georgie

Time for more planning

This is how the garden looked yesterday. There wasn't a great deal that needed doing so I took myself off to the local nursery armed with a shopping list. But the best laid plans are soon thwarted when you notice that there's a sale on - on this occasion 50% off terracotta planters. Five minutes later I'd bagged three good quality 30cm containers - two square and one round - which I've earmarked for spring bulbs.

But back to the shopping list. The first thing I needed was spring bulbs to replace some of those I lost last year. I ended up with 30 Narcissi (Jet Fire and Chinita), 30 Tulips (White Emperor, Yellow Emperor and Pieter De Leur), 20 Dutch Iris, 20 Crocus Ruby Giant and 5 Allium Purple Sensation.

The other thing I wanted was some plants for winter hanging baskets. However the selection wasn't very inspiring and in the end I was tempted by ready made baskets. There was a good selection but in the end I decided on five, each of which contained three white Cyclamen, three trailing ivy-like plants and one fine grass - probably some sort of Carex - in the centre. At £9.99 each I think these were a bargain.

There were a few other things on my list that they didn't have but no matter, there's plenty of time to get my annual flower seeds for next year, more river stones to top the pots and a new pair of shears in the coming months when it's too cold or wet to work in the garden.

Georgie

Another lovely day

We've had lovely weather again for the last few days and it was good to spend the day in the garden pottering around. The first task, which was well overdue, was to cut and edge the lawn. Then I rearranged some of the pots to make a more balanced display and hide things that have gone over.

Plenty of things are still looking good including the Heliotrope (pictured) which I'm growing for the first time this year. I love the dark foliage and the flowers smell gorgeous so I'll definitely be growing it again. Most of the Fuchsias are still flowering well too although rust has been a problem which I'm putting down to the weather.

The only thing left to come into flower is a Chrysanthemum which I had as house plant and put outside when it had finished flowering indoors. It's got plenty of buds on it so it will be a welcome splash of late colour later this month.

The seed catalogues are starting to drop through the door now so I've started my 'wish list' as I can't resist the temptation! It's not that I need anything but it's fun to try something new.

Georgie

Glorious Afternoon

After a cold and damp start the sun came out this afternoon and it's been glorious. I started in the front garden cutting back the Pyracantha, Lavender, Rosemary and Choisia, all of which had grown out of hand with the recent rain. I also weeded the driveway - a back-breaking and pretty much thankless task - before I sat down for breather in the sunshine.

I moved into the back garden to harvest more Raspberries, Chillies, Physallis and Tomatoes and gather seeds of Garlic Chives and Mustard. All the Sunflowers are out now and the first Toad Lilies and one of my Cyclamen are also flowering. Then joy of joys I spotted a Red Admiral and Comma butterfly on the Verbena Bonariensis. I took a few snaps but they refused to pose for me and were too high up anyway.

The photo is of my ripening Passiflora fruits. Strung across the garden on wires they make a nice splash of colour over the shady corner housing the Fatsia, Ferns, Arum and Fennel.

Georgie

Sunflowers but little sunshine

Despite the lack of sunshine most things in the garden continue to thrive. This is the first of my Sunflowers to come out. It's a dwarf one at only 4' tall but I think it's ideal in the 'wild' area of the garden and I hope the birds will enjoy the seeds.

I am harvesting so many Physalis and Cucumbers now I'm having to give them away! And considering I'm only growing three of each plant I'm getting an excellent return. I'll certainly grow both again next year. I'll also be growing more Strawberries, Raspberries, Chillies, Micro Tomatoes and Spring Onions in 2009, along with Watercress and a variety of herbs. That's more than enough for my tiny plot (and I have all the seeds already) but no doubt something else will take my fancy and I won't be able to resist giving it a try. For instance I'm taking part in a seed swap soon and I'm hoping to get a couple of courgette seeds. The last ones I was given failed to germinate but I'd like to have another go. On the other hand I will not be growing dwarf Broad Beans or French climbing Beans as both failed miserably this year.

Georgie