SHIPSHAPE AND BRISTOL FASHION

The garden is looking remarkably shipshape!  The dry weather has stopped the weeds germinating and the lawn edges from getting shaggy and allowed me to get on with all the inevitable tidying up that a garden needs.

I see my photos have loaded up back to front, so we are starting at the end as it were, although there's no great problem with that.  Here we have a view of the Long Border.  Taken after Friday afternoon's shower, the colours look so vibrant.


1. Helenium 'Helena Gold'

These are lurking towards the back of the border.  Helena Gold should look like the one on the left, but these seem to be a bit of a mixture.  The leaves behind them belong to a perennial sunflower, which isn't flowering yet.


2. Knifophia rooperi

This plant has come into flower this week, taking over from the Knifophia ulvaris 'Noblis' which were in full flower on the 14th August.  The flowers of Noblis had an arrow shape to them, whilst these are more like drumsticks.  


3. Mystery Aster

A few years ago, at the end of our open gardens, I bought a few leftover plants which hadn't sold.  As is the way with such things, I didn't have any particular place in mind for them so they were put with the other plants in pots and I thought I'd wait until they flowered and then find just the spot for them.  Well they never did flower, so last year I popped them in a corner of the vegetable garden to see whether that helped.


As you can see, they have now flowered in a fairly predictable mauve, but it is the height that has taken me by surprise.  Interred in their plastic pots they never grew more than 2ft high, when in fact they wanted to grow to 5-6ft.


4. Toad Lily - Tricyrtis 'Dark Beauty'


This has a tiny but interesting flower and I was stuck with that Six on Saturday dilemma of wondering whether it will look better next week.  Since one flower has been good enough to open I decided not to wait and so here you have it.



5. Cutting Box Hedges

This weeks spell of dry hot weather has given me the chance to catch up on cutting the box hedges.  It is a job that should be done on a hot dry day (to avoid box blight one hopes), yet a hot dry day is not one on which I feel like wielding the hedging sheers.  


It's all done now though, in time to set off the roses second flourish.


6. Mulberries 

Up in the knot garden you can see how dry it has been here by the colour of the grass.  The Mulberry tree has been spilling its fruit all over the grass where it ferments and the air smells of alcohol.  I'm transported to Burgundy at harvest time and the smell of the grape skins left out for collection being buzzed over by the wasps.

(The smell of sun tan lotion and the Scots Pine on the driveway took me briefly to the Cote D 'Azure, but hopefully we will be back to real holidays next year).  


So we've arrived at the beginning (or the end), but whether the Last shall be First, or the First shall be Last,  I have used up my Six for this week.  Don't forget to visit The Propagator where you can pop over to see gardens from all around the globe.

Comments

  1. The oak barrel in photo #3 is a water tank(?) : did you built it? The toad lilies are very pretty and not easy to photograph. Maybe in my Six next week ...

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    1. Yes the oak barrel is used as a water tank. You can buy the old ones after they've been used for ageing whisky (which started life as wine barrels I believe).

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  2. I'd forgotten that Mulberry alcohol smell from when I was a child (our neighbours had a Mulberry tree which we foraged from - with their consent!), they taste so good. Love the long border with the vibrant colours, reminds me of the botanical gardens I visited yesterday - what it that eye-catching huge yellow clump behind the dahlias?

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    Replies
    1. The huge yellow clump is Rudbeckia laciniata. They go on flowering for weeks. I see the Mulberries brought out a bit of nostalgia for you as well. I'm never sure what to make with them though and the tree produces far more than we could ever eat.

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  3. I know just what you mean about the "will it be better next week" problem for our SoS's. Your border is fabulous, so vibrant. Lovely garden.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Gill. I walked past them this morning and noticed there were lots more flower buds open.

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  4. The Long Border looks a show and the detail of the toad lily is fascinating. Funnily enough I gave the box balls a trim earlier in the week as they had grown quite a bit since their last trim in June. I'm always rather anxious about box blight.

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    1. We just have to hope for the best re the box blight.

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  5. What a beautiful tree that mulberry is. I'd be gorging myself silly on the fruit. I love the hot border picture and the colour combination of the red and orange Dahlias has got me thinking, I have a bed in need of a lift and that would fit the bill nicely.

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    Replies
    1. It's one of the best things about gardening - planning a new border. I think of the mulberries as gardeners perks - things you can graze on as you wander around (along with cherry tomatoes, strawberries and raspberries).

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  6. Your garden is indeed shipshape and looks beautiful. I particularly like the view of the part with the statue. The toad lily is a fascinating flower. It doesn’t look like toad to me though, more like a fascinating butterfly alighting.

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  7. Your box and roses look lovely. Especially with the statue. I've just had two box bushes dug out due to Box Moth Caterpillar damage. I won't miss them as they weren't adding anything to the garden and now I have some more space! I love the toad lily and I also have a corner of the veg plot that is home to an assortment of odd perennials. One day they'll get back into the garden.

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  8. still haven't fixed my unknown - must be using the wrong account, N20gardener

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