THE END OF AUGUST ...
...but not the end of Summer we hope.
Last weekend I stayed in a dramatic 18thC Landscape garden at Gibside in Tyne and Wear.
If you've got enough acreage, you can make a garden simply by planting an avenue of trees and commissioning some dramatic garden buildings. Maybe a column to Liberty ...
Or a Banqueting House standing proud above a fish pond. (Which is where we stayed.)
Think of all the time you would save weeding, deadheading and edging if you had that type of garden.
So back to what's happening in my garden now we have reached the end of August. It had been so dry that I could hardly bear to look at the dying plants, but we've had a couple of days rain and I feel my enthusiasm returning.
A few weeks ago I bought this Salvia Nachtvlinder in the sale from Sarah Raven because I liked the colour. It's in a pot because I don't trust anything this fancy in our clay soil.
I've never seen a Hummingbird Moth before, but it seemed to like this plant. Its wings beat so fast they are just a blur!
The Long Border should be looking it's best this time of year, and despite the dry weather it is looking reasonable. The Cannas in the foreground seem to be doing OK, although as usual they seem reluctant to flower.
In the Rose Garden, here are some blooms from the 'second flush'. This is Rosa Roald Dahl, which was the first to flower at the start of the season and is producing the best show second time around as well. The buds on Olivia Rose Austin just 'balled' unfortunately and never opened.
and they are popular with the bees.
I'm finishing this week with the tomatoes. They have been ripening fast over the last couple of weeks. This is the first year that we've produced more than we can eat fresh. I love the 'Cherry Baby' just to look at; its so sweet.
That's all from my garden for this week. I hope to spend our long Bank Holiday weekend pottering in the garden and planning my bulb order for next Spring, but I need to remind myself that whatever I order will need planting too (it's easy to get carried away!)
Thanks, as always to the the Propagator for hosting Six on Saturday.
I hear you with the bulb ordering, I made some rash purchases last week, I hope I have room for them all. Glad you had some rain and the Salvia is a lovely colour.
ReplyDeleteShould be lovely to see them all come up next Spring though.
DeleteOh, yes, the bulb order! I have just put mine in and have promised myself that I will not be tempted by the last minute sales that will inevitably arrive in my inbox! I have written down exactly what is going where and I'm sticking to the plan this year. 🙄
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed!
DeleteI vowed not to buy so many bulbs back in November when I was planting them but now the catalogues have started arriving... Those tomatoes look delicious and Salvia Nachtvlinder is a stunner (I bought one earlier in the month).
ReplyDeleteI'm very pleased with Nachtvlinder. It's been on my wish list for a while.
DeleteSalvias and cannas are plants that are doing perfectly well this summer. Maybe I'll add more for future years?!
ReplyDeleteHummingbird hawk moth is so fast that you have to be lucky to photograph it but in general you have more chance of succeeding by focusing on the flower or the group of flowers that it forages
My wildlife photography has room for improvement.🤣 Thanks for the tip.
DeleteGreat photos 🌼💞 love the rudbeckia.
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteIts been a great summer for Hummingbird Hawkmoths, my dianthus superbus is the favourite here in my garden.
ReplyDeleteI'd never seen one before. Always something new to learn with this gardening lark😃
DeleteSuch wonderful colours. I'm loving that Roald Dahl rose :)
ReplyDeleteI've been really pleased with that rose. It seems quite healthy and it's flowered well. It's not very big either so you might have room for one (just saying)
DeleteI think most of us are the same with bulbs. I’ve just started my order list (first run!) but usually get tempted by the later offers. Your tomatoes look very healthy and productive
ReplyDeletethequiltinggardener