What’s looking good

I’ve been out and about enjoying the colour in borders full of late summer and early autumn colour. The lilac asters (Symphyotrichum ‘Little Carlow’ and Aster x frikartii ‘Mönch’), along with autumnal coloured rubeckias and crocosmia are blooming in all their glory. This is my favourite season for grasses, as the perennials start to fade and the grasses start turning to shades of gold. Particularly on a bright day, as the sun filters through them or dancing around in the breeze. A few of my favourites are the native, clump forming Deschamspia cespitosa, the leaves are evergreen and the seed heads can be left over winter to sparkle in the frost. I love the delicate flowers on Molinia caerulea subsp. arundinacea ‘Transparent’, that still allow the flowers behind them to be seen. Miscanthus sinensis comes in shades of red and gold and a variety for just about every size garden. From the narrow forming habit to those that enjoy spreading out a little.

Trends

The changing climate in which we’re gardening. I’ve recently been to look at the new Mediterranean garden at Beningbrough Hall, designed by Andy Sturgeon. The plants have been chosen from Mediterranean zones to cope with the changes in climate. The drainage in the garden has also been improved to cope with increased rainfall. This is going to be an invaluable resource in years to come, when choosing plants for our own gardens. I’m looking forward to going back and seeing how it matures over the years, not least due to the cosy seating areas created for two people (the chairs are very comfortable) and the stunning water feature crafted out of local stone.

Enjoying new found inspiration (holidaying in Scotland)

Part of the last month has been spent away and before I go away most of my time is spent on admin tasks, so I’m ready to start work as soon as I get back. If there is a chance on holiday I’ll always try and fit in a few garden visits, not to mention spending time outside and wandering around art galleries. This year we went to Skye, breaking up the journey with stops in Glasgow and Edinburgh. On the way to Skye I got to visit Hill House in Helensborough, just outside of Glasgow. It is one of the most complete examples of Charles Rennie Macintosh’s work. It is amazing to think that not only did he design your new house but just about everything in it. From the chairs, to the tables, lighting and even the wall paper and fabric. A large part of the garden would originally have been given over to a tennis court but it was interesting to see the simplicity in the layout from the Art Nouveau era.

Garden Aftercare

A few tasks that will help keep the garden looking at its peak and also mean that there isn’t lots to do at the end of the year:

• Fruit picking: Having just come back from holiday there are still plenty of apples to pick off the tree and collect from the lawn. Having eaten lots, given some away and juiced a few, I’m now looking for more inspiration as to what to do with them and have bought a book on preserves. They won’t all store well over winter, I have a few different varieties, there is a tree and a few stepovers in the garden.
• Planning fruit pruning: The other thing I’m thinking about, in preparation for later in the year, as I pick the apples is pruning. As I pick the fruit I thinking about which branches to remove or prune back. I want to open the tree up more to allow more air to circulate. Due to the amount of rain we’ve had, particularly during late spring and early summer, when the blossom was out and the fruits were starting to form. I’ve had a lot of fruit that was rotting even before it fell or was picked off the tree. Allowing more air through will help reduce this, if we have another soggy spring and summer next year.
• Prune climbing roses: It is time, once the flowers have finished to think about pruning climbing roses. Firstly by removing any dead, diseased or damaged branches. Any new shoots should be tied into the frame. Then taking off around a third to a half on the side shoots to encourage it to branch out. This is something I’ll be doing, once I’ve installed a new frame for my climbing roses (some neighbouring ivy has recently fallen on top of them, so they need a better support system to enable them to be upright again).
• Planning: Now that I’m back from holiday I have back to school vibes, which includes making lots of plans. As the leaves start tumbling off the trees, the garden starts to show its bones or structure. Making it easier to see which areas aren’t working so well, could the borders be wider or does a path need reshaping, for example. As the foliage in the borders dies back, it also becomes easier to see where the gaps are. A chance to think about what might look good there.