What’s looking good in the garden?

I’m enjoying picking bowlfuls of apples from the garden and scraping windfalls off the lawn to juice or turn into stewed apples. The first apples to ripen in my garden are Katy, they also happen to be closest to the house. Meaning I get to sit and watch them, waiting for them to turn a cheerful rosy red. Not many things are more enjoyable than wandering out the back door at lunchtime and picking fresh, ripe fruit. I also have Worcester Pearmain, James Grieve (a dual use apple that makes a lovely fluffy bowl of stewed apple and is equally tasty eaten fresh). Finally followed by Sunset, a green and yellow variety with a rosy tint to the skin (it has Cox in its lineage). I’ve purposefully chosen varieties that are adjacent to each other in groups. This is so that they will still pollinate each other but will ripen one variety at a time, so I’m not trying to store and eat the whole harvest at once. That is the theory, although the weather can often mean the harvest has other ideas. There are always friends and family to give a few bags away to.

The roses are having another good year, the pale blush of Lady of the Lake is intertwined with crisp white of Desdemona along the fence. The apricot of Lady of Shalott and the deep purple of Rhapsody in Blue are still producing new buds. I’m still enjoying snipping a few blooms off and bringing them into the house.

The tall white spires of Actaea simplex ‘Atropurpurea’ are finally starting to appear, really standing out above the intensely purple, almost black foliage. There are still plenty of climbers flowering away, the pale lemon yellow of Jasminum officinale ‘Clotted Cream’ is filling the garden with scent. Weaving its way through the white and pale blue of Clematis x jouiniana ‘Praecox’. Geraniums are another long flowering plant, that often carry on into the autumn. I’ve mentioned before that I’m a big fan of long flowering plants that fill the garden with colour for as long as possible, particularly in smaller spaces. Geranium ‘Crystal Lake’ is one I’m enjoying at the moment, the lilac flowers with deep red-purple veins are particularly pretty around dusk.

September Advice

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: 

• Keep watering plants that have been recently planted: Even as the temperature starts to drop they will still need water to help them get established. Ideally by using stored rainwater from a water butt or a rainwater harvesting system in the garden.
• Stake taller perennials: Late summer perennials that are still flowering may need staking to stop them flopping over. With all the rain we had earlier in the year this has definitely been a year for staking.
• Start sowing sweet peas: This year’s flowers are only just starting to fade but I’m already looking forward to burying my nose in a freshly cut bunch of sweet peas next year. Seeds can start to be sown now and stored in a greenhouse or on a window sill, read for planting out next spring.
• Cut back faded perennials: As perennials finish flowering and the leaves are dying back they can be cut back for the winter. I find pruning therapeutic, something that I can pop and do for half an hour or hour and then enjoy the results as I look back along the border.
• Enjoy picking fruit: Carry on harvesting any fruit as it ripens and enjoy the results or store it for later. There are some really pretty stacking apple trays that I’ve had my eye on for a while.

What I’m working on at the moment

Planting plans: For the garden that looks out over fields, the technical drawings have now been completed and I’m starting to get quotes from landscapers for the hard landscaping. I’m also starting to work on the planting plans so we can agree on and get the trees and hedging in, during bare root season. The garden will form the backdrop for a family wedding celebration next May, so it’s all go to add plants in time to start looking good.

We’ve started ordering supplies (a new water feature and a sail shade for the terrace) for a garden that will be built around September or October time. It will be exciting to finally see the garden come to reality and I’m hoping the clients can at least enjoy a coffee out there before the weather changes. A chance to test out the lights and the new water feature.

A larger project has been split into phases, I planted up the area around the terrace and the back of the house after the hard landscaping had been completed, in spring. We are now marking out and digging out new borders for the front garden. Once they have been prepared the hedging and trees will be planted up, as soon as bareroot season is here.

Trends

Slow gardens or gardening for wellness is coming up more often in conversation. Not only are gardens seen as a space to grow vegetables, enjoy dining out or playing football but they are often being used for yoga and Pilates. Something that become popular during lockdown and has continued as a trend. Or just a place to sit and de-stress at the end of the day. The idea is to use scented plants to encourage us to stop and smell the flowers. Along with meandering paths that automatically slow us down (compared to walking in a straight line) and lead us to a seating or yoga area.

Indoor/outdoor living: Indoor and outdoor living, in particular designs around the back of the house and the area of the garden near it are being thought about and linked together. At the moment there is a lot of thought around multi-purpose furniture and accessories (lighting, candles dining accessories). After the weather we have had over the past year having furniture that can be moved outside when the weather is good and then taken back into the kitchen or conservatory to be used at other times sounds like a good idea.

Water wise gardening: There are two parts to this trend, the first is around adding rainwater harvesting systems to the garden. Anything from a simple water butt to tanks that are stored underground and either store rainwater or take grey water from the washing and shower, as well as rainwater, to water the plants with. The second is thinking about the plants we choose to add to the garden, for example roses don’t mind a downpour (they may be more susceptible to blackspot on the leaves but with a little feeding and careful collection of the infected leaves they will be fine) or a hot summer. Some varieties of geraniums and irises, for example, will cope with both weather conditions. Something that is worth thinking about with the increasingly extreme and varied weather conditions we are getting.

Camilla Grayley is an experienced garden designer, speaker and writer based in York. She designs gardens and delivers garden consultancy services for clients in Yorkshire and across the UK. Get in touch on 01904 670330 or info@camillagrayleydesign.com