In Bloom for August

There has been so much upheaval in the garden over the last few weeks, I'm surprised there is anything blooming in there at all. But despite the fact I have moved plants in the middle of summer, on some of the hottest days, nothing seems to have suffered, and the plants seem quite happy in their new spots. Just goes to show you can throw that gardening rulebook out of the window sometimes...and I frequently do, lol!!

Giant Dahlia Orange has been blooming in my front garden for a couple of months now and still has plenty of new buds appearing. I'm not sure why it's called 'orange' when the flowers are yellow, but oh well, it's still a stunner. Not much snail/slug damage on this one either.

'Lucky' is my newest Rose in the garden. It's such a pretty pink colour and smells amazing! I'm looking forward to the plant maturing so I can enjoy more blooms, there have just been a few this month.

Rose Arthur Bell has just started blooming for the third time this year, and considering I moved it just a few weeks ago, is quite surprising me with it's beautiful yellow flowers and soft perfume again.

Rose Deep Secret is in one of the raised beds in my front garden, and I make sure I sniff a bloom every time I'm going in or coming out. I've taken a few cuttings of this one as it's a complete beauty and more of a deeper red than pink that my photo shows.

The Primulas are still going strong in the woodland area, delighting the butterflies.

And they're very fond of the Buddleia too. This is Magenta Buzz, a compact variety that I have in a large pot near the shed and is looking its best at the moment.

Hydrangea Love is still looking great with lots of blooms, although many have started to turn brown in the last day or two due to the deluge of rain we've had. Thanks Bertha :-/ .

The Begonias have just started reaching full bloom. This gorgeous rogue red/orange one is looking a little odd, as all my others are pastel coloured, but the bloom is so much bigger. Maybe it was a sign and I should plump for this colour next year.

And speaking of rogues, my Clematis Freda suddenly produced two new blooms, just two, right at the top where I just about spotted them on the shed roof.

Petunias, Nicotiana, Trailing Geraniums and Nemesia are giving a lovely display in my raised beds.

                          

And Shasta Daisies and Rudbeckia are settling into their new home after I revamped this area.

The Anemones are looking really pretty, although the foliage has suffered a bit with the hot weather we've had.

A mention has to go to the Solanum, which blooms practically non stop in the garden, and is still going, although not as prolifically as earlier in the year. I love its delicate little flowers and it's such a fantastically fast growing climber. It has smothered a good part of the ugly concrete wall in just a couple of years and is now mingling with the apple tree.

And speaking of apples, just 7 on my tree this year, a measly 7. There were 8, but something got to that one. Oh well, enough for one with my lunch for a week I suppose. Hopefully a better yield next year.

And remember I said at the start of the post there were no casualties from my big garden move around. Well, that's because even the Salix Willow that rather looked like it had given up the ghost in THIS POST has started growing again. I gave the old branches a good crop and staked the tree to help support the roots and voila! it started sprouting new branches. I may have lost the old ones, but it's a fast growing tree anyway so the new ones should replace them in a year or two. I can wait!

That's some of what's blooming and growing in the garden just now. I've still a lot more work to do out there, including putting out some lovely new plants and I'll hopefully be sorted enough to share my progress on that next time.

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A Memorial Garden

Recently, one of my beloved cats had to be put to sleep. Misty had been with us for 12 years, and as any pet owner knows, they become a huge part of the family and as such, we want to treat them with some dignity when they pass. Misty loved the garden. At the first sign of sunshine she'd be the first of the cats lined up at the door just itching to get out. She'd find a sunny spot and there she'd stay until her hungry stomach got the better of her!

It seemed fitting to place her ashes in the garden, but I also wanted to create a small space just for her. If you've seen my previous posts, you'll know my garden is fairly choc a bloc, and I was worried anywhere I placed her would become overgrown with plants in the summer. So I came up with the idea of using some raised beds I have on my patio as a memorial garden.

I wanted it to be a bright, happy space, and raided our local garden centre for the cheeriest plants !

I began by planting a beautiful Clematis called Niobe, which has stunning purple flowers and will hopefully smother the fence within a few years. 

I planted the pretty Dahlia Happy at the back of the bed, although I remember now why I love Dahlias but don't usually plant any. This is the before photo:-

And this is the after, when those pesky slugs and snails have been on the attack! I've been picking them off by the bucketload, but it's a never ending battle and they seem to be winning. I think I will replace these with geraniums if the problem gets any worse.

Impatiens (Busy Lizzies to you and me) and baby Geraniums that I've grown from cuttings have been placed in front, along with the prettiest Nemesia. I appear to have missed the boat with Lobelia to drape over the edges as I couldn't find any in the garden centres, so I may well pop back and get some more Nemesia to soften the bed and fill in the gaps at the front. All in all though, I am pleased with it so far and think it will look really beautiful once the geraniums get going. 

Rest in Peace my little Misty.

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