End of Month Review August 2015

Whilst I am writing this it is raining.  August has seen quite a bit of rain but also some good sunny days.  I have spent most of the month gardenwise rather hoping to rain as things had got a bit dry; so today's rain is not yet unwelcome.
The front garden is looking fairly ok.  It needs a bit of a tidy and some remedial work.  I have not spent must time on it this year and it needs some care and attention.
In the border by the front door this anemone is flowering, I am very fond of this plant and love it when it starts doing its thing.
Around to the back garden and it is looking quite lush.
The cardoons are stealing centre-stage at the moment, backed up by the emerging flowers from the asters.
The table of pots is rather full, I recently counted how many plants I have in pots, it was over 100, which surprised me as I would have guessed at about 30.  It appears estimation is not my strongpoint.
The Long Shoot is looking rather late summer.
I rather like this view back the other way.  The verbascums are adding good height this year, I shall have to remember not to weed out too many for next year.
The sedums are starting to flower.  I propagated some more from these plants this year as I think they are very important to my garden.  They give such good late summer colour and attract lots of bees and other insects.  During the winter months they give great structure.  It has taken me a while to appreciate what good garden plants they are, but now I think I understand.
The view across the formal lawn is also making me happy.  I do like a good anemone and these ones also make me happy.
The late summer flowers are coming into their stride. I love these rudbeckias.
This clump of crocosmia need thinning out a bit, but they are rather wonderful.
This sickly specimen is Erysimum Bowles Mauve, it is one of my favourite plants and always performs well.  It is however rather short-lived, so I always take a few cuttings every year to plant elsewhere in the garden.  This means I always have the plant but that every few years it is actually living somewhere in the garden and giving a new perspective.  I nicked the original cutting from a plant in one of brothers' garden.  That must be well over ten years ago now and cutting after cutting has meant that it is still with me.
The Courtyard is now doing very well for pots.  That I now have some flowers in there and also several different foliage types make me very pleased.  This was exactly what I wanted to do in this area as otherwise it was quite a stark grey place.
The pellie stand is opposite the shady pots, here the sun does strike the edge of the house and the pellies seem very happy.  Of course the big challenge will be keeping them alive over the winter, so time will tell on that.
The Begonia luxurians and the Lindera  augustifolia of happiness are also doing well this year, they are tucked up by the coal bunker and seem to think this is a good place.
Wandering further up into the garden the Woodland border is now looking very full and has done well this year.  I am pleased with how it has progressed.  It can get very dry up this end of the garden so the plants have to be tough to keep going.
In the Wild Garden the Tulip Tree is making its first call for Autumn.  This tree is always an early adopter of Autumn.
The Forest Pansy has responded quite well to being made to stand up.  Whilst I think it is a most beautiful tree, it is a bit of a pain to be honest.  It is so brittle and just a bit needy.  It needs to pull itself together a bit for me.
The medlar tree has lots of fruit this year.
and the Katsura tree smells of candyfloss.
The Dancing Lawn is peppered with apples.
The Prairie Borders are at their peak.  The Echinops and Verbena Bananarama (they are named after the 80s girl group, honest), are doing really well.  I cannot believe how much doubt I had about the Verbena, it has been a great addition.
The Four Sisters have had a good year, and Esme is keeping an eye on the Edgeworthia, soon I will be on edgeworthia-watch duties again as I start to hope it will get through the winter.  I live in the belief that every year it gets through means it is another year stronger.
For once I weeded the veg beds before taking any photographs,so they are looking quite good at the moment.  I really need to get sowing some green manure.
These yellow courgettes have been fantastic, I shall definitely be growing them again.
The greenhouse is looking as close to empty as it gets.

But where's the pond I hear you say?  Just look at last month's picture, its no better (its no worse either), but it is hardly visible through all the weed.  Embarrassment has completely taken over now so you will not get an update on it until I have cleared it out.

Thanks as ever to Helen for hosting this meme.

Comments

  1. Oh I miss the pond. I think sedums are becoming more important in my garden especially as I have discovered the darker ones.

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    1. Hi Helen. Thanks - the pond will return once I've cleared it out. At the moment it's barely visible.

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  2. I think Sedum is an addictive plant. Once you fall for its charms, it's tricky to avoid adding to the collection.. at least that's what I've found. The guilt disappears at this time of year when they are strutting their stuff though. Pleased to see your medlar's doing well!

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  3. My favourite time of the month - I look forward to this review.

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  4. A very nice view, you have so many beautiful plants in your garden, Alison!

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