End of Month Review - October 2013

So that was October, going out with a bang!  I took these photographs before the storm on Sunday/Monday, it was a gamble to see what might still be left by the morning.  Thankfully the stormy winds missed us which was a relief.
The front garden is looking ok, I could probably have done with clipping the box before the first frost so it looks a little sharper, I wish I thought of these things before I took the photographs each month!
The gravel garden is coming on ok too, I am pleased to see that the verbascums are moving in now.  It is a gravel garden in the 'Beth Chatto' school of such things, much of it is self-seeded and it is not watered and things grow or die.
Around to the back garden, the Bird Feeder border looks a scrappy mess, this is because it is a scrappy mess and I might start not including it in these posts until it is un-scrappied.
The amaranthus is, like me, going grey with age.  It has however been a joy this year.  I only grew it for the first time last year after being given some free seeds.  I would have said I didn't like it, indeed I found it rather weird.  I had only ever seen it in bedding displays previously and just was not keen.  I am not sure I am quite placing it to full effect yet, but I am getting better at positioning it and this year I have really enjoyed it.
The cardoon flowers are pretty much dead now, I leave them until Spring though so that wildlife can enjoy them.
As I look out across the formal lawn the Burtonesque Curl is looking good.  I love the way the lawn now curves up past the Bramley tree.
The Courtyard is looking reasonable, the rhododendron in the corner is turning a fantastic autumn colour.  There are also lots of buds forming on the camellia for next year.  Signs of the next year are what makes the Winter bearable.
The view from the Conservatory Border hides the curl in the lawn, I rather like that is appears and disappears depending on where I stand.
The Long Shoot is looking more defined with the new border shaping.
This is the view back along the Long Shoot from the Formal Lawn.  Coal Bunker border to the left, Pond Border to the right.
The veg beds are now pretty much dying beans, wallflowers, green manure and yacon.  Its been a reasonable vegetable year, not too bad but not a bumper year either.
The Four Sisters seem untouched by Autumn yet, they have settled in well and I have hopes for how they will develop next year.
The Tree Lupin Border still has some colour from the dahlias.  The tree lupin itself had a very bad start to the year with an aphid infestation that stripped the flowers, it has recovered however very well so I am hopeful that next year will see a good display from it. It is one of my favourite plants in the garden.
The pleached hornbeams are starting to turn in colour.  I am very pleased with them and whilst I know they still need development they are something that makes me very happy, an ambition in the process of being achieved.
Looking up into the Wild Garden it is starting to look more Autumnal, the Cercidiphyllum Japonicum which is closest has had a good year and is now starting to mature.  It smells delishiously of candyfloss at the moment.
The medlar is confused, it is fruiting and flowering at the same time.
This gingko is small and not far away, but it that wonderful butter colour that Autumn gives it.
I rather like this Liriodendron tulipifera leaf fallen on the ground.  I have two of these wonderful trees (one is very much a twig), these trees make me smile a lot.
The catalpa and the euonymus are also doing well.  The catalpa is one of the first trees I planted in the garden and it is now looking like it might like growing here...... just......
This is the garden from the top of the Wild Garden, standing under the horse-chesnut tree.  I like this view a lot this time of year.
The Woodland Border has done reasonably well this year, things are settling in and it looks less new.
The Bog Garden on the other hand still looks new, but I am pleased with it and I think next year it will have settled down and thickened up ok, hopefully.
This acer is turning a great colour.  It is overlooked most of the year, it borders the Prairie Borders, but this time of year it has a little shine.
The Prairie Borders are still delightfully blonde, I wonder whether it is time I went blonde again.....
The view from the Prairie Borders, or the Bermuda Triange as this bit of lawn is now known, towards the Formal Lawn.  I half wonder if I will like it as much when it is planted up, I like the dark soil against the green, it shows good contrast.
There are still some marigolds flowering away,
The Pond Border still has some good colour,
and my pond over-floweth again, it is so full from all the recent rain.  At some point I need to clear out that flipping parrot weed (curses it yet again).

Thanks as ever to Helen for hosting this meme.

Comments

  1. I do like the Burtonesque lawn, lovely curves. You could edge the border with that black lily grass that I cant spell to give your definition.

    Thanks for joining in this month

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the suggestion, its not a plant I've used previously but I have seen it used to great effect so I shall definitely bear it in mind. It might work well on the point of the curve.

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  2. Love the curves - and how much is making you smile! I'd be smiling too if I had swathes of blond grasses wafting around, or golden or buttery leaves

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  3. Love the Prairie Borders - those blonde grasses are fabulous! And I'm a bit envious of your pleached hornbeams. What a fabulous accent to the garden!

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  4. What a lovely garden, I'd so like to explore it.

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  5. Your gravel frontgarden is looking very nice. And I love your wild garden with the still small trees of Catalpa, Ginkgo and Liriodendron. Can you imagine how it will look like when these beautiful trees are grown up.

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  6. I too like the dark soil curve against the green I think bare soil and edges look ok, don't tell Anne Wareham, she hates bare soil ! There, I have shared a dark secret of mine !

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