A good summer in my back garden :o) .added one more photo.:o)

Dahlias were a very good choice Sandra and they look really special in the pots.
How do you stop the slugs from eating them? You should see ours ( but maybe you shouldn't!!)
I love those lemony colours with the purple lavender.
It all looks lovely.

Lovely mix of summer colour, Bloomer! I have to agree with Chris, the lavender and the euonymus and the other yellow flowers really compliment each other.

Thank you Julia,Chris,and Kate,you are so kind..I have just added one more photo,which I meant to include..think it's an age thing,and that's my excuse..ha ha..and Chris,I have hardly seen any slugs or snails this year,but I think having the pots on gravel helps.None of the plants in the surrounding border,are to their taste,which was my plan,so they seem to have just given up trying to cross it to get to the pots :o) .

Your garden is looking lovely and do tidy.

Your garden is looking lovely and such lovely planting combos. I love single flowers and the dahlias are beautiful. the insects will appreciate them too.
I love the blue and yellow/golden colour combos.

Sandra, I too have single Dahlias in pots this year, but the stems on a few are thickly covered with Blackfly. I put the hose on a 'jet' setting last night and blasted a few off!

Cosmos have some too, not a pretty sight.

The Penstemon from Amy is gorgeous and I'm pleased to see your Osmanthus is still looking good. Can you believe that came to you in 2011? My two in the front garden have grown well too.

I do miss Pansypotter's very pretty garden on here. How lovely for you to have a plant in your garden from her.

It looks lovely Sandra. And I'm glad to hear you say your Zinnias are only just getting going as mine are just forming buds! I managed to grow a Tithonia this year though, by keeping it in the greenhouse until last week, and now have two flowers! lol! Easily pleased. :) Thank God for gardens...I don't know how I would have managed without mine this year.

Your garden looks very pretty Sandra and so colourful ,I'm pleased the plants have done well for you , I have a large selection of Penstemons so will look forward to meeting up again when its ' safe ' to give you more x

As usual your garden looks so neat, tidy and colourful, Sandra. Standing your containers on gravel to deter the slimey visitors is a great idea. Why didn't I think of that?
Your lavender is beautiful. Mine has become rather woody I'm afraid.

What lovely comments from you all,and thank you ,Siris.I have had plenty of time this past few months to keep it tidy ,but with it only being small,it doesn't take long :o)
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Thank you Eileen, and I love Blues and Yellows too..I also love Single flowers,and haven't had Doubles for a while now,for that very reason.Looking after the insects is a must these days..
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Thank you Paul,I'm glad you like it :o)
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Shirley,some of my Dahlias are covered in blackfly too,but only the ones with the black stems ! the Green stemmed ones aren't affected at all,isn't that strange? I zapped mine with an Organic spray,which seems to have done the trick.

Oh,my goodness ,was it really 2011,when you sent me the Osmanthus? Was that the time I asked if you had sent me Megan,in the cat food box ? that was so funny :o) x..
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Yes,Chris,Carole's garden was wonderful,and I have a few plants which originated from it.some lovely reminders x
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Thank you Karen,I was quite late in sowing them,as my neighbour gave them to me,but they germinated in 4 days ! Didn't realise they would take so long to flower,but well worth the wait,seeing the jewelled colours.Glad your Tithonia is doing well,and it's been the same here,our gardens have been a godsend to us all this year.:o)
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Thank you Amy,I'm always happy when everything comes into it's own each summer,and I just love your Penstemon..such a pretty colour,not forgetting your Sansquisorbia too.I always look forward to seeing in flower..Amazing how it stays the same height every year? I expected it to get really big,but it's just the right size for the border it's in . I do hope we get to see each other again at some point too.that would be lovely :o) x

Thank you Julia,It does help to stand them on Gravel,but I'm still aware that some of the little B....s ,do make it ! especially if there is a rim they can hide under..I don't have any of those pots anymore,so far so good.I've had my Lavender for years,and they can soon get woody..I shall trim mine back after flowering,then I usually cut back as far as I can,to where I can see a little bit of new growth,in spring..It does look so sad,but it works for me .I know they say not to cut into old wood,but I take quite a bit out instead.I'm sure it starts to quiver,when I approach it with Secateurs in hand ! lol xx

Sandra, yes it was nine years ago and, yes, I did send it in a cat food box! What a memory you have ... :o))

Ha ha,how could I possibly forget,Shirley ? and I was so looking forward to meeting Megan as well as the plant Lol..xx

You have an amazing garden, Bloomer! Thanks for showing us some photos of it!

Like you, & other GoYers, I'm growing a few single flowered Dahlias on our balcony. They come from overwintered tubers grown from seeds I sowed last year. The seeds I got were from the Gardener's World mag & are called 'Bishop's Children'. They are just now beginning to flower & I've only got a couple of dark red flowers but I'm hoping there will be other colours because not all the plants flowered last year.

Thank you Balcony,you are so kind.I think Dahlia's seemed to go out of fashion for a little while,but I'm so glad they are back,also I think people are realising that the single ones,are essential to the Insects..I do like the Doubles too,but I decided these were my choice in future..
I'm glad your seeds are doing well too,as I had a great success with ones from seeds,a few years ago ..They made huge tubers,even in their first year,considering they were classed as Annuals ..:o) Sadly,they didn't overwinter,which was a shame..

Oh your garden is looking so pretty Sandra! Bright sunshine dahlias, I do love the white one, it is shining out there.. That's a beautiful penstemon, what a colour! I've never tried growing them, it's time I did methinks.
Love the euonymus shrub in front of the lavender, nicely clipped, I did mine the other day and what a difference it makes, how tidy it looks..:))
Those are very pretty pots Sandra from A or L? I know A do a nice selection, it's just sometimes they forget to water them!

Thank you Sheila..I'm really glad I only have a smallish area to look after,it's quite enough for me now,so it's so easy care.I'm very pleased with the Dahlia's,which is a nice change from Pelargoniums..They are in a front garden border this year :o)
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Oh,thank you Janey,that is so kind.and thanks for your Pm.x
I've had that Penstemon , for a few years now,and it never fails to please me.I did bring into the Conservatory the first winter,but now I just leave it. Cuttings are easy enough to take too. The two front pots were from A...! as were the Dahlia tubers..those were in packs of three,for £1.49p each .so I bought two.. How's that for a bargain ? lol.Luckily at our local store,the plants are well cared for :o),and most of my bedding plants came from there too.x

Sandra, I forgot to say, I still use cat food boxes for parcels sometimes!
Megan is a tired old girl these days, struggles to jump any height and sleeps most of the day. We have left her in the little sunhouse for the past two days as workmen and an electrician were here ... she doesn't cope well with new people any more ... :o(

I shall bear that in mind Sandra, regarding the lavender. I know you told me when I asked about trimming my Hebe that your motto is if it needs cutting, you cut it. You're much braver than I am it has to be said. A few years a go I had a beautiful Passion Flower which was becoming rather wild, to say the least. I set to and trimmed it back...note trimmed not cut back...that was it...it died off that autumn and I never saw it again.

Eh up Sandra, your garden is always a treat to see, so pretty and neat. My looks lovely for a short time, then seems to explode. Somehow I never quite have it the way I want it. Maybe I should get my secateurs out much more often and cut back my galloping geraniums etc, but if I see a few flowers on a plant, no matter what the rest of the plant looks like, I find it hard to cut it back. From now on I will take a tip from your garden ..... now where are those secateurs? :-))

Your garden looks great Sandra ! So full of colour ! I too have opted for the single dahlia which is Bishop of Llanduff.
I got my with an offer from the Gardeners World magazine and started them off in the conservatory. I keep meaning to do a blog , but I always seem to be doing other things!

You have a lovely garden Sandra full of interesting plants :)

Ah, Shirley,lovely Megan..I bet she is enjoying her retirement,and I think my days of jumping any height are over too,but not sleeping as much as her..yet ! lol.I bet Your Cat boxes must have travelled widely :o) x...
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I think the Passion Flower might just have been one of those things,Julia,and not due to your pruning ? Don't let it put you off doing a Chelsea chop with some of your more robust plants :o) x
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eh up,BA.:o) and nice to see you have a Yorkshire accent at last ..ha ha.,and thank you for liking my garden..I think you really need to chop back your Galloping Geraniums,if they are the hardy ones .I've done mine at least twice this year..Be brave,and get cracking with the dead heading,they will be very grateful :o)
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Thank you Rose,and your Bishop of Llanduff sounds lovely,I shall look it up,unless you can post a photo please ? that would be even better,especially if you got cracking on a another blog ? ha ha..love to you and Rick..xx
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Thank you Hywel,that is kind of you .I'm pleased with it this year too. Yours is also looking beautiful too,as always :o)

Thanks Sandra, I am intending to do a blog, so..watch this space!

Sorry,Rose,just seen your recent one,about Rick's new pond ! :o) oops ! x

Ee by gum Sandra, been cutting back like mad .... all looks tidier :-))

Hecky Thump,Ba ,tha's a gud un ! any translation needed ??? ..Lol.xx

No me luv, although I received not one word of thanks from those ungrateful geraniums:-( Also chopped down a rubbish herbacious clematis that always looks terrible and full of mildew. Although not a climber it insists on growing up my arch. Will try to dig it out later on, but it's stems are like thinnish tree trunks :-)

Typical ,BA. no consideration at all,for helping them to rejuvinate ! A shame your Clematis isn't looking healthy,so seems like it's time to say goodbye to it.I'm sure you will find something nice to replace it :o) x

I've been going mad with the secateurs. That clematis is a herbaceous one and has always succumbed to mildew. It's by my Mortimer Sackler so he doesn't really need a companion he's glorious and always has blooms :-)x

Ah,well Ba..there's your answer ! It has,or had ? to go,as Mortimer needs all the attention he so richly deserves,in showing his blooms without any competition from a mildew ridden Clematis :o) xx