I love this time of year!

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I always enjoy the relaxed feel of the natural world in late summer. Everything has finished growing and is just relaxing before finally nodding off in Autumn. My garden is a joy to me, it really is. Having let go of my 2/3 acre Scottish country plot with those staggeringly lovely rural views, I really am very satisfied with my new place. I chose my four favourite roses for the courtyard and have since added a further red rose which is new to me. But the four favourites have confirmed their places in my heart. Next year they will be even better of course, as they get their roots down into the clay.

Rosa ‘Grace’

Rose ‘Odyssea’

Rose ‘Scented Garden’

Rose ‘Chartreuse De Parme’

The newbie..Rosa ‘Silky Smooth’, a thornless, scented shrub rose with extremely healthy foliage.

Like most gardeners, I love David Austin roses, but I am also drawn to something a bit different, and I do love a rose with good scent. I have bought a lot of roses from Style Roses of Spalding over the years and can recommend them for a change from DA. ‘Grace’ is a DA rose though, and I have two more in the front Garden.

I have removed Bronze fennel and Selinum wallichianum which I wasn’t happy with for a couple of reasons. But I am very happy with the prevalence of other herbs..oreganos, lavenders, chives, sages. And there are some beautiful mingles going on.

Someone recently posted the question on another gardening site ‘what, in your opinion is the most underrated plant’. I answered without hesitation Alchemilla Mollis. I have planted a few here and they have only just reached flowering size. Those acid green panicles are so beautiful and make a great partner to any plant of similar stature. They are one of the ‘friendliest’ plants in my garden.

Alchemilla Mollis

Erigeron has been another success. I have three kinds; E. Karvinskianus, E x ‘Wayne Roderick’ and E. ‘Lavender lady’. I am hoping that the Karvinskianus will self seed into my gravel paths and soften them. Who doesn’t love a plant that flowers almost all year given mild conditions?

Erigeron ‘Wayne Roderick’

Erigeron karvinskianus

Sadly I lost three trees. One, Sorbus ‘Joseph Rock’ was waterlogged at the roots, and two of my Acers succumbed as well. I suspect they weren’t really dead, but they certainly looked dead and I wasn’t going to wait and see as I think they were objecting to too much sunlight. But everything else is thriving and the beds have matured beautifully. One Acer has been replaced with Acer conspicuum ‘Red Flamingo’ and the other with my beloved Malus ‘Evereste’. The malus is top grafted so will be much reduced in stature. It shouldn’t get too big for its space.

Acer ‘Red Flamingo’. Like the A. Sango Kaku’ it replaces, it has coral stems, but it prefers sun and grows faster than its predecessor, and wow! That foliage colour.

Malus ‘Evereste’. It is such a great small tree, and much more giving than its predecessor Acer griseum which grows more slowly than most plants and doesn’t have any of these lovely jewel-like fruits for the birds. It’s a win-win I think, much as I love an Acer griseum, I wouldn’t have lived long enough to see it at any decent size!

Out front we are currently coping with the builders digging up their site and preparing our road to have tarmac laid. All the drains are being raised up in preparation and a service road opposite our home has also been dug up. It’s very noisy! But we are glad to see it finally happening. They told us they would be off site by April and now we are hearing November! 7 months late…so far! Hey ho. I can’t wait to hear the birdsong next spring when they are gone, and hopefully have a few birds visiting the garden too. We do have an occasional Pidgeon!

Niamh is growing faster than the garden and is now reaching the very challenging ‘boundary testing’ stage. All part of the joy of parent and grandparenthood! Her Daddy has just started his first job as a Major in the REME, and will be at home a lot more for the next 2 years all being well, so all of our lives are changing again. Scott and I hope to have a little more time to visit new places in the south now.

A planned visit to Scotland has been postponed to our great relief as we were both dreading having to make that long drive again. And since my hospitalisation at New Year and 7 week recovery, I am now very mindful of my stress levels. Acute vestibular vertigo migraine tends to come and go, and I have absolutely no desire for it to come again! So I am making the most of these last days of summer in my garden and around my local beauty spots!

Oh, just before I finish, the outdoor tomatoes have done reasonably well in spite of challenging weather conditions. I have a few different varieties and They are ripening now, so let’s hope for some September warmth and sunshine.

I hope you are enjoying your homes and gardens as much as me. I find the ‘current affairs’ out there very frightening. I think I will be avoiding crowded places even more than I have done in the past. So I find myself ever more grateful for my peaceful rural home town. Long May it continue. There are millions in the UK alone who don’t enjoy the peace I have, and I don’t take it for granted. Enjoying the little things is becoming even more vital nowadays, and we gardeners are well practised at that skill. Thank you, and God bless.

• 28 Aug, 2024
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