September Sun

4 comments

As I look back on September, I’m thinking what a great month. Lots of sunshine has made up for the very poor summer a little and has kept our garden blooming. Even now in early October there is a lot of colour in the garden…

Begonias. We have a few patches of those little bedding begonias and for me its hard to think of a better way to fill border gaps with ground-cover colour, which lasts and lasts. We also have a few of the bigger double ones which are producing a real splash of colour. If only there was a way to stop them getting top heavy and bending down. They also seem to drop off before they are past their best, but we just collect the blooms and pop them on a little container as a simple table decoration.

Autumn borders. We have one section which comes into its own at this time of year with an array of clematis, rudbeckia, leucanthemum, asters, potentilla, pyracantha, and a few other late flowers such as the pink rose and last year’s pot chrysanthemum (can’t bear to throw anything away, so it got planted out in the spring).

Dahlias are great for colour at this time of year and the season can be extended with a lot of dead-heading…

There are lots of geraniums dotted around the garden and these will flower until the frost gets them. The potted ones are now being sorted out and the best ones will be brought inside for the winter. Our row of cotton lavender was pruned hard in the spring and inter-planted with red geraniums. The contest between the two has been hard-fought and the geraniums have just about kept their heads above the encroaching silver.

Sedum. Lots of it in our garden. Easy to grow and propogate and fabulous for attracting bees, etc. The thing I keep forgetting is that they get top heavy and then flop over on top of other border plants. Note to self to provide support as they are growing!

Patio. Lots of pots here, which are always on the move. All backed by a clematis which clambers through this ivy, which has been here for 25 years now.

Gazania. many people treat these an annuals, but we have one in a pot, which has now been brought inside the conservatory for the winter, where it will continue to open its flowers on sunny days. It will go outside again next spring. An ideal conservatory plant as it likes bright light and not much water.

September is that time of year when the dew gets heavy and shows up the spider webs. This one was right outside our window…

…..a sure sign that autumn is here!

• 4 Oct, 2012
• 3 likes

More blog posts by malverntrev