GBBD - Hanging On

By the A4 between Chippenham & Corsham 12/11/2008

Yes I know it's Blooms Day, but I couldn't resist showing you another autumnal picture. I spotted this one on the way to my creative writing class on Wednesday morning and I just had to stop afterwards and take its photo. Luckily I'd taken my camera as I'd wanted to photograph the new specially commissioned gate at the Pound Arts Centre. Aren't both of them beautiful? I can't really remember our autumns having so many trees sporting burnt orange colours like we've had this year. And whilst autumn came a little earlier than it has for the past few, the trees do seem to be hanging onto their leaves to make a real glow of things during the mainly gloomy days we've had recently.

So, onto my garden's blooms. I'd say the majority of my remaining flowers are hanging on rather than blooming. I've also left some flowers to sport their dried heads in the garden. For the moment they're looking attractive and of course provide food and shelter for wildlife, but I'll cut them back as soon as they become dreary. I've just one new flower to show you this month. My Clematis cirrhosa 'Freckles' is budding in profusion and a few of them are fully in flower as of a couple of days ago. They are a welcome sight, even if the blooms start at eye level and work their way upwards. I've been really surprised by my potted Cyclamen. They're still here and increasing in flower. I was expecting to use their pots for my tulip bulbs by now. These will have to wait! Another surprise is the self-sown Lobelia by my stone bench on the patio. I was expecting them to have gone by now, but their proximity to the patio and the stone bench must have given them enough protection from the frosts that cut down the rest of their annual cousins. Finally I couldn't resist a tiny touch of autumn in my new sidebar slideshow: the Cotoneaster has been such a rich red leaf this year - it's almost impossible to see the berries amongst the leaves!

Garden Bloggers Blooms Day is hosted by Carol over at May Dreams Gardens. Do go over and see how our English November differs to our American cousins. Remember, October's slideshow is still available over at my Open Garden. So much has changed in the garden since last month.

Comments

  1. Ewa15 November 2008 at 10:05

    Oh, thank you for sharing those pictures - the gate is awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Zoë15 November 2008 at 10:13

    The colour this autumn has been awesome, which has suprised me, usually such displays follow long hot summers - we certainly didnt have one of those, it just rained and rained!

    The gates are stunning.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous15 November 2008 at 10:24

    Clematis "Freckles" is lovely, as it your photograph of the gates.
    K

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous15 November 2008 at 13:31

    What an exquisite gate - was it made locally ? Here there is little in flower now and what there is is rather sodden. I got a pleasant surprise earlier this week though when I found a snowdrop in flower. It is not one of the autumn flowering types so I am not sure what is going on :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. F Cameron15 November 2008 at 13:34

    Autumnal colors are so vibrant--don't we all love to see more photos?

    That gate is beautiful! Talented artisans simply amaze me. One of our local sculptors sent me a lot of photos last night as possiblities to use for the next Gardens in Art feature next week. He has a "butterfly kiss" gate that I must feature.

    Thanks for sharing,
    Cameron

    PS I miss visiting the UK since my son finished at UCL --one of my best trips was 2 years ago in November.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mr. McGregor's Daughter15 November 2008 at 14:10

    That gate is a work of art! Do you know what the contrasting metal is? That Clematis is one that isn't quite hardy enough for me to grow. When I first saw the photo, I thought, Hellebores already?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rose15 November 2008 at 14:27

    It's hard not to show a tree still in its autumn glory; the fall color has been spectacular this year.
    Enjoyed seeing all your blooms, VP, including that gorgeous fuschia once again! It's wonderful to see so much color when very little remains here in the cold and rainy Midwest.
    That gate is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Gail15 November 2008 at 14:45

    Freckles is too cute! Just when I think I have seen all the good clems another one shows up!

    I know that fall has been beautiful everywhere this year...a nice gift from nature to help with the crummy economic forecast! Have a wonderful weekend!

    Gail

    ReplyDelete
  9. tina15 November 2008 at 15:23

    That clematis 'Freckles' is so pretty!

    Show as many leaves as you want, tis the season after all:)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen15 November 2008 at 16:00

    Ohhhhh, I want Freckles too (never thought I'd say that ;-)). And I love that gorgeous tree and that gate is simply marvellous. Happy GBBD, VP!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Unknown15 November 2008 at 16:19

    My Clematis looks like it wants to bloom again too.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Katarina15 November 2008 at 16:29

    That gate is really something! And the Clematis Freckles is adorable! Haven't seen that one before and will definitely be on the look-out for it.
    Katarina

    ReplyDelete
  13. Helen/patientgardener15 November 2008 at 19:56

    I think the autumn colour has lasted longer this year - it definately started earlier.

    Really like those gates

    ReplyDelete
  14. Carol Michel16 November 2008 at 00:40

    You are right, there is quite a contrast between some of our American gardens and your English gardens. You have much more in bloom right now, compared to around here. I enjoyed the slide show!

    Thanks for joining in once again for bloom day.

    Carol, May Dreams Gardens

    ReplyDelete
  15. VP16 November 2008 at 20:29

    Hi GBBDers - I'll come over and have a look at your blooms if I haven't already. I thought you'd go for Freckles :) Thanks for coming and having a look here - the gate is lovely isn't it? So lovely I'm having thoughts about our back gate...

    Yes Anna, it's by a local artist.

    MMD - the contrasting metal's copper, so it'll be interesting to see how the piece develops with age.

    ReplyDelete
  16. VP16 November 2008 at 20:56

    Oh and Darla - welcome! I hope you enjoyed your visit :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love hearing from you and welcome thoughtful conversations :)

Comments aiming to link back and give credence to commercial websites will be composted!

Your essential reads

That blue flower: A spring spotter's guide

Image
Spring is a prime time for blue flowers and my daily walks currently have several from the same plant family* lining the local footpaths. As I walked past the Donkey Field the other day, I overheard some children ask their parents** what the pictured blue flower was. It reminded me it's often mistaken for those other familial blues and this time was no different, as they said it was forget-me-not, instead of the green alkanet it actually is. As well as similar flowers, most of these plants are hairy in their nature, flower around the same time, and favour damp, shady places. Many of them are great for pollinators too, especially bees and this week's warm weather has certainly drawn them to these flowers. This makes it even more likely for these plants to be mistaken for each other and it's a great opportunity for me to put together a spotter's guide in case you find the same flowers on your outings. Staying with green alkanet, the key features which set it
Read more

Jack Go To Bed At Noon

Image
Last year this rather exotic looking flower appeared on mine and several other allotments for the first time. Having been stumped (again) by Mr Allotment Warden as to its identity, I rushed home to find out what it was. It's salsify, aka the marvellous Jack Go To Bed At Noon - named as such because its flowers always close by midday. Here you can see both open and closed flowers - making it seem even more exotic and alien than in the first picture. I think this must be the cultivated version because the flower in my Francis Rose Wild Flower Key looks exactly the same in form, but is bright yellow in colour and called meadow salsify . Its other common name is Goatsbeard, which must be a nod to the fantastic dandelion-like clock which forms the seed head. With 'parachutes' like those shown above, who knows how far our plotted plants came from. I rather like the photographic dissection of the seedhead found in this link . Salsify is edible: its lateral shoots and fl
Read more

Red Nose Day - Gardening Jokes Anyone?

Image
The nation goes ever so slightly bonkers on Red Nose Day - hurrah! Previously, it's been very easy to join in - usually via a dress down day at work plus lots of people up to mad things at the station and in the office. Everyone smiling for once - it's a real feel good day and all in a good cause. This year's different - every day's a dress down day for me now - my friend L suggested yesterday that perhaps I could have a dress up day instead and whilst that's a good idea, I confess that ballgowns and tiaras don't really feature in my wardrobe: scruffy student's always been my favourite look. So my Red Nose Day contribution for this year is to compile a list of gardening related jokes. For each one (clean ones only please) you leave in the comments below, I'll make a donation of 50p to the cause. Here's a few for starters just to get you warmed up: Q Why do potatoes make good detectives? A Because they keep their eyes peeled. Q What did the grape
Read more

Salad Days: Mastering Lettuce

Image
I've decided one of my salad challenges for this year is to grow as many lettuce varieties as I can, ready for the publication of my planned Factsheet* later on. The idea is to grow as many of the Tried and Trusted lettuce varieties last year's Salad Challengers helped compile, then provide a visual guide and as many lettuce facts as I can muster. So far I've found around half of those listed**. Then naturally whilst I was out searching - because such is the way with seeds - a number of other varieties found their way home too ;) A couple of weeks ago I sowed 22 varieties***. Just the simple act of sowing them has me intrigued. Why are some lettuce seeds black and others white****? They split into about half white to half black in my sample and as far as I can tell it's nothing to do with whether they're a type of cos, iceberg, or whatever. I sowed them indoors and popped them into a propagator on the windowsill. The soil's too cold outside for sowing
Read more

VPs VIPs: Derry Watkins of Special Plants

Image
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Derry Watkins at her home, garden and nursery - the acclaimed Special Plants - just a few miles along the road from me. I first met Derry at one of her open garden days last year and was keen to find out more about her wonderful garden and running an independent nursery. She specialises in tender perennials and regularly goes on plant hunting trips to find new treasures, particularly in South Africa. As well as running Special Plants and opening her garden under the NGS scheme , Derry holds day courses at her nursery, hosts Special Tuesdays from April until September, lectures and has written a couple of books. How did you find your way from Connecticut to the UK? I'd started a biodynamic vegetable garden in Connecticut and we used to have people come along at weekends to help out. A particular young man turned up: he returned many times and at the end of the summer I married him. So it was all down to love? Isn't that the
Read more

#mygardenrightnow: heading into summer with the Chelsea Fringe

Image
Ahhhhhh, that's better! I love walking through dewy grass in bare feet, not that there's much in the way of grass on my back lawn this weekend. My wild and woolly lawn has morphed into meadow of sorts this month, which even NAH admits looks attractive*. It's also proved a great source for my Flowers for mum project so far, yielding self-sown perennial cornflowers, lamb's ears, and lemon balm in addition to the blooms you can see. These originated from elsewhere in the garden, the ox-eye daisies must have blown in from the A350 nearby. * = he got very stroppy about the weeds aka self-sown foxgloves in the lawn one year, so he's come along a bit since then. Skimble's demanding to say hello to you too. He does enjoy the patio when it warms up. If the embedded video doesn't work try this link instead. The Nectaroscordum are a revelation. I planted the bulbs around 2 years ago, but it's only this year they've bloomed properly. The bee
Read more

The Resilient Garden

Image
  Part of Tom Massey's Resilient Garden at RHS Hampton Court I've been pondering VP Gardens a lot lately. Last year's drought conditions set me off initially, then our harsher than usual winter combined with this summer's flip and flop weather means the thinking continues. It's a huge topic which I freely admit I'm struggling to get my head around. Tom Massey's Resilient Garden  at Hampton Court recently  tackled this topic brilliantly and was a timely interlude which gave me much food for thought. There he encapsulated the detailed research he'd found which informed both his show garden and book of the same name. I think it's one of the most important show gardens I've ever seen. It's clear the way I garden needs to change so that I have my own resilient garden. I haven't worked out the exact details yet, but Tom's book plus a couple of others (see below), alongside the rainwater management handout from the show garden's  sponso
Read more

Testing Times: Tomatoes

Image
  I've run a couple of tomato trials this year. The first is a revisit of the biochar trial with Oxford University I attempted some years ago (with a different organisation this time), and the second is a trial of a water gadget called Plantsurge which I was given to try at Malvern Spring Show earlier this year. Most of you have probably heard of biochar already and the claim that this inert, carbon-rich material can help soil fertility and plant health. The RHS information in the above link says results can be mixed, with reduced effects found in alkaline soils. This may help to explain the lack of difference I found in my previous trial as VP Gardens is on a lime-rich soil. Plantsurge is a different beast altogether. It's a strong magnet which is attached to a hosepipe as shown in the photo above. It's claimed that it softens water, with the result more like watering with rainwater. The higher nitrogen found in rainwater is thought to be beneficial to plants. Gardener
Read more

Chelsea Fringe 2014: Shows of Hands - Episode I

Image
The gloves NAH used to build the raised bed . The effects are L to R, top to bottom:  Original photo, Warhol, HDR, Green tint, B&W, Posterize, Boost, Cross process and Sepia Welcome to Shows of Hands - my Chelsea Fringe project for 2014! As you can see I've been having a bit of a play around in Pic Monkey for my first contribution. You're welcome to join in between now and 8th June 2014. The idea behind this year's project is to highlight the tool most precious to a gardener: their hands. How do I take part? It's simple. All you need to do is take a photo of hand(s) in a gardening context and then share it via your blog or other social media (such as Twitter or Facebook), then make sure I know you've done so. I've set up Mr Linky below for your blog contributions. The Chelsea Fringe photo on the right sidebar links to this post, so you can easily find it again when you're ready to add your contribution. If you share your photo on Twitter,
Read more

Make Use of Mildew

Image
On my garden patrol this morning I spotted some powdery mildew on a couple of my new Verbena bonariensis plants. I suppose it was almost inevitable as I prefer to grow my plants hard - this means no water for them unless they look absolutely desperate. This approach means plants root themselves more deeply and have a better chance of survival during spells of dry weather like we've had lately. However, it also means I run the risk of problems like today's, especially with any garden newbies planted late in the season. We've had a good drop of rain overnight, so this should help my plants survive. I'll mulch them later today to help lock in the moisture as it's water stress which encourages the mildew to take hold. I've also removed the infected leaves and sprayed the rest with a milky drink.* I'm also pleased to find there's a use for my infected leaves. Oliver Ellingham at Reading University has started a PhD - sponsored by the RHS - researchi
Read more