Haven't we seen this type of August before?
Sunday, September 3, 2017
It is interesting to read back over the last 7 years of August
News items and to reflect on just how many similar ones we have had
to this year. It made me feel a little better because it has
been quite depressing at times. But as always most plants did what
they generally do best - just keep calm and carry on!
Asters can always been replied upon to put on a good
show (possibly "Little Carlow"?)
Roses hate the rain so flowering has been
very spasmodic and a string of colder nights have set back the many
salvias in the gardens. Reading through those earlier News items
brought home vividly to me just how mature the borders are now, and
what height can do to raise their impact, especially hydrangeas
which have recovered well from those late frosts in
April.
I have over 400 pictures from which to select
those suitable for this months edition (which is a long one
even by my standards!!!) It was a reminder that from the
perspective of the garden, it was a much better month than it had
seemed at times.
For Moira it was a good month to celebrate her 65th
birthday
Weather
Not surprisingly there were far more rain days than dry ones
with precipitation on 23 days often heavy and prolonged. Like most
western parts of the UK rainfall was higher than average.
Only 3 daytime temperatures above 21C with a max of 22C on
27/8 and a min of16C on 11th.
6 night time min temperatures below 10C lowest 6c on 12th
and 31st.
Skyscapes were more exciting than the weather!
The promise of a blue moon and a red moon over a couple of
nights kept me up late, but although there were clear skies no sign
of any colours. The moon still looked nice!
I also hoped to see the meteor showers during the latter
part of the month with no success.
Garden Update
The imminent change of the seasons is evident all over the
garden - some early autumn colour, asters, a range of sedums coming
into full bloom, dahlias going crazy! and my favourite and much
loved rudbeckias now well into their stride.
One of the surest signs of autumn is dew on
cobwebs
Paddock Garden Borders
Sedums starting to break in the Koi Pond
Border
Rudbeckia var sullivantii "Goldsturm"
Moira deadheading roses which with all the rain has been
a seemingly never ending task.
Perhaps the main highlight is the peak of the vegetable harvest
- 16 types of vegetable now ready, including potatoes dug for
storing, onions and garlic to dry and regular harvesting of
sweetcorn, beans and courgettes before they grow too large.
The weather has played a big part in the quality and quantity of
the harvest with brassicas and root crops doing very well and those
that prefer warmer and drier conditions, and insects for
pollination, have done less well especially legumes, courgettes and
tomatoes.
One of monster summer Savoys which have been
superb, variety Miletta, and have kept in good condition for 2
months
Another brassica doing well is the humble
swede: a row of perfect plants and good sized swedes already.
Sweeter and more tender at this time of year
A new potato variety for me this year is "Pippa",, a
hybrid of "Pink Fir Apple" larger tubers and a heavier cropper;
earlier too.
Like "Pink fir Apple" some amazing shapes! to win
first prizes in the class of most unusual shaped vegetable at your
village show.
Kitkat the cat takes a dim view of his bench in
the large tunnel being taken over to dry a good crop of
onions.
So he goes for a walk with a new friend! He is not
fazed by anything.
Another big factor all over the garden and covered areas is the
enormous amount of pests and diseases. Capsid bugs worse than I
have ever seen, whitefly on everything, red spider mite
particularly troublesome on brugmansias, cabbage white butterflies,
the only form we have seen in large quantaties, and larger pests
like mice eating peas before they have the chance to
mature.
Capsid damage on salvia "Amistad" which wrecks the
emerging flower buds and disfigures the leaves.
Remains of peas eaten by mice
Given how highly I value our lawns it was disappointing after an
absence of a few years, to see the return of cockchaffer grubs, the
larval stage of May Bugs which eat the roots of grass. There are
patches in both our main lawns. Somehow a range of birds especially
corvids are able to locate them and rip out the affected grass to
get at the grubs
As for diseases, mildew is all over the courgettes and some of
the legumes were badly affected by what I think was fusarium wilt,
with yellowing of leaves followed quickly by leaf drop. Blackspot
and rust on roses all summer.
End of seaon clear up in the Paddock Pond,
paticularly thinning overgrown waterlilies.
Gardening is all about ups and downs and we soon get over them,
however bad things seem to be at the time! There are plenty of good
things to celebrate too. Just read on!
What's looking good?
We are so pleased that the majority of our 60+ hydrangea
macrophyllas and serratas have flowered this summer after
being badly frosted in late April. The hardier hydrangeas,
arborescens and paniculatas that flower on new wood, have put on a
terrific show and made a big statement all over the gardens,
especially as they are never cut back in Spring as you often see
recommended. If you follow this and cut them back hard you will
have much larger flower heads but they are not capable of holding
their heads up in winds or heavy rain.
Hydrangea macrophylla "Generale Vicomtesse de
Vibraye" paired with species dahlia merckii.
H. aspera subsp. sargentiana
Of all the h. paniculata in the gardens, perhaps the
biggest inpact is made by "Vanille Fraise"
This unusual paniculata is "Great Star" now known
by its cultivar name of "Le Vasterival" Quite rare in
cultivation.
Paniculata "Limelight" is a well deserved
favourite for its lime green buds turning white"
One of the most exciting of any of the 80+
hydrangeas in the garden is H. Preziosa" which has
fascinating contrasts of flower and leaf colours, and which can
vary between plants and where they are growing in the
gardens
There are many other fine things to admire in the following
pics.
Agapanthus appear to like regular rainfall as they are
having a good year and staying in flower for a long
time.
Marvellous deepest blue buds of Agapanthus "Royal
Velvet" a brand new introduction from Pine Cottage
Plants
Agapanthus "Enigma"
Tender large flowered agapanthus are grown in
large pots and placed around the Koi Pond every year, overwintered
in the frost free tunnels.
Agapanthus inapertus with downward facing flowers
are an attractive alternative to the more normal flower
heads
Other S,African plants which enjoy mosture in summer are
kniphofias giving height and form to most borders in an open and
bright spot.
At the back is "Uvaria nobilis" up to 8 feet tall, and
the shorter green flowered one is "Green Jade"
All time favourite here and much admired over the years
is impatiens tinctoria, scented flowers, shade loving and not
invasive. Now in its 18th year.
Thalictrum "Hewitts Double" like a giant pink
gypsophylla 7-8 feet tall flowering much longer than most in the
genus
I have been infatuated with our Red Border ever
since seeing the one at Hidcote years ago, and enjoyed the never
ending challenge of blending together , in as wide a variety of
plants as possible, all the shades of red in a harminous
fashion.
Which begs the question "What colour is Red?" and of
course there isn't a definitive answer. I have discovered they
don't all have to be true red, but a colour that will blend in if
appropriately sited. Just some of the contributors to the overall
border:
Lobelia "Ruby Slippers"
Salvia "Silkes Red"
Dahlia "Nuit D'ete"
Lobelia tupa, and the helenium which definitely isn't
red, but was labelled "Moerheim Beauty" which is!
Rosa "Munstead Wood"
At this time of year I look forward to the smaller,
later flowered clematis that are so in tune in scale and size with
the season.
Clematis rehderiana, vigorous and lightly scented of
cowslips so it is claimed.
C. "Prince Charles"
A possible hybrid of c. texensis x c. crispa which
I grew from seed many years ago and has taken that long to flower
prolifically. Well worth the wait!
Perhaps of all the clematis in flower now this is the
best because it is colourful, very vigorous and well scented. C. x
triternata "Rubromarginata" is another hybrid form which deserves a
place in any garden. Like many of the smaller flowered forms if
performs well if grown up a large shrub.
Even when the flowers are spent, the seed pods,
(atragenes) of many clematis are an attractive, long lasting
feature, such as these from c. koreana
It's not all about the big "show offs!" there are some
understated quiet corners all over the gardens. Monarda and
teucrium "Purple Tails" in a veil of gypsophylla
Cyclamen hederifolium, part of a large colony
in a shady spot under an acer.
A pleasing combination of hakonechloa macra, hosta
"Orange Marmalade" and inula hookeri
I am really pleased with this planting combination
of Jap. anemone and a delicate pink sanguisorba.
Wildlife and Countryside
The distinct shortage of butterflies all month, most likely due
to the wet weather, is disappointing even when the buddleias
were at their peak. Aside from Cabbage Whites, Peacocks are the
most numerous with Red Admirals not far behind them, but Commas and
small Tortoishells have been very scarce. A few dragonflies on the
wing in drier, warmer interludes.
One solitary Peacock on Buddleia "Black
Night"
Damselfly ? "Blue demoiselle" was an unusual sighting in
August. Quite a feat on a hand held long zoom!
On the same day at Rousham (see visits later)
Green unidentified dragonfly laying eggs.
Making an appearance in the gardens after an absence of some
years is the green woodpecker or Yaffle, on account of its peculiar
call which it utters during its distinctive dipping flight. Sadly
no opportunities to photograph it as a I rarely see it on the
ground. Another elusive bird heard recently for the first time this
summer is the kingfisher. I still live in hope of that magic
picture of one, perched on the end of the boat on the Paddock Pond,
which I saw some years ago, minus my camera!
Swallows ready for the off on 28th
They were everywhere including many trees, more like
murmurations of starlings in winter
Ash Die Back disease, is now showing itself again all over
Carmarthenshire, and in other parts of Wales and England that
we have been to on our travels around. It seems worse than last
year with most of the trees in our gardens affected and branches up
to 2 inches in diameter that have now become so brittle they are
dropping off in even a gentle wind. It goes to illustrate what a
liability it will be for landowners when larger branches begin to
be shed particularly where trees are close to a public road.
In the surrounding countryside some trees have started to show
autumn colour and begin to drop leaves. Our farmer neighbours were
glad of a settled spell of weather towards the month end to get in
a first cut of silage, one the latest I have known since the late
1970's when the grass harvest was predominantly hay and much more
challenging in a wet summer.
Visits
We had a short break in an area of middle England covering 4
counties that are very closely connected:- Buckingham, Oxford,
Northampton and Warwickshire. There is a tremendous range of
gardens here to choose from but not enough time to do as many as we
would have liked.
Those that we did visit included the following
Rousham Oxfordshire. www.rousham.org Sorry I
couldn't get a direct link to work. If you type the web address
into your search engine it will take you to the website and
it is well worth it.
An entrancing, almost 400 year old historic house,
formal garden and landscape park by William Kent one of the
pioneers of landscape design and mentor of Capability Brown.
Still in the same family, it is one of the few gardens to
have escaped alteration over the years. It made a considerable
impact upon us, as few gardens have such presence and variety of
interest and style.
Unusual and secular stained glass panels catch the
eye
What an unexpected surprise along the River Cherwell to
find this one plant of an unidentified impatiens. Unfortunately the
bank was too steep to make a positive identification. I am not
aware of a native species so will do some further
investigation.
Waterperry, Oxfordshire. www.waterperrygardens.co.uk
Fibrex Nurseries Warwickshire. www.fibrex.co.uk
Holders of a National Collection of Pelargoniums
and with over 2,000 different cultivars and species, it is the
largest collection in the world.
P. lanceolatum one of a wide range of species
forms.
P. schottii
P. litterale so rare it is not in the current edition of
the RHS "Plant Finder"
One of the joys of driving around mostly country lanes is the
range of pubs you come across, many of which are unique, if
they have not been taken over by the large chains.
They have done well to avoid closure, which seems to be the fate of
many rural pubs, and a significant loss to the local
communities.
Raise a glass to them and the hope, however faint, of an Indian
Summer to welcome in the Autumn. We do deserve one don't we?
Happy gardening.