Autumn Colours ...

Good Morning!

Today's post is all about the colours of the season, we are well into Autumn now and there's still plenty of colour around. Why not bring it into your home like I have? Although my Chrysanthemums suffered from white rust there were still some lovely blooms that I could use which I teamed with some Heuchera flowers.

There's also still plenty of plants that can give you instant colour right now. Heuchera's are one of my favourites and provide colour all year round. Here I have used 'Plum Pudding' along with an unknown Hebe I got in a buy 1 get 1 free offer and some White Viola's. 

Next to the pot is another Heuchera called 'Marmalade' which has a wonderful leaf colour with a pink underside.

As you can see here the pots fit in well with my others near the conservatory and are certainly providing lot's of colour! 

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!

It's Monday so it is time for another Weekly Garden Checklist. 

Incase this is the first time you have seen this particular themed post, it's a quick list of jobs you can be doing in the garden this week.

Let's get started!

1. Collect Seed - On a dry day now is a good time to collect seed, such as seeds from an Allium head and sow them straight away.

2. Roses  -Along with cutting down Roses to help prevent wind rock over winter, don't forget to collect any fallen leaves beneath the plant to help prevent disease. Of course you can wait until the last buds have flowered before cutting them down if like me you still have blooms to enjoy.

3. Chrysanthemums - Make sure tall Chrysanthemums are well staked to give them the support they need. Especially if you have some outdoors and are prone to windy weather.

4. Sweet Pea's - If you have sown Sweet Pea's this autumn make sure you pinch out the growing tips to encourage bushier growth.

5. Sow - There is still time to sow Hardy Annuals such as Calendula's for flowers next year.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Garlic, Onions & Flowers ...

Good Morning!

Today's post is a little catch up with how things are getting on in the garden.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I planted my Autumn Garlic & Onions? Well they have started showing some healthy growth, the Garlic is a little further ahead than the Onions. Last week I also planted an extra row of Garlic with some of what I had left in-between the Wallflowers and Onions.

You may also spot that my Chrysanthemum's are looking a bit bare, I have had to strip the leaves off due to White Rust again. You are probably best getting rid of them but considering they were blooming and the Rust shouldn't transfer to the Garlic & Onions I thought I might aswell enjoy the flowers for a bit longer before removing them.

I had a lot of Onion bulbs left and I didn't want to chuck them but I had nowhere else to plant them. So I have sown them in some cell trays which have been placed in a sheltered place and  they should be happy living there until there is space for them to be planted out, either in a few weeks or in the Spring. I thought I would also try this with the 6 remaining Garlic bulbs I had left, well you might aswell give it a go instead of them going to waste!

Meanwhile elsewhere in the Garden I have some nice colour creeping in, 

from the Viola's in the Hanging Baskets ...

The Viburnum Tinus in the Front Border ...

Along with the Primroses in the Pots ...

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!

It's Monday so it is time for another Weekly Garden Checklist. 

Incase this is the first time you have seen this particular themed post, it's a quick list of jobs you can be doing in the garden this week.

Let's get started!

1. Lift Dahlia Tubers - You can choose to wait until the first frosts turn their leaves black, but if you want to get on with this job then you can lift Dahlia Tubers now. Cut down the stems to a few inches above the ground, lift with a fork being careful not to damage the tubers, bring under cover and turn them upside down for a few days to release moisture then once they are dry store in a cool, dark place, ideally covered in a crate over the Winter.

2. Finish Planting  - If you haven't already, finish planting out your Winter Bedding whilst the ground is still warmer than it will be in a few weeks! I Here you can see I have added some Wallflowers to my Raised bed to ensure colour early next year and re-vamped some pots where my Abutilon was.

3. Veggies - If you are planning on growing Beans next year, it's time to prepare the trench for them now ready for next year. You can also cut down the yellowing foliage on Asparagus plants to about 5cm above the ground.

4. Plant Out - Now you could also plant out any Perennials or Biennials that you have grown from seed this year.

5. Enjoy Chrysanthemum's - Chrysanthemum's are starting to show colour and bloom so now is the time to enjoy their Autumn colour. However make sure you keep checking them because due to the Wet & Mild Weather we are having, White Rust is very common and as you can see my plants have succumbed to it!

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!

It's Monday so it is time for another Weekly Garden Checklist. 

Incase this is the first time you have seen this particular themed post, it's a quick list of jobs you can be doing in the garden this week.

Let's get started!

1. Plant Shrubs, Conifers & Hedging - Now that we are almost in September now is a good time to plant new shrubs giving them time to get established before winter. It's also a good idea to give the ground a good turning over and incorporating some organic matter before planting.

2. Tie in Chrysanthemums  - Chrysanthemums should be putting on some good tall growth now so it's always a good idea to tie them into their stakes for support, especially with all this windy weather we've been having recently!

3. Remove Weed from Ponds - Pond weed can increase quickly so it's a good idea to keep an eye on it and pull it out if you spot any, such as blanket weed which can soon take over.

4. Catch Earwigs - Earwigs can soon make an appearance at this time of year and seem to love Dahlia's. To catch them place small upturned plant pots on-top of the plant stakes to catch them, check each morning and dispose as you wish.

5. Dig Up Hardy Annuals - As much as we love them we don't always want them to multiply around the garden, so now is a good time to dig them up before they set seed.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Vegetables & Chrysanthemum's ...

Good Morning!

If you remember a week or so I received my Chrysanthemums for the Autumn? Well it was time to plant them out into their final positions after rooting around the 9cm pots I pricked them out into. 

This year I have decided to plant them in the Raised Bed as I'm not too keen on Winter Vegetables and I didn't want the space to go to waste.  Plus it will be a great colourful feature in the centre of the garden when everything else is fading! Before planting out I prepared the soil by hoeing over it to remove all the weeds.

When planting out Chrysanthemums they need to be positioned approx 30cm apart. The spacing is slightly less between mine but not too far off. I always like to position them in their pots whilst organising the layout before planting out.

I had two of each colour and distanced them both apart from each other, however I kept the labels with the plants for each so that I still know what variety they are.

After about 10-14 days when the plants have grown a bit larger I will be adding stakes as a support.

Below the Raised bed you can see the 6 Anastacia Green Chrysanthemums in pots, this is because they are an indoor variety which will need to be lifted into the Greenhouse when the first frosts arrive.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Chrysanthemums ...

Good Morning!

Today's post is all about Chrysanthemum's! These are perfect for that last bit of colour during September - November when everything else in the garden is fading away for the Winter. I took advantage of the free postage offer and sale over at the Sarah Raven website the weekend before last and they arrived last Wednesday!

I chose 6 of the variety 'Anastasia Green' and 12 of the 'Jewel Collection' to add a splash of colour! You can click the photo's to be taken the pages they are on over on the website.

I potted up the Jewel Collection first into to small pots which will be kept in the GH until they have fully rooted and then planted out into their final pots.

(You can click on the pictures to enlarge the image)

The 'Anastasia Green' Chrysanthemum's are slightly different to the others and are an indoor variety. This means that they can be kept outside until the weather cools in September but then need to be brought into a GH, where they will continue to flower into later in the year. 

These ideally should be planted up into 35-40cm pots with John Innes no.2 but I didn't have any pots this size to hand so until I do they were planted into some smaller pots until they can be upgraded!

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

FINAL NOTE - I have added a Page Tab below my blog banner where you can find each Weekly Garden Checklist, this should make it easier and quicker for you to find them if needed in the future.