Late Bloomers ...

Good Morning!

Today's post is a few snaps of what's still looking good in the garden! 

The Rose 'Joie De Vivre' had another flush of rose buds a few days ago and we were treated to this lovely bloom.

My small potted Dahlia is still going strong, unfortunately I don't know it's name as it was just labelled with 'Bedding Mix'.

One of my last remaining Cosmos plants is still going and this particular bloom caught my eye!

My pot of Begonia's is providing a lovely splash of colour by the conservatory door.

Along with the Dianthus 'Crimson Rim' ...

One of my Astrantia's under the shade of next doors tree has been flowering it's heart out too in recent weeks.

The Cherry Rudbekia still has one or two flowers going strong and I love the deep red.

Finally my Osteopermum has had another flush and is providing some eye - catching colour!

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Around The Garden ...

Good Morning!

Before I get started I better warn you now that there is a LOT of photo's in this post, so you might want to get comfy! Here are a few snaps of how the garden is looking at the moment, albeit it's not at it's best and it's made me think about what will work next year, and what won't. But surely that's all part of the fun of gardening isn't it?

First up is the side border near the conservatory is one of the areas which I'm forever re-jigging lol Tucked in the corner is some staging with my Bonsai's, a wall basket of a Fuschia and in-front of that is a Rhododendron and an Apple Tree. Infront of that is one of my few remaining pots of Summer Bedding, a tub of Dianthus which you can only just see in the centre and then a big pot holding my David Austin Rose. I planted my 'Carex - Buchananni' in the border earlier in the week and grasses really do provide a lot of interest in the garden at this time of year.

TIP - Grasses are great for gardens which catch the wind.

Also planted in the border but is rather hard to see in the photograph is a spare Rudbekia plant that I had. The red's match the brown of the Carex perfectly.

Dianthus 'Crimson Rim' in the centre pot and also the high planters near the door.

This is the pot display near the back door, as you can see it consists of a few Evergreens which provide year round interest along with some remaining Summer Bedding. In the centre is one of my Agapanthus plants but as you can see it's decided not to flower this year. This will be moved into the GH over Winter and fingers crossed will bloom next year!

Tucked on the other side of that display is a small potted Gerbera which as you can see has lovely coloured petals. The only thing I'm not too keen on with them is the foliage.

My potted Alstromeria has been moved from the front of the house to the back and provides height and colour in one of the corners.

My Dahlia border in front of the shed has done well, there is also some deep red Rudbekia's tucked in and I shall be using more of them next year.

Next year I will also be spacing the Dahlia's out more as to be honest I knew I'd planted them a bit tightly. One variety bloomed at the start of the season but as you can see there's only one going for it now lol

If you spin around you will see my other border which is much more established, consisting of another grass and some Phygelius & Penstemons. These provide great colour and height right from the start of Summer to the early frosts.

The majority of my Penstemons are purple but there is one white which has sneaked in and I love it. It was originally labelled as Pink but I'm much more happy with the white!

Towards the back of the garden my winter climbing Clematis 'Winter Beauty' on the shed which has put on some good growth this season so fingers crossed we'l have some nice flowers at the start of next year.

My mini pond area consisting of some more grasses and an Acer in the background.

Then finally there is the Salix - Flamingo which I planted a month or so ago!

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Tall Planters ...

Good Morning!

We all have those planters which at first glance can be a little daunting to fill due to their size and shape. Hopefully this post will help alleviate that problems for some of you! These would be perfect for a more permanent feature display but I decided to keep it simple with some plants that I already had to hand.

First off with these size planters they can take up a LOT of compost so incase any of you missed my previous post with this tip here it is again. Fill up the lower part of your containers with crocks or polystyrene which will not only help drainage but also save your compost!

Fill the remaining container with compost, I used a combination of John Innes no.2 & Multi - Purpose for two reasons, one was that I am not sure whether these will be the final display for the planters and two I didn't have enough John Innes for them both! lol

I planted them up with two Dianthus - Crimson Rim which will add height (something needed for taller planters as low growing plants look out of place & out of proportion) and some simple but striking colour when they bloom.

I then placed them either side of the conservatory doors where they could remaining a pair and create more height in the pot display.

TIP - Don't water the planters until they are in the final position otherwise they will be trickier to move.

P.S. Can you spot the doggies?

If you would like to know what any of the other plants are in the pot display then feel free to get in touch and ask.

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX