Autumnal Abundance

This week's cafe flowers

Any one got a boat? Webbed feet? Extra wellies I can borrow. The weather isn't getting any drier here which is a shame as September can often be a lovely month. Still I've got plenty propagation I can do in the potting area and the poly tunnel while it is raining. My aim by the end of the month is to have worked through the stock list propagating everything that we are low in for next year, this has been an ongoing task for the last month or so and I'm nearly finished. The poly tunnel is full which does lead me to wonder where I'm going to put all the over wintering plants, hmmmmm.

I love autumn, and then I found this heart shaped pelargonium
 leaf in the greenhouse when I was watering during the week
which summed it all up really

There is a definite hint of winding down for the season as the trees start to colour up and all the autumn flowers are out. The nursery is still full of colour and it's a great time to plant as the soil is still warm. Visitors to the nursery and gardens at this time of year are often surprised at how much colour there is and how long it will last. The Asters are just coming into flower and will go on until the first frosts, which can be November if we are lucky. Persicarias are half way through their flowering season and will go on onto October as will the Sedums and Rudbeckias. Its a great time to visit the nursery and gardens and get late season inspiration to carry colour in your garden through to winter.

Aster (Symphyotrichum) novi-belgii 'Marie Ballard'

     

Lots of lat Summer / Autumn colour in the nursery gardens

Lathyrus latifolius

Matteucia struthiopteris

Phlox 'Hesperis'

  

  

          Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Alba'                                      Sanguisorba officinalis 'Crimson Queen' 

                                                                                                and Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Rosea'

Sedum 'Herbsfreude'

Back at home youngest son Daniel has been back in the kitchen, He goes through phases of cooking almost every night (which is very nice after a busy day at the nursery) or not at all. We are in a cooking phase now and have amongst other dishes been treated to an Ottolenghi dish - duck with orange and star anise sauce with mashed parsnips. It was lovely, as is every dish he cooks.

Duck with orange and star anise sauce

I've been in the kitchen too,
back to baking, which I love.
This week it was honey cake,
 almondy and moist and
not a soggy bottom in sight!

Back to the nursery and it's time to buy and plant spring bulbs, us gardeners are always planning ahead to the next season and the next year. This year we are doing our pick and mix bulbs again. You can buy as many or as little of each variety as they are priced individually. We have several varieties of Tulips, Daffodils, Crocus and Allium as well as Frittalaria, Scilla, bluebells, and other small bulbs. Ideal for containers and pots or in the garden in borders to give some colour from February onwards. 

Daffodils ready for planting

This years pick and mix bulbs

At home I've been catching up in the garden on a Monday too, tidying up after a neglectful summer and preparing for the colder months ahead. The wild strawberries in the fruit planter has been taking advantage of me being busy and has spread everywhere. Right through both planters, down the sides and across the patio. The Strawberry 'Cambridge Favourite' was being smothered, so I have removed wild strawberry to a big pot of its own and divided the 'Cambridge Favourite' and planted it through the whole fruit planter. 

Sorting out the strawberries

I've put my auricula primulas away for winter. They've been on the patio since they flowered in spring and now it's time for a weed and tidy before being tucked away under the bench in the cold greenhouse. They are hardy but benefit from being kept drier through winter so the unheated greenhouse works perfectly, they get the protection without too much heat.

Auricula primulas tucked away
 in the cold greenhouse

My tidied and watered greenhouse on Monday

Pelargonium 'Ardens', My favourite Pelargonium

Pelargonium sidoides, my second favourite

Sunflower 'Claret' in the
herb garden

Sanguisorba and Lythrum in the
 stream garden in the nursery

A troll in the stream garden!

Invaders in the lawn at home

How has your week been, are you enjoying the autumn colours too?

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