We were warned by the weathermen that our summer was coming to an end and the first Autumn storm was approaching. Some of the flowers are looking pretty wet, but in a rare splash of sunlight when the rain stopped for a while, I took the opportunity to dash out to whizz round the garden for the photos for this post. This first photo is of Fuchsia magellanica by the back door which has been flowering for such a long time now.
The white Hydrangea under the kitchen window seems to have been flowering for months now, it will carry on for a while yet. The cotoneaster horizontalis behind is covered with berries at the moment, but they won’t last long once the blackbirds discover them.
In the front border, Eupatorium purpureum atropurpureum is so much smaller than last year when we had non stop rain all summer. Last year the bees and butterflies couldn’t leave it alone, it was a feeding frenzy each day. This year, nothing. I have only seen a few bees feeding on it, the butterflies have stayed loyal to all my buddlejas.
Rudbeckia Goldsturm has been showing patches of yellow in various borders, they will be so much better when the clumps increase, but some I ought to split in the spring. There are always lots of bees are visiting the flowers whenever I pass.
Rosa Bonica is still putting on a show of flowers. This rose has flowered non stop since June and there are still loads of buds to open.
Sedum Autumn Joy never lets me down, reliable as clockwork. It might be an old variety but it’s just as good as it ever was.
Echinacea Grand Master is drawing in the bees in the side border by the field. These plants were new this year, so hopefully the clumps will expand for next year. This is another good bee and butterfly plant.
I have put a few dahlias in the side border by the field, this one is the well known Bishop of Llandaff, making a bright spot of red in the left hand side of the bed.
Further up the border are a few pink dahlias, very nice, but why so many flies everywhere? This one is Classic Rosamund
Rosa The Countryman still putting forth new flowers, as are the rest of our roses.
Lily Black Beauty still strutting its stuff in the border by the field. I forgot to stake this lily and it is flopping everywhere, mustn’t forget next year.
Thank goodness, a different colour, everything was getting a bit too pink for my liking! Dahlia classic Swan Lake, this flower has more petals than the others, I wonder why ? still in the border by the field.
Rudbeckia Irish Eyes very small at the moment, I think I need to move this to the Bee and Butterfly border in the front as it won’t be able to grow to its full potential here.
Some of the roses stopped flowering while we were having our heatwave in the summer but now that we have had a fair bit of rain, they are all starting again, this is The Dark Lady.
I like this combination even though it is flopping a bit. The aster is A. frikartii Monch which contrasts with Rudbeckia Goldsturm. Holding the aster up is a sedge which thankfully doesn’t seed everywhere here, I believe it can be a nuisance in lighter soil.
Verbena bonariensis just goes on and on and on, to the bees delight.
With golden foliage, Fuchsia genii contrasts with the planting round it.
Another plant which says Autumn to me is the Colchicum. These bulbs multiply quickly so I am able to spread some into shady areas each year.
In the alpine scree, Perovskia is now flowering, again, I always think of this as an autumnal plant because of the spiders webs that adorn the flowers in September just as they open.
Fuchsia Delta Sarah seems to be getting bigger and bigger every year, even though it is cut to the ground every spring.
I can see that much weeding is needed on the alpine scree, the leaves at the front belong to violets, they pop up everywhere. Sedum matrona is a nice dainty variety which stays nice and small and doesn’t flop.
Erigeron karvinskianus is beginning to take over the paving near the back door. I must try moving some next spring into some pots on the balcony.
Dahlia Chat Noir is a good taller variety of Dahlia, new to me this year, but I have been pleased with the number of flowers that it has produced.
Pontederia seems to be spreading in the pond, control must be re-instated!
My favourite grass is Stipa gigantea which looks wonderful when backlit by the sun. It is a Spanish oat and I’m sure would prefer soil which is much drier than mine but it makes a beautiful fountain at the end of the border round the dead oak.
More Cyclamen hederifolium are opening each day. My previous post was about them, maybe I photographed them too soon because there are so many more flowering in the woodland now, such a tiny, pretty, autumnal flower.
The garden has changed a lot in the last month, we have had a fair amount of rain which has made everything look a lot happier after our extremely dry summer, but I think some plants are giving up for this year and closing down early. We have had misty mornings with spiders webs everywhere and some autumn tints on some foliage, but that will have to wait for Foliage Day next week.
Many thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting GBBD once more, do pay a visit to see what is blooming round the world.
A beautiful garden!
Love how you captured the rain drops
If I were picking a favorite photo, it would be the Swan Lake dahlia
Happy GBBD!
Lea
Lea’s Menagerie
Nice to hear from you Lea, so glad you like the rain soaked flowers! This is the first time I have grown dahlias for a long time and they have all grown quite well, I think next year they will get a handful if compost when planting them!
I love the rudbeckia/aster combo and will definitely have to try that. Rosa Bonica sounds like a must have. I am missing Colchicum too.
Your garden gives me so much food for thought.. and it still has so much colour, glorious Pauline!
Jessica, I’m going to repeat the rudbeckia/aster combination further down the border as I like it so much. This is the border that I was starting to change last year and it still needs a bit more adding to it, hopefully by next year it should be looking more how I want it.
R. Bonica is a super rose, the only fault that I can see is that it has no perfume!
The wind and rain have certainly arrived now, masses of leaves are coming down, hope you and your garden are not being hit too badly, batten down the hatches!
Wow! I would never suspect you had a dry summer. Your flowers have responded well to your recent rain! All are lovely. I particularly admire the white blooming hydrangea with the berry-laden contoneaster in the background. Spectacular!
The rain was needed Deb, and the garden responded, thank goodness! The Hydrangea has flowered for such a long time, putting out new blooms all the time, even though it hasn’t been given any extra water.
Pauline – wonderful blooms! I’m loving the aster and rudbeckia combo. I might just copy this in future if you don’t mind!
Saw the forecast yesterday, so took some pictures late in the afternoon. Thank goodness I did – the wind has really done some of them in!
Happy Bloom Day!
I don’t mind at all Angie, feel free! I will be repeating it further down the border I think. The wind has brought lots of the leaves down, it all looks very autumnal.
We seem to have escaped much of the rain this week, despite the general dampness, and it was about 6ish tonight that the vague drizzle was exchanged for a proper downpour but even that was brief. Like you though it has been windy today and I hope your garden hasn’t suffered any damage. You have some beautiful blooms – I still have no dahlias to show 🙁 That Rosa bonica is gorgeous – such a lovely shade – and your clump of sedums look good. I have decided to give mine a bit of TLC to bulk them up a bit as they are neither here nor there at the moment. Thanks for sharing.
The rain today wasn’t as bad as “they” made out Cathy, but the wind has covered the grass with leaves, its leaf sweeping time already but no serious damage, thank goodness. This clump of sedums put themselves in deep shade, it doesn’t seem to bother them at all.
Wow, what a bunch of lovelies! And I love the sound of fall happenings. It will be sometime before that happens here. We are still in the 90’s every day. Enjoy your beauties! Blessings, Natalie
Natalie, I can’t believe you still have such warm temperatures! We will enjoy our beautiful flowers, everyone is so precious at this time of year.
I enjoyed your September blooms Pauline. ‘Bonica’ certainly seems to be a good doer so I suppose if she lasts that long you can forgive her for not wearing perfume. I hope that the weather has not caused much damage today. We’ve been to Shropshire for the weekend returning early this afternoon just before the heavens opened and the wind really got up.
The weather hasn’t been too bad Anna, just lots of leaves on the lawn, but I will check round tomorrow, just to make sure. I’m glad you got safely home before the weather turned nasty.
Bonica is a good rose, I bought one plant and made hardwood cuttings to get 5 more, they flower for such a long time, far longer than the other roses here.
I was going to compliment you on your fuchsia, but in fairness I really enjoyed all of your photos. Your specimens in your garden are in such great shape. The stress that fall brings is starting to show in my garden so this is not the best time to take photos.
Many thanks Charlie, it was the unusual heat in the summer that caused stress here, it’s much better now that we have had our usual rain! Autumn brings its own beauty with all the different colours in the leaves, as if the garden is saving the best till last.
Always a treat to see what’s blooming in your garden. The Rosa Bonica looks gorgeous and the rain drips adds charm.
I agree Susie, rain drops can be very beautiful! Bonica certainly is a good rose, she just doesn’t know when to stop flowering.
Hi Pauline,
Still looking rather lovely in your garden, it’s far too easy (imo) to see only the bad things at this time of year and I know I’m guilty of that too. Just wish it was a little warmer… brrrrrr. After melting in 30 degree heat in Portugal, it sure is a shock to the system to be back.
I love your Cyclamen, definitely a worthwhile addition to the garden at this time of year! Also loving ‘Chat Noir’, and I really would have that or the similar ‘Arabian Nights’, just Dahlias don’t like me and I don’t have the patience to ensure they survive winter 🙂 ah yes, that reminds me – I’d planned to visit Chatsworth before going back to work next week and they have a massive display of Dahlias… well they did last time I went.
Hi Liz, it’s good to hear that you were nice and warm in Portugal! The wind has certainly been blowing through the garden today, quite wild at times!
Dahlias certainly keep the flowers coming in the border we have by the field, I think they will have to be hidden in the conservatory over the winter, it is kept just frost free, hopefully that will be ok for them.
I will look forward to seeing Chatsworth’s dahlias- hope you get there!
What a wonderful array of flowers and so much colour! I really like that Fuchsia Delta Sarah with the raindrops on it. 😀
Thanks Cathy, the colour is more spread around the garden now and not concentrated in any one area, I’ve had to go searching to find them. The F. Delta Sarah has such large flamboyant flowers for a hardy fuchsia, usually they are smaller and thinner if the plant is hardy. I cut it down right to the ground each spring and just hope that it survives each winter.
Love the Dahlias….
Thanks Janie for the comment and for stopping by and leaving a message.
How lovely to see so many pinks in your autumn garden Pauline, so many gardens seem to have only oranges and yellows which aren’t my favourites in autumn although I like them during spring and summer (strange). I had a taste of the cold weather as we returned home on Monday, I have to admit I’m enjoying the sunshine here, probably more than I would have done if I hadn’t experienced the cold weekend in Kent.
It has been rather chilly lately, but next week the warm weather is coming back, or so they tell us! We have a fair amount of yellow out at the moment, but no orange, maybe just as well as pink wouldn’t look very good with it.