When I started thinking about photographs to take for this weeks offering, I thought I wouldn’t find much at all after the weather that we have had this week. Going back to last Sunday was like living inside a waterfall! I honestly have never known such rain, almost of biblical proportions. The Exeter area even made the national news with the dreadful flooding, our weatherman told us that we had a whole months rain in just over and hour! Thank goodness I didn’t have anything quite that bad, but the water was lapping at the back door, just as well I have quite a high step up, gutters and drains just couldn’t cope. In spite of all this, plants survived the storm and the gales that followed, yes, lots of leaves to sweep up, so my six are as follows………..
No 1
At last my Sedum, yes, they will always be Sedum to me, has coloured up to the usual pink, attracting lots of insects, except when you want to photograph them!
No 2.
I got quite a surprise when I spotted these buds popping up between my peonies. I don’t remember planting them, but must have done, but I’m sure I would never have planted just 2, so where are the others? I’m assuming they must be Nerine bowdenii, but have no recollection of buying them as I wouldn’t have thought they would like my heavy soil.
No 3.
My first conker of 2023 and it is a lovely big one! This is the only one I have found so far, haven’t checked the woodland yet, who knows what I’ll find there apart from lots of little branches, twigs and leaves brought down in the storm.
No 4.
My black leaved elder has decided that it doesn’t want to die, it is determined to live and is sprouting all over the stump. I was rather disappointed when Joseph couldn’t remove the stump, but maybe I can just coppice it each year instead. I can let it flower and then coppice it straight away, I’ll see how it goes, maybe just cut half the stems down each year and then I can get berries too for the birds?
No 5.
Viburnum plicatum Mariesii is flowering again, as it has always done, in the autumn. The leaves are also just starting to change colour, soon they will be deep purple and will contrast with the white flowers.
No 6.
Time to start thinking about bringing plants into the conservatory for the winter. Aeonium schwarzkopf has produced massive heads this summer, so must be rescued before the first frost in a few weeks time. The centre always goes green when the light levels drop, a sure sign that it is time to bring it inside.
Those are my six for this week, a very mixed bag but at least I managed to find six even though the garden has been drenched and blown every whichway! The Colchicums which were looking so pretty last week have been rather battered, along with a lot of other plants. Never mind, time to cut a lot back anyway, once that is done, it will all look a lot better. Thanks again to Jim at Garden Ruminations for hosting, where you can see gardens from around the world.
May we never lose the excitement of finding a conker, my OH brought me one home from his walk the other day. Love your viburnum, what a beauty! And good for you for sticking to “sedum”.
When the building next door to me was the village school Gill, I had little boys knocking on my door asking if they could look for conkers in the woodland. No more I’m afraid as the school is now a dwelling and my grandsons are just finishing university so no little boys to give them to. I’m definitely too old to start learning new names, that’s my excuse!
I know nothing about black elder but coppicing it each week seems like a good idea to me, too.
Aeoniums are fascinating and I will buy one eventually, so that’s a really useful tip about the green centre!
Of course, I mean each year not each week!
I hoped you meant each year Helen, couldn’t be doing it each week! The aeonium has done really well this year, the heads are far bigger than usual, not sure why.
Superb aeonium. I also brought mine in the gh this morning because the temperatures at night are starting to get cold. The black colours of this schwarzkopf variety are really amazing, mine is another variety and has more burgundy colors.
Glad you like it Fred, mine are very small compared to all the varieties that we had seen growing outside on the Scilly Isles off the coast of Cornwall. There they grow to large shrubs and have the most beautiful yellow flowers, contrasting with the dark purple leaves.
The sight of a fresh conker always takes me back to childhood and the joys of conker fights! Such a great colour when freshly revealed from their casing.
Oh yes Graeme, shiny mahogany colour, nothing like it! Did you soak yours in vinegar to harden it, my brother did?!
I’ve no nerines showing yet but I do have Amarines, albeit in the tunnel, that look very much like that, and those would be more likely to be planted in small numbers.
You could drill holes in the elder stump and kill it with herbicide; it would rot away quite quickly. Not a very PC suggestion these days admittedly.
I think I’ll give the elder a chance Jim, if it really wants to stay alive, I’ll cut it back next year after flowering and see what happens before reaching for the herbicide, thanks for the suggestion though. I don’t remember planting any Amarines either, I won’t have to wait very long for the buds to open fully, then the mystery will be solved!
I am glad I’m not the only one who sees something coming up, wondering what it is and who could have planted it there lol. The weather really is so unpredictable but it’s good to hear your plants survived the storms. I leave for the UK tomorrow and will spend the week in mid-Wales. Wish me luck with the weather!
I put my lack of memory down to old age Denise, what is your excuse?! I hope you have a good time in Wales this coming week, the weather is still very changeable unfortunately, bring your brolly!
Your plants have done well to survive all that rain. We had a lot of rain here but it was nothing compared to what we saw on tv.
Sedum, yes – some names are getting silly. Yours is way ahead of mine, which is just beginning to open.
I had an elder that I cut right back and my husband insisted that it didn’t need to be dug up. But like yours, it sprouted. It seemed to enjoy being cut back. Eventually, the stump was removed because the task of cutting it back was one I passed on to my husband. 😀
I love your Aeonium!
Thank goodness we didn’t have the mud that others had Catherine, just non stop heavy rain. The elder has a reprieve for now, I do like the flowers and it was my fault that it had grown so tall, I hope I’ll be able to manage it.
Sorry to hear about your torrential rains, we have had that in the last 2 years with the la ninia soaking we had! However this year is a dry one for us, which presents other issues. Love your sedum and your dainty little nerine bud, love autumn bulbs. 😘🌸🌼
I’m ever so glad that we live half way up a hill Sarah and not down in the Exe valley or it might have been very different with the rain! I’m trying to buy more autumn bulbs each year as they seem to be so reliable giving colour at this time of year.
Sounds as if we are getting the same weather here this weekend. Nonstop rain and cooler temperatures, but I think once this storm is past things should get warmer again. Glad we are both on higher ground!
I did take a few plants inside. It’s still early but I turned some of the grow lights on and might as well fill the platform up 🙂
Left over hurricanes keep coming across the Atlantic to us Frank, by the time they reach us they are just storms, but we really could do without them! I agree, half way up a hill is nice and safe! The few plants that have to come in will go into the conservatory which I only heat to +5C and that only gets heat when we have frost forecast which isn’t very often, thank goodness.
Nerines! 😀 I hope you get a picture when they are open as well, since I’ve never managed that feat with any of mine.
Yes, Angela, I will photograph them when the flowers open up, as long as nothing nibbles them in the meantime!
I think I first heard of conkers from your blog Pauline. I looked it up just now, horse chestnut. I’ll have to try to find one. Wonder if kids in the US have such fights? Wasn’t a thing thing where I grew up. That’s funny the little boys used to come ask permission to search for them. I love their shape and color.
Sorry Susie, I should have mention the conkers came from the Horse chestnut or even Aesculus tree! They are very big trees, the same height and spread as our English oaks.My little woodland used to have six of them but 2 have fallen over so now I just have 4 left.
I’m always finding things I haven’t planted. It’s the red squirrels here, they are forever planting acorns, beechnuts and peanuts the neighbours leave out for them. I am still thrilled by the sight of a big shiny conker. The weather was pretty grim here too. Love that sedum.xxx
How are the red squirrels with you Dina, when we lived in Ainsdale we had them regularly but friends since then have told us that most have gone due to squirrel pox, good to hear you still have them. Love conker time, wish my grandsons were still tiny so I could collect them!x