Creeping Crimson

Creeping Crimson!

Overflowing with colour!

Well I did say that there's quite a bit of colour in the garden right now and this Acer is positively glowing! It's like a beacon by the old chimney. Oh, it's an Acer Palmatum Dissectum Atropurpureum.

Perfect Perfume Planning

South facing raised border

Erysimum cheiri

Erysimum cheiri Blood Red

Erysimum cheiri Cloth of Gold

Although we've been enjoying lovely sunny, still and colourful autumn days, we still have to look ahead to spring. It was off down to Keith Bolton's at Heath Nursery, Lower Broadheath for some wallflowers. I came home with 2 colours: 'Cloth of Gold' and 'Blood Red' - all grown in Evesham and traditionally sold in bundles of 10, wrapped in newspaper and tied with string! I came home with 2 scores.  

Once again these have been planted in a raised border so that when in bloom, they'll be exactly at nose height! This is vital nose-worthy strategy ensuring maximum olfactory benefit and, as if that wasn't enough, there's a strategically placed seat opposite! There were enough left to plant up a couple of pots by the back door. It's amazing to think they're actually a genus of the cabbage or mustard family and smell nothing like them!! All these hardy little beauties will take all that winter can throw at them before bursting forth with colour and perfume in spring. If only everything was as easy!

Teetering around & tidying topiary!

Here we have yet another video of Chris blowing away a year's worth of cobwebs and the more recently accumulated clippings out of the Yew topiary which, as usual makes it appear that I do nothing!  In fact, I clipped the the 'reachable' part of the Helter Skelter and the 2 smaller Yews while Chris teetered around on the top of the steps doing the difficult part at the top of the Helter Skelter.  We now have 8 containers of apple sauce in the freezer as a result of last weeks apple picking!

Shades of early autumn.

Cyclmen Coum

Parthenocissus Tricuspidata

A Japanese Acer of unknown providence!

It's looking more and more autumnal as the days shorten and the temperatures cool off. The cyclamen are flowering along the Fernery path and the Acers and Virginia creeper are glowing with colour. We've been lucky enough to enjoy a few perfect sunny autumn days when the air is still and the low light shows off brief autumn colours to their very best. The pots have now all been planted up with bulbs so, hopefully, we have plenty of spring colour to look forward to. As usual, I planted in layers in an effort to prolong displays. Chris isn't a fan of bulbs as he finds the dying leaves far outlast the displays of flowers. I have to say he's right and they look so untidy and unsightly for months after flowering! Planting in containers means that they can easily be moved out of sight after flowering!

A few pots of sleeping bulbs outside the studio!

More Saturday Work

Trimmed topiary

Last of the apple crop

After last week; thank goodness for a dry Saturday! We trimmed the Yew topiary - ie the Helter Skelter and the 2 Pom Poms.  It does take ages but it's only once a year and afterwards Chris blows all the rubbish out of them and we have a HUGE sweep up. We also did some thinning out at the back of the Woodland border, planted out some home grown Aqualegias, a Honeysuckle, some Lilies-of-the-valley and even an Acacia Dealbata - not to mention pruning the big conifer down by the compost heap. We even found time to pick the last of the Bramley apples. Today has been spent, mowing everywhere, hoeing the veg patch and generally tidying up plants which will spend the winter in the greenhouse. So for five minutes, the garden's looking pretty tidy!

Charming Chillies!

This week I 'ave bin mostly ...



...pickin', drying, 'n stringin' chillies!  The moral is: never to rub an itchy nose when handling Apache chillies!!!  Everyone knows you shouldn't but it's so very easy to forget - ahem!

I've been doing this as they ripen, thus you can see both dried and drying fruits. As well as being endlessly useful in the kitchen, they do look quite decorative. Somehow, I don't think we can eat all these and there's more to pick!

Hops - V - Noisy Kitchen Extractor Fans!

Fuggles hops & home dried flowers

Before the clean up!

Last year's home grown hops were looking very sparse, tired and faded. A little late but, at last, I got around to replacing them.  I adore the smell of new hops and this variety is Fuggles (isn't that a great name?!)  This year I went to The Haven, Dilwyn in Herefordshire where a lovely lady helped me choose a bine, carefully wrap in a dust sheet and even carry it out to the car. If you're in need of hops, The Haven is well worth a visit.

Their use in the kitchen is more than just decorative. They absorb cooking odours really well. I know that with an Aga, there are no cooking smells but, a garland of hops has to be nicer than a loudly whirring kitchen extractor fan and, dare I say, 'greener' ?  Well, their colour does fade over the year.

Of course, there were hops E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E!  In my hair, stuck to my clothing all over the floor, the kitchen surfaces, trails of them from the back door and utility room but I just didn't care. I added some home dried Roses, Hydrangeas and Achilleas to fill out one end of the beam and, job done. It was huge fun and an equally HUGE mess. A good clear up followed and, the kitchen is now filled with the scent of hops! In a few days time when the scent fades, I'll spray them with hair lacquer to reduce petal fall but, until then, we're just enjoying them.

A Late Surprise

The surprise silver cup!

The winning basket of produce

It was a bit of a surprise to receive an email saying that I'd won a challenge cup and forgotten to pick it up. The thing is: I was (of course) working in the garden and it was one's Ever Loving Husband who kindly returned to the show - (for the fourth time that day!) to pick up all exhibits and prize cards. I was busy pruning the Wisteria with Chris and a silver cup had never crossed my mind so I didn't stay for the presentation of awards. However, allow me to present the Stoke Bliss Perpetual Silver Challenge cup for a basket of produce! Now then, with what should it be filled???

Midsummer to Midwinter - Dual Use?

Swap summer flowers for baubles.

Imagine snow!

Although I made these in the summer for our Twilight Garden Opening, it occurs to me that they'd be ideal for...........whoops, dare I use the 'C' word so early?

 C-h-r-i-s-t-m-a-s!

I found the pattern in Landscape Magazine and they take about 20 minutes to make. You do need to imagine more wintry surroundings! Maybe hung on a gnarled leafless tree touched by Jack Frost's long cold fingers? Could a monochrome edit will look a tad more wintry.

EARLY BIRDS

A thrush in our old pear tree

The Fieldfares arrived here 2 weeks ago!! Now that's just amazingly early!! They fly in from Scandinavia and Russia and don't usually arrive here until well into October! Why are they so very early this year? Dare I ask: are we to expect a hard winter?? We love snow!

Thrush on the wall

They arrive in big flocks and, as well as enjoying berries, they feast on fallen apples in the orchards that surround us. A flock of 25 or so have been enjoying Sorbus berries in the garden. Like redwings, they are a member of the thrush family and the likeness can easily be seen. The twitterings of these large flocks is a very welcome and distinctive sound.

A fieldfare - not taken by me