Illuminations

Some Flowers glowing yesterday in the hanging basket.The red Busy Lizzie looks like a stained glass window.The Salmon coloured Geranium flowers behind.
I can see this late flowering combination from the kitchen window.
The afternoon light illuminated the flowers and made me go back outside with the camera.
Its the last day of September today, how its flown by this year in the garden and allotment.

Butterfly And Birds

A photo I took the other day on my mobile phone of the most gorgeous colourful butterfly. They have not had the best of years with the wet weather over the past few months.
This one was resting a while on the long causeway hedgerow. He is the most colourful I have seen. Most of the butterflys in the garden have been Cabbage whites, and the Speckled Wood ones..
I'm back at work tomorrow and Wednesday so not much time for gardening.
Today I saw a Starling hanging off the fat ball feeder for a good fifteen minutes. The house sparrows did not even try to scare him off. That the first time I have seen a Starling in my garden since I moved in last November. He must have watched the Blue Tits and House Sparrows and thought they were onto a good thing.
I tried to get a photo today of the Robin, but he proved elusive. Next days off I will try to photograph the garden birds. I thought they had given up visiting but they returned in numbers today.
I will do a Butterfly post too with the few that I have been able to photograph this summer.

Colours And Cookies

The smallest Geranium flowers in the windowbox by the kitchen window. They seem to have got smaller as the season has gone on. Their magenta pink companion Gerenium has huge flowers. These are half the size and splashed with white and pink.
The petals on the right hand flower are showing signs of age. the hairy bud to the left is awaiting to open and flower.
One flowering plant that reminds me of Autumn in the garden.
I cooked a stufed Marrow today for the first time, then made home made Cookies for afterwards.
Autumn is about using the produce you have grown, and filling the kitchen with the warm scent of home cooking.
I have been relaxing today and enjoying the quietness of a Sunday.

Monkey Flower

Todays photo is a flower from Cats garden, the warm fiery tones of the Mimulus or Monkey Flower.I love the hairy throat that leads up to the pollen in the tubular petals.It almost has three green eyes in the top of the flower.
These have regrown from last year, maybe they self seeded or are perennials.The colours of these plants are usually striking orange, yellow, or red.
It was sunny today with no rain.I have not written that line very often over the past few months.
I brought the Chilli plants indoors today and harvested a good twenty chillis from various plants.They will live in the spare room over the winter.Most still have fruit developing on them too.Any one got some good chilli recipies?
Tomorrow is forecast cloudy but no rain, a perfect day to go to the allotment, to tidy up, dig the new Strawberry bed, and prepare for planting Broadbeans, and winter Cabbages..

Autumn Web Work

Autumn brings out many spiders in the garden who construct intricate webs between plants attempting to catch some juicy flys.
This spider loves the Rose Lady Emma Hamilton in the left border.The web is huge compared to the spider.
I'm back at work today, so more longer posts over the weekend.

Small Things

I am on a day off today and have slept far too much. I just had a quick look outside at the three Roses that are flowering again.
The photo is of the Dahlia with a Hoverfly landed on it. I enjoy photographing the small things in the garden, and occasionally the overall photo.
The bird food has been stocked up, but the only one I have seen is a Robin. A new, skinny one that comes and sits on the fence posts with head cocked, singing at me.
The darkness is drawing in now. I think my Chilli plants need to come indoors to overwinter. I have a lot of Chillis growing on the plants. I need to find a good Chilli relish recipie to go onto beefburgers in rolls, or with hot dogs.
The plants are looking tired now, like I feel after too many long days at work. The garden helps relax me and make me calmer. A good garden combines lots of pleasing small things, to make a perfect whole place.

Autumn Signs

I read on another blog that it is now officially autumn here in the UK. The nights are drawing in earlier and the sun comes up later.
The temperature is now around fifteen degrees centigrade during the day and in single figures at night.
The leaves of tree's are starting to change colour and drop. Hints of red and yellow are appearing in the Horse Chestnuts that I walk past on the way to work.
Conkers are falling to the ground, although I have not seen loads, so whether school children still pick them up to drill a hole in, and thread it on a shoe lace ready to do conker battles I dont know.
The Blackberrys are ripening.The other day I made two Apple and Blackberry pies with fruit from the allotment. I wanted to photograph the beautiful flower of the very spiny Bramble which surrounds the allotment plots. This bee flew into my shot at exactly the right time.
I watched gardeners world, and saw Carol Klein collecting Aconite seeds. I have the dried pods forming in the garden so I must do that....I have already collected some seeds from the Butterfly flowers ready to sow in the spring. Collecting seeds and storing them in envelopes with writing on them is a nice job, and another reminder of Autumn.
Another autumn job will be to go to the plant nurserys and buy some winter bedding plants. I will be planting my spring bulbs soon, then putting the Pansys, Violas, and Wallflowers out above the bulbs.
Gardening makes you learn how the seasons effects the way the garden looks, and how the seasons relate to the life cycle of plants and flowers. There is a beauty to this annual cycle that invigorates us, and makes us smile, no matter how many of them we have seen before.
For me its Blackberrys and Leaves that are the signs of Autumn is arriving.

Ruby

The Streptocarpus Ruby in flower has gorgeous bright magenta flowers, with dark and light stripes in the throat of the flower.
The kitchen windowsill has four of my Streptocarpus in flower.There are four not in flower too.
Every time I go to a flowershow I try to buy a new plant with different coloured flowers.Then try to grow them on the windowsill to try to induce them to flower.
The plant with the most flowers is the Happy Snappy.
I went to the allotment today for a few hours and cut the last part of the grass, cleared the borage from the bed, and marked out a Strawberry bed ready for planting.
It started raining so I was only there a few hours.The black tarpaulin has gone back so I need to develop the area behind the Runner Beans before the weeds grow back.

Music For A Rose

A sunday morning post with a You Tube video embedded below this lovely Rose.
The Rose is the climber Iceberg, and is a beautiful pink blush colour at the moment.The plant is healthy with green leaves and no blackspot. This is the healthiest Rose in the garden by a mile...
Now from my lateral thinking Iceberg makes me think of the Titanic. The two are linked in my mind after seeing "A Night To Remember" and of course "Titanic".
An unanswered question was what music did the band play just before the Titanic sank?
Even Snopes could not confirm it, as all the band members perished in the North Atlantic.
http://www.snopes.com/history/titanic/lastsong.asp
I like to think they performed the hymn "Nearer My God To Thee" so thats the lateral thinking music video im posting with the Rose. Enjoy your Sunday wherever you are and hope you enjoy the orchestral music as much as I do.

Walnut Tree's And Asclepias

I read yesterday that scientists monitoring Walnut Groves in California, found the Trees produce Aspirin when they are stressed.
I thought a perfect photo would be this Asclepius, the greek demigod of healing. It is in flower in my garden now.
This has bloomed beautifully after being really sickly looking in March after I first bought it.
Its also called Milkweed. I love the chunky yellow flowers and reflexive orange petals that curl downwards.The flower buds look like peanut M & M's....
When I'm stressed I find standing in the garden and just looking eases the daily stresses and strains.
Watching the leaves of the plants and the colourful flowers nodding in the wind. The insects buzz around, and sometimes the birds chatter from high up in the privet hedge.
I'm still trying to find the PBS documentary called "the healing gardens of New York" which I got emailed about a year ago or more. Is it available online anywhere to watch?
The BBC's article said the aspirin compound is released in the air when the plant is stressed, helping the plants immune system. Presumably it makes the other plants ready for pest attack by warning them.
Pulling weeds out, and digging the soil takes your mind off life. You cannot hold onto stress or anger. Just look at the flowers, the intricate structure of the plants, the busyness of the insects doing what comes natural to them.
I do believe gardens are great for teaching and healing. The original article is here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7624521.stm

September Harvest

I took a photo yesterday of some of the vegetables I have grown, and that are in my kitchen (or freezer) now. Its not all of them but shows a selection..
From left to right there are Nadine Potatoes, Red Baron Onions, white Stuttgarter Onions, Runner Beans, Courgettes/Marrows, Excel Cabbages, two small Gem Squash, King Edward Potatoes, Tomatos, and the lone Radish not chewed by the fieldmice at the allotment.
By the time the winter comes I will hopefully be able to reflect back on 9 months up at the allotment, and prepare for 2009!
This first year has given me some starter knowledge so I can experiment and try new ways of growing out. I have tried to apply gardening techniques to the allotment, and in the main it has been quite successfull.
I have seed catalogues from the big three of Marshalls, Mcfothergills, and Robinsons to plan next years growing season. My next idea will be to try and have something to harvest every month of the year.
What is your best source of knowledge for growing fruit and vegetables? Do you source it on the internet, through books, or gardening clubs?
I love gardening books, and will be reading them this winter, when the garden is asleep.

Strawberry Flower

A Strawberry flower from the plot yesterday. All the plants need diggin up and moving into the as yet undug Strawberry bed.I need to move the black tarpaulin and clear the rubbish off it.
I had some Strawberrys this year, but hopefully the second year plants will be much more productive.
I have a planter full of about fourteen plants, plus ten plants propogated from the runners from this years plants.
I did not think Strawbery plants would flower in September.
It is quite ornate the flower, with the glowing centre of green and yellow.
Roll on next July for Strawberrys and cream.

Wild Day At The Plot

I went upto the allotment today to try and cut the grass and do some harvesting.The couch grass, other grasses, dock leaves, thistles, creeping buttercups, and nettles had grown all around the beds flopping over onto them. I hacked away for a few hours, and then dug up my second lot of Potatoes King Edwards, with their pink blush on the potatoe skin. (I dug up the Nadines last time but got confused). I had to pull up all the red and white Onions as all the foliage had rotted away in the rain. The damp conditions had begun to rot a few of the Onions, and the slugs had chomped a few Potatoes.
I usually hear the noise of a grasshopper or cricket in the long grasses, rubbing his legs to chirrup at me, like an insect violinist. I photographed a wild Evening Primrose when one jumped in front of my feet...

He moved around the grass a bit, before hopping off into the wild grass areas. He let me photograph him a few times before dissapearing.

These Speedwell flowers are so small (about the size of my little fingernail) but so delicate, and beautifully coloured like an oil painting with radiating blue stripes on a pale blue background, and a white centre. These are wildlfowers or weeds depending on how you look at them.

A dainty Dandelion type flower. The structure is so neat with the wing shaped petals, and stamen protuding from the centre. I was on my knees photographing this.
Wildlife, and wild flowers up at the allotment. Because it is locked it is like a mini wildlife sanctuary for birds, foxes, mice, and insects. Butterflys fly around landing on nectar rich plants that the allotment people have planted. Birds sing and feed off the dug soil.
I need to go up a lot more to keep on top of the weeds and grass. As soon as you are away the wildness claws a little piece of your plot back. I'm a perfectionist, and hate weed infested beds. It was a nightmare today how much tangle had spread along the whole plot.
I cooked a roast dinner tonight with my potatoes, runner beans, and cabbage. Eating it made me smile after a tough day cutting grass and pulling weeds up. Cooking the veg makes all the hard work worth it. My plot was total wilderness, so the years harvest has been amazing for a first timer..
There is winter veg to plant soon, and beds to revamp across the winter. Still growing on at the allotment is Brussel Sprouts (forming little baby ones now on my plants), Leeks, Radishes( that are being chewed at ground level by fieldmice i think), Runner Beans, Carrots, and Parsnips.
The Courgette plants have keeled over to powdery mildew, because of the rain.
It was a productive day, but now my muscles hurt..

Double Choc

A tale of two Chocolate named plants flowering yesterday. I looked for inspiration to take some photos to blog and found my double choc plants.
These petite pale lilac flowers are on the leaves of the Chocolate Mint plant, bought from Harlow Carr this year. They have an intense minty smell, used for desserts it says on the label. I think a chocolate mint ice cream would be heaven with the chopped leaves of this plant. It has been easy to propogate too. Next years plant stall will have a lot of these for sale!

The Mexican Chocolate Cosmos that smells of the yummiest Belgian Chocolates. A garden is better when it touches all the senses. Sight, smell, touch, and sound.These flowers have continued for months and the fresh bloomed flowers have the most moorish chocolate smell, that you keep going back to sniff them (and then lick your lips remembering chocolates past).
These need to over winter indoors before being returned to the garden in spring. They are a perennial.
I am a chocolate lover, so i love both these plants for their looks, and scents.

Old And New

Old and new is the theme of todays post.The flower is the second flush of the Butterfly flowers or Poor Mans Orchids.They looked spindly and collapsed so I moved the pot to the back of the garden.They have revived and are blooming with the white and the lilac coloured flowers.The plants nearly ended up in the compost bin.I thought I would share the old flower blooming again.I want to buy some more varieties of this next year.It has been a really good flower grown from match book seeds.


The new is that Gardeners World had Toby Buckland on it last night as the new presenter of the long running BBC gardening program.He follows such legends as Geoff Hamilton, Alan Titchmarsh, and of course Monty Don.I watched on the BBC i player the episode from last friday.
He seems quite amiable, with a lot of passion, and a keenness to get back to basics showing summer dead heading, and cutting grass around a tree and making a straight edge of a border.
The You Tube video is the current theme music, that reminds me of Friday nights, and a program to get you back into the garden. After seeing them at Berryfields I ventured back into my garden.
We'll see if Toby Buckland can become a legend like the famous gardeners before him.The lead presenter is as much a part of British gardening, as allotments, vegetable growing, rain throughout the summer, slugs, snails, and flower shows like Chelsea and Tatton Park.
The music is very atmospheric for flowers and bee's, the noise and colour of an English garden.

Todays Garden Trio

Three flowers in bloom today that I have photographed this morning. The first is a plant I pulled from the right border.I had sowed Chamomile seeds and when the airy ferny green stems appeared thats what I thought it was. It is however scentless Mayweed I think.The Chamomile flowers and leaves smell like apple when brushed.This handsome flower has no scent, but its attractive to the beetle on the flower.

My first Evening Primrose Flower looks like it is dripping gold inside the cup like flower.It has grown tall the plant and flopped over the Chocolate Cosmos.It has a light fragrance, and normally smells better in the evening.I guess the overcast, rainy day has foxed it into thinking its evening.The flower is a beautiful golden yellow, like summer sunshine.

The last flower from today is the Sedum.It has happily sat through summer before deciding to flower now.It is apparently a bee magnet for its star like white flowers.It needs to grow bigger to be more spectacular, as it is overhung by flopping Rosemary, Lavender, and Sunflowers.Once I have tidied up the floppy neighbours its gorgeous leaves and flowers will be easier to see.
The garden is still full of colour, but seperate splashes of it, whereas in summer the colour flows around the garden like a rainbow river. The green of Chelsea is predominating as things start to wind down in the garden.

Summer Jobs

I got up late today, then spent my time cleaning the house and the garden. I kept switching between the two.
All my Tomato plants had died back and the remnants of the Tomatos had blossom end rot from the wet late summer.
I took 140 litres of compost out from the compost bin yesterday, to make room for the late summer clean up.The garden needs sprucing up ready for spring bulbs to be planted.
I have the Tulips from this year, saved and dried in the outhouse ready to be planted again.
I bought a lot of Spring bulbs at the Autumn flower show too. Gardening is cyclical, and the early nights are making me think of spring.
The Chilli plants are still outside. Im watching the weather for the first frost date, and they will come back inside to over winter.
I discovered the outhouse has been leaking water.The summer bulbs i got from Hampsons free have been soaked and were rotting. I have them spread out on the kitchen surface trying in vain to dry them for next year. Fifty Gladiolus, Eight Lilliums, and one Veronica..
I need to buy some more bird food tomorrow. They have eaten me out of house and home this year. I will look forward to their winter visits when the garden is sleeping and dreaming of springtime.
The compost will go on the garden borders and into the allotment beds. I still need to dig up my Nadine Potatoes from the earth and pick more Runner Beans. My kitchen knife is poised to cut the grass tomorrow up at the plot.
I made a Tomato soup tonight with tomatos, parsley, and carrots from the garden, and an onion from the allotment. This year has been educational for me about growing vegetables and soft fruit.
I have been cleaning the garden up slowly, a few jobs at a time. When its all done I will take a photo of the end of summer garden.There is always something to do outside whatever the season.
The photo is an unknown pink flower from the flower show....

Technicolour Flower Show

The Autumn Flower show signals the end of the British Summer. The usual plant nurserys and growers had set up their displays for the last time this year. It is a profusion of colours, scents, and flowers. I was restrained in only taking fifty photos, but nights before i went did not help. The first photo is of a gorgeous two tone Carnation, almost like a tudor rose.The floral exhibits had people growing various flowers for display and judging. Row upon row of tables covered in Carnations, Dahlias, Chysanthenums,Roses, and Fuschias.

The Dave Stead Orchid display was beautiful.There were nice range of Orchids in flower, and not the hideous ones with fluorescent pink and orange flowers. I think the mix of colours made them glow like jewels...

Lilys which set Cats Asthma off. I love these flowers, and the scent was like being whalloped with a frying pan. You could smell it from twenty feet away.

Some of the Carnations in the competition in the Floral exhibits part of the show ground. I wish I knew how they judged this, but Rosettes were left displayed, and judges comments left below the individual vases.

Chrysanthenums like cheerleaders pom poms. The flowers on these were massive.These bouncy, colourful flowers are not seen much in gardens, but are always represented at this flower show.I love the technicolour on display here.

Dahlias, the Punk Rock stars of the flower world. I have about six varieties growing in the garden, and the sheer amount of varieties here is amazing. Again the flowers were in states of perfection, not a slug or snail in sight!

I love the pink colours of these. The display of five flowers of the same variety appealed to me. Soft pastel pink with yellow centres.I want some like these for my garden.

There was a large section devoted to flower arranging, with different themes and instructions. I photographed this display but most of them left me cold. Its nice if you like it I guess. I think it has wandered too far from gardening, to abstract art almost.

The beautiful Roses were almost all perfect. Not a bit of blackspot or rust anywhere. I loved these yellow Roses.They smelt lovely too.The yellow Rose is on my shopping list for winter.

This Rose was displayed on a black background within a picture frame.The Rose is apricot and salmon coloured and glows like a watercolour painting. It was real however. Very Beauty and the Beast...

There were two simultaneous Vegetable championships. The vegetables were massive and not like my allotment grown vegetables. These are like the models of the veg world, but totally alien to most normal growers. Carrots that were between five to six feet long. I wandered if they grew these in a deep dustbin?Do these get eaten after they have been displayed?Love to know from any competitive growers out there...

Robinsons were back displaying their own vegetables grown at their nurserys.Their display is always like a Rembrandt still life. They really do make vegetables look like art, in their different shapes, and colours.

A slipper Orchid captured me with its alien like flower. I love the spots and stripes. I am an Orchid fan. I bought some bark mix to repot my Phalaenopsis which has not flowered still.These displays motivate you and make you want to try harder to induce your own Orchids to flower. I may cheat and buy one in flower to have something to photograph. A new Orchid might help shame the Phale into flowering.

The last photo is of a Phalanopsis hybrid in flower.The colours and patterns are spectacular, and make a good end to my mini tour of the Harrogate Autumn flower show.The next show is seven months away now. Autumn and Winter must pass before I can see this many displays of flowers and plants.
I bought some Tulip Bulbs (double pink blooms called Angelique, and Dark Burgundy ones called Uncle Tom), Some Iris Reticulata bulbs (dark blue flowers), an Amaryllis bulb, a Madonna Lily bulb, some Alium Gladiator bulbs, and two new Streptocarpus plants called Midnight Flame (crimson red) and Chorus Line (white with purple stripes).
There was a huge range of garden sundrys, as well as food, jewellry, clothes, etc. I came back with a beautiful frog windchime made of stained glass for the kitchen window (thanks Cat), a buddah figure made of coal, and a fridge magnet that says "all the coffee in Columbia wont make me a morning person".
It was a great day, and a good flower show. We usually go on the last day of these shows, so it made a change to go on the opening day of the show.
I hope its enjoyable reading and seeing the photos.

From The Show

Some fiery Orchid flowers from yesterdays Autumn flower show.I will do a longer post about it tomorrow after work.
The Orchids were lovely yesterday.These belonged to the Dave Stead Orchids display against a black back drop.
The day was grey but it never rained untill 4pm.The crowds were there for the opening day of the 2008 autumn flower show.
I was restrained (or tired from nights) and only took about fifty photos.
It was a nice end to the floral show year, and I picked up the leaflet for the Spring Flower show in seven months time.
I think the Orchid was a Cymbedium.I do love these plants.I bought some Orchid bark mix to repot my Phalaenopsis which has been struggling.
I want it to flower like these ones!

Autumn Flower Show

Today I'm going with Hils to the Autumn flower show at Harrogate.The last flower show of the year.I will buy a few bulbs and plants I think today.
The photo is of another Dahlia in flower in the garden.I have forgotten the name...
I went to the allotment yesterday and picked Runner Beans, cut two Cabbages off, Courgettes, and Radishes that have grown quickly.
The grass was long and the weeds sprung up after all the rain.I need to harvest more and start to clear the beds ready for winter digging.
I got a kitchen garden catalogue from Marshalls so I can read that to plan next years allotment crops.
The seasons keep changing, and the leaves on tree's are turning yellowish.I found my first Conker on the ground yesterday by a Horse Chestnut tree.
the camera batterys have been recharged ready for the Autumn flower show.Has it really been a year since I was at it last?

Raindrops

The Geranium flowers this morning after yet more heavy rain. It has been the wettest August in years and they are forecasting an even wetter September!
I am on nights so my gardening is limited to looking around before I goto bed.
The Dahlias and Geraniums are flowering madly still, and give me colour on grey wet days.
heres hoping for some sunshine once I finish nights, and the autumn flower show on Friday.

Jennifer Anne

Todays photo is of the Fuschia Jennifer Anne growing in my hanging basket. The flowers have the look of prawns i think with two tone flowers.
Whilst the Lobelia and Petunias have died back the Fuschias continue to flower.I can see why people are attracted to collect Fuschias and grow hundreds of varieties with cute names.
I am going on Friday to the Autumn flower show in Harrogate, run by the Northern Horticulture Society.Its the last flower show of the year.
Expect some Fuschias photos as the British Fuschia Society will be setting up a display of them.

Candy Pink

The Fuschia Candy Pink in flower finally after a year of waiting.I bought some plug plants last year, but most succumbed to the damp in the old flat.
One plant survived and this spring I took several cuttings and placed them around the parent plant.
It is thriving now inside the kitchen in a white ceramic pot. There are masses of flower buds hanging down.
They are delicate like pink ballet dancers, not like the double bloomed Fuschias like Winston Churchill and Blackie...
My patience has been rewarded, and with luck it will grow even bigger and have more flowers next year.
I will try to overwinter the Fuschias in the cold frame.That is in the cellar waiting for the first frosts of the winter.

Soggy Sunday

The rain finally abated for a bit today.The ground has been so saturated in places that local flooding occured up and down the country.
The photo is of a Calendula next to my garden plaque with the Sunflower on it.
All my tall plants are at funny angles now after the rain battered them.
It has been a perfect lazy sunday.The garden has some colour left in it.
Time soon to start planning the spring flowers..

Blue Sailor

The mystery flower growing in the right border has been identified as Chichory.
Famous here for being a coffee sunstitute during the second world war.
I love the blue petals that taper off, and the blue and white stamen in the centre of the flower.
There are plenty more buds on this plant still ready to flower, which is good as the heavy rain destroys them in a day.
The mystery is how it grew there? Do the birds have a caffeine addiction and have taken the seeds from the plant.

I love coffee so its quite a cool plant with traditional medicinal and culinary uses.
Thank goodness for keen eyed garden bloggers who love mystery plants.
This plant is colloquially called Blue Sailor or Coffee Weed, and is a perennial herb that grows on roadsides normally.
The coffee substitute is popular in New Orleans, one of my favourite American cities.
The wikipedia link is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicory
Am back at work today, hope it is dryer after heavy rainfall caused flooding and disruption in Britain yesterday.

Hot Pink

Still blooming around the garden are the Geraniums.I bought plug plants from the nursery and grew them on over the summer.
This one has hot pink flowers which are even brighter in reality than the photo.
With other flowering plants running out of steam the Geraniums keep on flowering.

Garden Star

The Oriental Stargazer Lily yesterday opening slightly. It was about two weeks after the indoor one had flowered.

It has the look of a brightly coloured pink and white Star, growing against the green of the borders and pots. It has not released its pollen yet so it is not quite fragrant. It has a deeply earthy smell the Stargazer Lily. I love how it looks and the name of it. Good looks and scented, no wander this is still one of the best selling Lilys in the world.
It continues to rain, and only the end of the day brought a little consolation sunshine. I have added the new blogger tool things followers on the side bar.
I could not work out how many people have this blog bookmarked, or whether a feed picks up my posts and directs them to peoples computer.
I need to get to the allotment for some harvesting. The rain has deterred me, and low energy levels havnt helped. The garden compost will go to the plot to make the soil better for next year. My 220 litre compost bin is full to the top and needs some taking out.
The allotment has two full bins too. All three bins will contribute to improving the soil and hopefully to grow lots more vegetables.
Maybe next year I will have a cut flower bed full of Dahlias, Carnations, and Chrysanthemums.
Oriental Stargazers and Casablanca Lilys will retunr to the garden.

Three Big Birds

The Rose Lady Emma Hamilton in flower yesterday before the rain fell down and knocked it downwards.
The new growth has another ten flower buds on it.It has been the most flowered Rose of all six that I have in the garden.
It rained heavily today and between rain showers I tidied up the garden a bit.
Removed grasses and annual weeds that were growing between my plants.
I watched the garden birds feeding, and have just seen three unusal birds, like blackbirds but with lighter heads..
I will look through my RSPB book to see if i can identify them.They were hopping around the patio and into the borders.
I disturbed one earlier and heard frantic flapping as it went through the Viburnum Tinus. I wander if this was one of my heavier birds.
The house sparrows and blue tits were feeding most of the day when i sat watching.they are pure therapy watching them in the garden.

Blue Flower Mystery

This is the mystery plant that has flowered in the right border. I sowed Cornflowers and California Poppies and this has grown.
The stem has multiple flower buds along its length with a rosette of leaves under the flower.
It has rained heavily again today soaking the two new flowers, making them soggy and crumpled.
I will photograph it again when one opens in dry conditions. The stamen are so delicate with blue filaments in the centre of them.
I read today that August 2008 was the least sunny month of the recent records for hours of Sunshine.
It seems to have rained since July virtually every week, and has been cloudy for months. The hot weather of April and June are distant memories now. The Butterflys this year have been washed out, and I have only photographed a few in my garden despite the nectar rich plants.
Does anyone recognise my mystery blue flower?