Annuals as cut flowers, and update on gardening jobs!

The sweet peas are growing longer and longer stems! Must be all the rain we've been having.

Alright, I admit it I had to measure the longest ...16inches!
Yes I'm a bit bored today

Excellent idea. Dahlias it is?

Thats a good idea! Is it very heavy?
I'll look around and try to test a few different ones out.
Now I've got an excuse

Pot of dwarf Dahlia? They are almost cheap enough to throw away at the end of the season.

namsnanny

I’ve got one of those long poled secateurs. It is invaluable and makes life much easier. In fact I go around the garden with it snipping at all sorts of levels - saves bending.
I’ve cut the Delphiniums down completely and they now need feeding. Then I’ll see what happens.
Actually have a gap now where the Delphs were. Looking for a late summer flowerer.
Any excuse?

still searching for the name of the moth.

I hope your Delphiniums do flower again Wwmk2. I only have one or two because of the slugs and snail, but they are still flowering.
I've still the rambler to cut back. Not that I can do it. I'm thinking of getting someone in to do it, as one of them is such a thug, its over 12ft tall!

Yes lemongrove thats right, Surfinias, with Lysmachia. A great combo, as they are both thug-ish, so fill out baskets quickly and cope well together.

Also....are those just surfinias? Wonderful colour, they almost glow.

Lovely moth nams no idea what it is though.
There are lots of white marble butterflies about just now, and they are speedy little things.A few gorgeous red/ terracotta ones around too, but they rarely give you time to identify them.?

Yes I know Wwmark"!! I took your advice and googled, and there are more than I every thought.
Even those that look similar, have enough differences to confuse me when I'm trying to identify it.

I'm not sure but I think we had a red admiral butterfly on the Verbena plants. It was too quick for me to take a picture!

Oh no I’ve just seen the lines so not that!

Slant lined Moth or

Hants Moth.

There are so many!

Actually google white moth.

Is it a White Spring Moth?

There some absolute beauties.

I’ve never seen such an unusual shaped moth either. It is lovely.

Are we ever going to get rid of this wind. I have the heater on in the conservatory sat having my morning cup of tea. It’s horrible out there.

I’ll try and find out what it is I have some books on moths.

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Cold tonight. We've actually put the heating on for a bit.

Cutting Honeysuckle back most of today. It's swamping the rose compassion.

Potted up some Dahlias, they are a bit leggy! We shall see how they cope.

This beautiful moth kept me company this evening! I've never seen one with this shape of wing before. Also being so white, its quite unusual I think.

I love these two plants and colours together!

*travelsafar ... just wondering what the purple flower the bees like in your lawn, you mentioned earlier, was?!
Any chance of a photo?
Anything that attracts the bees I fancy!

Funny you mention Japanese anemone as behind the above Huchera is o e which is in bud, and I thought the same as you...midsummer is only just over but is the weather telling the garden autumn is here!

namsnanny your cuttings look ok to me. I’ve taken some rosemary cuttings and they are definitely struggling.

My daughter gave us a rose for out 50th Called Golden Celebrations. A couple of years ago. The flowers are huge but the growth is very lax and the heavy heads hang down. Not sure if I can encourage stronger stems. I feed it etc, must look it up. It’s a David Austen I think.

I’ve got one Japanese anemone flower out ☹️ That always reminds me of autumn. I hope it’s just a rogue one?
Just started to cut out the spent delphiniums. Last year I did and they flowered again right into late October.

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You sound very busy travelsafare with all that fruit and veg.

I've picked the first of the dwarf beans. But there aren't that many yet so It's not a lot of work!

Wwmk2 ...you wont have to shower Hoppity now in this weather!

Gosh the wind has picked up. I nipped out between showers, gusty winds to take this photo. Heuchera and yellow climber.
Its quite a lot colder as well though, which the cuttings don't like.
The ceanothus cuttings are a bit weedy, I might have to take some more if these don't buck up!

travelsafar ... what will you do with the lettuce, put them in the compost bin?

Heavy rain too Wwmk2!! Off to the tip with some very soggy garden waste. That'll teach me not to get better organised and keep up with the tidying!
Let me know how you get on with the ramblers Wwmk2. I have to get help from H to cut ours and no matter what I say he always cuts the wrong bit, I think he's hoping I wont ask him to do it anymore!

I am also pruning the rambler which has finished flowering. It is really rampant and I have learned to my cost that I must keep it under control. Really it is in a site that doesn’t do it justice, but is a lovely thing when in full flower.

Rain!! First real rain for I can’t remember how long.

The ground has been like concrete so hopefully will have softened up and I can plant some lupins I’ve had in pots for ages trying to decide where they can go.

Im on chalk so will have to put in loads of garden compost into the planting holes and mulch well every year to keep the ph levels up or it could be down? anyway more acid.

Baby chicks still surviving. Little hoppity seems to be walking better. He is sat in a puddle at the moment. They are funny little things.

Hoping to get out in the garden today as not so hot. No doubt will be running in and out of the showers that are expected. Some lettuces have gone to seed, too many have survived due tot he beautiful weather we couldnt eat fast enough and due to SD have only just started seeing family who i normally gave them too. My opium poppies have finished so i will pull most of them up as they produce so many seeds in the pods i dont need them all, a couple will surffice. I need to feed tom plants and really need to cut the lawns but that wont be happening. I have some wonderful clover growing in the lawn and a small purple flower, not sure wheere they came from but the bees like them. My Lupins are past their best, now nearly 5 years old so they need to be pulled up as i have new ones growing in pots and redy to go into the ground. Soft fruit to pick as well i have been freezing them as super crops this years, especially raspberries. Already have runner beans which are to be picked as dont like them tooo big, like them small and tender. Busy weekend ahead.

Ooo well done Lisagran I'm a bit hit and miss with cuttings. I'm not consistent enough with the care!