Winter preparation ... lots to do

Callistemon

Lizzie72 your hardy geranium looks like Rozanne but mine is looking very sad, never seen it looking like that before.

Yes, it is Rozanne - it’s very healthy

Callistemon

report
Re-pot!!

Too late!
I have reported them for taking up too much space?

Glorious day here, quite hot at times and DH has a sunburned nose now.Finished all the jobs ( regards tidying the garden) and covered up some of the garden furniture, just leaving enough to sit out for the rest of the month.
Leaving pots of dahlias and pelargoniums as long as possible as they give so much colour.Nerines out now and looking good, and fuchsia too,Still harvesting apples and tomatoes grown outdoors.
Not much to do until leaf fall ( and then, being surrounded by trees, )it never ends.☹️
Owls hooting madly at dusk and into the night....We need ear plugs.

Is anybody replacing the geraniums in window baskets and pots? Would usually have done it by now but they are still blooming well in the front of the house which is south facing and I hate to remove them.

Callistemon

Kali2
Did the Chelsea Chop work?

Everything I Chelsea chopped picked up immediately, and then was hacked terribly by a massive hail storm! Some recovered and flowered again- some took longer and will probably not have time to flower second time before snow.

My prized black nigra elder tree, brought from our UK garden was just about to flower when the hail struck and it was all mashed up. Leaves are now gorgeous, deeply cut and deep wine colour, but again, I suppose it will not have time to flower and fruit. Same for the rowans. Poor birds are suffering in the mountains due to lack of rowan, elder and other fruit- put out sunflower seeds the other day and they went crazy!

Yes purpledaffodil I shall be taking some geraniums (pink) out of containers next week and replanting (not decided with what) but others (red) are still blooming. As is my lavender, it’s never still been flowering this late. Can’t bear to cut it back yet. I suspect I shall be cutting things back, tidying up and planting bulbs when it’s freezing cold!

Lizzie72

Callistemon

Lizzie72 your hardy geranium looks like Rozanne but mine is looking very sad, never seen it looking like that before.

Yes, it is Rozanne - it’s very healthy

Oh dear. I must go and talk to mine tomorrow!

lemongrove

Callistemon

report
Re-pot!!

Too late!
I have reported them for taking up too much space?

Oh dear ?

Everything I Chelsea chopped picked up immediately, and then was hacked terribly by a massive hail storm!

Oh dear! I did wonder if they had all bloomed again.
It has been a strange year weatherwise, almost like summer this morning here.
The roses are still blooming but looking very leggy.

Been very busy in the garden today with the help of DH because of Fibromyalgia and Arthritis. He made a hedgehog house and I've filled it with leaves etc according to the nature charity leaflet. I hope we get a winter visitor. The compost bin needs turning too. I need to remove some coreopsis that is taking over and divide the Iris sibirica. As soon as the Euonymus has shown its autumn colours its coming out. Its far too big now and I have a beautiful peony on order from Farmer Gracy.

The garden is full of frogs so they must be looking for somewhere to overwinter. A peacock butterfly has retired to my shed for the winter. I hope we don't get the long freeze like last winter.

I'm gradually cutting back the raspberries which have finished fruiting, and we planted two dwarf apple trees. This is on our allotment. Also just cut down the beanstalk, and planted a blueberry bush which is looking a bit sorry for itself. In the garden, I've finished planting hyacinths and daffs, and today planted some iris reticulata and anemones. Roll on spring.

Lizzie72

Callistemon

Lizzie72 your hardy geranium looks like Rozanne but mine is looking very sad, never seen it looking like that before.

Yes, it is Rozanne - it’s very healthy

I've just chopped mine right back, Lizzie72 and ? it seems to be healthy at the bottom.

We (well DH mainly) chopped back an early flowering clematis which looked very dead after the spring cold snap got to it; it then sprouted some stems and had 2 flowers! so we hope that will survive.

Another summer flowering clematis has just produced 3 flowers, the first ones this year.

It has been a very strange year for garden plants.

My raspberries also got hacked by the hail- and so there are tons of fruit now, but not sure they will have time to fruit before frosts come in. Got a belly full of big juicy ones I picked as I was working. What a gorgeous afternoon.

I agree Callistemon, it has been a strange year for the plants.
Like you, I’ve got a couple of clematis that have produced flowers this week and they are usually over by July. (They were in flower at the right time, too). I’ve also got a gladioli in flower just now, as well.

It's really warm today, too warm to be doing anything too strenuous.

Continuing from Mapleleaf’s comment I’m just back from a walk in the park where I spotted a Rhododendron starting to come into flower. What on Earth is going on????

I noticed a self-set orange poppy is flowering away merrily amongst the leeks and it has more buds on it.

It reminds me of that song: I''m a lonely little petunia in an onion patch'

I’ve spent the afternoon covering my raised beds with anti cat netting! Luckily my daughter had an incorrect delivery of some very handy plastic netting, hopefully that will do the job. It’s fair enough if it’s my cat but I do object to neighbouring ones joining in.

That’s lovely Callistemon. I bought a few small plants (Spanish poppy) a few years ago and they seed everywhere. They start flowering in April and if you deadhead they keep going until November.

I'm looking out of the French windows now and can see several fuchsias blooming their little hearts out. Also annual dahlias that I grew from seed, rudbeckias, hebe and lavatera (dwarf variety but not Barnsley Baby!) My four raised beds for veg are due for a serious going over. The runner and french beans have more or less come to an end, although the courgettle is still going strong. I have a bag of tulips that I bought several weeks ago - can I plant them this month or should I wait till November?

My garden is my sanctuary and gives me so much pleasure and solace in tough times. I love reading about everyone else's triumphs and disasters!

What on earth is a courgettle?!!!!

Esspee

Continuing from Mapleleaf’s comment I’m just back from a walk in the park where I spotted a Rhododendron starting to come into flower. What on Earth is going on????

I noticed an azalea had come in flower in my garden this week. Why??

Wait until November when it’s colder trisher to avoid ‘tulip fire’ disease.

Another gorgeous, sunny, warm day in the garden. Lots done- and left all the phlox, golden rod, veronicas, mints, sedum, etc, as bees were busy and some butterflies too and a few of those amazing humming bird moths. But we had the first frost last night- so won't be long.

I have dead headed all the golden rod that had faded flowers and bagged them up to avoid spread. Back is aching a bit, but in that 'nice' sort of way.

It’s been a lovely day here too, what a bonus in mid October! I’ve been sorting out the pots on the patio, and sweeping up ready to weed one last time between the slabs tomorrow. My shed is now a model example, and I’ve been washing plant pots as I go and putting them away in there now there’s enough space. Quite satisfying.