A good death

If there's one thing certain about life, is that it is limited.  That's why it is so vital to live life to the full, grab every opportunity to enrich it, and have a good death.  It's a great concept in theory but unlike plants we humans rarely go out with such a finale.  Today's entry is a fanfare, a celebration of death, a closing performance if you like.

Himalayan birch 

Cornus 

Viburnum 

Azalea 

Liquidamber styraciflua Lane Roberts 

Hydrangea Blueberry Cheesecake 

Weigela Wings of Fire 

Magnolia George Henry Kern 

Acer Crimson King 

The two acers borrowed from the neighbour's garden (above and below)

Heuchera 

Purple Pittosporum tenufolium Tom Thumb with bright green new foliage. 

Acer in front garden 

Hydrangea in front garden 

Deep chocolate heuchera 

And Staghorn.

The bright red stemmed cornus didn't fare well behind the birdbath. I suspect cats laying in that area didn't help, so TMTC has moved it to a brighter spot.  The roots looked healthy so I think it will survive. 

The wires and eyes have been removed from the old fence across the end of the back garden, along with the mirror.

And Folly door.

In our garden since we use mainly shrubs and perennials, dying usually isn't so final.  Already bulbs are pushing through the soil and blooms are forming on winter flowering shrubs.

Inside the baby spiderlings have readily sprouted roots and the first batch have been potted up.

One has already made the journey to its new home with our Dutch friends.  The next batch have been popped into glasses of water on the kitchen window sill but there are still a great many more babies on the mother plant!

Tiny flower buds are forming on this Christmas Cactus in the sunroom.

Last Christmas, our Dutch friends cut back their large rubber plant (ficus elastica) and we helped show them how to use the sections removed as cuttings.  Much to their delight the cuttings rooted and were potted on over the last 9 months.  One of their babies now resides here with us.  I hope I can continue their care and raise a healthy new rubber plant.

And finally, bulbs from the Netherlands have also been gifted to us.  These will be planted later next month, deeper than usual as suggested to endeavour to help them bloom the following year.

Autumnal sunshine.

I cannot work out where this year has gone.  It wasn't so very long ago when we were mithering about the hot, dry summer and only seems a few weeks ago that we were enjoying alliums, daffodils and tulips after the Beast from the East delayed spring and the whole garden came to life at once.

2018 has been a pretty bizarre year in our South Yorkshire patch.

The hardy geraniums are having a last flourish. 

Pretty pink fuchsias join a final blast of colour from the astrantias in pink

...and white

The bergenia foliage is turning red at the front of the pond while the white Japanese anemone with their metallic pink hints on the reverse of the petals shine out from the gloom at the back.

Bold magenta osteospermums keep flowering in the Terrace seat containers above. 

A double Japanese anemone thrusts it's bright white blooms above a fading hydrangea in the Patio Border.

Down in the Yen Garden, this vivid hardy geranium is also happy to provide another display.  

The hardy geraniums and astrantias were all cut back after their summer show, which I tend to do each year to get a second flush of both foliage and flowers to help prevent gaps and stretch the display in late summer into autumn.  Who says this time of year has to be a time of subdued colours or stick to a pallet of reds, oranges and yellows?

Not that I mind the zing of an autumn glow of course!

The Man That Can had a bit of a repair job to carry out today on the terrace as a few of the most often used steps came loose.  Today was warm and dry which will hopefully allow the cement to set before any frosts arrive.

Our first new tree has arrived. It's a liquidamber styraciflua Lane Roberts, as mentioned in a previous post.  We're not quite ready to plant it so it has been placed in the Terrace Border, still in its container, and attached with a rubber tree tie to the washing post for now so it's supported against the autumn storms in a spot we can enjoy its firey autumn colour.  It won't be planted just yet but the maple shaped foliage will probably have been shed by the time the revamp at the bottom of the garden is complete. 

Finally, I've lifted the last few plants in the Yen Garden border while TMTC potted them up.

The planters have been moved aside to make way for the workmen, and the gravel has been scraped away to reveal the weed suppressing membrane in the spot where the last tree is to be planted when it arrives.