Easter

It's relatively easy for me as an introvert to cope with the lockdown as I don't feel the urge many people do to be out and about. I'm happy to spend time in the home or garden with my family.

Mother nature blessed the 4 day weekend with good weather so out came the cushions for the patio furniture so we were able to enjoy it.

There has been an explosion of foliage on the trees in the garden. The Tibetan cherry has even put on a display of tiny white flowers.

Before the serious business of relaxation could begin, there were a few tasks to attend to.  I removed the rotting log roll from the Terrace border and both sides of the patio borders.  TMTC cleaned the pond pump and the water butts, and between us we cleaned the trunks of the birches and Tibetan cherry, along with the seating in the Yen, Mugwart's Retreat, and on the patio.  Everywhere was watered really well and mulches applied for the roses with manure and the acid lovers with old ericaceous compost mixed with some slow release fertiliser. 

  

Time to sit and stitch in the sunshine. 

The blackbirds aren't afraid of us and come very close.

Tulip time.

And....Ellie.  She is such a sun worshipper.  Angel rarely sat in the sun and actively sought the shade, preferably inside.  Ellie is the opposite.  She will follow a shaft of sunlight around and if the door is open will sit outside on the terrace alone if she has to.

However, if she can sit on the sun lounger, pushing you into the shade cast by the parasol then she will.

She's such a diva.

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. 

Bugs and beasties

Some are beneficial, others not so much.  In early summer, common wasps (vespula vulgaris) are actually on the beneficial side of the fence as they eat nectar, pollinating plants.  They collect aphids, caterpillars and flies for the larvae in the nest.  However, they also noisily strip wood from fences and benches to help create these beautiful nests.

The larger queen wasp lays up to 100 eggs a day in these nests and the adult workers are all female which will go out to find food for the next generation of larvae.  They are rewarded with a sugary droplet from the larva they feed.  This means as summer moves into autumn and there are fewer larvae to feed, wasps seek their sugar fixes elsewhere, thus becoming a nuisance to us.

At this time, the queen will start laying up to 1500 queen eggs, along with male drone eggs.  Once these have hatched, they will couple up with mates from other nests.  The male drones will die off while the now fertilised queens will overwinter to start the cycle in the spring.

One such site for a nest this year was one of our compost bins.  TMTC began emptying the first bin and discovered a small nest. 

Closer inspection reveals the intricate cells containing the next generation of wasps.

The birds enjoyed picking out the larvae.

A lot of wee beasties have been busy in the composting area.  We have 4 bins that we spend all year filling with prunings, clippings, leaves and fruit & veg waste from the kitchen.

The compost was sifted and matter yet to decompose put back into the compost bin.  The last bin was also emptied, sifted and again, matter yet to rot down put into the first bin.

Out of just two bins, we've gained almost two pop up hoppers full of lovely crumbly friable garden compost. 

Some of the compost has been added around the base of key plants after being given a watering can full, to help lock in moisture and try to help them cope with the drought.  The other two compost bins will be tackled in the coming weeks in the same manner.

It's not an easy task and can be back breaking, but so worth all that effort.

Calm before the Storm.

August is the eighth month of the Gregorian calendar and derives its name from Augustus Caesar.  The traditional birthstones of August are peridot and sardonyx.  Gladioli and poppies are  traditional flowers of August.  I haven't grown gladioli since moving 'up norf' but I have grown some lovely varieties of poppy.  This year none but simple red poppies have flowered.  I must right both of these issues next year.

After their holiday trim, the bedding is looking better.

The lacecap hydrangea in the front garden has suffered no ill effects from my beginning to reduce its size this year as it is smothered in tiny blue flowers with lilac bracts. 

A closer look shows the tiny flowers.

I do like the clashing red new leaves on the Photinia.  I will trim back these leaves once more before they start to turn green.  This will encourage another flush of bright foliage to take us through til spring. 

Beneath the Staghorn tree some leaves have turned yellow.  I suspect this is due to lack of light as the haircut given last winter produced a heavy canopy this year.  It will be interesting to reveal the shape of the framework as the leaves fall in autumn, after its firey display.  This new branch is covered in soft down which is where it gets the name staghorn. 

The plants have filled out surprisingly well with many such as r. Tall Story putting out yet another display. 

Osteospermums in yellow and orange are a vibrant blast of colour beside the deep purple-black foliage of heuchera. 

Another flush of clematis Warsaw Nike.

I've removed most of the fuchsias in the garden due to wasps finding them irresistible. This one however is too pretty to compost and is quite happy to drape over the dry stone wall for a feature viewed from the house.

This weekend, the remnants of hurricane Gert may cause some damage around the garden so I thought it was important to blog earlier this week.  

Talking of damage,  this fatsia japonica hasn't quite found happiness in the Yen Garden. Hopefully once some shade is created here, it'll settle down. 

Similarly this deep wine coloured acer has been scorched by the summer sun, but with shade will perform even better. 

Staying in the Yen Garden, the various succulents are beginning to flower.

This wee chap below had a trim around 6 weeks ago and is producing another flush.

The new Rhododendron above is forming it's flower buds ready for next spring.  It's very important to ensure they do not suffer any drought during this time of year or they'll drop the buds.

The old Rhododendron which was pruned hard after flowering is responding well with new leaves. It'll have another prune next year to continue its rejuvenation programme. 

The Wisteria needs it's summer prune very soon to cut back these long whippy stems.

Clematis Princess Kate is a little sparse of both foliage and flowers. I may move this next year to grow in less harsh sunlight. 

In the Pink Garden:

On the patio there's a lot going on.  Verbena Bonariensis beginning to open,

The potted mint has sent up a flower.

The sedum is beginning to colour up,

And white Japanese anemones sway airily in the breeze above the 'rescued' hydrangea. 

Above H. Blueberry Cheesecake beside the arch.

There is little colour around the pond apart from various greens of hosta, grasses, ferns and herbaceous perennials, with a cloud of pale pink Japanese anemones. Some  injection of late summer colour is required here. Something to think about over the winter.