September.

Autumn is definitely on its way.  It's as though a switch has been flicked.  The nights are drawing in and it is taking longer each morning for the sun to rise.  There's a sharper freshness in the mornings and the nights are certainly cooler.

A little attention has been given to the Yen Garden today as the autumn tweaking begins.

The first job was to extricate the Cotinus (smoke bush) from the pot it has lived in for the past few years.  It took quite some effort and eventually, once it was free, it was planted at the back of Mugwort's Retreat.  If it has coped with the upheaval, the autumn shades will look wonderful here.

Back to the Yen, and the new bed is being created, along with making the original bed much deeper.

There are buds aplenty on the Skimmia japonica 'Rubella' above, and r. Mum in a Million is still going strong. 

Before long all the tints of the season will begin to develop.  I hope for a dry, less breezy autumn to enjoy the colours for the longest time possible. 

Summertime.....and the living is easy

However it's a bit soggier than last year!  The waterbutts have been fully replenished and the gardens are well watered.

The irises beside the pond are forming flower spikes. 

Bumblebees happily foraging between showers.

A couple of astrantia clumps.

The alliums seem to have been short lived this year.

However so far, hydrangea Blueberry Cheesecake is faring better in temperatures closer to the average British June.

Above r. Gertrude Jeykll in full swing and below r. Mum in a Million is just beginning.

The fancy aquilegia with upturned bells.

Above a sugar-pink hardy geranium and below another astrantia, paler pink this time...

...join a white lamprocapnos spectabilis in Mugwort's Retreat. 

In the Yen the red grass contrasts well against the fern. 

The Hakonechloa macra is just settling in at the back, while the heuchera lime marmalade has really found its spot beneath rhododendron Christmas Cheer.  The bees love it's tiny flowers. 

These little grassy forms belong to dierama.  I purchased two pots at a plant sale at the Botanical Gardens a couple of years ago but they've been reluctant to send out their fishing rod blooms.  I suspect they were overwhelmed to be honest by the huge peonies below so I've dug them up and popped them in this lead-look trough edging the Yen.  I'm not convinced this will be their forever home, but since removing the azaleas in the spring, The trough has been bereft of plants.

Clematis Armandii apple blossom in the Terrace Border above has had a prune as it wasn't covering the trellis correctly and the new growth was reaching into the neighbour's acers.

Another clematis, this time Montana Rubens, has received similar treatment now it's finished flowering.  It's not called "mile-a-minute" for nowt!  We can now clean up the fence and attach new wires.  This clematis will cover the fence again in no time.

The other clematis in the Long Border are growing at great pace now.  They are pruned each March as they flower late.

By June frosts are not unheard of but by and large are rare.  It's therefore safe to plant out bedding plants.

In the hanging baskets and containers, we've gone for varying shades of purple with petunias, nemesia and lobelia, with white pelargoniums.

Gloriously scented dianthus, creeping phlox and some pretty pink daisies which I think might be marguerites have been planted in the terrace seat along with some petunias.  There are a number of low growing perennials in the garden that I can split and add to the display to fill the gaps.

It shouldn't take long for these to fill out and bring joy to both us and the pollinators. 

June. My favourite month of them all!

By the beginning of June the garden is looking good.  All the herbaceous perennials have increased in size and the shrubs and trees are in full leaf.

We've had a number of set-backs as summer has arrived.  A couple of containers on the terrace had vine weevils, greenfly has been enormously prevalent and the dark leaved acer Crimson King has had a small infestation of scale insect.  I have given nature a bit of a hand by removing what I can see and hopefully the natural predators will now take over.

The heucheras on the terrace were removed from their containers and the soil washed off the roots to remove the tiny vine weevil grubs.  The growing medium has been bagged up and put in the dustbin.  The best of the new growth has been potted up in the hope I can save them as I particularly like this colour.  Since I don't have a greenhouse, they'll stay in the sunroom until they've taken root.

The larger spider plant inside has been split and repotted in fresh compost.  The young spiderlings from last year's batch were potted on.  The prayer plant had naturally split in its pot over the last few years and had completely become pot-bound.  I took a bread knife to the roots to ensure each plantlet had a good portion to get it going and potted them all up.

These will also stay in the sunroom until they've settled in and started producing new shoots.

In the garden, the Chelsea Chop has taken place, cutting all the hardy geraniums back to create a thicker, stronger plant that although will flower about 4 weeks later, will have many more blooms. 

Apparently it works with sedums too, so armed with my trusty secateurs, I snipped one of the varieties (Hylotelephium Autumn Joy) by around a third.  If it's successful, I'll Chelsea Chop the others next year.

Mugwort's Retreat is filling out.  The blackbirds have been messing about in the soil looking for worms and bugs, tossing compost out of the Skimmia pot in the process. 

I don't recall planting this particular aquilegia but it's so pretty it can stay!  I have a feeling I may have been given the seeds by our friends in the Midlands as she adores "granny's bonnets".

In the Yen Garden, something is stirring. 

We tucked this pot into a sheltered position to see if the cannas would survive winter, and as a trial see if they perform as well.  The first shoots emerged in May and this week we moved the pot into a sunny position, fed them and increased the watering.  Now we wait.

"A rose without scent is like a kiss without a squeeze".  I've no doubt used this quote by Alan Titchmarsh before, but it pretty much sums up roses for me.  Every rose in my garden has a good scent.  For me scent is linked with mood.  If I'm feeling down or upset, scent will release an endorphin that immediately lifts my spirit.  If a rose fails to make me smile when giving it a good sniff, then it doesn't make it in my garden.

r. Shropshire Lad on the left of the patio arch. 

r. Gertrude Jeykll on the right of the patio arch. 

"Colly-rose" Long Border. 

r. Special Daughter in the Terrace Border. 

r. Special Anniversary in the terrace seat. 

Having spent winter in our unheated porch, agapanthus Twister has thrown up flower spikes earlier this year.  It stayed evergreen and was much happier for it.

Eryngium seedlings have appeared this year in the Terrace Border, the main plant here is already showing its flowers.  In a few weeks these will turn metallic blue.

Another plant to self seed with total abandon is the foxglove and bumblebees adore them!

A little attention has been given to the pond over the last couple of weeks.  

One of the bergenias was split and replanted, a purple leaved fern was lifted and replanted at the rear of the waterfall along with the other sections of the bergenia. 

The pond was given a water change and a good clean, removing pond weed and much of the silt that had accumulated at the bottom. 

The water was recycled. 

This Peony had been in the Terrace Border for the last couple of years, having been given to us by our friends in the Midlands but it wasn't at all happy.  I think it prefers its new home in the Long Border! 

Finally we have flowers on the irises from TMTC's cousin a few years ago.  All the ones that flowered are purple.  Now we know what colour the blooms are, we can think about a proper plan for them.

Good stalwarts of our garden are the astrantias.  We have clumps around the garden in pink and white. 

I like dark leaved plants as they provide excellent colour among all the green in a garden.  This is sambuccus nigra.  The almost black filigree foliage is a perfect foil for the pink flowers.

Pittosporum tenufolium Tom Thumb is a stunning very dark purple-black foliage shrub.  The new leaves emerge green and over the summer blotches of purple increase in size until they join together and the tiny leaves take on a shine that makes this a must-have plant for year round interest. 

Heucheras come in a plethora of colours from the most vivid lime green through oranges and reds to chocolate and near-black.  Tall spindly stems sport airy flowers in summer but the star of the show is definitely the foliage.  

This dark ball of glamour is a hebe.  Again, the new leaves emerge green but soon turn deep purple and the flowers are a real bee magnet.  Once the flowers are spent, this hebe can be trimmed to keep its size in check.

And so to the front garden with so much crammed in to delight the senses.

r. Margaret Merrill almost glows at twilight.  The blooms are at the perfect nose height when one stands at the base of the wall that creates this terraced garden.

Golden yellow r. Maigold and purple clematis Warsaw Nike clothe the fence.

r. Tall Story has just begun to flower.  These provide such an amazing scent beside the steps that I simply cannot pass it without pausing for a moment to drink in the fabulousness of it all!

Now all the bright red leaves have turned green, the Photinia red robin has had a trim, removing all the newest growth.  The fresh red foliage will emerge in no time.

Hidden beneath the Photinia is a spikey berberis.  This is purely a plant for the birds.  We have an issue with the neighbourhood's cats that choose this spot to lay in wait for birds visiting the birdbath.  We tried lots of different plants here but the cats would squash them or there wasn't enough light due to the overhanging tree from next door and they would die.  It has survived so far and although our garden is perfectly accessible to the cats, there seems to have been less feline visitors which means the birds are happy to feed and drink and bathe in our front garden. 

And finally....the Ceanothus Italian Skies is performing beautifully.  Its bright blue flowers are loved by the bees.

Ah June...full of colour and scent.