The final touches

It's the last few days of September and between showers the final touches take place in the Yen. 

The two hydrangeas, 'blueberry Cheesecake' have been planted and the euonymous elata has changed into its autumn attire. 

This gloriously tactile grass is a pennisetum and should link the colours in the opposite side of the Yen rather nicely.  It's considered a tender perennial in these parts so I'm not sure if it will delight again next year. I guess it will depend on how long and hard the winter is.

With the repositioned Buddha head and tsukubai water bowl, all that remains is replacing the setting stones "ishi wo tateru koto" which represent Buddha and his two attendants. 

The gravel has been evenly redistributed and the banana and cannas positioned in place to enjoy what is left of the frost-free weather.

As the weather is about to turn much cooler, the rattan companion seat has taken up its winter position again behind the terrace seat and is now enveloped in its waterproof jacket.

The two Viburnums are placed either side of the patio arch and the washing line has come down. 

The garden is being prepared for the quieter months.

But wait...here and there, the plants and trees are making adjustments for their exit party.  They're not done just yet.

Cotinus in Mugwort's Retreat. 

Acer and euonymous elata in the Yen. 

Old papery birch bark peels in Mugwort's Retreat. 

And the staghorn tree in the front garden. 

There is so much interest in the autumn months yet to be revealed, all it needs is the temperatures to drop a little more. 

But summer is not going down without a fight. 

Scented white phlox and blue hardy geraniums peek through the glowing weigela Wings of Fire foliage in the corner of the patio border/ Long Border 

A pretty fuchsia scrambling through fading peony leaves in the Long Border. 

And in the front garden, r. Tall Story and a magenta hardy geranium, along with the final blooms of crocosmias hang on to every last moment of summer.

Finally

The sun is shining and we're not at work, have nowhere to be, have no-one to visit and no-one is visiting us...the garden is finally at the top of our to-do list!

We recently discovered that our garden is at 523 feet above sea level.  That's higher than Khufu's pyramid (the Great Pyramid of Giza) which stands at 481 ft.  It's higher than the Statue of Liberty which is just 305 ft from the ground to the tip of the torch, and higher than the Victoria Falls between Zambia and Zimbabwe which are 354 ft!

It is a fact that at the bottom of the drag to the village you can wear a t-shirt but by the time you reach the village you're donning a coat...and we're actually not quite at the top here!  It makes winter more interesting, that's for sure.  

Anyhow, I digress.  In the garden it's time to plant up and move and create.

Angel is intrigued but sensibly stays out of the way.

TMTC and Bumblebee are struggling to extricate rhododendron Christmas Cheer from its pot.

The soil needs to be scraped from the sides of the rootball to get it past the lip of the pot.

Teamwork!

It looks a good bit smaller now it's in the ground but it should soon grow into a large shrub.

Look at the beautiful colour of this bark.  It's the Tibetan cherry.

Also in the Yen Garden, the viburnum Dawn has been planted. It didn't flower this winter but that might have been due to the upheaval to make way for the hedge being replaced.

The viburnum Tinus pair on the other hand are flowering their socks off on the patio.

The three r. New Dawn survived winter in their pots and have now been replanted in Mugwort's Retreat.

The new outline has been marked ready for moving the brickwork edging.

At the top of the steps is a gentle honey scent coming from this Spireae japonica. It'll soon be smothered in tiny white flowers.

So many plants are coming into bud now, it's a job to keep up with what is new!  The trees all have varying degrees of leafing up.  This is the cherry blossom in the Yen. 

The clematis Shikoo winding it's way along the espallier apple tree already has flower buds!

And the tulips around the garden are waiting for their turn.

Elsewhere in the garden, I busied myself weeding the Long Border and the Patio Borders, moving crocuses from behind daylilies where they were hiding, planting snakeshead fritillaries, and dividing snowdrops whilst still "in the green" which means still having foliage.  I've also divided some native primroses and dwarf narcissi, and trimmed the Sarcococca confusa (Christmas Box) now it has finished flowering. 

The cheap hyacinths are such a welcome addition to the garden.  They add a wow factor, not just visually but they are extremely highly scented.  Their perfume wafts around the garden, reminding you of their presence like a spoilt child should your attention wander.

Since the blooms were beginning to flop due to the sheer weight of the flowerlets, I snipped off those most affected, added a few double daffs and a sprig or three lemon wallflowers for a posy inside.

The scented bouquet is so heady that it has to remain in the kitchen where it again stamps it's feet impatiently crying out to be noticed! 

Pure flower power!

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.