Thursday, March 02, 2006

Goodbye Summer - Hello Autumn

Like most of us, the garden also gets a little tired of the heat towards the end of summer. It hasn't been as colourful this summer (I bowed to pressure and removed the centranthus/valerian which Richard hates with a passion - but it is colourful when nothing else is), but with slightly cooler weather heading our way (hopefully) everything should freshen up - even me!
Salvias

Salvias, miscanthus, fennel

Gaura

Gaura, helichrysum, camphor laurel, penstemons, miscanthus

Miscanthus sinensis

Pennisetium

Sedum, gaura, grass(?)

Dill seedheads, chinese lantern

Cherry tree (background)

White petunias, blue scaveola

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13 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos, as always. My favourite is the close-up of the dill seed-heads...very arty!

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  2. Once again, I am in awe of your ever beautiful garden.
    I was busy in ours yesterday, cut back the agapanthus flower heads, fought a never ending battle with the weeds from hell, and marvelled at my 3 vegie patches...it is the first year i've ever grown so many different types of vegies, and I'm sure I'm hooked now. Can't wait to try winter vegies! Today I cleaned out Mark's tools from our Conservatory (enclosed back room, or is it the front of the house?), and am looking forward to going out this weekend and buying some pots of (don't know yet), to add some flora.

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  3. I LOVE all your grasses! Does your Chinese lantern go wild? We had to severely cut ours back so that we could use the pathways near it. It's growing back nice and bushy now.

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  4. Alice, I have a new respect for your garden. It is so lush and green and blooming. My new house is a field of sand. Our lawn is just a sand pit. You must water religiously. Your garden looks lovely.

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  5. Wendy
    Fortunately our soil tends to be more clay than sand, which retains the water better. You'd be amazed how little water the garden gets. Maybe once a week or so I'll remember to turn on the dripper hoses for a while, but not all the garden beds are covered by these hoses. For the most part everything just has to rely on the rain. We've improved the soil with compost, and mulch is absolutely essential to retain moisture and keep the roots cool. Even then, we still lose plants. Sometimes that's okay because then I have room to plant out some of the plants that we propagate on the deck.

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  6. Your garden looks wonderful even in the off-season! You must really have a green thumb. Keep up the good work.

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  7. Your gardens are a real tribute to you and Richard. Beautiful! What a wonderful eye you have with that camera Alice. Love the way you name everything. That's helpful and satisfies my curiosity :) Thanks for taking these pictures and sharing them with us.

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  8. Ahh, thanks so much! The promise of things to come here in the States! Beautiful!

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  9. Hi,
    I stopped in via Kerri's site. Your garden looks lovely. Here in California we have the promise of spring with some hail, thunder and lightening thrown in for good measure. (Our soil here is very clay like also!) I'll visit again from time to time.

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  10. Very pretty flowers...you take such wonderful photos. They brighten my day to look at them. It is winter and grey here...not much green yet...but it's coming soon.
    Besides having a green thumb you take great photos.

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  11. Beautiful gardens you have! It is so weird that summer is almost over for you. What is your favorite season?

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  12. In Japan it is winter now. It will come spring soon. I think that Miscanthus sinensis are like Japanese pampas grass. I see them in Japanese autumn.

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  13. I thought of you when I pulled into our driveway this afternoon and saw our first crocuses in bloom. I am always so glad to see them in the spring. Then I got to wondering if the first signs of fall were showing up in your part of the world, and sure enough, here in your latest photos, I see those first signs -- the late summer flowers, the dried seed heads and dried grasses, and the darkening of foliage on the trees. Still you have a lot of color there and it looks so beautiful!

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