End of Month View – September 2017

The weather this September continues to be very variable. One day the sun will be out with temperatures around 20c, perfect gardening weather, the next will be grey and wet all day. What ever the weather Autumn is certainly setting in now. Looking down the garden the day after the grass was cut there is already a carpet of leaves forming.Else where the Euonymus  alatus ‘Burning Bush’ is looking fantastic with its Autumn foliage.The usual EoMV across the garden has not changed that much from last month. It does look a bit duller but I think this is mainly the lack of sun for the photograph!In more detail the corner bed on the left has been really successful with the Ricinus communis ‘Impala’  continuing to put on an excellent display. The dark leaves and white flowers of Dahlia ‘Twyning’s After Eight’ off setting the yellow flowers of Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’. Last month I said I had been disappointed with Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’ and several people said how  much they valued this plant. Now I take back my words as you can see what a great plant to have in the Autumn border. However, due to its size good staking is definitely required.Almost lost in this corner is Achillea millefolium ‘Terracotta’ together with the magenta of  Geranium ‘Ann Folkard’ . A great demonstration of the value of complementary colours. With so much large herbaceous planting it is easy for smaller plants to get lost. We will be giving some thought to how to make more of the front of the border.The main rose bed is to the left of the wall. The roses are coming to the end of their blooming period. However there are still some beauties to see. This is Rosa ‘Anne Boleyn’ a very reliable rose around two to three feet high, a great perfume and repeat flowing. What more could you want?The view across the lawn to the right hand part of the wall. From this distance it looks very green but there are some points of interest to explore.Another good repeater is Rosa ‘Mutabilis’. When it is windy this rose always gets hit. It has been stripped twice of its flowers this year but it keeps coming back. It is planted as a climber on the wall and as it is a bit tender seems to respond well to this..

As well as the Rosa ‘Mutabilis’ above , Salvia involocruta bethellii continues to perform.Another Autumn favourite, both for insects and flowers, is the Sedum although in this case I have no idea about the variety. Sedums must be one of the easiest plants to grow and propagate and as such end up being slotted into gaps without recording what they are! We always do a ‘Chelsea chop’ on these which seems to give strong stems and less flopping. At the end of the bed on the right is Cotinus ‘Nottcutts Variety’. Normally a very dark variety.

It is clearly not well. It looks like Verticillium wilt. The RHS website gives the following information.

Verticillium wilt is caused by the soil-borne fungi Verticillium dahliae and V. albo-atrum. Both infect a very wide range of garden plants through the roots and then grow upwards in the water-conducting tissues, causing wilting of the upper parts due to water stress. Wilting is mostly seen from spring until autumn.

Plants affected include Chrysanthemum, carnation, aubergine, potato, tomato, cucurbits and strawberries. Woody plants are also affected, including Acer, Cotinus, Rhus, Berberis, Catalpa, Cercis and Rosa, but the full host range is very wide indeed. Conifers are not affected.

See RHS Verticillium wilt for more information. It looks like I will be removing this and we will have to rethink what to replace it with.

Salvia ‘Phyllis Fancy’

The Salvia ‘Phyllis Fancy’ by the pond has really grown a lot since last month and is looking stunning. We already have many cuttings of this in the green house as insurance against a hard winter.

2017 Gardening Hours
Week beginning September 23rd	Total 2017 to-date	Average per week
17	794	20

Between the rain showers work in the garden includes; finishing off some hedge cutting, removing specimen weeds that are always growing, repairing a blocked fountain and mowing the lawn. The moss in the lawn has become very severe in places so it looks like I will be doing some scarification soon.

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