In A Vase On Monday ~ Allotment Meets Garden

Allotment and garden came together to create this week's little vase. From the allotment the violet blue daisy flowers of aster 'Little Carlow'. I know that asters have had a recent name change but I haven't got a hang of it yet and it will probably take me some to do so. 'Little Carlow' produces clouds of tiny flowers which are a bee and butterfly magnet. It's quite a tall plant reaching about three feet. I have some divisions from this waiting to work their magic in the garden.

From the garden the bright yellow daisies of 'The Yellow Peril' which I've posted about before. It has defied my attempts to kill it off. There's an uneasy truce between us but for now it sits in a corner where it's thuggish habits are carefully monitored. Any spreading growth is yanked out as soon as I see it. I must admit that I've become fonder of it over the years and now welcome the late colour it provides. It came as a nameless division from a gardening club friend. I think that it's a helianthus but I'm clueless as to which one.

Finally tucked in to the vase a couple of sprigs from my new salvia 'Amistad'. Pottering in the greenhouse yesterday I gently tugged at the cuttings that I took earlier this month. I was so excited by being met with resistance.

The vase is the reverse side of my stoneware cider jug.

You can enjoy a host of other vases over at 'Rambling In The Garden' - thanks as always to Cathy for providing a virtual mantlepiece each week for us to showcase our vases.

A Mere Snip

A quick post to alert any fellow Kindle owners of a bargain buy. 'The Well Tended Perennial Garden - Planting and Pruning Techniques' by Tracy DiSabato-Aust is currently available for a mere snip at £2.32 in the U.K and at $3.78 on the other side of the pond. I would have downloaded it but already have a hardback copy of the first edition which is a most practical and hands on how to tome. Described by the publishers Timber Press as "the first, and still the most thorough, book to detail the essential practises of perennial care such as deadheading, pinching, cutting back, thinning, disbudding and deadleafing, all of which are thoroughly explained and illustrated. More than 200 new color photos have been added to this revised edition, showing perennials in various border situations and providing images for each of the entries in the A- Z encyclopedia of important perennial species."

Useful appendixes include a yearly planting and maintenance schedule which although a guide for U.S. Mid-west gardens can be adapted to British gardens. There are also some fascinating lists of the specific pruning and maintenance requirements of perennials. These include a list of perennials which reseed which could either save you much weeding or produce more pass on plants depending which way you look at it. Other lists give guidelines as to the intervals at which perennials are likely to need dividing. I'm reassured to read that my aruncus dioicus (goatsbeard) only requires division every ten years or more - the last time nearly polished himself off. The author warns that the plant has tough roots and resents disturbance and that's an understatement!

Although this could be a very dry book the author's detailed observations and her gentle sense of humour make sure that it's not. It's certainly worth adding to your Kindle's virtual bookshelves at that price.

In A Vase On Monday ~ Showtime

I'm cheating this week as the vase of late summer/early autumn colour is definitely not of my own making. I came across it about a month ago at the Southport Flower Show and thought it much too attractive not to share. As you can see it won first prize in its class deservedly so my friend and I thought.

The entrant had thoughtfully written the names of all the plant material that was included and most of them are still available for picking now. The vase is the standard green vase that entries in flower arrangements at horticultural shows are always displayed in as determined by The Royal Horticultural Society. Using identical vases ensures that all contestants start at the same point and I imagine makes the judge's job much easier.

Thanks to Cathy from 'Rambling In The Garden' who came up with the excellent idea of kicking off the week with a vase of flowers. Please forgive me for bending the rules Cathy.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day ~ September 2014

A new arrival here is salvia 'Amistad' (which is the Spanish word for friendship), part of my plans to introduce more late summer/ early autumn colour in to the garden. More on the very same subject soon. This plant went straight to the top of my wish list after I saw photos of it in gardening magazines and on a few blogs last year. I'm sure that a few other bloggers will have fallen for its charms too. I bought a small plant earlier in the year which has not flourished so when I saw a much larger specimen I could not resist. 'Amistad' is a relatively new introduction which apparently flowers from May - October and is attractive to bees. It is a tender perennial which may need protection in a cold winter. I've taken a few cuttings as an insurance policy.  Previous experience with salvias tells me to err on the side of caution. Will be keeping my fingers crossed and will report back next year.

With thanks as always to Carol over at May Dreams Gardens for kindly hosting Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. As soon as I've ticked off one plant off the wish list I'm sure that I will be adding more when I see what is blooming in other gardens this month. What have you added to your wish list recently?

Tree Following With Lucy ~ September 2014.

 Subtle changes are afoot on the willow front. Gazing up at my tree in the glorious sunshine yesterday I noticed that there are hints of yellow creeping into the leaves. As I watched there were soft rustling sounds as leaves slowly drifted down to the ground. Not enough to merit the word "flurry" but a definite coming adrift for some of the leaves that have clothed the tree since April. I wondered if the first leaves to appear are the first to fall but I suppose there's no way of establishing that theory.
I also noticed how smooth the surface of the branches are especially compared to the bark which graces the trunk. Lucy bought the smoothness to my attention when she commented on my tree following post last month.

A blue tit was sitting in the tree but flew off on hearing my approaching footsteps. Other than that no sign of wildlife although I'm sure it receives numerous visitors. Unfortunately I can't get close enough to the tree to look for smaller creatures. I had not considered this factor when I made my decision about which tree to follow!

In other willow news I've broken my self imposed embargo of trying not to buy any news books this year. After all this purchase has been made in the interest of serious scientific research. The book concerned is Willow by Alison Syme. It looks a most fascinating book. I have only dipped into it so far, but am looking forward to reading it thoroughly and to sharing some willow snippets with other tree followers over the next few months. The book is one of Reaktion's Botanical series. The publisher describes the series as the "first of its kind, integrating horticultural and botanical writing with a broader account of the cultural and social impact of trees, plants and flowers". Other tree titles include yew, oak, pine with a new book on the subject of the apple tree coming out next month.

Thanks as always to Lucy over at 'Loose And Leafy', who came up with the excellent idea of a monthly post in which bloggers follow the progress of a specific tree over a year. I must check whether there are any other willow watchers out there.

In A Vase On Monday - Allotment Pickings

Not an accidental happening this time round but a conscious decision to bring some allotment colour back home where I can really appreciate it a close hand. Earlier in the year I treated myself to three named dahlia tubers one of them being 'Thomas A. Edison' named after the American inventor I imagine. This variety is described as having 'dinner plate' sized flowers. Whilst they are perhaps not that large (unless you have a minute appetite) the flowers are a good five inches across and they are real show stoppers. They also have long dark stems which enhance the flowers. 

I started the tuber into growth sometime in mid to late April in a pot in the greenhouse. After reaching a certain size and a period of adjusting to the outer world, Thomas was somewhat unceremoniously plonked in to one of the allotment beds at the end of June. Here are a couple of flowers outside the back door enjoying a few last minutes sunshine before coming in on to the kitchen window sill. I would have ideally liked to pick three stems but Thomas did not oblige. Another time I hope.

The vase is a stoneware cider flagon. I did not imbibe the contents but bought the empty flagon from a charity shop many moons ago.

Thanks as always to Cathy who came up with an excellent idea to kick off the week, of not only picking flowers for a vase but of sharing them with fellow bloggers too. You can enjoy more rich weekly pickings over at 'Rambling In The Garden'.

September Musing - 'Moonlit Apples'

"At the top of the house the apples are laid in rows,

And the skylight lets the moonlight in, and those

Apples are deep-sea apples of green. There goes

    A cloud on the moon in the autumn night.

A mouse in the wainscot scratches, and scratches, and then

There is no sound at the top of the house of men

Or mice; and the cloud is blown, and the moon again

    Dapples the apples with deep-sea light.

They are lying in rows there, under the gloomy beams;

On the sagging floor; they gather the silver streams

Out of the moon, those moonlit apples of dreams,

    And quiet is the steep stair under.

In the corridors under there is nothing but sleep.

And stiller than ever on orchard boughs they keep

Tryst with the moon, and deep is the silence, deep

    On moon-washed apples of wonder."

The poem is 'Moonlit Apples' by John Drinkwater,1882 -1937.

The illustration is 'Apple Harvest' by Carl Larsson, 1853 - 1919.