IAVOM ~ 'Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head'

Here it's sycamore keys that keep falling on my head and not raindrops although there are a lot of raindrops predicted in the forecast for the coming week. Outside the front of the house and on the table which we regularly use for outdoor morning coffee these wonderful pieces of natural engineering have been helicoptering down in abundance. They are quite hard so it's rather disconcerting when they hit you. Unfortunately the tree was already established in the garden when we moved here. I've spent a good amount of time cursing it especially when seedlings germinate in profusion every year in all sorts of weird and wonderful nooks and crannies. In my vase this week are :

• The bright red flowers of chrysanthemum 'Agnes Ann' - a new introduction to the garden having been bought on holiday in September along with a couple of other chrysanthemums.
• A spray of panicum 'Sparkling Fountain' grown from March sown seed started in the greenhouse.
• Flowers from the beautiful late flowering aster 'Little Carlow'.

A big thanks to Cathy who blogs at 'Rambling In The Garden' who invites us to share our flowers and foliage every Monday whatever the season.

The overnight temperatures took an alarming dip this weekend and there was a rush beforehand to get some plants in pots undercover. Autumn seed sowing has been completed I think. For the first time in years I've sown sweet peas this month - only just over a week ago and I was delighted to see signs of germination this morning. I sowed them in dry compost in root trainers and have sprayed water sparingly on them.  I've sown my sweet peas in March for some considerable time but the hot summers of the last two years have not been kind to them so maybe time for a change. Bulb planting continues and will do for some time to come. I wonder what has everyone else been up to in their gardens 🤔

IAVOM ~ Autumn Stars

 

It seems a while since I've contributed to 'In A Vase On Monday' but I'm back this week with a pick and plonk. My vase contains :

• Dahlia 'Night Silence' which has become a favourite and has been out in flower for a while now. Cathy, you asked how big the heads were last time I included this dahlia in a vase. The answer is about 4 inches across although I've read that they can reach 8 inches across,
• Dahlia, probably 'Purple Flash', which I grew for the first time last year. I must investigate and see what else it could possibly be. Both tubers spent the winter in the greenhouse before being replanted in the spring and eventually being planted out in the outer world in late spring. I had a minor panic the night before last, when we had a predicted minimum night time temperature of 5 degrees centigrade. I think that might have proved accurate as the following morning the greenhouse thermometer had recorded a low of 7.5 degrees centigrade. Anyway they came through unscathed and I now need to make a decision soon whether to leave them in the ground overwinter or dig them up.
• Allium tuberosomalso known as white garlic chives. They are a perennial herb coming into flower here at the same time as the ordinary chives get their second flush of flowers. This year though there was no second flush maybe as a result of the drought, so these white flowers were especially welcome. I will probably remove them from the vase quickly as I have a vague recollection of reading something to the effect that alliums in vases can be problematic. 

The vase is a preloved Emma Bridgewater one purchased a few years ago via Ebay.

With a big thank you as always to Cathy from 'Rambling in The Garden' who steers this meme with much love throughout the seasons. Do visit her and other participating blogs if you haven't already.

Not much to report on the gardening front as I've been really laid low by an infection which has severely impacted my energy levels. Whilst I was at my weakest a big box of bulbs arrived which I made himself remove to the shed pronto so I didn't have to look at them! This week a second much smaller box of the ones I forgot to order is on the way so my priority is to get planting this week.  A case of little and often methinks. On Saturday I made the most of a beautiful afternoon and stripped off the last of the bush tomatoes which were grown outside in big pots. There were very few red ones. One major task which has been accomplished thanks to himself is the removal of the pears and most of the crop from our two apple trees. A good crop on both apples and pear trees but not as good as the vintage year that was 2025. There is now relish to be concocted and apples to be stewed for freezing. Are you preserving or pickling this autumn?