Rose in the long mixed border

After four wet Thursdays in a row during August leaving the volunteers wet, muddy and wondering what happened to the predicted ‘barbeque summer’ September arrived bringing the glorious sunny days we had hoped for in August.  It was as though someone had turned a tap off with the change of month and September turned out to be the warmest on record with day after day of clear skies and hot sun.

Volunteers lifting, dividing and replanting Primulas along the stream

The volunteer group spent the first two Thursdays working on the stream and small ponds weeding along the stream edges and lifting the self-sown Primula and Iris plants out of the stream bed where they were impeding the flow of water.  The Primula clumps were lifted then divided into individual plants and replanted to fill empty spaces along the stream plantings to give swathes of flower in the spring.  The irises have been lifted, the clumps thinned and weeded to remove ground elder, nettles and docks before replanting the young pieces of rhizome to invigorate the plants to produce more flower next year.  Some of the Astilbes and Hostas planted in the spring were also regrouped while plants grown from seed donated by Kew, Lychnis, Scabious, Geranium and some grasses have also been planted so hopefully the amount of weeding required will be reduced as the groups of plants swell.

A lot of work and time has been put into the stream this year by the volunteers in an effort to improve the planted areas to give interest all season long and to fill the pond surrounds and stream banks with plants to cut down on maintenance.  I think the stream is one of the main attractions of the garden and we must now wait for next spring to see if our efforts will be a success.

Other jobs undertaken by the volunteers include; weeding in the autumn border, weeding and tidying the Digitalis plantings, clearance of undergrowth in the woodland and the continued maintenance of the long mixed border.

Rudbeckia in the mixed herbaceous border

The long mixed herbaceous border is still providing plenty of interest with a second flush of roses after being dead-headed in the early summer.  The late summer herbaceous plants are now coming into their own with Asters, Echinaceas, Japanese anemones and Helianthus flowers amongst others providing the colour.

The new herbaceous border continues to go from strength to strength with a mixture of grasses having done particularly well in this year’s weather conditions and they look stunning in the mornings when laden with dew or frost in the sunshine.

Dew laden grasses in the new herbaceous borders

The old Jekyll borders have been cleared of the annual wild flower mix that was sown this year and have been mulched with compost and rotovated in preparation for a more permanent planting next year.  The plans have not been finalised yet so I’m unable to say what exactly will be planted, watch this space I will let you know when I do.

One or maybe two deer have been seen in the garden in the early mornings a few times over the last couple of months, it is always a joy to spot them but they are so shy they are gone in a flash leaving you wondering if they were ever there.

To view more blogs by Pete Tipping please go to the web address below where his pen name is Woody the Tree Man / The Head Gardener.

http://www.yell.com/gardens/blog/author/petetipping/

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