A few weeks away from SoS, partly because the trees I mentioned in my last blog were being taken down, we also had a week away in Spain. I’m back home now to a bit of a surprise bounce back of a lot of plants that I thought were done for the year. I did my usual end of summer tidy up and pot moving tasks but I’ve returned to some new unexpected blooms.
So here are my Six for this week. If you’d like to join in our Saturday shenanigans, please visit our host Jim’s blog then share six things that are happening in your garden this week.
The third of the sunflowers that were “planted” by the birds from their fatballs! It hadn’t opened before we left for our holiday and when we got back it was fully open. We’ve had a couple of days of very windy weather so it’s looking a bit battered now but still a welcome sight at this time of year.
This lavender has had more come backs than an 80s boy band this year. I’ve never had a lavender planted in the ground before and it’s very sprawling. It’s also very woody at the base and I’m nervous about cutting it back so any advice would be welcomed. It has a lot of young green growth and flowers but about a foot of woody stems at the bottom.
This is a new chrysanthemum for me this year – I usually have white and yellow varieties. This is gorgeous and has way more blooms than any other plants I have here.
I don’t know what this purple flower is. The pot is a mixed affair that has crocus in the spring and then a bunch of unidentified plants the rest of the year. It had a euphorbia in there too but that succumbed to the heat over the summer. It also had a lot of its spurge/weed cousin growing in the pot. It was almost obscuring this until the flowers pushed through. The spurge has been removed to reveal this beautiful display. The lighter leafed plant always spills over the side of the pot as the crocus die back and it’s a colour I love. I’m surprised to see it so vigorous at this time of year.
I fear this rhodedendron is a little confused!!
My overwintered dahlia is having a last push. There were two beautiful stems, however one had been snapped by the wind over night and is now gracing a vase in my kitchen.
A sneaky extra couple of photos to update on the Garden Shed/Tree Removal project. The tree surgeons did an amazing job. The next phase is to clear the platform in front of the trees away and lay a base for the shed and greenhouse.
Impressive tree removal! That was a job for sure. Nice to see all the color. All I know about lavender is that you can’t cut the woody bits and expect new growth from the hard wood. Someone at a community garden did a number on a lavender there and we ended up taking it out and replacing it. Commercial growers prune it back every year, but when and how I am not sure.
I found this information, which may be helpful: https://lavender-life.com/blogs/news/when-to-prune-lavender-the-complete-guide-for-a-healthy-fragrant-garden?tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=21784548381&tw_kwdid=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21790987439&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxKfWBhDkARIsAMKwkNYRf66lOJwV8psyMaMyp60AWJDO37tdm_xzXK_dghABuotyNWNflRgaApVvEALw_wcB
Good luck.
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A new shed and greenhouse–how wonderful! I love all these plants that you’ve shared. That Chrysanthemum is such a gorgeous color!
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