Inverglen's Outbox

What a beauty. Love it

A very striking and attractive dahlia

I give mine a light trim to tidy them up now but then give them a more severe pruning in spring when the frosts have gone.

Thank you for a lovely blog. We used to get lots of fieldfare and redwing until next door's overhanging cotoneaster tree died so this has made me think again about getting more autumn berries back again. Saw a glorious Cretaegus prunifolia in a local park recently and now your blog has got me thinking again.

I wait until the frosts turn the leaves black. Then I either dig up the tubers, let them dry out indoors, clean them up a bit and then wrap them in newspaper in a box in the garage. But sometimes I leave them where they are, cover the cut-down stumps with a small mound of peat or compost and thats it. Both methods seem to work well for me.

I put it on my Christmas list last year and got 2 on Christmas Day. They are very slow growing but both are doing fine and as you say, very attractive..

Went for a walk in the park today and came across a Crataegus Prunifolia ( hawthorn) in fabulous autumn colours and smothered in red berries. In spring it has perfumed white blossom. It was so beautiful I am thinking of getting one .

I agree with the other answers. There comes a time with lavender plants when they simply need replacing and I would go for Munstead or Hidcote.

It's hard to predict. Sometimes they revert to a darker colour and sometimes they stay the light colour you want.

Yes. I am doing mine today

I am planting mine this weekend

I have just trimmed off the flowering stems that have finished and then trimmed it by the merest fraction just to give it a little better shape. But a very light trim.

Absolutely love it !!

If it were me I would give them a go. Only time will tell but I wouldn't be surprised if some do well.

Just to add , definitely dont buy one of those hollow tine aerator tools ; murder to use. I have just done areas of my lawn with a garden fork ; so much easier to use.

Some of the hardy geraniums , the macrorrhizum group especially, would grow there.

Some we dig up and some we leave with a small mound of peat or compost or woodchips over them. Both methods work well.

Just read a note on this subject in our Neighbourhood watch newsletter. If you constuct a new driveway using permeable surfaces or if rainwater can soak away naturally you do not need planning permission. If the surface is impermeable then planning permission is now required

We went because my wife wanted to do some painting but when we arrived the sun disappeared and it became quite cool so we just walked around the gardens. I love the landscaping with the River Cam running through it and the vistas of mature trees including some of the oldest and most enormous trees I have ever seen. There is a parterre garden behind the house but I specially enjoyed the Old Walled Kitchen Garden. It's enormous and is a sort of history lesson on apple and fruit growing , with many old varieties ,all espalier or cordon trained and with a mind-boggling number of varieties being grown. All well-labelled too. There are also sections of herbaceous borders which of course were past their best today but this rose was sitting on its own in one of the beds. It didn't look very old.

Yes it was fragrant but I wouldn't say very fragrant ; it was the beautiful colour that really attracted me.

Yes they do multiply. If it were me I think I would move plants a little bit later in the autumn

Even during winter we can get some long dry periods. Don't let them dry out completely and the occasional watering may be necessary. But normally the weather will do most of the work for you.

I normally give mine a light cut now just to tidy it up and then prune down to one or two buds from the base in spring

You have all my sympathy. I seem to get bitten every other time I work in the garden but my wife never gets a single bite. Different pheronomes I suppose. I have different wipes and sprays but of course most times I just go out and get on with the gardening and forget about them. Then I pay for it and its out with the AfterBite pen ( ammonia) and ice cubes.

My nephew is moving to Australia next month. This makes me want to come and visit him as soon as possible.

Yes

I trim mine almost anytime to keep it to the size I want and it hasnt complained for about 15 years now. It comes shooting back.

I think it took about 4 years for this one to flower and now it romps away every year.

A real pleasure to read and look at this blog. Delightful

My neighbour has one that has reached the gutters at the top of the house and it has stretched across the back of our two houses. Last week he decided it was time for a serious haircut and cut it down to almost halfway. He does it about this time each year now that it has finished flowering and it grows back very well.