And so to bed...

"Autumn is the hush before winter"

- French proverb

We're creeping into December - and those yellow leaves still cling stubbornly to the vines.  Most deciduous trees are bare now, and we're constantly treading down the contents of our leaf 'cage' to ensure that its layers are well-packed and will mature into soft, friable leaf-mould come summer.

Hydrangea paniculata
'Early Sensation'

One of the shrubs which will benefit from a top-dressing of leaf-mould is the young hydrangea we planted this year.

It enjoys a damp environment, like the fern behind, and if your garden is without leaves for composting, try using a mulch of bark instead.

The species 'paniculata' comes from Asia, so my book tells me, and some appear to have the bonus of wonderful autumn colour.

Diospyros kaki
Japanese Persimmon

Another popular import from Asia is the persimmon tree, which can remain unnoticed in many gardens until it suddenly sprouts vivid orange fruits! They continue to decorate the hanging branches long after the last red leaf has fallen.

The persimmon fruit is, in fact, a large berry - called 'kaki' in French, it has a high glucose content and should be fully ripe before being eaten or it can taste bitter. 'Sharon fruit' refers to a particular cultivar grown in Israel.

Although an interesting tree, don't be tempted to grow it in an area where you're likely to be walking. One small garden we looked after had kaki fruits raining down on the terrace where we inevitably squelched them underfoot. Yuck! (The same goes for fig trees and terraces - an unholy combination in my book.)

Ceratostigma plumbaginoides

The hardy plumbago with the unpronounceable Latin name continues to provide lovely splashes of colour under the stems of a lilac tree. 

It doesn't seem to mind dry conditions and I've noticed that the reddest leaves emerge in areas which still get some sunshine. An excellent ground-cover plant but needs to be kept in check otherwise it will cover the entire garden.

Camellia sasanqua 

'Plantation Pink'

Shrub of the Month

Returning to the Oriental theme, some friends recently presented us with an autumn-flowering Camellia sasanqua - a species which originated in Japan and happens to be something we'd been lusting after for a while!

It's produced new flowers since being re-potted and looks very happy outside, but I've read that it needs to be kept moist through the winter and given some frost protection, so perhaps we'll have to move it indoors at some point.

Salvia elegans

Meanwhile, those South American salvias I mentioned back in September are still flowering their socks off - even the cuttings which we took as an insurance against losing the parent plant.

They are exceedingly good value and provide some much-needed nectar for the odd bee still doing the rounds. 

We've not yet had a frost to test their mettle but, in anticipation of this happening soon, we cut down one of the more exposed plants (Salvia leucantha) and covered its crown with dried hydrangea flowers. This may not be sufficient if the temperature goes to minus 5'C, but past experience suggests this won't happen until Jan/Feb when we get hard frosts.
The idea of shrouding plants in white fleece blankets doesn't really appeal, partly from an aesthetic point of view but also because the wind is quite likely to rip them off anyway!

Weed of the Week

Well, yes, the damn things keep growing despite this colder weather... particularly these little onions that seed themselves all over the place. The stalks may resemble grass but they have an unmistakable onion smell and, if not removed early, the bulbs get bigger and their leaves just become more unsightly.

However, there's no point trying to uproot them in dry weather as the bulb will probably be left behind to continue growing. Either water the soil before you dig, or wait until there's some good rainfall to aid you in lifting out the whole thing.

Lavandula dentata

Our new herb bed is now well-stocked with plants, including some tiny lavender seedlings of 'Munstead Dwarf' which I'm hoping will have bulked up by early summer.

We couldn't resist buying this slightly tender French lavender  (Lavandula dentata) because it often produces flowers in winter and has such attractive toothed leaves. Again, I hope it proves to be frost hardy in this new raised bed because we've lost some in the past - possibly due to poor drainage. 

I've just about managed to plant out the various seedlings which germinated in early autumn, so there remain a few little pots to over-winter in the cold frame.

As usual, we had too many wallflowers for planting in the front verge and down the back lane, so we put the rest in pots where they seem to do quite well. 

Once they start to bloom, we can move them around the driveway and courtyard areas, adding a splash of colour where needed. The same goes for various containers we've filled with tulip bulbs.

I'm now thinking that by the time Christmas arrives, everything should be tucked away neatly and all nefarious weeds dispatched... well, that's the theory anyway!

Winter sunset over the Estuary

Mellow Yellow

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower"

- Albert Camus

Our neighbour's lake with willows and ash trees

I meant to do another posting in October as it was a busy month in the garden, but all that fine weather got the better of me.  Despite the odd gale and rainstorm, every day seemed to be sunny with above-average temperatures and people were still swimming in the sea during that final half-term weekend.  A fabulous end to a rather mixed summer.

Shrub of the Month

If, like us, you have a smallish garden but crave some autumn colour, then look no further than the delightful dogwood, which can be used as hedging or as a stand-alone specimen plant.

Cornus alba or coloured-bark dogwood

I think originally I bought this shrub from Hilliers in Hampshire - how we miss their garden centres! - and it was probably called 'Winter Flame', or something similar, due to the stems turning bright red and really standing out in the midst of a grey winter.  

At this stage, though, it's enough just to enjoy its lemony yellow leaves which light up our hedgerow every evening when the sun is behind them.  Like most willows and dogwoods, it's very easy to grow from cuttings - just push a cut stem into some damp earth when the weather is still cool.  This one seems happy in either chalky or sandy soil, as long as there's some moisture retention.

We normally cut back half of its stems almost to ground-level in spring, ensuring a new flush of bright red bark to enjoy the following winter.

Veronica spicata incana
'Silver Sea'

One of the plants we bought last month was a Veronica spicata which we planted in the new raised-bed.  This has free-draining sandy soil suitable for our favourite pinks and lavenders which do so well in a sunny position.  

As it's a smallish area, we want to keep it mainly for grey or silver-leaved varieties which don't grow to more than about 30cm in height. This pretty veronica immediately took to its new environment by producing a couple of fresh flower spikes.  Very "spicata" indeed!

Weed of the Week

You may ask why I've included the humble

Viola odorata in my list of weeds...?  At first

glance it looks quite dainty and does produce

tiny sweet-smelling flowers in spring, so you 

could keep it in a woodland setting where it

will only be competing with a few bulbs.

  But it does grow and spread rapidly, producing

tuberous roots which anchor themselves firmly

in the soil, leaching out goodness which would

benefit other plants. Hence it's become a pest

 in my book, to be uprooted tout-de-suite!

Hydrangea paniculata 'Magical Moonlight'
underplanted with Lamium

Most of the rear garden is in permanent shade now so it's important to have a few plants which can 'glow' in the dark.  White flowers like this hydrangea perform well in shady conditions, as does the ground-cover Lamium maculatum which has large splashes of silver on its leaves.

Brunnera macrophylla variegata

Another indispensable perennial for a damp shady border is Brunnera macrophylla, originally from the Caucasus, with attractive heart-shaped leaves. There are several named varieties of this plant but look for those with silver markings - like 'Jack Frost' - as opposed to the ones with plain green leaves. 

Its flowers also come in various shades of blue and look very like forget-me-nots, although in fact the plant is more closely related to Anchusa.  Clumps can easily be divided in spring or autumn.

Geranium 'Orion'

This autumnal weather seems to have benefitted the above cranesbill, Orion, which has produced several sprays of large flowers almost as soon as it found itself languishing in the shade.  Clearly some geraniums can withstand sunny, dry conditions better than others and we might move this one to a cooler site next year.  

Salvia leucantha

We've sited our herb bed where there are still a few gleams of sun in the early morning and evening.  This particular salvia, or Mexican Bush Sage, grows quickly during the autumn and the clump is now almost a metre tall, with long arching spires of purple and white flowers which are still attracting insects.

We've taken several precautionary cuttings as we've lost these salvias in the past during icy weather.  We acquired this new specimen some weeks ago, expecting it to produce mauve blooms like the one we'd had before; but this fellow seems to be a cultivar with added white bits - slightly odd but still delightfully fluffy! 

Eragrostis trichodes "Summer Strain"

Similarly, the oddly-named Sand Lovegrass (above) makes an effective display in our remaining patch of sunlight.  Its delicate sprays look like water droplets blown on the wind and I only hope it doesn't throw its seed around with similar abandon...  Since we're not growing it in sandy soil, perhaps it won't feel so inclined!

Walking down by the shore recently, I was struck by the wide variety of grasses which thrive in this part of the world.  It would need a specialist to identify them all but, if I ever have the time, I'll compile a photo-inventory of the native grasses we come across on a daily basis - there must be dozens.

Aster tripolium - Sea Aster

Right now they're interspersed with seed heads of many kinds, including these sea asters which are well-adapted to salty conditions and can apparently be eaten in the same way as samphire.

Teasels on the marais
- good for attracting flocks of goldfinches

Last, but not least, our enterprising neighbour Robert, who has the beautiful tree-lined lake nearby and loves to collect unusual animals, has just acquired a handsome Poitou donkey - or baudet as they're known in France.

They're one of the largest donkey breeds, with a very shaggy coat which hangs in long cords, and were in danger of dying out until conservation efforts were begun 30 years ago.  They have a reputation for being very strong but also exceptionally gentle and friendly... unlike certain little ponies!

Poitou donkey with his feisty companion, 'Paprika'

-    In case you're wondering why I've centred all the photos in this posting, it's because Blogspot's word-wrap function no longer seems to work for me.  Perhaps it will right itself in due course but, meanwhile, any suggestions would be much appreciated :-)

  

Tidying Up

"Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed"

- Francis Bacon

The little border of lavenders which we planted last year have been cut back quite hard to keep a rounded shape.  This is a good time to trim all your woody herbs before they get forgotten under fallen leaves.

Back in the UK we're always told not to prune into 'hard' or old wood in case it kills the shoot; but here, in warmer climes, you can be pretty ruthless with lavenders and they will reward you by staying tight, producing lots of leaves and regenerating right from the base of the plant.  Herbs definitely respond to tough treatment!

Shrub of the Month

Rhamnus alaternus
'Argenteovariegata'

This Italian buckthorn, which is also sold under the name of Rhamnus 'Variegata', was planted some eight years ago - what you might call a Slow Grower, which is no bad thing over here!

Again, it's an evergreen which you can cut into a tight shape at the end of the year: now is a bit early because it will simply put on more growth in the mild weather.  Its small grey-green leaves look wonderful against dark wintry skies. 

This is a robust, drought-tolerant shrub which needs very little maintenance - and the RHS recommends it too. 

New acquisitions from the plant fair - properly labelled!

September saw our annual pilgrimage to the plant fair at Blaye, desperately in search of Salvia 'Amistad' to add to our collection.  This one is a 'must-have' because its flowers are such a dramatic dark purple - luckily we were able to grab one as soon as we arrived.  (Yes, it pays to be early at these events!)

As you can see, we also invested in three geraniums, partly because these newer hybrids are difficult to raise from seed and are protected by plant growers' rights.  It seems we're always in need of more cranesbills for ground-cover and recent introductions, like 'Rozanne', have proved to be very long-flowering.

Geranium 'Azure Rush' is a sport of 'Rozanne', but reputed to be more compact - so we bought one of those; and 'Orkney Cherry' is a dainty, bronze-leaved variety, with almost luminous flowers, which is suitable for edging or possibly trailing from a wall.  Now to find some space...

There's no doubt that bright-blooming salvias have provided some dramatic late colour in the herb garden. Here you can see four different varieties which contrast beautifully with scabious, yellow helenium and orange cosmos.

Some strong winds have taken their toll on our taller salvias and we've had a few broken stems.  But many of these we've treated as cuttings, sticking them in a bare patch of earth and marvelling at how quickly they produce roots!

Salvia elegans in bud

Our pineapple sage, on the right, has now developed from a small cutting into a tall bush with arching stems, whose scarlet blooms explode like firecrackers in the herb bed.

This plant originated in Mexico and Guatemala, so it's obviously going to be a bit tender in our climate; but we're growing it in a sheltered spot and will keep some cuttings in the cold frame as back-up.

Salvia elegans dominating the herb bed

Despite continuing to be very mild into mid-October, the sun is starting to disappear from our back garden and soon even the herbs will be left in shade all day.

To stop everything getting too dank and messy as autumn approaches, we've been busy cutting back perennials and collecting fallen leaves to put in a pile for leaf-mould.  

Comma - a late visitor

Although tidying up can be tedious, it's also an exciting time as the soil is still warm enough for planting and we keep discovering new spaces where we can squeeze in another plant or two.

Now I have an opportunity to plant up some of the seedlings I grew a couple of months ago: an apricot variety of foxglove; some small cornflowers or centaurea, and Lysimachia 'Beaujolais' which has glaucous foliage.

Weed of the Week

Convolvulus or bindweed
successfully colonising a clump of grass

Whilst helping a friend to weed her border recently, I came across this prime example of a convolvulus run riot.  If left for too long, especially in nitrogen-rich soil, this bindweed will artfully twine itself around plant roots as well as the upper structure, effectively strangling it.  

The message is: Get it out as soon as you see it !

Sternbergia lutea bulbs and
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides

On a gentler note, it's nice to discover the low sun illuminating bits of garden which have been hidden away in summer. Years ago we buried a few bulbs of autumn crocus or Sternbergia lutea in available spaces under hedges and trees; then promptly forgot about them.  

Each year at the end of summer they pop up to surprise us, having multiplied into clusters of bright yellow stars which look striking next to the gentian-blue flowers of ground-cover plumbago.  (Don't confuse this perennial with the pale blue plumbago which is usually grown indoors... this one has a nightmare of a Latin name which is very easy to forget!)

Now that most holidaymakers have gone home and our gite is empty once more, we've taken advantage of the sunny weather and gone for interesting walks along the shores of the Gironde.

Crithmum maritimum

The other afternoon I snapped this picture of a basking lizard surrounded by a natural garden of rock samphire which looks very decorative with its greeny flowers turning to red berries.

Apparently this plant is not to be confused with marsh samphire, or Salicornia europaea, which is the edible kind - often used as a salty accompaniment to seafood.

Tiny ferns growing between roof tiles

Our love of fishy places also took us out to the nearby island of Oleron, in the heart of oyster country, where there are endless possibilities for seaside photography.  It's also famous for its mild climate and for the mimosa fair in February - in reality a large brocante, where locals sell off swags of mimosa blossom in addition to bric-a-brac from their lofts!

Colourful oyster huts at St-Trojan-des-Bains

Late Summer

"Only with absolute fearlessness can we slay the

dragons of mediocrity that invade our gardens."

- George Lois

Harvesting continues to attract birds and other wildlife

Distinctly mixed weather for the remainder of August and, because it has tended to be on the cool side, I've continued to sow seeds and put in a few new plants for next year.

"Is there anything worth growing apart
from catmint?"

In this endeavour I've not been greatly assisted by Couscous, who has now decided that my zinc-topped potting bench gives him a nice warm perch for the evening!

Luckily he leaves the actual seedlings alone and saves his enthusiasm for jumping out and batting me when I'm trying to do some weeding in the border.

Amongst the seeds I'm starting are a new batch of hollyhocks (Antwerp Mixed) which might seem odd, given that they grow all over the place locally and you can easily collect seed. 

But I've done that for several years now and feel the need for some "new blood", especially if they turn out to be more snail-resistant. Rust isn't so much of a problem here but molluscs can do a lot of leaf-munching over the course of the season and I hate any plant to look ratty, even if it's just for planting in the verge outside.

Salvia horminum grown from seed

Other more unusual seeds include Sanguisorba menziesii, Lysimachia atropurpurea 'Beaujolais' and Bupleurum rotundifolium 'Garibaldi' which I selected with an eye to Piet Oudolf's recommendations for prairie-style planting.

It may take at least one season to evaluate whether any of these will be successful in our type of garden and sometimes you need to try out a plant in more than one location.  The Salvia horminum above, for instance, seemed to get lost when grown in its pink and white forms; but the one with velvety- purple bracts is definitely to be encouraged and seems to be doing well under the olive tree and mixed with other low-growing herbs.

Scabious caucasica
'Fama Deep Blue'

This Scabious caucasica proved harder to grow as it needs quite a rich soil but the intense violet-blue colour of the flowers is well worth the added effort required for cultivation.

It normally blooms in early Summer but perhaps the added rainfall this year has encouraged it to produce a few more flowers now in September - and that late season colour appears to be stronger than ever.

Trying out different varieties - whether grown from seed or purchased at plant fairs - is by far the best way to slay those "dragons of mediocrity"!

Verbena bonariensis with
Cosmos sulphureus

With the sun dipping ever lower in September, take advantage of the extremely bright light at either end of the day and sit where you can enjoy backlit flowers of cosmos and verbena, in addition to those indispensable grasses like stipa and pennisetum.

Much as we love this style of prairie planting, as advocated by the likes of Messrs Oudolf and Gerritsen, in practice we don't leave our stems to provide winter interest because they would simply generate thousands of seedlings to overwhelm us in spring!

Birds have more than enough food to feast on in surrounding meadows and frost rarely decorates our borders in that classic way of English gardens, so we take whatever seeds we need as soon as they appear and chop down most of the herbaceous plants as their flowering declines.

The exotic Diplandenia given to
us by a generous guest and
putting on its second flush
of pink blooms

When you first live here, it's exciting to grow a few exotics like citrus fruit and bougainvillea, which can sit outside happily for 8 months of the year - and perhaps longer in a very sheltered spot.

But December to March can bring short spells of both frost and ice, not to mention freezing winds, which quickly kill off any unprotected plants that are unreliable at temperatures below -10'C.

We've reined-in the number of semi-tropical things which we over-winter inside the house, otherwise there's a risk  of red spider mite infestations or scale insects if it's too warm, and unsightly amounts of leaf-drop if it's too cold.

Those with plenty of land can opt for a heated greenhouse, but on the whole we've found a cold frame is adequate for seedlings and cuttings. One advantage of having a lettings property is that, when necessary, we can use it as extra plant-housing in winter: I think that's where the "dipla-doodah" pictured above will find its home in a couple of month's time!

Argiope bruennichi -
the scarily efficient orb weaver spider

Talking of insects, I'm glad to say we don't have to put up with many in the house due to careful insulation and the use of mozzie blinds in summer. But outside is a different matter and I'm always fascinated by these Orb Weaver spiders which produce characteristic zig-zag lines of silk between plants. There's nothing worse than blundering into its web by mistake and getting caught in the sticky threads.

Common blue feeding
on a salvia flower

We haven't had such a diversity of butterflies this year, maybe because of the wet spring; but one of my favourites has just returned and I can't resist including a photo even though it's nothing more exciting than the so-called Common Blue.

Although quite small by butterfly standards, its colours are just magical: the male sports contrasting blues on both his upper and underwing, whereas the female has more brown on her upperwing. Fabulous.

Looks like summer is all rolled-up...

Evening border with yellow Rudbeckia hirta, Sedum,
Verbena bonariensis, Cosmos sulphureus and
white Gaura lindheimeri

Cooler Climes

"Gardens are a form of autobiography"

- Sydney Eddison

So, I wonder what the above picture tells you about the gardeners who live here...?  At least one of them is a sun-worshipper with some flair for design... Christina, on both counts!  You might also deduce that there's a desire for conservation and a love of antiquity in the way those stones are preserved alongside the terracotta pots.

Beyond that you could even hazard a guess that the people in question are drawn to a Mediterranean ambience, but no longer enjoy the fierce heat generated around its shores...

Yes, from our point of view, the weather here is a near-perfect mix of British seasonality, with its winter frosts and occasional snowfall, and sunny southerly optimism which means you can risk growing a few unusual things from the tender side of the spectrum.  In short, we relish the sun but not the sweat, which is mainly kept at bay by strong Atlantic breezes!

A couple of kind friends recently gave us a young aloe vera plant which we hope to keep in a smallish pot so that we can easily move it indoors during the coldest months of January and February. I would hate to see its succulent leaves browned or scarred by frost damage.

For the moment it looks great against our dark terracotta wall, bringing back happy memories of a trip to Arizona when we fell in love with spiky desert plants and got used to seeing them dramatically displayed against sun-baked adobe.

If we ever end up with a sheltered courtyard in town, it would be tempting to recreate something as theatrical and exotic as Frida Kahlo's garden at her home in Mexico!

Hummingbird Hawk Moth
feeding in late afternoon

At this time of year, we even have several 'hummingbirds' regularly darting around the heads of Verbena bonariensis, catching the sun on their beating wings and angled proboscis - an irresistible photo challenge.

If you're not used to them, it can be quite startling to hear a loud 'thrum' and feel the movement of air as they whizz past your ear.

A Japanese secret weapon -
and one of the best tools to have
in your gardening armory

When not disporting ourselves on sun-loungers or photographing wildlife, we can find any number of useful jobs in the garden. These include taking cuttings of plants like dianthus and salvia, or collecting seeds for sowing next year, just in case we ever need to replace our favourites.

You need to wait until the seed capsule is dry and brown before shaking its contents into a paper bag, or in the case of smaller seeds depositing them on a sheet of white paper with a crease down the middle. This makes it easier to feed them into an envelope; but don't try it outdoors on a windy day - that way madness lies!

This photo also illustrates one of our most favourite tools, given to us by a dear friend who appreciated the fact that we did so much chopping down in her garden and thus were in danger of getting repetitive strain injuries.  In fact, she gave us each a pair of these Okatsune pruning scissors which are scalpel sharp and slice through all kinds of tough stems with a crisp action requiring very little pressure. 

The fine blade is also suitable for taking softwood cuttings and I even employ these 'scissors' for occasional edge-trimming where damp grass can be difficult to cut with other tools. It seems logical (if scary) that a nation which invented harakiri should make the sharpest blades ever... 

Echinacea purpurea and Cosmos sulphureus

Meanwhile, on the subject of seeds, most of our echinaceas and cosmos have come from seed we collected in the past year or two. 

Whilst echinacea is generally hardy in this climate, it tends to disappear below ground in winter and then get eaten by slugs or snails before you have a chance to protect the emerging leaves.

Hyssop, salvia and pennisetum

Hyssops and salvias produce vast amounts of seed and it's worth keeping an envelope-full of each type just in case your plants are hit by frost.

We're also taking cuttings from them now which can root quickly in the warm soil, providing new plants which may even come to flower in just over a month - perfect for the impatient gardener!

Some seeds, like wallflowers, have to be sown around this time so their seedlings will be bushy enough to plant out in autumn, bulking up further by early spring to ensure a good flowering in April.

Pennisetum alopecuriodes
'National Arboretum'

Most grasses seem to be hardy here and the challenge is to stop them taking over your entire garden! Stipa tenuissima is prone to flagrantly seeding itself and I suspect this Pennisetum may be equally free and easy.

But the amazing light-catching quality of grasses is to be admired and, as they seem to enhance whatever plant is grown alongsidethem, I'll be happy to pot-up a few babies as gifts.

Hydrangea paniculata 'Grandiflora'
(with salvia cutting)

That hydrangea I wrote about over a month ago is still ravishing in its full maturity and I was amused to come across a review by Vita Sackville-West who also highlighted it as a shrub of distinction in late summer. 

She describes exactly how it starts by flowering white, then pink and "then it turns greenish, a sort of sea-green, so you never know where you are with it, as you never know where you are with some human personalities, but that makes them all the more interesting. Candidly white one moment; prettily pink the next; and virulently green in the last resort."

(Vita had colourful friends, for sure ...!)

Galega officinalis var. alba
(Goat's-rue)

Plainer and less interesting perhaps, but equally useful for an area in part-shade, is this little pea-like plant from southern Europe called Galega which we've used to underplant a rose. The foliage does tend to flop rather, but it's light and airy, helping to distract the eye from those naked rose stems. If it gets killed by frost, I hope it will leave a few seeds to come up in its wake.

Recently the north wind has returned and temperatures have dipped at night making one reach for a blanket. It seems early for autumn's footsteps to be approaching but our potted acer has responded by suddenly putting on a show of red and gold leaves, making me wonder if they'll soon be ready to flutter off.

Acer palmatum - another ostentatious show-stopper