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 :-)