Bonne vendange

"Wine is light, held together by water"

- Galileo

Grapes are almost bursting from their skins

As we thought, our local grapes are so ripe that harvesting has begun about three weeks early - and it promises to be a vintage year. (This more than makes up for the disastrous blackberry season, providing us with a miserable couple of bags for the freezer!)

Actaea simplex Atropurpurea
(formerly known as Cimicifuga)
variety 'James Compton' or 'Brunette'

Mind you, this past week has seen some almost tropical downpours which have left the vineyards unusually muddy and unwelcoming for the huge machines employed in hoovering up those precious grapes.

Our plants have definitely benefitted from this added moisture, particularly the wine-coloured foliage of Bugbane (Actaea simplex) which had started to crinkle for lack of water.

A few inches of rain and its dark buds have finally opened to produce some fine spires of white, with an intriguing scent rather like incense. They stand out well against the barn wall which is mainly in shade at this time of year.

Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red'

Where foliage is concerned, I continue to be impressed by the dark leaved penstemon 'Husker Red' - a strain supplied by Chiltern Seeds.

Although I cut down the spent stems a few weeks ago, these plants look anything but tired and have responded by putting on some bright new leaves.

As our garden has gradually filled up with perennials, we're more aware of how important it is to have vibrant or contrasting foliage to provide interest throughout the season, long after flowers have faded and gone.

Berries of Pyracantha with yellow
flowers of Sternbergia lutea

Having passed the Autumn Equinox, there are many more dark corners crying out for fiery berries of Pyracantha or the daffodil-yellow blooms of Sternbergia bulbs which thrive really well under hedges.

So, too, do the obliging flowers of Cyclamen hederifolium that are beginning to weave their pretty carpets in the leaf litter under our ash tree. We have them in both white and pink, and they take it upon themselves to spread into some of the most inhospitable places.

Autumn-flowering Sternbergia lutea
- a bold contrast to the blue of Ceratostigma plumbaginoides

Grasshopper checking out the fiery
blooms of Cosmos sulphureus 'Polidor'

Elsewhere in our borders, Cosmos continues to flower prolifically despite being dumped on by rain and beaten about by strong winds.

Again, this variety of 'Polidor' -with its semi-double two-tone petals - comes from Chiltern Seeds and grows to around a meter in height, providing bright swatches of red, yellow and orange which effectively pick out similar hues in neighbouring Heleniums and Rudbeckias.

It also provides good contrast to blue or purple flowering Salvias and Hyssops which are busy doing their thing right now... 

Verbena bonariensis providing the
perfect foil to Cosmos sulphureus

And not forgetting those indefatigable mauve heads of Verbena bonariensis, which seem to wave at us from all the sunnier parts of the garden, attracting a few late summer butterflies and hummingbird hawkmoths.

Most of the wildlife in our garden is pleasantly benign but we did suffer from a rampant mole who insisted on drilling his way across several borders, uprooting the odd plant in his enthusiasm. We tried planting out a couple of plastic bottles, up-ended on canes to vibrate in the wind, and that actually seemed to slow him down.

Then one morning we found a plump brown body deposited in the driveway, his sharp little teeth exposed in a gesture of defiance, and we concluded that "Moley" had finally fallen victim to our cat, Couscous!

Some creatures are prettier
than others...

Initially, Christina feared this bug on the left was a giant spider when first glimpsed under a branch of clematis, but on closer inspection it turns out to be a cross-eyed cricket.

They are a species of saddle-backed bush cricket (Ephippiger ephippiger) commonly found in vineyards, so perhaps it's not surprising to come across this one in our garden.

Lucky for us it's not a bug that can fly, otherwise it might be truly terrifying!

Autumn sun now favours the herb bed

By mid-afternoon the back garden can still be warm enough for sunbathing and the occasional (small) snake or lizard can be heard skittering over gravel, especially if Couscous is around! 

Lavandula dentata

One of the plants which has done really well in our new raised bed is Lavandula dentata, or French lavender, which my book tells me is actually native to Spain.

Previously, when we've tried growing it in the front south-facing garden, it's died after becoming waterlogged during winter. This time we've planted it in sandy, free-draining soil and the plant has been in flower for months. 

It is still producing new buds and leaves so I'm hoping it will continue to flower until Christmas - as we've seen it in other gardens around here. Definitely good value!

When it comes to our regular lavender shrubs - Lavendula angustifolia - Christina has cut these back hard in order to keep their nicely rounded shapes. 

Any sort of planting repetition is pleasing to the eye and a line of fairly even mounds creates soft shadows and architectural shapes.

Geraniums, verbascum and cosmos

At the base of our rose tripod is a nice patch of magenta provided by the very free-flowering Geranium 'Patricia', a good plant for ground-cover in a sunny and well-drained spot.

Next to it is Verbascum hybridum 'Snow Queen' that had its main flowering stem cut back earlier this summer but has generously gone on to produce several more shorter spikes of white flowers.

Young goldfinch tucking in to teasels on the shore