I can hardly believe that the last time I posted was in the week of Chelsea Flower Show, but it is true!

It’s been a very long time since I have had any time to write my blog as I have been very busy gardening for a growing number of clients. It has been great gardening weather this summer and autumn, so here are some highlights.

At Client #2’s garden everything is taking on a happy maturity.  Here in the west-facing semi-shade bed Carex ‘Ice Dance’,  Heuchera, a Japanese Shield fern, Pachysandra and Alchemilla mollis, with a backing of variegated ivy, makes a pleasing composition of tranquil lush greens and mellow yellows.

In the east-facing bed a tough Valerian blends nicely with a blue hardy geranium (split into five  newly invigorated clumps in the Spring from a huge congested plant) and a Cistus – all three very resilient plants for a sunny bed.

The south-facing lavender and catmint bed did very well, against a wall, where I have also planted 20 Nerines, which over the years will clump up and produce a lovely September show as their favourite place is the base of a sun-baked wall.

And moving into Autumn an inherited Rudbeckia glows in the early morning sunshine…

The substantial project of re-planting Client #4’s garden has been progressing well, with all new planting in two of the three large beds planted by the end of May, and the remaining third bed fully planted up last week.

Here the Miscanthus, Anemanthele lessoniana and Stipa tenuissima of the Grasses bed are coming into their Autumn glory…

The Romantic south-facing border had its front areas planted in May with lavenders, sedums and Agapanthus,  and this pleasing partnership of Achillea ‘Cerise Queen’ and Gaura ‘Whirling butterflies’ seen here..

And the interior of the bed was planted up this October with bearded iris, japanese anemones, peonies and Cistus, Viburnum tinus and Abelia, against a very smart new fence.

 

Client #7’s front garden is being slowly cleared of a mono-culture of manic hardy geranium, to be replaced in due course with a lawn, step-over apples and a Magnolia.  This is how far I’ve got so far, but there is a lot more work to do so watch this space…

 

In my own garden there have been some great performing plants over the summer and autumn.  Salvia and Astrantia have done well in a large pot in semi-shade, flowering almost continuously from June until this week….

The wonderful acid green of Euphorbia oblongata has also been a stalwart of the garden throughout the summer –

My new Yukka has been very happy in its pot in the sunshine

and the Calamintha nepeta has done very well flowering for months and months on my balcony, beloved of the bees (I read about this plant in Noel Kingsbury’s book on the Lurie Garden in Chicago, where they said it was a great performing bee magnet).

 

My new Agastache has been a lovely gentle orange all through late summer and early autumn (seen here with Cercis ‘Forest Pansy’ and Hackonocloa)

I have this autumn extended the width of my south-facing bed, and replanted it with a palette of plants that are very happy in gritty, sunny conditions, as well as a very large number of new Allium and Tulip bulbs (a present from my parents) which I look forward to seeing the development of over the next year.  Here is the bed with the new section of pavers removed…

And the new plantings complete

I have also added Japanese anemones and Acanthus to my Cotinus bed

I look forward to seeing how these two beds do with their new plantings.

My Phormium, which has been living in a pot, is finally planted….

And my Tree Fern, has settled in well, planted in a pot as a tiny baby twig of a plant at the start of the summer, and now looking quite lush.

So,  as the colours of autumn gather in around my garden…

my table is building up once again with more plants for new Client #9’s garden project which is just about to be planted up, so I hope to report on that next time I write.

And finally a shot of my parents’ wonderful Hydrangea in its summer glory (grown from a cutting I gave them in 1994!)

Which my Mother has now given me back a cutting from – still flowering in my garden this week – the circle of horticulture goes ever on!

Happy autumn gardening!