Readers’ gardens
Autumn has been very contradictory this year. Leaf colour turned early, while late-flowering perennials were only just coming into bloom. I had intended to lift the tender salvias for overwintering about now, but it looks like we’ll be enjoying them for a few more weeks yet. There’s plenty to be getting on with anyhow, such as cutting back early-flowering perennials, bulb planting, gradual clearance of annual displays, sweeping paths, clearing gutters and removing pond weed from the rill.
Some heucheras succumbed to vine weevil so I’ve cleaned them up and repotted them, ready for next season. Bags of manure and bark chippings have been delivered ready to mulch the borders this autumn. It’s a challenge to keep the garden looking fresh this late in the season, but this year’s autumn borders are their best yet – full of colour and vibrancy.
In the greenhouse, tomatoes and cucumbers have ripened slowly but surely; I wish they’d hurry up as I need to clear their beds to make way for overwintering cannas! I’m using my propagators for cuttings, mainly salvias and penstemons, instead of seed sowing, due to higher success rates. Meanwhile, the allotment has finally yielded its last veggies, but there are still grapes and dahlias to pick.
A recent addition, Aster laevis ‘Calliope’, has proved invaluable. I bought some mature plants from a Welsh nursery to enhance the purple and white border. Five feet tall with rich purple, star-like flowers carried on upright, black stems – what’s not to like?
And to end October on a high note, we learned that we won the London Gardens Society Best Small Back Garden competition for the second year running!