Good morning and happy Saturday to you all. I can’t believe it’s time for another garden post from me and this week I thought I would share what is giving that final burst of colour in my garden. I am a complete failure for thinking about September for planting and colour. When this month rolls around each year I’m looking at plants going over and there is almost nothing in bloom. I did plant some gladioli this year but they aren’t in bloom yet or even nearly throwing up flower stems. Today is mostly a photo post from me as we say goodbye to a family member and my sense of humour is a little deflated. I hope you enjoy the photos of the blooms after the light shower this morning and I can’t wait to see how your gardens are doing. I might even swipe a few ideas from all of you for next September.

Cineraria

I bought a few of these last week on sale in the garden centre to see how the colour would fit into my borders. I have this yearning for some blue-grey seagrass in my beds with some floating pastel Dierama all intermingled with cottage plants like dianthus, sage etc. I realised I was missing some movement which I love and before pouring money in to the front garden I wanted to see if I liked the colour in place. I know these will probably go over in the next few weeks and won’t survive the coming winter but spending 5 euro now will save me a fortune next year.

Pansies

You just can’t beat pansies for colour. I allowed some to self-seed from spring in the beds and they are peeping up to say hello now and in the oddest positions. I did, however, buy this particular colour from the garden centre sale and I want to save the seed it is just divine. I have lots of deep purples but none this soft lilac pink. These guys just go on and on and really I didn’t like them much when I was younger but I have grown to appreciate their happy little faces and unique seed heads as the season progresses.

Sweetpea

We are enjoying a late flush of sweet pea flowers here at the cottage. The blooms are smaller than earlier but we have masses and masses of blooms right now. I know the coming weather is probably going to strip the plants but they are bringing a smile to my face in the morning when I get outside. I’ll be saving the seeds from these beauties this year and our first pods are almost ready for picking. The hardest thing was keeping the children away from them as they see the pods and think “Oh, peas!” It was worth the stress ad these have sheltered my newly planted wisteria this year and have climbed the branches of my patio fruit trees.

Snapdragons

I planted these a little late in the season from seed and they have repaid me handsomely. Their little flower blooms are covering my back bed and some containers around the cottage and they are the only reason that I have masses of colour anywhere. This was my first mass planting of summer bedding seeds so I am converted and will definitely continue this next year. The tip I shall share with you is that planting a bedding plant late choose the white flower version. As the evenings begin to darken and if you only see your beds in the dark, the white flowers are at their best at this time. They almost create their own light at dusk creating a stunning display in the darkness. There is something ethereal about a white night garden and I always try and think of the cottage garden at night. Also, we have toddlers so when we aren’t sleeping ( which is getting less common) we can look out at the garden at night and still enjoy it.

Crocosmia

I think this will be our last week of orange colour in the garden. The grasses and flowers are beginning to go over. I do love how these little bulbs spread and how they can take over a shady are and fill it with bright orange blooms. I give this plant nothing but neglect and it still rewards us with a stunning display. My only issue is having to dig it up to remove the grassroots which have found their way into the plants over the years. I don’t have a love of bright red or orange in the garden but they do add a touch of drama which ethereal in the dark grey days.

Marigold

Oh, how I wish I knew the name of this variety. This was a free packet of seed from Mr. Middelton when I ordered our fruit trees and I planted them and they have come back every year since. Each year they are bigger and better than the year before and they last right the way through until the first frost without me having to do anything other than to feed them when I feed the veg. Again I’m not one for orange in my borders but I do have to admit they change the entire colour scheme just by opening their blooms. A herald of the change Autumnal season. What I don’t love is finding out that weevils enjoy these blooms, sigh, I see nematode applications in my future.

That’s it from me this week, the sun is up and the bird are calling for breakfast. Thank you for joining me, it really means so much to me to be able to share the cottage garden with all of you. Do make sure that you pop over to The Propagator ‘s page to check out more wonderful gardening posts and why not search the #sixonsaturday tag on twitter too to fill your feed with beautiful blooms. There is also a participant guide here if you would like to join in too. Looking forward to catching up with all of your garden posts this week too!

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