Not Quite Autumn

Published on by Catherine

There’s a distinct chill in the morning air and by 7:30pm, the day is slipping away and darkness is creeping in. Ahead is the season characterised by fallen leaves, nippy mornings, the aroma of pumpkin spice and tempting mugs of hot chocolate. I don’t mind rainy days as long as I know that sunshine will follow. I don’t mind misty mornings because the wind wont be blowing. Of course we don’t always get the weather or seasonal conditions that we want, but I’m already looking out warm sweaters and cosy socks, scarves and gloves. I’ve placed an order for a few seasonal pumpkin spice candles and perhaps, just almost, I’m looking forward to autumn.

The garden still has pockets of lovely strong colour, but on the whole, I can see it fading. By next month most of it will have gone and it will be time to prune, lift and divide perennials, and plant bulbs for next year. But for the moment, I can enjoy what’s in bloom and plan ahead for those misty mornings and perhaps a few lazy indoor days. However, lazy days are not happening right now, so here is my choice of six photographs for Six on Saturday:

Wee Bee feasting on a Sedum. What can I say about this little bee, other than it’s working very hard and has started quite early in the morning.

Busy bee

Rosa ‘Francois Juranville’, a repeat-flowering rambler is treating me to another flush of flowers. I have two ‘Francois Juranville’ roses growing across two fences in the garden; the original purchased plant and the other, grown from a cutting.

  • Rosa ‘Francois Juranville’
  • A beautiful rambler

Japanese Anemone. I don’t have a name to add to this Japanese Anemone, but this year it has grown surprisingly tall, even though it has been short in height for many years. Curious.

Japanese Anemone

Aster novi-belgii ‘Patricia Ballard’ stands strongly at over 1m and is regularly buzzing with bees. It been growing here for a few years, and should have been divided last year, but it didn’t happen. This year I have presented the reluctant gardener with a nice new Hori Hori Knife and I think he actually might enjoy dividing the perennials this year. Or is that wishful thinking..?

  • Aster ‘Patricia Ballard’
  • Tall and dependable

Cosmos. No special effects have been added to this cosmos photo. The flower and its foliage just naturally have a lovely painterly quality. This is the one I’m going to break my ‘no seeds’ rule for next year.

Oh so pretty Cosmos

Helenium ‘Wesergold’ has become my current favourite helenium. Not only because I love its bright golden flowers but perhaps because the other heleniums haven’t coped too well with this summer’s drier than normal conditions. H. ‘Wesergold’ is still romping away, without a care in the world and for that it gets this year’s Helenium Trophy.

  • Helenium ‘Wesergold’, graceful…
  • …and cheerful

There are more gardens to explore on Jim’s site, Garden Ruminations. If you care to pop over, you will meet some more home gardeners, perhaps just like yourself and might even find some garden inspiration.

The rain is falling here, so I think I might bake some Apple Cinnamon Muffins. A few to eat and the rest to freeze for chilly autumn days.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

Catherine x

28 thoughts on “Not Quite Autumn”

  2. Your description of the autumn days is well done and enticing nonetheless ( aroma of pumpkin spice and tempting mugs of hot chocolate.) .. Yes, the days are colder and less sunny. There is a time for everything… I can only say, as I do every week, that your photos are superb and the header photoremains my favourite with this very pretty helenium

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    1. Thank you, Fred, for your kind comment. In a few weeks I will start burning a pumpkin spice candle in the hall for a few hours each day, where its aroma will drift through open doors into each room. I’ve tried the scented pine cones that you can buy in garden centres but I find them overpowering.

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  3. At the risk of sounding like a stuck record (and doesn’t that show my age?!) your photos are gorgeous, Catherine, I’d be happy to have any one of them enlarged and put on the wall.
    I’ve made a mental note of ‘Wesergold’ as my heleniums haven’t done all that well either. Have a good week.

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    1. Thank you, Helen. I think I might lift the other heleniums and try them in a new spot. I’m not sure it will make much difference, but it’s worth a try – though I think it was probably lack of water and being in full sun. Wesergold does get a bit of shade that the others don’t.

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  4. What a great evocation to the passing of summer at the start of your post Catherine. I smiled when you mentioned the Hori hori, as I have just added that to my collections of garden tools. I was advised by Helen Picton of Old Court Nurseries only to divide in the spring, as the plants do not grow roots etc during the winter and are prone to dying. However you are a very experienced gardener and understand your soil and climate conditions, and will undoubtedly made the right decision. Perhaps the Gardener would like to try out the new hori hori on some other garden divisions and be well practised for next spring.

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    1. I note that we have also chosen the same brand of Hori Hori. I’ve taken on board your comments about autumn v spring division and decided that it would be wise the leave the aster alone until early spring. The reluctant garden will probably get more fun out of dividing less demanding plants than the Aster, so I’ll let him, as you said, practise on those! Thank for your advice. 😊

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  6. Such lovely soft colours and then the burst of yellow! I do wish I could grow Heleniums. That is one lovely aster. Once again the only one I have left has struggled to grow this year. I am hoping that it might flower in October. I was going to buy some new ones from Beth Chatto, but I really am running out of space for anything new.

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    1. It took me a while to get to grips with heleniums, June, and then I thought I’d cracked – but I hadn’t! H. ‘Moerheim Beauty’ has always been my favourite – I think I need to find a better spot for it and the other varieties. Like you, space is running out – I might need to lose another strip of grass!

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      1. I love ‘Moerheim Beauty’, but it and ‘Sahin’s Early Flowerer’ and a very dark red one all failed to survive the winter / slugs in spring. I now concentrate on those plants the S&S don’t attack.

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        1. Oddly, slugs & snails (of which I have many!) don’t appear to be interested in the heleniums. Hmm…now that I’ve said it, I hope their tastes don’t change. 😳

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  8. Oh, that Japanese Anemone is stunning…it should be in a frame, truly. All your blooms are beautiful, and that ‘Francois Juranville’ Rose is a lovely color! Our summer weather has come back, and I’m fine with that. 26-32C (80-90F) for highs here this next week. Some rain and light winds, partly cloudy…my favorite weather. Too soon (November-February), we will be much colder than you, and my outdoor garden activities will be on hold. 😦

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    1. Thank you, Beth. The rain is heavy as I write this and our temperatures are only 12C (53F). I have the heating on – but I’m not envious as your 26-32C is just too hot for me. 🥵 I hope you have your winter thermals at the ready for it will all-to-soon be November. 🥶 Have a good week and enjoy your summer weather!

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    1. ‘Bowles’s Pink’ does look remarkably similar, but the name isn’t familiar to me. Could it have self-seeded from elsewhere? I did have Japanese anemone ‘Prinz Heinrich’ growing in the borders, and I’m sure it was the same border, but it’s definitely not that flower – the petals are very different. A mystery. 😐

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  10. I love autumn anyway, but your post has really got me in the mood for it! 😁 The thought of some indoor time is actually quite pleasant after our long hot summer, and it is indeed a lot cooler here too now. And pumpkin spice is a wonderful smell at any time of year for me! I love that Helenium (beautifully photographed!) and wonder if I might find one here since it has a German name. The newer ones I have planted in recent years just won’t get established, and my clump of Sahin’s Early Flowerer has dwindled. That was a cunning plan, buying your husband a knife that could, just by chance, come in handy for dividing perennials! (And that is a reminder that I must divide at least one of mine.) I am now wondering what I could give my Man of Many Talents to help him dig out some rather large grasses that need dividing. A mini excavator perhaps! 😂 Enjoy your early autumn days Catherine!

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    1. Our car is going into the garage tomorrow and I’m looking forward to an entire day in the house – and with no commitments! Pumpkin spice is one I save exclusively for autumn, otherwise I might get too used to the smell and not appreciate it so much – but you’re right – it is good for any time of the year. I hope you find a helenium that will establish well in your garden. I wonder if it would help if you grew them on in posts for their first year so that you’re putting a more established plant into the soil. I often do that with new plants that arrive fairly small. A mini-excavator is a step too far for my small garden, though I have a few grandsons who would love to get hold of something like that! 🤣

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    1. I need to work on the heleniums that have’t kept flowering. H. ‘Wesergold’ has been the exception this year – and it’s still going strong. If it’s likely that we will have more dry summers ahead, then possibly, they will have to be found a new home in the borders. Having said that, I’m sure you will love heleniums once you add them to your garden! 😊

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