#Pennisetum red buttons

[iplantsman]

The delightfully soft flower heads of Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’ (Chinese Fountain Grass). Today’s late summer/early autumn #oneadayplant . The leaves on the trees are still largely green, so I’m clinging on to summer by the fingernails. . Many grasses come into their own in late summer and through autumn to winter with interesting flowers and seed heads. In truth, I’m not a huge fan of many Pennisetum (often called Bunny Tails). I find their foliage pretty unappealing and the smaller varieties way too dense in leaf and flower appearing often to be just a blur of messy growth. Hameln is the smallest of the large bottle-brushed flowered forms that I like, getting to between 60-90cm (2-3’) tall eventually. Any shorter than that and I’m yet to find one that I like. Some of the varieties that have red flowers, or small button flowers are fine at lesser heights, but for me, the taller the better when it comes to Pennisetum. . Hameln is by far the most commonly available form too and while there have been many new Pennisetum introductions in recent years, it still outstrips all others in terms of sales in the UK. It’s a good doer so long as conditions are fair. . Full sun and well-drained soil (especially in winter). Though deciduous, the flower/seed heads will persist through the winter months needing to be cut and tidied in around February, when strong winds will otherwise cause them to fall apart and blow around the garden. . A textural delight and reliable in the UK, performing fairly consistently. Several others are less robust, be warned. . #pennisetum #pennisetumalopecuroides #pennisetumhameln #grass #grasses #ornamentalgrasses #flowers #latesummer #latesummergarden #autumn #winterseedheads #seedheads #foliage #iplantsman #texture #texturalplants #fluffy #soft #gardening #plantingdesign #sunlover #gardeningtips #gardeningadvice #bunnytails #chinesefountaingrass (at Crowborough, East Sussex) https://www.instagram.com/p/CE1GFW6gmcH/?igshid=mbcci57lg46w

[ijunoposts]

Wordy Wednesday

[ijunoposts]

End of Month View of the Garden. End of September 2017

With thanks to Steve at The Glebe House Garden Blog for hosting this Meme.

More normal September weather has arrived with occasional hot sunny days,plenty of rain, blight warnings, and some wind.

I’ve started wearing a jumper, and its less than 100 days till that festival that rhymes with twistmas.

Aster × frikartii ‘Mönch’ and Rudbeckia fulgida Goldsturm.

All the Autumn flowers are doing their thing, the bees are still making use of all available flowers.

My potted Acer’s are showing lovely Autumn colour at the moment, I’ve worked out that I have quite a few Acer varieties in various stages of pots dotted in random locations throughout the garden, most need re potting into larger pots.  A job for the winter.

Acer Green Glory 1 of many dotted around the garden.

My fence border is showing signs of autumn .

Hamamelis looking autumnal.

Last spring I purchased a new Hamamelis × intermedia ‘Jelena‘ and planted it along this border, I am looking forward to seeing it in all is flowery glory next spring, the addition of this latest plant brings my Hamamelis count back up to 3 after the demise of one of my oldest and smallest plants earlier this spring.

Island bed of annoyance.

My island bed of annoyance is still annoying me, I’m determined to give it a major sort through and clear out over the impending winter months, I’ve already pulled out one plant that was very lack luster and under performing, that went straight into the bin.

I’ve been making a mental note of what I want to keep, what I want to move, where to, and what I want to be rid of, however every time I undertake this mental task I come out with different decisions.

Behind the island bed, in the random are in between the falling down shed and newest greenhouse, I have a lovely display from my newest Aster.

Aster novae angliae ‘Dapper Tapper’.

This Aster was in its first year last year and sulked a while, so this year it’s looking splendid and settled in nicely.

I’m also getting some nice grass seed heads, but the plants do need relocating this winter as they are too close together.

Grassy Seed Heads.

Pennisetum red buttons, in close proximity with Miscanthus nepalensis. 

My Crab Apple is currently looking like I’ve placed red beads all over it. It’s practically glowing.

However I’ve come to the conclusion that it must be grafted on dwarfing root-stock, or really dislike the ground conditions as after 6 years of being planted, the tree has barely doubled in sized. I can tell its been grafted by the effect on the lower trunk, and in all other aspects the tree is really healthy, except in size.

Malus ‘Evereste’.

Malus ‘Evereste’ about 2m tall.

All my Tomatoes and Cucumbers have now finished, I’ve pickled loads of cucumber batons and slices, but need 3 months in vinegar before I can taste them to see if I like them preserved that way. Tomatoes have been rendered down into lots of jars of sauces to be eaten with pasta dishes. The Sweetcorn is also finished and cleared away, I managed to achieve the elusive 2nd decent cob per plant, something I’ve never managed before, the addition of lots of B&Q manure was the secret ingredient.

#gallery-0-8 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-8 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 25%; } #gallery-0-8 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-8 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

The 2nd cobs of Sweetcorn Lark F1, smaller than the 1st cobs, but very tasty.

Sweetcorn cobs.

Tomato Scotland Yellow.

Cucumber Mini Munch. The best I’ve ever eaten.

After the Sweetcorn plants were finished and removed it gave my Butternut squashes who were planted in a 2 sisters style, chance to fruit up and ripen, the crop as been very small and individual fruits are also comically small, however they are very tasty.

Butternut Squash Hunter F1. (Don’t Laugh).

I think I’ll grow a different squash as part of the two sisters next year, something more exciting perhaps.

In the raised beds I have a bit of winter Lettuce, and a crop of small Leeks hiding under mesh to try to thwart the Allium Leaf Minor which devastated all my Leeks last year. If this method does not work, then I will give up Leeks for good.

I’ve also got some autumn planting Shallots & Red Onions purchased from the Malvern Autumn Show I attended recently. I’m going to grow the Shallots as pickling onions for harvesting next late spring. Well that’s the plan.

Until next month, bye for now.

End of Month View of the Garden. End of September 2017 End of Month View of the Garden. End of September 2017 With thanks to Steve at The Glebe House Garden Blog