The Green Leaves of Summer

All the best gardens in August are ablaze with the sumptuously rich primary colours of Crocosmias, Rudbeckias and Dahlias all tastefully intermingled, these days, with floating golden grasses punctuated with the bold brazen leaves of Cannas and Bananas.

And here is mine.

I have something more akin to "The Green Leaves of Summer".  If you like green, then mine is the garden for you.  I do have some Dahlias but so far only two have decided to flower and they are . . . white.  Some will not flower this year.

This is the rather splendidly scarlet Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff' in a pot protected from pests by a band of copper tape.  When I look at this I ask myself: why do you still feel guilty when you kill a slug?

The sea blue Eryngium that dad gave me is flowering but I am still waiting for Liatris spicata & Gladiolus murielae - I would normally have expected both of these to be in flower by now - perhaps it is a sign of just how cold and wet a summer we have had.

Today I did harvest my first blueberry - although in a pot I have barely had to water this and it looks good for only its second year.  This variety is 'Patriot'.

Echinacea, on the other hand, is looking decidedly washed out - these petals should be pink.

And, as if I didn't have enough green leaves, I have been given some more!  These are a selection of herbs and a planter given to me as a leaving gift by my colleagues at work - even the box is green.  I am over the moon with this and I love my little blackbird too.






But of course, it is not true to say there is only green in my garden,

The Astilbe 'Straussenfeder' and Monarda are beginning to put on a lovely show - and the latter is even attracting bees again.

Fuchsias, Pot Marigolds, Lobelia, Ragwort and Dahlia - all a bit subtle maybe, but I like them.

The tumbling corn flowers are a bright blue - I suppose to make a splash I really need more of these, but when I sow them I only end up with a few plants.  You see I'm not a real gardener at all!

It may not be in flower but I love how the mottled foliage of Ajuga reptans 'Burgundy Glow' really is doing the mat-forming thing I hoped it would.  Thank you Ajuga.

Meanwhile, a lot of this greenery is for next year - I am hopeful (is that wise?) that this bed will be an Oxford of dreamy Foxglove spires next summer.  All those basal rosettes should be building up their strength and resources in preparation for next spring's big push.

I guess that is the thing about August in my garden - looking back it is primarily a spring and early summer garden.  When I look at this spot I see the jobs I'll be doing to prepare for autumn: trimming the flower heads from the Thyme and Dianthus, cutting back the Iris, and preparing for the Sycamore Seed Rain which has already begun a steady drizzle.

And hey, with all these flowers coming late then maybe September will roast me with colour after all.  In the meantime, I'll just enjoy the green leaves of summer.