It's Autumn Already? Really?

Despite having an early reminder that autumn is looming when we had a few chilly nights in August we quickly resumed back to summer mode once it warmed up again. And September hasn't been too bad either, with most of the month being on the sunny and dry side.

Curious fish looking at these succulents perched on the edge of their pond...

Most of the garden is still looking lush and exuberant but some plants are already changing leaf colour or are shedding them which are definite reminders that yes it's already autumn, more so than the date on the calendar.

Time has flown by so quick, where has the summer gone? I feel like I've barely featured our garden in the summer months. I haven't even revealed the new jungle veranda yet nor have shown photos of the fernery area of the jungle garden replanted with tree ferns. The thing is I haven't really taken that many photos of the garden (compared to previous years at least) looking at its leafy prime during the summer. Both of us just let ourselves get caught up tending or just enjoying being in the garden, often not remembering to take photos along the way. 

and more...

some were on the ground...

And now autumn is here and some plants are showing signs of of the shift of the season. And with some reluctance we both have to start thinking about preparing the garden for the cooler and colder months ahead.

We don't pack up our garden so quick, rather it's a gradual process and involves plenty of planning. It's not going to be hectic yet but there are things we have to start, like putting on new bubblewrap in the older of the two greenhouses for insulation.

They had to be taken out as we put on new bubblewrap insulation in the greenhouse

Bubblewrap doesn't last long and usually disintegrates due to UV exposure after two to three years hence needs regular replacing. The one that was on previously in this greenhouse started to crumble away last spring hence it had to be removed and last weekend it was finally replaced.

Twinkles tried to help

Voila, new bubblewrap in place!

With new bubblewrap now in place it is now ready to receive more succulents for storage during the winter. The greenhouse did have permanent residents during the summer but more will go in later on and by winter it will be jam packed. We haven't managed to trail in an electrical supply to it like it used to on previous years (it got cut off by the garden fire last year) so it will be heated once again by paraffin. Not keen on this form of heating as it emits soot but better than having no heating at all.

And they moved right back in again

So winter preparation has already begun in the garden. And I better take more photos in the next few days before autumn totally takes hold of the garden.

Mark :-)

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A Day at Crete Lodge Exotic Garden

On our third and final stopover on our weekend away in Norfolk we spent an entire day at Crete Lodge Exotic Garden. Although intending on seeing another garden on the same day, somehow I had an inkling already in the morning before we even set off that won't be the case.

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An Afternoon at East Ruston Old Vicarage

Our next stop after spending the morning at Urban Jungle was East Ruston Old Vicarage Garden, an iconic garden that is usually heralded as one the finest in the UK. 

For more information about the garden, it's background and history I'll just refer you to their website and wikipedia but chances are you may have heard of this garden before. It is frequently featured in various gardening books and magazines and generally receives ample publicity.

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The Wonderful Urban Jungle

On our post yesterday I mentioned that we had a weekend away in Norfolk in which we managed to visit a nursery and a couple of gardens. We were actually intending to visit a couple more to that didn't managed to as it quickly dawned on us that the time we allocated to see them all was simply not enough, hence only managed to see three places (plus the seaside town where we all stayed overnight).

Of the three places we visited our first stop was Urban Jungle, a nursery specialising in the rare and unusual as well as plants that can help give a garden an exotic feel. If you like exotic (and not so exotic) plants this a nursery that is a must to visit. They have a wide selection of plants available, from the staples to the more unusual ones, lush and leafy to the spiky, backbones to the bedding plants, and more importantly lots of plant options that are winter hardy for most parts of the UK.

Now let's take a look, first from the outside as we walk out from the parking area...

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Garden Blogger's Bloom Day September 2014

We just came back from a fabulous weekend away in Norfolk and have managed to visit a couple of wonderful gardens and a nursery. Would have loved to have visited a few more and was intending to but alas a weekend was too short and we simply must just go back at a different.

But before we feature the places we visited it's the middle of the month and let's take a look first at some of the few plants that currently in bloom in our garden:

Kniphofia caulescens

Canna 'Cleopatra'

Canna 'Cleopatra'

We have a couple of potted Canna 'Cleopatra' side by side and one them has thrown out bi-coloured blooms while the other only red-orange ones which are past it's prime already.

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The Sweet and The Soft

Last Saturday we attended the monthly meet of our local HPS chapter and the guest speaker was Colin Ward, owner of Swines Meadow Farm Nursery which is not that far from us (but we have yet to visit, oops!) and we know sell many rare and unusual plants. We bump into him quite regularly through the many plant fairs that we attend so it was extra nice to see and hear him do a talk for our HPS chapter.

Now we were aware that he will be bringing plants with him during the day to sell. What we didn't expect though was that he will be bringing with him many unusual and beautiful plants that are already of a good size. That was a very nice surprise and with so many tempting goodies we had an unexpected plant shopping afternoon! More about our HPS purchases in a separate post but one of the plants we got from him is a very beautiful Mahonia that is new to me.

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Exotic Plants and Exotic Fish

As most of you know by now our main hobby is exotic gardening with koi keeping secondary to that. Although both coexist in our garden, our external and social endeavours for both rarely mix together, and we pursue both disciplines on separate occasions. We are active members of Kangei Koi Club and we all meet quite regularly and have been visiting each others pond, as well as meeting up once a month.  And being a koi club we talk mainly about, as the name suggests koi and rarely about plants and gardening.

But one of koi club buddies, Paul Randall to our pleasant surprise is actually into exotic gardening as well. And last Sunday he hosted a picnic and pond visit for the koi club. His pond is stunning but as a fellow exotic gardener naturally we paid as much attention to his planting as much as we did to his pond. 

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With Reluctance I go Terracotta

So I bought some new plants recently and a few more have since arrived since then. They came in small pots and are meant to be re-potted as soon as possible. However it still took me days to do so, not because of lack of time but rather I was mulling over which pots to use.

Aloe suprafoliata

It wasn't that we didn't have any empty pots, in fact we have loads of them stacked in the working area. It was more that I felt I didn't have any nice pots to put them in.

Also, with it being late summer already I was considering whether it would be worth it to put them in nice pots now for display. Or just pot them on into any pot on hand and let them grow more and keep them as pristine as possible during the winter. Then come early next year pot them on into nicer containers for display in the garden.

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Fling 2014: Portland Japanese Garden

After a break from Fling posts, it felt like a good time to come back to our fabulous trip to Portland. Its hard to believe it that its almost two months since our trip. Looking back through the photos brings everything back to life again.

The garden is coming up to its 50th anniversary, having opened in 1967 on the former site of a zoo. When we arrived Mark and I, along with Gerhard took off in a slightly different direction to many of our fellow bloggers, which possibly allowed us a less hectic visit. As a garden I could have spent most of a day here, I really enjoyed the space, the tranquillity and verdant backdrop.

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PlantSnapp Launch at Clifton Nurseries

Last week I attended the official launch of PlantSnapp, an iPhone and iPad based plant identification app. The premise of it is that you send a team of people working behind the scenes a photo of a plant you want identified using the app and within twenty four hours receive an answer, complete with care information and a list of suppliers. 

George Williams, CEO and Founder of PlantSnapp warmly welcoming us all

The event was relaxed, well organised, with lovely food and drinks, and I got the chance to know more about the app as I chatted to the team behind it. And they chose a perfect venue too for the launch, Clifton Nurseries which is a long running and well established garden centre right in the heart of London which somehow evaded my consciousness and have only heard of via the invitation to the event.

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