The Wild West

Well it's not really wild, it's a cultivar.
But it has a wild habit of growth.

This is Fuchsia Tom West, a hardy fuchsia, believed to be a mutation from Fuchsia riccartonii. It originated in France in 1853. So here we are in December, and it is still flowering. It is growing in a shady border, protected by privet hedges, and has survived the two recent severe winters, so it really is hardy.

And the wild bit?  Oh yes, well, it sends out runners. It thinks it's a strawberry. Most of the growth is upright, but it also produces branches that run along the ground, and root several feet away from the main plant. Plants for free, requiring no work on my part. Result.

But there's another habit that is not so helpful. The plant has variegated foliage, but sends up branches with no variegation, as can be seen in the photo above. These branches need to be regularly pruned out, otherwise the entire plant will revert back to green.

The squirrel has been at it again, trying to get into a squirrel-proof feeder, but this feeder really is squirrel-proof. Although the squirrel didn't think so.

I'll give him ten out of ten for effort, but he didn't get any food. Not this time anyway.

Twirly

Christmas is coming
But this is twirly:

This is my Christmas Cactus that I featured last year when I accidentally managed to get it to flower at Christmas. This year, however, I watered it too early.Well it was looking very sorry for itself. And the result; it's twirly.

Now for those of you who are not from this neck of the woods, perhaps I should explain the term 'twirly'. Years ago, the local bus companies operated a system whereby pensioners could not use their bus passes before 9.30a.m. And if any pensioners dared to try to use their bus passes before the exact stroke of 9.30a.m. the bus driver would say "twirly" (which translates to 'too early') and refuse to let them on the bus unless they paid the full fare.

Anyway, I digress, back to the garden. A couple of magpies have been rebuilding their nest recently. Why? Don't they know that winter is just around the corner?  Today they started annoying a squirrel who was perched on a  branch close to their nest.

The squirrel was totally oblivious to them, fully engrossed in what it was doing. And what was it doing?

It was eating an apple, one of my apples. How dare it.

On the subject of apples, I harvested all of mine recently by a rather unusual method. Don't try this at home, it's not the way to collect apples. My two Ballerina apple trees had grown very tall, unlike me, and the apples were all at the top. I had already decided that I would be pruning the trees this winter, so I brought the project forward a little, and pruned the branches laiden with fruit. It wasn't that successful, as most of the apples fell off during the process, and some got damaged. But I've now collected all the fruit, and the apple trees just need a little bit of tidying up.

One of the trees is biennial fruiting, it produced fruit this year, so it wouldn't have been producing much next year anyway. I left a lot of fruiting spurs on the other tree. So it wasn't a complete disaster. But as I say, it is not a method I would recommend for collecting apples.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - November 2012

After my last post, peering into my neighbours' gardens,
Thought I'd better get back into my own garden and see what's in flower this month.
Not a lot:

Antirrhinum majus Madame Butterfly, bought as small plug plants this spring. They struggled all summer to reach flowering size, and this is the first one to bloom. I'm hoping they'll survive the winter and provide a good spring display.

Pansy Colossal, bought for next year's spring display, but producing a few flowers already.

Geranium Sybil Pink, a trailer, still flowering in the hanging baskets.

Lobelia erinus Superstar, not done very well this year. Largely my fault, I didn't plant it out in time, and it got a bit pot bound. Oh alright then, it got very pot bound.

Fuchsia, I don't know which variety, but it's growing in the border, and has survived the two recent severe winters, so it is very hardy.

Viola Penny, also purchased for next spring's display, but putting on a superb display already. Hope they don't burn themselves out before next year.

And finally, I've cheated a little. With so little in flower in the garden, here's a bromeliad flowering indoors.

Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting this meme. If you want to see what's in bloom around the world right now, why not pop over to Carol's blog.

Bounty Hunters

Dinner is served as Nature reveals her bounty:

This conifer, growing in my neighbour's garden, had been hidden by my overgrown lilac tree that had grown into the side of it. But last year I had the lilac drastically pruned. The conifer spent all last year adjusting to its new found freedom. This summer, I noticed it was producing fruits, and now its seeds are attracting a lot of attention.

And this conifer is growing in another neighbour's garden. It is now a very large tree, and has been producing these cones for several years. My neighbour originally purchased it as a Christmas Tree, and after the holiday season was over, he planted it in his garden, and it just grew and grew. It attracts a lot of wildlife; flocks of goldfinches often come for the seed, and squirrels like to run along its long branches.

My neighbour also has this large holly bush laden with berries. Now I have a large holly tree in my garden, and it flowers every year, but berries, not a one. Apparently, I have a male of the species, wouldn't you know it, and only the females produce berries. I suppose I shouldn't complain, my tree was planted by Nature, so it was a freebie. And it is helping to pollinate my neighbour's plant.

So you see, it is not only the plants you grow in your own garden that attract wildlife, your neighbour's gardens play their part too. And if you haven't got any seeds or berries growing naturally for the birds, you can always feed them:

Since taking this photo, I have moved this feeder, as I discovered that rainwater from the shed roof was running down the wall and into the feeder. It is now hanging in an apple tree and looks a lot happier. Have you ever seen a happy bird feeder?  Anyway, I've removed the old seed and am allowing it to dry out before cleaning and refilling. It will be even happier then, as will the birds. At the moment it is the bird equivalent to an empty shop window.

The North Wind Doth Blow

And we shall have ...... helicopters.
Bet you weren't expecting that.
I'll explain later.

This is a perennial Aster, commonly known as a Michaelmas Daisy, planted by Nature, not by me. It is growing in a sunny border, that in a normal summer is quite dry. But this has not been a normal summer, and the sunny border never dried out all season. For the first time ever, the plant has not succumbed to mildew, and has put on its best ever display.

Here is what it looks like from a distance. This is just one plant. Unfortunately, all the plants around it are passed their best, so it is flowering all by itself. May move it to a different spot next year, somewhere not as dry, because it obviously thrives in damper soil.

Now, about those helicopters. Here they are on the patio:

And here's a close up:

And here's one on the lawn:

As well as losing their leaves, autumn is the time when trees disperse their seeds on the wind. In this case, yes you've guessed it, the north wind. A neighbouring garden, to the north of mine, contains a large sycamore tree. And a few days ago, when we had a strong north wind blowing, the tree decided to shed its seeds, all over my garden. Now I don't know if you've ever seen sycamore seeds falling from a tree, but they swirl around just like little helicopters. They do, honestly. I imagine there will be a lot of sycamore seedlings to pull up next spring.

And finally, following last night's halloween, here's a photo of the spooky moon:

By the way, forgot to mention, this blog is one year old today. I would like to thank everyone for stopping by to read my ramblings, and especially to all those of you who leave comments, the icing on the cake. Thanks again.

An Artist's Palette

Er, I'm not the artist.
I just appreciate the colours.

A few weeks ago, I featured Rhus typhina displaying this year's cones above its green leaves. And now, after a few cold nights, the leaves are changing colour. Rhus is one of the last trees to produce its leaves in spring, but also one of the first to lose them in the autumn. Although this plant is well known for its autumn display, it is very brief, and the next windy day will soon put paid to it.

We've only had a few cold nights so far, and the trees are only just beginning their autumn displays here. But I decided to take a walk and see what Nature had painted so far:

The first trees I came across were really a mixed bunch. The one in the centre is showing no colour change at all.

Ah, that's better. This shrub was just a little bit further down the road. Nature had been out with the paintbrush here.

Just around the corner, and in the distance, again a mixture, some showing autumn tints, and some not.

And finally, this beautiful specimen, planted in front of the local shops. Nature did a good paint job here, after doing her weekly shop, no doubt.

Cold weather is forecast for next weekend, so the autumn display should really get going by then, but snow showers are also forecast, which could make the display short-lived. So over the next week or so, whilst rushing around, why not stop a while and take a look at the trees, and marvel in Nature's art exhibition. And it's free.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - October 2012

It's time to check out what is flowering this month.

Begonia Superstars Red is in full bloom now, and still protecting my strawberries. You can see the unripened fruits in the photo. No prizes for guessing where the ripe fruit is. They were delicious.

Lily Sun Flight, purchased this spring and planted quite late. Which explains why it is flowering now.

Osteospermum, planted in the top of a wall basket. Big mistake. They point to the sky, so I can't see the full display. Memo to self, must plant them lower next year.

Geranium Blanche Roche, a trailing pelargonium, purchased this year, and still blooming despite recent frosts.

Hydrangea, one of the oldest plants in the garden. The bloom in the centre of the photo is the normal colour. The surrounding blooms are older and fading.

Lily Scheherazade, the name just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it ?  Another late planted lily.

Aster frikartii Monch, one of the few asters that doesn't succumb to mildew.

Begonia Superstars Apricot, I love these varieties of begonia. Pity the weather hasn't been so good to them this year.

Sedum, planted a few years ago, and putting on it's best display to date.

Cyclamen hederifolium, found these hiding at the bottom of the garden. Very hardy and very pretty.

Viola Penny, bought these for next year's spring display, but they are flowering now.

Thanks to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting this meme. If you want to see what is in bloom around the world now, pop over to Carol's blog.

And Then Came Flowers

Remember the post about the ivy?
Well now it's blooming.

I've never really taken much notice of this ivy, mainly because it's right at the bottom of the garden, and was originally planted as ground cover on a dry bank in deep shade. In the last few years, it has climbed up a wire fence, and started to flower just a few years ago. But as it blooms in late autumn, and it is at the bottom of the garden, I must admit to having ignored it. Excuses !  
However, as I'm joining in the BTO's berry survey this winter, I shall be observing the ivy more closely. Hopefully, it will produce berries this year.

I've been wondering why the bird seed seems to be disappearing quickly at the moment. Think I've found the answer:

We have a charm of goldfinches and a flock of greenfinches visiting about three times a day. And they're very hungry. I imagine that the cost of bird seed will increase soon because of the summer weather producing a poor harvest. And seed in the wild will be in short supply too.
On the subject of food, I went to see if any strawberries had ripened and found this:

If you look closely, you can see a spider on top of the strawberry. I hope it moves on when the strawberry ripens. The strawberries are growing in wall planters. Unfortunately, at this time of year, we get a lot of spiders on the planters. Probably because the wall is warmer than the rest of the garden. In fact, anywhere is warmer than the garden today. It's felt really cold, despite the sun shining. Well, it is autumn after all.

How To Watch A Plant

Fancy a new hobby for the winter ?
I'll explain later.

This is Aster novi belgii Marie Ballard, purchased two years ago from Hayloft Plants. It is a hardy perennial, and was bred sixty years ago by Ernest Ballard, a plant breeder from Colwall, Herefordshire. Although it was not released  for sale until 1955. My plant flowered last year, but didn't put on much of a show. So this year is its first proper display. I'm really impressed with it.

Following my disasters with the 'squirrel-proof' bird feeders, I decided to treat myself, or should I say the birds, to a new feeder. It's not squirrel proof, but then neither were the others. I just liked the look of it.

And so too did this greenfinch. He can't believe his luck.

And in no time at all, he was tucking in.

He stayed for a few minutes before flying off. The feeder is hanging on a wall, and is a little exposed. Most of my feeders are near shrubs, so the birds can quickly dive for cover if need be. Anyway, a few birds have used it, but I may move it to a more sheltered position.

Now, about that new hobby. Do you fancy watching shrubs ?  I know, it sounds a bit like watching paint dry, but you don't have to actually sit and watch them. I mean, they don't do much, do they ?

The BTO have organised a Birds and Garden Berries survey to find out which birds eat garden berries throughout the winter. All it involves, is selecting different shrubs carrying berries, and checking them once a week to see how many berries remain. You don't have to count exactly how many berries there are, just a rough idea. Taking photos of the plants every week would be an easy solution. You also need to observe which birds are removing the berries.

The purpose of the survey is to find out which plants are the most popular with the birds, and what type of birds are attracted to the berries. What a pity those finches were eating the cotoneaster berries last week, the survey didn't start until yesterday.