TO AUTUMN
'Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun...'
There is a Keatsian air to the garden now, not so much the mists perhaps, but the quality of light has changed and leaves are tinged with yellows and orange. Fruitfulness there is, and it forms the theme of this weeks post.
1. Cotoneaster
The berries are just so beautifully arrayed along the branches.
2. Crab Apples
More miniature fruits hang from the branches of the crab apples.
3. Fungi
I'm amazed, alarmed even, by the size of the toadstools.
4. Strawberries
These have been an unexpected pleasure. The Mara de Bois strawberry plants I ordered in the spring were more than sufficient to fill the bed I had prepared for them. The left overs were put into a couple of pots. They've done really well under glass, no doubt helped by getting a slosh of tomato feed too.
'And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,'
5. Sedum and Heuchera 'Green Spice'
When I think of flowers for bees, the Sedum comes to mind. The Heuchera was originally bought to fit in a green and white border, but it turns out I was misled by the catalogue photograph, so I planted it with this sedum instead.
6. Dahlia 'Glory of Heemstede'
Rather late to get going this year, this Dahlia has finally decided to flower. Not its fault you understand, it didn't choose to be planted in a rather dry and shady spot.
Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,--'
I hope you've enjoyed these Autumn fruits and flowers and there is more to enjoy if you visit The Propagator who kindly hosts Six on Saturday,
Here too, my 'Mara des Bois' strawberries continue to bloom and give fruit. It 's a good idea to have given them some fertilizer as long as it's not too cold. Here in France, strawberry fertilizer is exactly the same as tomato fertilizer, but the former is much cheaper. So I add strawberry fertilizer for my strawberries but also... for my tomatoes
ReplyDeleteI've not seen strawberry fertilizer - I'll look out for it.
DeleteNow, strawberries in October would be such a treat - and, no ordinary strawberries but the famed 'Mara des Bois'! I have never tried them as I have heard they are a challenge to grow in our climate but ... who knows!
ReplyDeleteAll looking well in the garden with you - if only you could eat those mushrooms!
I've noticed that the mushrooms are being eaten by slugs. I wonder if it does them a mischief,
DeleteOf course I love your plants (and poetry!) but those toadstools really cheered me up. I think those look so interesting on your lawn!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't sure if including them was cheating as they weren't something I'd grown, but they are certainly very striking.
DeleteGreat photo of the cotoneaster. The pale yellow petals of the dahlia are lovely. I spotted a strawberry flower today!
ReplyDeleteThe cotoneaster grows out over the path in annoying fashion, but it's berries make up for that.
Deletewow strawbs in october! some of my dahlias have been late to join the party, and some may not at all till next year. 2020 for you...
ReplyDeleteThose are amazing toadstools! I have the same Dahlia but it hasn’t flowered this year, too much SandS damage
ReplyDelete