ASTERS AND AUTUMN FRUITS
As I sat down to write this the heavens opened, and while this was shortly to be followed by some lovely sunshine, there's no denying that we have left the seemingly endless hot, dry days of Summer far behind.
There's a few leaves starting to drift down from the trees, but the overall picture still remains green. Not for much longer I suspect.
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| The Knot Garden |
The Rose Garden is looking all pink and purple, with Bonica' and Aster 'Kylie' and 'Dark Desire'. (They are all still 'Asters' to me as it's so much simpler to spell!)
I think all the asters are very pretty, but I do have to admit there is not much to choose between them except in terms of height.
Dark Desire is very tall. Luckily I've got the space for it, and it doesn't seem to want to spread too wide.
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| Aster 'Dark Desire' |
'Blue Heaven' is under a metre, so easier to find a space for. I put it in the Long Border, although Gertrude Jekyll didn't include them there. She had whole borders of them elsewhere. Indeed Vita Sackville West thought she had far too many of them.
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| Aster 'Blue Heaven' |
In the Vegetable Garden, this butternut squash has grown to giant proportions despite the dry Summer. It's a good 18 inches long. I haven't picked it yet as I think it might be quite challenging to eat that much squash and I'm going to have to psych myself up to the task. I think it should store OK though out of the fridge?
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| Weighing in at over 500g |
Is this the equivalent to showing off baby or kitten photos? Little seedlings ...bless. Hollyhocks in black and red from saved seed.
That's it for my 'roughly' Six on Saturday'. Thanks as always to the Propagator where you'll find plenty more garden inspiration.
Wow, strawberries this late is a wonderful thing. I keep butternut squashes in the fridge for ages, so your should be okay.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rosie
DeleteThe autumn leaves are not falling here yet but the colours are changing. You have a very nice aster collection, it's really very pretty.
ReplyDeleteI was also struck by the enormous weight of your Black Russian tomato! I never exceeded 500 g but I was close to it ( 490g if I remember )
Strawberries in bloom for the third time here but I won't get fruit at this time of the year ( sadly )
Mr B suggested cutting a slice across the giant tomato, and sprinkling with chopped onion and parmesan. It was rather yummy.
DeleteJust look at those cute seedlings,, at their little leaves, and their little roots will be growing so nicely deep into that soft nourishing soil! Butternut squash freezer really well in loose roasted chunks. Keep the skin on to roast, it comes off so easily after cooking if you don't want to eat, but it softens, so we eat it too!
ReplyDeleteI know they are so sweet. Thanks for the squash tips.
DeleteImpressive veg, you'll be winning the giant veg classes in flower shows at that rate. I didn't even both with squash this year, so feeble have they been for the last two.
ReplyDeleteI can't see the attraction in growing giant show veg, but on the other hand ...
DeleteOr make a soup! Mmmm, you can freeze part of the soup if you don't like the same soup all week for lunch.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the soup suggestion.
DeleteAster 'Kylie' and 'Dark Desire' make a smashing combination. The butternut squash is impressive. We tend to cut it up into slices, skin and all, and roast them, adding them as an accompaniment with other meals for several days. As Fred says, it freezes well too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the cooking ideas.
DeleteI can’t imagine ever growing a tomato so big and beautiful. We have Queensland fruit fly here which makes growing tomatoes a real challenge.
ReplyDeleteYour asters are very pretty especially the deep hue of ‘Dark Desire’….very appropriately named!
Year - it's a great name.
DeleteGreat six. The knot garden is looking good. You can’t have too many Asters.
ReplyDeletethequiltinggardener