Blimey! What a week! Thunderstorms, lightning, heavy rain and rainbows with some sunshine and intermittent blue skies. I haven’t really spent much time in the garden, though I did manage to plant a couple of my tulips into the blue glazed pots after removing the Cosmos that had pretty much finished. I have cut down my tomato plants even though I have several vines of green tomatoes to try and ripen, but I wanted to paint the interior of the conservatory so needed to clear it out. I also chopped down my Fatsia Japonica as my son was complaining how difficult it was to get along the paths through the garden. I must admit it had grown rather large and was just coming into flower. I have left some flowers on for the insects, but will chop it down even more once they have finished. The difference on the patio is amazing. Much more light too.
My Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ have been outside all summer but now due to the lack of sun are beginning to turn green again. They do this over winter, but become nice and ‘black’ when in the full sun. Once I have finished painting and cleaning the conservatory they will come indoors. I am sure all this rain isn’t good for them.
Inside already is my Echeveria ‘Pink Pearl’ (I think) which has grown this year, now with two heads. I have some babies from this plant as well which I hope will survive the winter.
Still indoors this is my Thanksgiving cactus or Schlumbergera truncata. . The Thanksgiving cactus has pointy edges; the Christmas cactus has smooth, round edges. Last year it flowered in the conservatory for months.
One of my two new Skimmia japonica plants now potted up with some cheerful red cyclamen to add colour to the courtyard garden.
And finally a look at the very wet ‘Zen Patio‘ which has not been looking very zen-like for some weeks now. The bistro set has been moved into the shed, the hosta needs removing from its pot and splitting up and most of these pots will need to be moved indoors as soon as I finish the work, not because of frost because we rarely get much here, but because of the wet. I have bought some fleece though just in case and I am still debating as to whether or not I bring the chocolate cosmos inside! Then the patio can be pressure-washed and the lawn mowed, hopefully next week.
As always, if you want a peek over other people’s garden walls then please pop over to our host, the lovely Jon, AKA ‘The Propagator’ where you find links to many more wonderful garden enthusiasts from all over the world.
See here for the participant’s guide.
Cornwall in Colours 
Your weather sounds very familiar. Love the last photo with all of the pots. Yours, like mine, are obviously breeding.
When I moved here and got a proper garden again I said ‘no more pots’ but having already run out of borders to plant in I’m afraid the pots are a necessity. Far too many though, I need to reduce them next year.
What a lovely Six-on-Saturday! You have been very busy and, it would seem, are going to be for a while. I didn’t look twice at sedums etc. until I saw Sedums, dahlias and hayfever’s posts, now I am a convert! Yours are all looking very healthy, too. My Christmas cactus needs a good talking to, it’s not doing anything yet.
I’m sure my cactus didn’t flower until well after Christmas, I shall have to check my photos. Succulents are fairly easy to care for, unlike a lot of plants!
We have the Swartkops dotted around the garden, and some inn pots around the pond/pool. One of the plants went into flower last season – a bright yellow multi flowered conical shape.
Do they flower like this in the UK?
I have seen them in flower on St Michael’s Mount where they get baked by the sun. Mine have never flowered.
Have a squizz …
🙂
https://attaleuntold.wordpress.com/2019/08/06/odds-n-ends/
Thanks Ark.
I’ve done very little in the garden this year . . it’s a wilderness out there. However did at least get around to sorting the pots and greenhouse yesterday!
PS i am aware I have been saying I have done very little for a few years now!!
You have a greenhouse? I have greenhouse envy. I suppose with you spending most of the early part of the year in Portugal you don’t use it so much for growing seeds. But oh, so useful for tomatoes!
The tomatoes this year have been amazing in it . . in fact i picked the last 1lb or so yesterday!
Mine are done now, the last lot are still green though, but it seems very late in the year to still have tomatoes.
Felt very odd yesterday picking red tomatoes!
Bad luck with the weather, Jude 🙁
although she would never have got her amazing header without it!!
Well, you have a point, Becky!
Skimmia and cyclamen makes a nice combination. Our Fatsia is looking rather space age too.
The Fatsia flowers are very interesting! Space age is a great description 😄
like granny sedums, dahlias and hayfevers posts are turning my head towards aeoniums. Yours do look lovely in the pots. Once I get the main borders fully planted up I might be tempted. Sounds like you have had more rain than here. It goes on and on!
Next year I shall buy some new Aeoniums in the other colours. They are easy to look after.
It sounds as if you are getting hooked on succulents. I love them too but overwintering them is a problem here.
Luckily I have the conservatory to keep them in during the winter. It is cold but I can at least keep them dry.
I’d be very happy if my fatsia grew a bit faster. It is in the shadiest corner of my garden, so perhaps that is why it is not yet gone bananas. It does get bigger, but slowly….
Blimey, we say crikey and a few other utterances better left unsaid.
I really enjoyed looking in on your garden Jude you have a Zen area we have names for areas in our garden too the, Bali structure, The serenity set, Pauline has probably covered all this in her post Living In Paradise.
Pleased you liked my comment on her earlier post. It was almost wrote last post pleased to say there will be more.
It’s good that you have each other to look out for one another. Take care of her Jack, she’s priceless. 😍