As it is coming to the end of October and the end of BST we are heading into the worst months of the year (November, December and January) as far as I am concerned. Winter for me is a time to plan ahead, redesign borders, choose plants for next year and dream of spring and the arrival of bulbs. It’s also a time to analyse what went well and what can be deemed a failure in the garden this year. So here goes.
(1) Success. Planting some of my Cosmos seedlings in the Bee & Butterfly bed. The tall white flowers looked gorgeous with the Verbena ‘Lollipop’. A planting I will repeat next year.
(2) Success. The new dappled shade bed beneath the Hazel and Willow trees. Well, mainly the Hazel which was severely pruned from the base this summer to reveal a rather nice twisted trunk. Several Heucheras were added this year along with Nepeta and an orange Geum. They seem to have melded nicely together. Forget-me-nots will arrive in spring along with crocuses.
(3) Semi-Success. Fuchsias in pots in the courtyard. Although not as bad as last year when they were attacked by rust, they haven’t grown as well as I had hoped. In spring I shall repot them and prune quite hard to try and make them bushier plants. They look ok here, but several pots didn’t perform as well.
(4) Semi-Success. Spring bulbs. I planted a lot of bulbs last autumn, especially Narcissi in the raised bed as well as tulips in pots. I have not lifted any so we’ll have to see if this is a repeat success next spring. Other than the spring display I am still not satisfied with this bed. It might be cleared next spring and become another herb bed.
(5) Success. The Cornish Hedge. Nettles, brambles and grass were removed last autumn and the wall rebuilt with the help of my son. I planted it mainly with cuttings from the garden and I have been pleased to see this former wild and ugly area looking really good this summer. The taller plants are not as successful as the wind bashes them down, but on the whole it’s doing well. Some tweaking to do in spring.
(6) Semi-Success. Patio pots. I grew the rest of the Cosmos seedlings in pots and although I loved the flowers they were too tall and looked very straggly at the base. I shall go back to the shorter Cosmos next year, and rethink what else I want in my pots -more annuals maybe.
Hopefully next year won’t be as difficult as this one for getting out and about and visiting nurseries in particular. It’s been a tough one and I am very grateful for my little plot of land that has kept me busy and sane. I shall be taking a break from the SoS for a while as there is never anything interesting in my garden over the next few months, but hope to be back with the Prop and all his friends in January. I will of course be checking in on what everyone else is up to.
See here for the participant’s guide.
Cornwall in Colours 
The spring bulbs and Cornish hedge look like massive successes to me!
Thanks!
That’s a nice roundup with some pleasing photos, Jude. It is not yet 4 pm here, and I already have my SAD lamp on!
Best wishes, Pete. x
Is it making a difference Pete?
I like the lght in my little office, but it’s too soon to say if it makes me any happier. 🙂
We’ve just had all our lights replaced with LED lights and it’s much brighter. But I hate having to live with electric lights on for most of the day.
I don’t use overhead light much at all. We had two rows of LED spots installed in the kitchen, and I bought ‘daylight’ bulbs. But they are SO bright! 🙂
The cool white ones are very bright. We have warmer ones in the lounge and dimmable.
That looks like a lot of success to me. Particularly like the twisty hazel and foliage under.
That bed has definitely been a success. Although I noticed today that one of the Heucheras or possibly a Heucheralla, has been nibbled.
Better than mine. Went to move 2 pots and the heuchera came away. Vine weevil in the roots. I’ve binned those and given the others a burst of nematodes. Hopefully they haven’t spread out of the 2 pots.
I hope that doesn’t happen here. Bad enough with the S&S, wind and rain!
I should have written “definitely”……….I think I put in an extra “in”. Oh dear.🙃😬🤔😠
I hadn’t even noticed!
In that case…….please ignore my last comment.
🤔 What comment?
😉👍🤭
I’d say your garden is full,of successes, Jude. I love the borders. They are exactly the sort of thing I’m aiming for with lots of lovely surprises all in together. I remember when you redid the Cornish hedge….it’s looking splendid now.
If my garden looked as pretty as yours, I’d be feeling very successful. I must buy some cosmos seeds and get them in soon.
Aw, thank you Carol. Are we ever satisfied with our garden?
Not when the weeds keep sprouting. 🙂 But otherwise I’m happy with some colour and something I can pick and put in a vase.
This was really interesting to read, Jude, and I am pleased you had mostly successes – that first photo is lovely, as is your Cornish hedge. I have tried cosmos in pots but even the shorter varieties don’t seem to work either unless in a very big pot
I had the Apollo series on the blue glazed pots last year along with scented leaf pelargoniums and they looked good. They really need something low growing too.
I have not come across that series before
I had to smile at your rating system in the one Jude! you are clearly way too hard on yourself. I’d count every single bed as a booming success were I able to grow even one tenth as successfully as you do! I can imagine your gardens DID keep you sane through these past months and agree wholeheartedly with your analysis of the worst months of the year!
Your garden has looked lovely this year and I’ll miss seeing it over the next few months.
It’s always very soggy over the next few months, but if I see anything of interest I will post it.