Autumn 2018

The cats are unpredictable with the catnip. They'll ignore it for weeks and then one day pretty much destroy a plant, eating it and sitting in it.

I'm not very good about digging up plants and moving them but I really have to move the globe thistles from this flowerbed as they are huge and take over so nothing else can grow really. I want to plant the self-seeded centaurea montana from that pot to join any other existing ones in the flowerbed but I fear the globe thistles crowded them out.

I had previously moved the globe thistles before but before I knew it there were still globe thistles in the flowerbed, whether the old ones or new self-seeded ones. To the left of the previously moved globe thistles below there's room against the fence for more so that's where they are going.

I managed to dig tthem up easily enough but their tap roots are broken off. Not sure how they'll like being transplanted.

I planted them in their new position to the left of the other globe thistles. It's been extremely dry so I hope they'll establish ok. Must remember to water them every day.

In front of those transplanted globe thistles, I've put my scabious plants. I was surprised to find yesterday that one had a flower stem and a bud. Later in the day it was bent over as I hadn't realised how dry the pot was. The garden is incredibly dry again. I watered everything, including the scabious plants and they revived.

The pot above and the 4 below are the 5 scabious Perfection Blue I grew from seed this year. The description said blooms first year and it didn't seem as if that would happen but weather permitting I think I'll have at least one in bloom this autumn. Plant far left below looks like it might flower as well. Other 3 don't have those distinctive lobed leaves in the centre. In fact, one far right is being crowded out by a verbascum that self-seeded there, not sure the scabious will even survive. Should probably try to separate them but thought at this point I might kill one or both.

Lesser knapweed is another plant, like the globe thistles, which is too successful. It took over this pot.

after pruning back the lesser knapweed spent stems, I can't see if there are any centaurea montana left, there certainly were some at one time

The honesty was fantastic earlier this year and growing them myself from seed, as I did last year rather than relying on the self-seeding, ensured early and large plants. I do find it difficult to pull up and discard seedlings but must thin out these honesty seedlings - much too densely planted.

I just did it quickly and determinedly. Of course, I had to repot some of the largest seedlings I pulled up.

I'm planting up some troughs with alliums for my daughter-in-law. I haven't grown allium flavum before so didn't know they came with some stem attached. Also allium azureum in the trough. I can't resist comparing different companies so two troughs with the same bulbs just different suppliers. Trough 1.

allium flavum and azureum trough 2

I went to the garden centre to get a few more bulbs for my bulb forcing and couldn't resist one of these. I've never grown them before but thought I'd give it a chance.

this naughty squirrel has been digging up my seedlings, even though I'm feeding him lots of peanuts

these cheeky slugs ate my seedlings and then laid their eggs in the nice moist pot where they were growing

here are the two love birds