Dahlia season
It's been ages since I last added an update from the garden. I've often thought about it, when sitting out there in the hot summer sunshine (in July), or sheltering in Millennium Shed in the rain (in August), but I guess composing updates in my head hasn't quite translated to the computer. And now it's the first day of September.
The recent rain has made everything suddenly break out into more lush growth, and areas that were looking a bit tired and dried out have greened up again. Woodland Corner looks far more attractive than it usually does at this time of year.
The dahlias are flowering, including a new one this year - 'Summernight' - a dark wine red (illustrated on the site's front page). I was surprised that it is flowering so strongly already in its first year, as when I bought it in one of those pre-packs it was such a small dried-up looking tuber I couldn't believe anything would come out of it. Isn't nature amazing.
So, it's dahlia season, and Bishop of Llandaff too is flowering. Absolutely enormous plant - as tall as I am. This too surprises me, as I'd found some large areas of rot in the stored dahlia tubers after the winter, and had to cut large parts out. But the surviving sections seem to have grown stronger than ever.
Another thing that needs mentioning is the second flush of bloom in plants I've not known do this before. They all have different patterns, of course, with some having a flush of flower at a certain time, then not doing anything much after that, with others blooming more sporadically over a longer period. When you keep the same plants year after year you notice if they change from their usual pattern. And this year for the first time I noticed late flowers on a couple of the roses that in previous years have only flowered once, particularly 'Mme Isaac Pereire', as well as on the hardy geranium 'Johnson's Blue'. I can only assume this was something to do with the weather patterns this year - the unusual amount of sunshine and heat in July, then the rains after.
Even the swifts seemed to hang around for longer. Normally they seem to be gone in the first week in August, but one evening this summer, in mid-August, I heard the familiar screeching call and noticed a group of six or more in the sky above the garden. Perhaps just about to leave, but it seemed they'd stayed longer this year.
I was hoping to write a book in August. Well, perhaps not the entire thing, but more than the couple of disjointed pages I've managed to do. Still, I've made a start. It's kind of about gardening, and related things. Whether it will become an actual book, or end up being put on the web instead, it's hard to tell at this stage.
posted - Friday, September 01, 2006
