Sunday 27 September 2009

Phew (2)!











Suckers and seeds
the weeds will win -
we'll 'ave the 'ole world
for our own.
And then, how glorious
will come in
the era of the great
self sown." (Taken from one of the Wormingford books by Ronald Blythe)

Rule number one in gardening. Never plant a tree peony seedling and a clematis montana near to each other. What will happen is that there will be war to see who is to take over the whole garden. Oh yes - it looks lovely when the tree peony is full of yellow blossoms and the montana is a mass of pale pink, but once they have finished their flowering period then they GROW.
This morning the farmer has waged his own war on them both - hence the photographs.
Whilst he was doing that I was cutting back my herbaceous geraniums - they have given such good service (patricia, johnsons blue and mezerium) but now the flowers are dead. I have cut them all off and - hopefully - we shall now get a lovely display of orange leaves throughout the autumn - I will keep you posted.
There is something very satisfying about the autumn clean-up in the garden. You begin to cut back and you find things you had completely forgotten about (they will have been swamped by some rampant neighbour). Under the tree peony is a clump of naked ladies (colchicum) - I don't remember planting them - it must have been years ago - and they must have struggled towards the light through the shade of the tree peony every year since. Poor things - they are weak and trambling. They should have better luck next year though.
As usual, the rudbeckia is the star of the autumn show, although it too has been attacked by the clematis and the tree peony. You really can't win, can you? Luckily the farmer is a dab hand with his pruning shears.

27 comments:

Pat Posner said...

Can I borrow your farmer, Weaver?

Anonymous said...

I'm reading this and kindred posts with close interest. Now that we have a garden that will accommodate rampaging kids and things that grow out of the ground and look beautiful and/or provide nourishment, all cultivation tips are welcome.

Anonymous said...

Sorry about the convict identity replacing 'patteran'. For some reason java is void for me!

Jinksy said...

I could do with some clacking secateurs at my end, too!

Heather said...

My husband is a bit too handy with the pruning shears and loves cutting things down - usually standing on two or three other plants while doing so! We are trying to remove a diseased shrub from the side of the drive and have resorted to a towrope and the car! It still hasn't budged!! I am taking a breather from hacking my way through the jungle at the back of the house. By the way - I love that word 'trambling'.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

I have never seen a tree peony this big. It is really living up to its name.

steven said...

hello weaver, my neighbour planted some vines to cover over the wooden fence we share. our deal is to let it have free reign until either of us feels it's got enough space and then teach it some restraint. like your tree peopny, this thing's a beast!! today was the day that the restraining and retraining event was to take place. but of course it's absolutely yiddling down outside with a needed but untimely rain! the rain of course will hasten the growing season of this pernicious beast!!!! i'm making sure the windows are shut tonight in case it decides to expand its territory!!!!

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

My husband is such a tender-hearted man with all creatures and plant-forms. He goes out with the pruning shears and can barely stand to cut anything. Each year I try to tell him how good this is for the plants - each year he resists. So as he goes out the door - and occasionally from the porch I say "ruthless, be ruthless" - because ruthless for him would be the minimum pruning needed!

So, I need to borrow farmer too!

Crafty Green Poet said...

I'm going to have to do an autumn cut back soon, both in the backgreen and along the Water of Leith. I'm generally not ruthless enough

Golden West said...

That garden wall is fantastic! I, too, delight in finding plants making their way through a tangle of something else. I'm expecting with great anticipation a delivery of Dutch iris bulbs on Tuesday - a new variety called "Wedgewood", with a blue ruffled edge on white. Here's hoping the gophers find something else to eat!

Batteson.Ind said...

What's a garden!?...
Mine's still in the planning stages.... and mauled by rabbits.. next year! :-)

Reader Wil said...

There is a lot to be done in autumn. There will be an enormous amount of dead leaves. Mostly from the elderberry bushes, which grow behing the garden wall. They grow like weeds and try to invade my garden.

Elizabeth said...

That is one bold, wild tree peony.
But what a garden!

Unknown said...

Your garden reminds me of mine. Since my husband has become ill, we have hired a neighbor and he has been visiting with his chain saw. We now have new vistas into our neighborhood and very short peonies. The weeds are history. If I have time in the next month I will endeavor to make sure the garden gets a once over before it freezes. The photos of your garden are so lovely Weaver. The garden seems to want to hug your house.

MarmaladeRose said...

I know I'm a couple of posts late but I love the little Catriona Stewart box. Very pretty, it looks so delicate.

Kim Palmer said...

Back, back I say, crack that whip...er pruning saw! LOL!
Ahh, the eternal battle between man and nature.

Leenie said...

He needs my Black and Decker sixteen inch pruner. He just needs to be more careful with the electrical cord than I was. :0

The Weaver of Grass said...

Sorry folks but the farmer is not for hire! I have plenty of jobs want doing round here!!!
I was a bit disconcerted by Dick's convict number as he called it but managed to get on to his site and see the old familiar gypsy caravan eventually.
Jinksy needs clacking secateurs - or is it a person to wield them you need Jinksy?
Heather - the farmer was open-mouthed at the idea of a tow rope and a car to pull a shrub out!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Lisa - I think this must be a giant tree peony!
Steven - is it a russian vine you planted - its nickname here is "mile a minute."
Bonnie - we always say you should get your worst enemy to do your pruning - or someone with whom you have just had a gigantic argument.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Juliet - harden your heart when you do your pruning - they will thank you for it next year.
Golden west - I love Dutch Iris but unfortunately the mice love them even more than I do round here.
Watercats - rabbits - the bane of our lives.
Reader wil - sorry about those elder bushes - they are such hardy creatures but they do tend to take over. Still you could make gallons of elderflower cordial next summer.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Elizabeth and Linda - thank you for your kind comments. Fortunately photographs of gardens tend not to show the weeds - I can assure you we have plenty of those too.
Fiona - yes it is lovely - remind me to show it to you next time you call. (call anytime you are near)
Kim and Leenie - thanks for the pruning advice.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thank you to everyone for taking the trouble to read and comment.

Dave King said...

Taken together, what a lovely picture these two posts (this and the previous) paint of a rural existence! I loved every minute of reading each of them, even if I was a trifle envious.

Titus said...

I watch my mother-in-law tremble when father-in-law gets his selection of cutting and pruning tools out (quite a lot are powered). He does not prune: he decimates.
They do have a very beautiful, very large garden with a wood at the back - must put up some shots of it one day!
I have given up on mine since the youngest children. In about four years might be able to reclaim it again!

Acornmoon said...

I am very envious of your green fingers, I have tried to grow rudbeckia but have had no luck.

I am just catching up on your previous posts, I love the box below, it's a little gem.

Janice Thomson said...

What a lovely garden!
This year it was actually the rudbeckia that took over my garden - I found a poor little bleeding heart and some campanula buried underneath which I have now moved. The other thing I found popping up everywhere was lemon balm - will have to remember to keep it heavily pruned so it doesn't go to seed...

Teresa said...

Glad your farmer is a dab hand with the pruning shears... my hubby is forbidden from any kind of activity around my garden! This "ban" came about after he accidentally demolished my oh-so-healthy-and-growing tomatoes one summer!