More September Flowers

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I have finished planting up the borders at another garden, a project that started in summer.

All photos are from summer planted plants, with all the wet weather they have bedded in very well.

Molluscs

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So what do I do when it is wet, wet wet?

Much client work can still be done as long is it does not involve lawns and I have also planted up a long border because I can (sort of) guarantee that the plants will settle in very nicely.

Today is a day of heavy rain and short dry spells, so I can catch up with a few essential jobs in my own garden.

Enforced rest

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I was rushing on Saturday and being less careful than normal, I sliced into my left index finger. So now I sport a bandaged finger which will of course not accommodate gloves nor will I be able to work as normal.

Lest I forget

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It would not be the first time that I forget sow peas for autumn and to take cuttings of penstemons.

The rain forecast for this afternoon did not materialise so I loaded a frame of root trainers with pea 'Ambassador', a variety to be sown in July, ready for picking in October. I had already sown a big batch at the start of the month with great success but they went to the veg plot in the rectory. As I like peas just as much as my clients, I am glad I remembered to sow them today. Four books of root trainers seemed a bit measly (plus the spacers that I finally acquired don't work very well), so I filled the whole frame.

Pea 'Ambassador'

The other job that I have on occasion forgotten, is to take cuttings of penstemons. I am particularly fond of Penstemon 'Raven', a tall variety with large dark purple flowers. Alas it is not as hardy as some cultivars. As I use this variety in several gardens and struggled in Spring to replace plants lost to the harsh winter, I am upping my odds this time by taken cuttings from side shoots. They were inserted in fresh potting compost within minutes of being cut, watered and put in a ziplock bag to conserve moisture. Fingers crossed they will root.