There is so much worry over climate change and global warming but, on the bright side, my garden still has a lot more flowers than I expect at this time of year. I noticed today that the little
Hebe 'Purple Pixie' is sporting a lovely topping of purple flowers when, I think, really, it should be going to sleep. I don't prune it before winter as the top growth protects the roots from suffering too much in sub zero temperatures; I prune it in early spring. It's in quite a sheltered position, protected from the savage winds we get here on the Pennine Mountains of West Yorkshire (even when the Met Office predicts that there will be a moderate breeze). Not only that, but some of the penstemons are still flowering too. Again, same story, I don't prune them until early spring. Oh, and there are plenty of flowers still on the bacopa hanging baskets. I thought they were supposed to be tender, and we have had some pretty chilly nights. And I must mention that there are a few raspberries on the
Polka raspberry canes.
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| Hebe Purple Pixie (aka Hebe Mohawk) - July 2017 |
It's interesting keeping a kind of diary/blog on my garden. When I look through the blog archive, I can see when I have recorded
snow or icy conditions. One December the penstemons were in flower and covered in snow and when the snow went, the flowers were undamaged!
Still, I'm well aware that we could still have a seriously harsh winter so I have brought my
Jade plant (crassula ovata) from the
unheated garden room and into my kitchen for protection. It's like Kew Gardens in there now, what with the houseplants and the
zonal pelargoniums which I grow and propagate.
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| Penstemons - June 2017 |
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| Bacopa hanging basket - Sept 2018 |
