It will not always be summer; build barns. The potting shed goes on...

[echt]

Please ignore my first, illiterate thread. I'll try again.

I hope this quotation from Hesiod captures the moment of movement from high summer to the splendours of harvest and the planing for the new year.

:o

Hmmm. Just been reading the RHS website. It seems that pear rust is a thing and the remedy is to pick off the affected leaves, so that's another job for tomorrow.

Your cake was fine ! Mine seems to have gone off to law school with dd
humphrey silly question but does your house need extending? I thought the house to garden ratio just perfect when I visited!
I'm sorry about your BIL: He was quite young as I recall and I know you have a close family.
rhubarb I used intoto kitchens and got the german Alno and was happy that the company sorted it from start to finish (though a couple of little jobs remain) I think they have a branch near you. Wickes and Benchmarx and all of those places were just as expensive and not nearly as nice. Houzz and pinterest are both good for pictures
Did I mention you have a serious talent for garden design?
Re vine eyes
I need to do serious vine eye and wire installation on both sides of the garden.

The sunny early Autumn days are the best

After all you've had to deal with recently Bertha it was amazingly kind for you even to think of making cake for us, let alone make it late at night, and it was very tasty. Could you post the recipe please?

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the day: it was lovely to meet everyone again, and it was very companionable all working together. It was especially interesting getting to know someone else's garden and plants like that and I met new and lovely varieties. I'd be up for another 'barn building'!

A barn building? Count me in!

Thanks for all your kind messages everyone. My BIL was only 54 and it was very unexpected.

I wish I could have come to help in your garden funnyperson! One day I will be in London and I will descend on you all.

About the extension, we have an absolutely tiny kitchen for the size of the house, it is a through room too, thus meaning even less space. We would love to put an oak framed extension onto the house, without knocking any of the rest of it about.

I really enjoyed being a garden elf for you funny! It was lovely working together with Searabbit and Bertha and her delightful daughters. The cake was delicious, as was the fantastic spread that funny laid on. Thank you also for your kind compliments and the kitchen tips!

It's so rewarding going in and blitzing a garden like that.

Humph if you do come to London please shout and then perhaps we could have a little gathering at Kew or Chelsea Physic or something. And I'm totally up for the Hampton Court preview evening next year.

I have just put in a huge order at Bloms:

Daffs:
Brackenhurst
Princess Zaide
Kaydee
Elka

Crocus:
Blue Pearl

Tulips:
Princess Irene
Paul Scheerer

I also got the dc to help start the apple picking after school. It's a bumper year!

Courgette cake recipe as below, it's originally from a Canadian friend so is in cup measurements but is really easy.
2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 cup oil, 2 tsp vanilla essence, 3 eggs, 2 cups grated courgette, 1 cup raisins, 1 cup chopped nuts (optional).
Combine all ingredients except courgette, raisins & nuts. Mix well then add the rest in. Pour into a largish cake tin (I line mine with grease proof) and bake at 180 for around 50 minutes.
If using freshly harvested courgettes it takes longer to cook due to the extra liquid in them, mine normally takes 60-75 minutes but watch the top doesn't burn. I give my courgettes a bit of a squeeze first if really juicy. You can add a cream cheese icing like you would a carrot cake but I never bother. It also makes nice muffin size cakes if you reduce the cooking time.

I might find some time at the weekend to check up on the apple harvest. I am also desperate to get some blackberries in the freezer before they're all over. Otherwise what am I going to put in the crumbles with the apples through winter?

We had the first sweetcorn from the garden for tea tonight. Fresh sweetcorn is just amazing.

That cake sounds delicious!

Just caught up with the thread.

So so sorry to hear about your bil humph your poor sister.

With all the sadness about at the moment it was lovely to hear about the garden elves, well done .

I'll watch your kitchen progress with interest rhubarb we need to do ours and I'm not relishing the wall knocking down bit. Which is why I keep stalling.

Rubbish year for courgettes, what type do you grow bertha ?

Dc's finally back at school -it's been a looong summer so I'm keen to get some garden time today will report back.

Thanks for the recipe Bertha - I don't grow that many courgettes as I don't want to deal with a glut but now I won't mind as that is a lovely cake.

That does sound delicious. I would like to barn build one time, what a very kind thing to have done.

A couple of walls came down in our kitchen and it wasn't too bad. It has made a big difference to the house and i'm really pleased we have done it. There's a big window down one end and I want it out and replaced with doors so I can go straight out .
I noticed a couple of my dahlia cuttings have buds finally. Also I think my non flowering camellia might be growing buds for next year.

I've got a few varieties of courgettes this year Geoff. Couldn't tell you what they are though. I have green ones & yellow ones & stripey ones & curly ones.

I went to the Wisley flower show today. The dahlia tent was extraordinary, and the nursery stands were wonderful to wander around. Some really interesting plants. I'm normally quite robust at resisting temptation at these events, but I was seduced by a little gentian and once I'd started, I was on a roll, following that up with a velvety leafed species pelargonium and a weird Burmese thing with wonderful foliage. Names to follow tomorrow as they are outside and it's dark and I'm in my pyjamas. Fortunately ds was being a pain in the bum and whining for some lunch, or I would not have stopped at three plants.

I must say, the catering at Wisley is really good, if expensive. Far better than most NT fare I've experienced recently. Ds was thrilled with the beautifully iced gingerbread man in his kiddy box.

Thanks for the feedback Rhubarb. I shall now definitely be waiting on Sunday at 09.00 for the gates to open.

I agree about the Wisley catering- I always have the mulligatawny soup as it is truly wonderful. Maybe I won't have breakfast before I go on Sunday...

I sent NT an email about the dire catering at Montacute, and they were appreciative enough of getting feedback to send me a ??10 voucher!

Oh that's good. It makes you have confidence that they're taking note.

Wisley plants:
Gentiana sino-ornata
Pelargonium sidoides
Rubus lineatus

Ooh I have a Pelargonium sidoides - they are gorgeous - stroking their leaves is blissful. Mine resolutely refused to flower this year though. Maybe it was just too cold.

Both Gentian and Rubus are lovely too.

I really really like Gentians but they won't grow for me. They dont last the winter, even though they are meant to be hardy
Didn't someone here have wild Gentians growing in the Irish countryside?
blackpudding your vegetables sound yummy

I'm going to Wisley tomorrow. but I am not buying any plants

I tidied all the empty pots onto some shelving yesterday and admired the planting from the weekend. Its all looking much less wild and more garden-like! The crocosmia and callianthus are looking very stately, and the Gaura, Hibiscus, Veronicastrum plantings look set to really take off next year!Thank you again!

The Nerines have flowered out front. Paler than I thought.

I had given up on my Nerines this year but a single bud poked up out of the soil yesterday.

I think it was Castle who has wild gentians, lucky girl.

I love the leaves on the Rubus. Quite fancy one of those. Will investigate further.

Didn't make it to Wisley. Sigh. But there is a local flower show tomorrow, I hope to make it to that! Work is very tiring. I'm going to give it up soon.
I need to either repot or plant the roses out front where they were lined up when the front patio had to be cleared for the kitchen men to do their thing. I'm reading Vita's garden book for inspiration.
Monty's garden looked nice and the north facing wall planting was inspirational. Symmetry in a garden is very pleasing.
searabbit your planting is looking v. happy atm. Thank you!

I took my mother to the local horticultural society show today: some nice dahlias and flower arrangements and home made cake and apple varieties on platea. The roses weren't up to much so I think we might enter next year! There was a lot of silverware to be won as the local society is one of the older ones.

We bought some nice tulip bulbs: yellow and red, red and yellow, and red.

Inspired by rhubarb I then spent an hour hacking back the buddlea out front, which in 6 weeks had got completely out of control and looked nothing like a peacock.

Wonderful day!

I'm disappointed you didn't get some yellow tulips too, funny...

I popped round to a friend's newish house today to pick her damsons. She is too busy DIYing to do anything with them so I am making apple & damson jam for us both. She has a lovely long garden that will get masses of sun once she's cut back the many overgrown trees and shrubs. I'm quite envious of the possibilities.

We went to Gravetye yesterday for (delicious) afternoon tea and a mooch around the gardens. I took some photos which I've posted in the FB group, but I can't access them all. I did it as a photo album, and it looks like it didn't work properly.

Yellow tulips! I knew something was missing!

Didnt get to Wisley as exhausted from Buddlea chopping. Looked at Sarah Raven's catalogue instead,

Damson jam sounds yum and Gravetye tea yummy too!

I planted a sanguisorba tenuifolia alba and another miscanthus today, and began putting the pots back in their rightful sheltered place ready for Autumn winds.

It did work SeaRabbit, I get that sometimes on FB, I can only see one of the photos I've posted but everyone else can see them all.

Picked what may be the last of the courgettes today. Veg plot is in desperate need of some attention. I haven't picked a single beetroot yet this year and they're massive! Loads of stuff needs pulling out, garden still not high on the agenda at the moment. DH should be out of hospital mid week though so things should get a little easier then.