Garden in Bloom

Autumn is such a pretty time of year in my garden, it would be perfect if it were not for all the leaves! We have three big deciduous trees in out front yard and right now we cannot keep up with all the raking. Hubby has got to the point of using the mower rather than the rake!

So here's some of my Azaleas in bloom ~

The tall shrub behind the Azalea is a Camellia, we have four of those, they are just beginning to flower, but they'll come into full flower a little later. 

The leaves that fall on the garden beds make great mulch and keep the moisture in our normally quite dry ground.

Don't ask me the names of the different varieties, I can't remember! I do know some of them have double flowers like the pretty pale pink one above.

The Soul of the Sunflower

Annual Royal Velvet Sunflowers are easier to grow than you would think and well worth the little extra effort, simply sow seeds about a foot apart where you want then to grow, during spring to early summer.

A unique ornamental addition to any garden, this flower begins with a large primary head first and proceeds to add heads on further branches as they develop, just like the yellow ones I showed you before. They have a long flowering period of around ten weeks and the most beautiful colouring which makes these flowers the perfect solution for adding life to your garden.

No garden as such? Why not grow one in a pot on your balcony, they are certainly worth a try and will brighten your day, every day! When I look at mine, I understand why Vincent Van Gogh painted them.

The Soul of the Sunflower by Sara Jewett

The warm sun kissed the earth

To consecrate thy birth,

And from his close embrace

Thy radiant face

Sprang into sight,

A blossoming delight.

Through the long summer days

Thy lover's burning rays

Shone hot upon thy heart.

Thy life was part

Of his desire,

Thou passion-flower of fire!

And, turning toward his love,

Lifting thy head above

The earth that nurtured thee,

Thy majesty

And stately mien

Proclaims thee sun-crowned queen.

On earth, thy gorgeous bloom

Bears record of thy tomb,

And to transcendent light

Thy soul takes flight

Till thou art one,

O sunflower, with the sun!

Keep Calm and Carry On

Although I have been keeping myself busy with my dolls, I have also been appreciating my garden and the miniature sunflowers which my daughter gave me to plant a few weeks ago. I have grown the tall ones in the past, however I didn't realise they came in this size, nor did I realise there were other colours.

My daughter gave me both yellow and red, but the red ones are yet to flower. I have always thought yellow sunflowers were bright and cheerful. Simply looking at them makes me happy, so I thought today I'd share mine with you in the hope they would do the same for you.

My Garden . . . That Hubby Attends To

Thought I'd lighten the mood and share some photos of my garden. First are the photos I promised Alasse . . . my herb garden.

From the front: Flat Leaf Parsley, Sage, Oregano.

From the Front: Sage, Oregano and Basil.

We have been picking the herbs and using them, but I do wish the Basil would grow a little quicker, it's my favourit herb. I also have a Rosemary bush in my front garden.

Parsley, Cos Lettuce (2 types) and Snow Peas.

Leeks

I don't know why, but the Snow Peas are just not doing very well, neither are my Tom Thumb Tomatoes. In previous years we have had great crops from both of these. I think all the crazy weather is to blame.

We also planted Rocket, but that bolted and just went to seed in a week!

Now to my beautiful roses, these are called Double Delight. They also have the most beautiful fragrance, hence their name . . . they really do delight me in two ways!

As you can see they begin opening as a deep pink and eventually you see their cream centre, every rose is different, it's like they have been hand painted. They have lovely long stems which makes them perfect for cutting. I don't know how many vases I have filled this year, they have been blooming for weeks. As one vase full of roses fades, another set of roses are ready to come inside.

An update on Willowmenia . . . she has arrived and I am sewing her outfit at present, so photos coming soon. :)

More Pretties

Not much dolly news to share today. We have been busy outside while the weather is still reasonable and have planted a couple of Camellias. One in front of my studio window (we've tried other things, but had no success), it's an informal double called Hawaii. The flowers are so pretty and it's not expected to grow very tall, so should still let enough light into the house.

Camellia Japonica Hawaii

The other, a Paradise Petite Pink, will be planted in our courtyard, where we have just finished adding a new larger patio. Unavoidably, the workmen destroyed a small section of our garden when they had to bring the concrete in, leaving just enough room for a slender plant.

Camellia Sasanqua Paradise Petite

This will grow up to 1.5 meters tall and just 1 meter wide, so should be perfect there.

The patio looks great, but we are still waiting for the balustrade to be installed. I will post photos when it's all completed, as it just looks like a big bluestone blob right now!

Next thing on the agenda is repainting all my old pots terracotta, to match the more recent additions.

Hopefully there will be a little time left over for dollies. :)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs,

X

Autumn Gardening

This time of year is often when I have less dolly time as the garden needs some attention. Earlier on we pulled out all our lavender shrubs as they were getting woody and infested with red mites. This left spaces that needed to be filled, and fill them we did!

We planted a dozen azaleas which are looking quite lost in the space but the three colours we chose will hopefully look like this when they flower.

ANNA KEHR

CLIFF'S CHOICE

RED WING

We also planted lots of these colourful leaf plants under the trees. They are shade lovers so hopefully we will eventually get some decent ground cover where we find it almost impossible to get anything to grow.

Can't remember the names of these plants, but the burgundy leaves should make a nice contrast with the light green leaves on the plants along our fence.

   Well that's about all for today, be back again in a few days!
Hugs,
X