Closing Down for Winter

We already had a few frosty nights which prompted me to tidy up the last of the shabby perennials and bulbs. The crocosmias have become particularly slimy. (Not sure what variety they are since I inherited them with the garden but they spread like wildfire, it looks like I will have to split them again next year).

All leaves from the trees are now gone, so it was also time to remove the leaves from the path. I don't bother with leaf mould, I spread the leaves among the plants in the borders and let the weather do the rest. A pile of leaves makes a particularly good blanket for a sleeping Daliah. They will be gone by next summer (the leaves not the Dahlias ..ha ha).

Last leaves (The name of the particular Acer escapes me at the moment)

I reported on my Tulip purchases in an earlier post in September unfortunatley not all Tulips were available but those that arrived (Tulipa 'Cyntia' and Tulipa Tarda) were planted in the ground.

I planted the rest of the tulips I bought mainly dark reds purples and whites in pots topped with Muscari armeniacum in the top layer.

Some polystyrene at the bottom

The bulbs go in

With all the tasks completed and our holiday getting closer and closer, this is probably the last post for this year. Next year's task is a map of the garden, so I can report on development in the different areas, and my very own domain, hopefully follwed by proper website....

Hope 2008 will be a great gardening year

Autumn Color - Part II

We had our first serious frost, most trees lost their leaves and the dahlias are black. In the next week I will prepare the garden for winter, cutting everything back, clearing the leaves off the paths and covering up any tender plants, before all work is suspended until February.

But, memory of autum is still fresh and here are some more pictures of glorious autumn color.

View of back garden

Acer Palmatum 'Shaina' maintains it's red color all season but becomes much more intense in autumn

Acer Palmatum 'Kamagata'

Autum Colour - Part I

We had a warm autum this year and as a result fantastic autumn colour. A few of the acers shrivelled before we had a chance to enjoy them, but most provided a beautiful display, as did other decidious shrubs. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. All pictures are from our front garden, back garden will follow....

Front garden as seen from our bedroom window

And some detail ...

An eye level view of the front garden as can be seen from the living room window.