Sultry September

If I let my memory ramble, September makes me think of roses, tupperware bowls piled with blackberries, scratched and purple-stained fingers and arms, golden sunshine, daddy-long-legs, swimming in the warm, deep sea (years later, in the dark), new school shirts, a freshly stocked pencil case, fresh, clean school books as yet free of doodles and love-lorn poems, heart pounding at the first sight of last year’s crush object not seen since July, a shiny new season ticket not yet lost, stillness.

Some memories are happily just that – mercifully the destructive teenage crush is one of them. The roses turned out to be me not noticing them in June and thinking the reflowering in September was a first effort. Swimming in the warm September sea is something I’ll return to one day. But the stillness, the ripening, the warm sunshine before the autumn storms. That’s September to me and that’s how it’s been this past week – just so perfect.

The softening sunshine makes the garden glow gloriously – the late summer Rudbeckias, Heleniums, Salvias and grasses are at their best. The exotic garden knows nothing of the seasons, but just keeps growing and flowering until caught unawares, like an innocent abroad. It’s lovely to hear the compliments of visitors, especially when I’m not the intended audience.

My own laptop is bust, so uploading pictures from the camera is a pain.I’ll do it later. In the meantime, notes to me…
– the swallows still haven’t gone – still gathering on the telephone wires each night to gossip
– tortoiseshell butterflies all over the buddleias, Echinaceas and Bowle’s Mauve
– Leucanthemella serotina cuttings all took in three weeks. Don’t know why, but I didn’t expect that.
– Wollerton Old Hall.Stunning planting, very pretty, narrow paths, tight turns, claustrophic-ish, neat, prim in places, think I want to make more rooms here, but keep them bigger and more contemporary
– Came away thinking we could do better than we do now. Well, SusanJane. Best put up or shut up, I say…..
– Visited Hillview Hardy Plants. Bought some plants, but wow, what a mess…
– Dropped into Ashwoods. Total contrast – absolute order, superb choice and quality, but totally sold out to the garden centre tat element. Had to look away from the plastic sheep and toadstools – they hurt my retinas.

Is there a happy medium? A great nursery, well presented, accurately labelled, superb choice, no weeds, no tat, knowledgeable staff, sensible prices. Oh and a beautiful, well-designed garden alongside. I hope it’s possible – that’s the plan and that’s where we’re going. Let me know when we get there….