Garden Update

Now is a good time to look at what flowers and shrubs have done well in your garden this year, in order to increase your stock and hopefully have an even better display next year. Everyone's garden is different, and has it's own little idiosycracies of soil, climate, and so on, so it makes sense to note what you can grow well and make the most of it.
In my garden this year I have been pleased with, amongst other things -

The Blue Wall - an early display of Wisteria, Ceanothus, and Solanum on the south wall of the house.

This  pretty little pale yellow daisy like flower is Anthemis Tinctoria EC Buxton, and has flowered all summer long, wonderful value, and easy to grow. I will split the clump quite soon and have a large patch of it for next year.

And the surprise star of Spring was Allium Schubertii, which looks like a violet exploding firework when in flower, and afterwards the dried seedhead looks almost as good. I have just harvested the dried seedheads which I intend to spray with silver paint for Christmas decorations

Apples continue to ripen and I am storing the best unblemished fruit in perforated plastic bags in the garage along with my garlic and onion crops.  Plastic bags are not as picturesque as wooden boxes or slatted shelves but work pretty well, although you do need to keep an eye on them whatever storage method you use, the old saying about one bad apple is indeed correct and can spoil a whole batch it you don't spot it early and remove it. You can see the dried Allium Schubertii seedheads hanging on the left.The Hubbard table chickens are now 13 weeks old and  I will  have to start thinking about dispatching and processing them. They are quite variable in size however, so I intend to take advice from Sid about whether they are ready to go yet or not. The four cockerels are, unsurprisingly, a bit bigger than the rest, and some of the hens are a good size and others quite small.