Me window box!
Dear Readers, we might be getting into autumn, but the window boxes are still going well, and attracting all manner of tiny hoverflies. The marjoram has more or less gone over on this side…
…but is still doing well on this side. And also I got this new bright scarlet sedum, which is definitely cheering things up.
In my new recycled-tyre container, all is going well so far. The sedum is coming into flower
The asters will soon be busting out…
The purple toadflax is flowering too. I know it grows very vigorously all over the place but not in East Finchley. I love this delicate little plant, and so do the bees…
And this is a new plant for me: Caucasian germander (Teucrium hircanicum). Apparently the flower stems will eventually be 60cm tall, which will make for a very impressive (and crowded display). It’s a member of the Deadnettle family (Lamiaceae) as you can probably tell.
On a not so happy note, does anyone know what’s happened to my lavender? The foliage is going a most disconcerting yellow colour. Normally I’d think about water logging, but it’s in a very shallow, well-drained bed. All help much appreciated…
The lavender problem!
And finally, all these pollinator friendly plants are of course attracting predators, such as this nice fat spider, who has gotten quite chunky on all the hoverflies and the occasional honeybee. Such is nature, of course, and hopefully the number of insects who get a little help will more than compensate for those who are lost.
And finally I have moved and repotted this bottlebrush plant, which was languishing at the back of the garden. It was bought for me by my lovely Canadian aunties, one of whom passed away last week, and one of whom is now very unwell. Every time I look at it, it will remind me of them, and I hope that it will thrive in its new, sunnier home. I will write about both of them soon, but at the moment I just feel too sad. But I know that those bright red flowers will cheer me up when they come, and they’ll cheer the bees up too.
Your Lavender problem just looks like a bit of new growth to me ! Love your writing and visiting bits of London that I would otherwise never get to .
I am sorry to hear of your loss but glad you saw her not long ago.
I’ve just read that yellowing of lavender leaves could be the result of too much nitrogen in the soil. I wonder if it affects rosemary in the same way? Mine have also gone yellowish, but they’re in pretty poor soil.
Ah, interesting – I wonder where the nitrogen is coming from? I wonder how much nitrate pollution there is in rainwater, especially in cities, as we’ve had several massive storms and I’m pretty sure the foliage was ok during the drought.
I am so inspired by all the UK gardeners I follow who use pots. I always felt like I was cheating or not “doing it right” or something unless I put everything in the ground, but pots are so much more fun, when you can move them about, protect them in the winter, get them into the sun when they’re languishing. I must get more pots in my garden!
They are handy if you don’t have a garden, or if you only have a little bit of actual soil in the front like me. Big pots are the way though because they need a lot of watering!