Rumours of Winter

There are some shoots coming up that can hardly be anything but the 'Ziva' paperwhite narcissi. There are also some oenothera coming up just where I don't want them (and some where I do). Yesterday there were two Happy Returns daylily blooms, quite a nice surprise. The alstroemeria is long out of bloom and today I pulled out its second last stalk. The godzilla is stil fiercely in bloom, and one of the salvia nemorosa is bravely blooming under it; I cut away a big hunk of the godzilla to let more sun onto the salvia (and because tearing the whole thing down at the end of the year is utterly unrealistic). The teucrium is showing a few more flowers and seems to want to get bigger. I've hacked off one more set of faded blooms from the various perovskia, and what's left (not too bad-looking) will have to carry us until December or whenever I demolish them. Of the new daylilies in front, two still refuse to grow leaves. I've planted a couple of yarrows that my neighour gave me in the corner lawn; we'll see if I got them right. The solanum and the plumbagos do well ... I must remember to give the southerly plumbago plenty of nitrgoen this winter. The dietes bloomed just today, opening almost as I watched.

I launched an attack on the lemon tree this morning. Yes, it defends itself. The epilobium and one of its children are blooming perhaps a little more than before. The gazania was long out of bloom, but when the gopher took it out anyway, I took out the gopher. (No, I don't enjoy handling corpses.)

By the back door, that was a white nigella, Still is, in fact: just bloomed today. The echinops there has one faded bloom and two still blue. The catharanthi are doing very well, as is the red begonia in the south-east corner. And that's all I have time for.

... or at least autumn

The teucrium fruticans is rather shyly blooming. The maroon cyclamen in the front walkway is not shy at all. Most other plants are as they were ... the epilobium has very few blooms. The echinops outside the back door has finally bloomed. I'm looking for some coloured yarrow seed for the corner "lawn", but it seems expensive.