Gardening with Nature on the Edge of the Atlantic

Truly Gorgeous


My Crabapple ‘Gorgeous’ has been worth its weight in gold. Not only have I had a year’s supply of jelly, but I have also made some cordial. I think that this year is my best effort as I am gradually refining my skills. The cordial is a lovely rose colour and the taste is fantastic if I say so myself. Over the years, I have experimented with reducing the amount of sugar recommended, as I think that it kills the flavour. I now use less than half the recommended amount and this batch will last for at least a year in the fridge (if I don’t consume it beforehand!)

The last of my crabapple jellies. I say mine although they were made by my kind friend Shiona James using my crabapples. She is very skilled in this area and I am learning a lot from our collaboration. As with the cordial, ‘Gorgeous’ produces a lovely deep pink colour and the flavour is equally good. This makes up for the fact that all of the other crabapples did very badly this year and did not produce usable fruit.

This Stag’s horn sumac (Rhus typhina) was managing to hold its own during this recent dreadful weather. It had thinned out a bit but there was still a lovely show of autumn colour until the torrential rains arrived at the weekend. The leaves are still on the tree but look rather shrivelled. Apparently, it can be used as a spice or a dye so that is some homework for the dark winter days. It can be rather invasive but it is growing against a wall and the few shoots that appear in the grass on the other side can easily be cut down with the lawn mower.

A close up of the sumac leaves. The autumn colour is very dramatic and I hope that these leaves survive the next round of storms.

The calm before the storm. This has been one of the few clear dawns in the last few weeks and I don’t expect any more soon.

I have four whitebeam in the stand of trees next to the house. You cannot tell what they are by their bark, as they are completely covered in lichen. The berries are a firm favourite of the blackbirds who seem to have set up house in the area and cluck indignantly and endlessly whenever I interrupt their meal. There are at least six at any one time and they are sometimes joined by some pigeons. I can’t help feeling like an intruder despite the fact that I have no designs on their food.

The fruits of the the spindle (Euonymus europaeus) are finally maturing. This is a firm favourite with almost all of the birds that visit the garden and the autumn colour is as impressive as the fruit.

There was one tiny wild honeysuckle plant hidden in a corner when I moved here. I left it to do as it pleased and now it covers much of the northern boundary wall. This one has taken to the air and blows about in the breeze quite happily.

I rarely have any time to plant bulbs and annuals, but dabbled a bit this year. I was rather late with my planting, so this cosmos is only flowering now.

Another brave soul daring to flower during these turbulent weeks.

These are the fruits of Malus ‘Dark Rosaleen’. They look very enticing but to date I have not had the patience to try and use fruits that are so tiny. Maybe if I find a preparation technique that is not so labour intensive I can check the flavour next year.

This Phygelius carpensis is still in flower although the recent wet spell destroyed many of the leaves. The flowers are very attractive and last for months. I do hope that the weather in the next few weeks is kind to it.

I removed this aster from my little garden in front of the house at the start of the summer as it was too invasive. It rewarded me by coming back with a vengeance and taking over most of the bed again. However, it has redeemed itself by providing food for dozens of bees late in the season.

It is hard to condemn a plant when it is so attractive in October. It looks as if most of the ‘doomed’ plants in my front garden have made their way back into my good books.

This Himalayan honeysuckle, Leycesteria ‘Golden’ has very attractive light green leaves. So far its growth has been contained to a small area so it may not be as invasive as its relatives. Either that, or the conditions here do not encourage ‘rampant’ growth.

Details of the Himalayan honeysuckle.

This tiny geranium (an Endressi?) has been hiding out in the dense foliage in the small front garden. Maybe we could learn a thing or two from it about survival in this climate. I am certainly in favour of hiding during some of the storms we experience.


2 responses to “Truly Gorgeous”

  1. Wow, Julie! The colours in your garden/environment right now are stunning. Your hard work and planning are certainly paying off.
    Julie (from dark wet central belt Scotland) x

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