Summer’s last shake in the garden (From York Press)

Summer’s last shake in the garden

1:36pm Saturday 3rd September 2011 in Gardening

IT IS hard to believe another summer is all but over and that, on a personal level, we have been in our new house a year. We are getting used to the new garden, which can maybe cease to be referred to as such, and are making it our own, putting in paths, building screens and gradually changing the planting.

It takes time to make a mark, but already small areas are beginning to look like our own.

Back to September, the month that sees the garden shake off the last of the summer blooms and build on those that began to flower in August.

Weather permitting, they will continue for the rest of the month and into October, which can still be filled with bright dahlias and tall grasses, jewel-hued penstemon and fresh Michaelmas daises.

We have four penstemon planted here that came by post in the spring, a free offer from a gardening magazine. Of the initial six plants two died, but the others were potted up and grown on indoors for a while as they found their feet and began to establish new roots and foliage.

After they were potted up for the second time and put outside in a sunny, sheltered spot by the house wall, these plants grew rapidly, quickly developing into decent-sized specimens and ready for the garden.

The first flowers appeared in mid-August and, for their first year, they have all performed well. The variety that has done the best so far is ‘Juicy Grape’, a relatively new introduction that is part of a group called the Ice Cream series. Members of this group are said to produce especially large blooms and cope well with a typical British summer.

This seems to be the case so far with ‘Juicy Grape’ which has beautifully marked, large purplish-red blooms along the length of each flowering stem.

This year the plant has produced two or three stems, but next summer should have thickened out much more and send up many more.

It seems unaffected by the heavy downpours we have had, the flowers are undamaged and the stalks have remained upright.

‘George V’ is a taller specimen with clear red flowers on a strong stems. There is only the one so far but the plant is showing signs of developing many more which may bloom later this month.

More compact but already flowering well is pure white ‘Snowstorm’ and lastly the more delicate pink ‘Apple Blossom’. This latter member of the group looks like it will be the only one that may need staking. The stems are rather thin and easily fall over in the wind or heavy rain.

Penstemon have a reputation of winter tenderness and, given the extreme cold we have had over the past couple of winters, it is likely that some will have succumbed. However, many of the hardier varieties can cope with low temperatures as long as they are planted in well-drained soil. Keeping the stems intact through winter and pruning in spring will also aid survival.

The ends of the stems may get frosted, but they will protect growth further in. Once the temperatures begin to rise, the plants can be neatened by cutting them back to new growth in April or May.

Penstemons are generally free from pests and don’t seem to be bothered by slugs. They are long flowering, from midsummer to the first frosts with the blooming period extended by deadheading, and are magnets for bees.

Weekend catch-up

ALTHOUGH we cling to the fading summer, it is time to plan for spring. September is a good month in which to plant daffodil bulbs. Check that the bulbs are large and firm with no signs of growth at the top and put them deeply into the garden, two times the depth of the bulb should be about right.

In the veg patch

WE HAVE just started to harvest our main-crop potatoes. After the slow start in early summer, the result of the very dry spring, the potatoes have done well; we haven’t to buy any for about three months. We’ll be lifting the rest of the crop over this month so it doesn’t get spoilt by pests or frost, and should be set up for potatoes through autumn.

open gardens

Tomorrow

In aid of the National Gardens Scheme

Rustic Cottage, Front Street, Wold Newton, YO25 3YQ, 13 miles north of Driffield off the B1249 to Foxholes. Cottage garden with many choice and unusual plants with old-fashioned roses, fragrant perennials, herbs and wild flowers providing a habitat for birds, bees, butterflies and small mammals. Open 11am-4pm, admission £2.50.

tv and radio

Tomorrow

8am, BBC Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors. With Blair Jacobs and Doug Stewart.

9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther and Joe Maiden.

2pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Chris Beardshaw, Bob Flowerdew, Anne Swithinbank and chairman Peter Gibbs help gardeners from Suffolk. The gardening weather forecast is at 2.40pm. (Repeated from Friday).

Wednesday

7.30pm, C5, Garden ER. David Domoney brings a suburban back garden back to life and Bonnie Davies helps actor Will Mellor improve a water feature.

Friday

3pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. This week the programme is from Lancashire where Anne Swithinbank explains how to create a forest garden and local gardener Paul Peacock advises on cultivating a sandy garden. Eric Robson is in the chair. (Repeated on Sunday at 2pm).

8.30pm, BBC2, Gardeners’ World. Monty Don selects asters for autumn colour, Carol Klein looks at Piet Oudulf inspired borders in Norfolk and Joe Swift discovers the gardens of Marqueyssac in the Dordogne.

Saturday, September 10.

7am, BBC Radio York, Julia Booth. Presenter Julia Booth and gardening expert Nigel Harrison hold their weekly plant surgery.