Always take the greatest of care.

After the wet summer that proved very beneficial for the hydrangea, the gardens are beginning to show their autumn glory, albeit a little early. Asters and phlox are looking great in the main borders whilst sunflowers and dahlias are brightening up the kitchen garden.

Talking of dahlias, I set myself a bit of a challenge this month, trying to sort out and name all the dahlias that had become muddled over the past three or four years. I planted all the varieties in large blocks to make it easier to identify the odd rogue. It was an interesting and absorbing task, involving a lot of internet research as I had lists of names but no really good descriptions. All the dahlia are now labelled and almost all have been identified; including 3 varieties that I thought had been lost. I am very pleased.

The peahen and her 4 chicks are doing fine, and growing swiftly (see pic). They have the cutest hairstyles...
We will soon have the difficult problem of what is to become of them. The pen is too small for 7 adult peacocks so we will have to find them a new home. I will keep you posted on their progress.

2 weeks ago we started to cut the yew hedges. This tale is a timely reminder for those of you who use power equipment in the garden. One of the gardeners - Richard - lost concentration when reaching across the top of one of the hedges to pick up a bamboo cane and three of his fingers were nicked by the cutter blades. After some swift first aid by Debbie he was taken to our local hospital to be checked over, and steri-strips were used to close the wounds. He returned to work after a couple of days and is now recovering well. The warning is that no-one, no matter how experienced is immune from accidents. Richard was very lucky: only the tips of his fingers was nicked. It could have been a lot worse.

For those of you who have visited the gardens recently you will have seen the plant sales area gradually increasing. The nurseryman who produces the plants aquires much of his propagation material from the gardens. This means that many of the plants for sale started life as cuttings from Spetchley Gardens.

Topical tips for September

It is not too late to cut back unruly wisteria, trimming off the wispy bits to 5 leaves, and tying in any branches to fill gaps.
Start taking cutting of tender plants such as salvias and penstemon, as insurance against the winter frosts.
Continue to trim hedges. Putting a sheet down first to catch the clippings will make clearing up a lot quicker.
Continue to pick runner beans etc. in the kitchen garden. It is not too late to sow quick crops of radish and lettuce.
Dead heading the herbaceous borders will prolong the display, but if you want to save seed, don’t forget to leave some flowerheads uncut!
Keep cutting lawns, gradually raising the cut in preparation for winter.
Check fruit trees and remove any fruit affected by brown rot to reduce infection spread.
Be particularly careful when picking tree fruit as wasps love windfalls and can become quite drunk, presenting quite a hazard.