Keyte's Garden Consultancy

Some very much needed

Scabious
Autumn crocus..Colchicum
Dahlia Cafe Autumn Lait Rose
Rosa Grace
Begonia Apricot Shades
Rosa Comte de Chambord
Helianthus annus

What a summer ☀️ it's really been non stop in the gardens since July and September is looking just as busy! I've taken 5 minutes in my garden to see what's blooming in my slightly neglected patch so here's some .

Back out in the garden today and on my mind as the seasons are changing rather swiftly is spring bulbs .... ordering and then planting! , and then on to workshops and wreaths! I have currently a venue booked for December. Does anyone want to join me ?

Time for some rest ! I'll pick up messages and emails on Wednesday when I'm back in the garden. Have a great bank holiday everyone 😀

I often get asked what I like about my job and it isn't an easy question to answer. With a wide variety of clients and gardens, every one is different. But what they all have in common is plants and the want to make a thriving environment to live in. Some are a little more wild, and others are ordered and shaped to an nth of precision! There's the challenge from each garden keeping the weeds at bay or keeping the flowers standing tall, even keeping the ground from drying out or pests away. Most of all I want to show my children that when you look after someone's garden your caring for the environment around you, your making a commitment to someone who may not be able to do it themselves or just being there when there may not be anyone else and maybe just giving a little bit of hope that even when the world is full of war ,riots and hatred that there are some people who care.

Currently Echinacea purpura is absolutely stunning! I love the colours of orange and pink. They stand proud in any sunny or partly shaded border and are love by bees, butterflies and hoverflies.

4 years has flown by! I wonder how many weeds have been pulled out? Or Flowers planted? Cups of tea drank and the occasional cake 🎂!

How gorgeous are these Lillium 'Miss Feya' ? These are between 5 and 6 feet tall! With multiple flowers on each stem. They're great to add some summer colour in the garden and if you get them at the right time great for cutting too!

I think there needs to be a conversation about pollinators!

Have you noticed the distinct lack of bugs recently? Gardens are really a fantastic ecosystem for some beautiful pollinators day and night! Is your garden Pollinator friendly?

Here are just a few

Comma butterfly
Vapourer moth caterpillar
Buff tip Moth
Garden Bumblebee 🐝

Renovation Nation - A Gentleman's Residence Sunken garden

A little behind the scenes where it started to where it is now!

As you can see a lot of clearing has happened to get it back to the skeleton garden features of paths and borders. Shrubs trees and so much ivy has been removed leaving what some would think is bear earth, but once the Ivy was gone snowdrops of multiple varieties, helebores, ferns, bluebells and pulmonaria and periwinkle soon showed themselves, thriving in the dappled sunshine of spring.

Wild garlic then grew this spring and now the summer has arrived more ferns and the odd foxglove has popped up. With Rhododendron on the banks under fallen tree branches and a clump of bamboo ( that might have to go!)

As we gradually find and catalogue the ferns in the garden they'll be moved down to the Sunken garden to create a lush fernery for Andrew and Mandy to relax in after all the renovating is done !

On Wednesday we will be down in the garden with Keyte's Garden Consultancy Victoria Keyte with tree work that was done off camera by LumberjackJack
This image was taken during our Tuesdays story.

Next Week!! !

Same border ... different season ! Love how has used so many different plants to carry on the continuation of colour throughout the seasons.

Loving this bright border. Lime green amd cream with splashes of oranges, blue and subtle pinks if you look closely! Leading you down the garden path 🥰

Despite all of the wet weather we have had , the flowers are relishing in the cooler damp weather. Todays there's lots of Pink!

Escalonia Little Elle
Rosa Ballerina
Digitalis parvifolia
Rosa - unknown

How's your garden growing?

A few hours later......

Can you see what this once was? Formal steps with topiary Buxus. Mixed informal herbaceous and Shrubbery borders framing an informal lawn and woodland. Now let's get it back to some sort of order with wildflower meadow 😍

Friday..... making the wheelbarrow look pretty

It's been a busy few weeks. Here's a little peek at some of the flowers. Pictured is Sisyrinchium striatum and Rosa ' Comte de Chambord'

Jobs this month have included

Creating new borders
Planting bedding and herbaceous perennials
Lifting and removing over grown perennials
Removing a large dead shrub
Weeding...... lots of ....always
Watering
Feeding
Deadheading
Tying in and training new growth on climbers especially roses
Clearing overgrown foliage choking young trees
Weeding
More planting
Weeding
Pruning an over grown shrub
Cutting out dead bamboo stems
Planning gardens with clients
Edging lawns

Did I say Weeding?????

Looking forward to seeing on in you never know you might just see too! 😉

Planting sometimes needs great confidence and vision to plan how to get "the" look. Here Cornus kousa 'Satomi' has been planted here with Viburnum plicatum 'Pink Beauty' . But can you see the 2 different shrubs or does it look like 1?

As predicted what a splendid evening members and visitors enjoyed at our June meeting this week with the demonstration "Summer Splendor" by NAFAS area demonstrator Jackie West 👏👏👏
The photograph below is one of Jackie's designs from the evening inspired by a hot summer. Hopefully after seeing this, one is on its way now 🌞