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Garden Blog – It can’t be autumn already?

We haven’t been to the National Botanic Garden of Wales for about 4 weeks due to visits from children and grandchildren and visits to friends and family in Derbyshire and we noticed, when we were on our travels, that the trees had already started to change colour.  Have you noticed how many hawthorn berries there are this year?  The number of berries on the trees is meant to be an indication of the severity of the winter ahead.  I don’t see how that can be; it would make more sense if it was a reflection of the winter that’s past.  Be that as it may, there are a lot of berries this year.  So we weren’t all that surprised when we arrived at the Garden today to find that it was quite autumnal.  The weather didn’t help being wet and very windy and I have to say that some of the plants were pretty windswept.

When I got out of the car this morning I stepped on a conker which immediately split to reveal two shiny little fruits inside.  A bit early, I thought, but I suppose that the wind of the night before had blown them off the branches prematurely.  I spent most of the day inside but when it was time to go home it turned out that my husband had moved the car to the visitors’ car park and that meant a walk down the Broadwalk.  There were still a fair few flowers to be seen even if some of them were beginning to look a little the worse for wear.  September has always been one of my favourite months (we got married in September!!) and I don’t suppose that will change any time soon.  The weather can often be beautiful at this time of the year so let’s hope for the best.  Anyway back to the Broadwalk, there were some beautiful lilies holding their own and the Japanese anemones were in full bloom and still looking good, there were still clematis flowers in the same area and also some Michaelmas daisies.  I love these little flowers, they remind me of the times in the dim and distant past when my Gran would give me a bunch to give to my teacher – do children still do that?  There were some lovely Echinacea and the astilbe were still colourful.

When we got down to Scaladaqua Tonda the colchicum were showing their pretty purple flowers.  We always we called them autumn crocus, we didn’t know their proper name. I don’t know if that’s right or not.  Then we were down in the car park where the acers are already bright red and the rudbeckia are putting on a brave show.  Just as I was getting into the car I was intrigued by some little yellow flowers and just had to go and have a closer look.  They were primulas.  I always think of them as spring flowers so I don’t know whether they were late or early.   Whichever, it was lovely to see them there – long may they last.

Pam Murden