August 2005

By the end of August I had identified almost everything that emerged and had evicted those which did not fit in with my restful colour scheme and design. The Hibiscus turned out to be mauve: it put up quite a fight, being a large and well established shrub, but in the end it was defeated.

The garden was now mainly green, with a large number of white, slightly fewer blue and a sprinkling of very pale coloured or very deep red flowers.	The new Clematis in bed 1 were thriving, as were the transplanted plants which were still visible in late Summer.

The plants which had moved in their pots appeared happy, as did the newly planted ferns.	Leucojum autumnale was flowering happily in its sink, now almost entirely covered in Arenaria balearica.

Bed 4, now had a much modified colour scheme. The new Clematis and Akebia were doing well and the small Rhododendron did not appear to mind being moved from the front garden.	The Cyclamen hederifolium in this bed, moved from the old garden, proved to be one of the pale pink ones.

The plants in pots and beds were establishing nicely, despite the hot weather - I did remember to water them regularly.	Campanula cochlearifolia 'Blue Baby', newly planted, flourished in bed 2.

The wall bed, less oxalis-infested than it had been, had settled down nicely. Passiflora caerulea was fruiting enthusiastically and I planted some seeds in a pot.	Ophiopogon planiscapus nigrescens flowered happily despite its move. Ophiopogon japonicus variegatus also flowered, but the other two were less enthusiastic - perhaps next year ...
	The Anemone in the wall bed proved to be a pure white - very nice, but really not appropriate for that position. When the front garden is sorted out I will move it to where it can have more space.

The original 'Clematis florida Sieboldii' turned out not to be - it was 'alba'. I took a photo and showed them at Wisley. Despite my explaining that I was happy with the incorrect one and wanted to keep it, they insisted on giving me a free C f Sieboldii as well - how's that for service! It settled in well in bed 2.	Clematis texensis 'Gravetye Beauty', also planted in bed 2, flowered exuberantly, but in a subtle way (unlike the blowsy ones I had evicted).
	Meanwhile, the pots and carrier bags full of plants were still waiting for the front garden to be ready.