Late Summer light
Summer has started to wane. This week the mornings have been a little colder and the days slightly shorter. When the sun has made an appearance between the rain showers I've dashed out the back door with my camera to capture as much Summer colour as I can. And of course, the fantastic light at this time of year!
Cosmos are little sun traps.
I thought the heartsease had finished flowering so I planted it out in the raised bed. It had a second wind and is covered in flowers. Now there are enough to make Annie's blueberry and lemon traybake without stripping the plant bare.
Out of the sun and into the shade we have Love-in-a-mist. This stuff started sprouting up all over the place. At first I couldn't work out where it'd all come from and then I remembered I'd done a Gemma special and scattered a whole pack of seeds a few weeks earlier (I have this accident quite a lot). Because I sowed seeds in the raised beds and then used that soil to fill pots, it's everywhere.
Poppies have been a nice thing to have in the garden this year. They push out long thin stems with these big fat buds on the end. The buds stay tightly closed for a few days and then a tiny split appears.
Almost overnight the buds unfurl into big, floppy, colourful petals. I haven't edited the colour of this one, it really is that bright!
Has anyone heart of soapwort? I discovered it in a book called Cottage Herbal whilst researching cottage garden plants. It's not very popular or well known anymore, which seemed like a good reason to grow it. Soapwort's use dates back to Roman times when it was used as a soap substitute. This plant is a double win because as well as looking nice, it's bee friendly too.
And a garden update wouldn't be complete without some hydrangea action!
Hopefully this Summer colour has cheered everyone up after the dreariness of the last few days. Still, it's not all bad, all this water will fatten up the beans at the allotment nicely!
