The humble calendula and nasturtium

There's still plenty of colour in the garden, there's hardy geraniums, snapdragons, nasturtiums and calendulas still blooming merrily away.

I love calendulas, they are such cheerful flowers and will self seed, so once you have them, you'll always have them. They are frost tolerant, and will keep flowering away quite happily in a sheltered spot in the garden. A must for any cottage or herb garden; if you can bear to pick them you can use all of the plant fresh or dried for cooking or for teas.

My nasturtiums are still going strong, I planted seeds beneath the huge clematis/honeysuckle barrier between us and next door. The nasturtiums have rambled up through the hedge and have appeared about fifteen feet up at the very top,  enjoying the autumn sunlight. You have to admire their perseverance! My nasturtiums have kept on blooming throughout the summer, surviving two successive incursions of Cabbage White caterpillars who steadily munched their way through all the leaves and then bogged off to pupate somewhere or other. It looked a real mess for a while but I waited until the caterpillars had all wandered off before cutting the plants right back; new leaves appeared very quickly, followed by the flowers. I also have lots of seeds ready for next Spring.

Callicarpa or Beauty Berry

Look at this stunner. Callicarpa or Beauty Berry.

This shrub graces the Chalice Well Gardens where I do volunteer gardening once a week. I was weeding the long border and every visitor came up and asked me what it was. I'm a keen gardener but I don't know the name of all the plants in the garden, including this one, so I wandered off to find Ark, the head gardener, to ask what it was (he knows the name of every plant in the garden!).

So, in an effort to expand my gardening knowledge I shall record my encounters with plants both garden and wild.

Callicarpa or Beauty Berry -a native of south east Asia/Australasia. Deciduous. The purple berries are very astringent and the birds don't usually eat them until there's nothing else left! Apparently you can make the berries into wine or jelly but you'd probably need huge amounts of sugar to make it palatable. Just admire them and leave them for the birds.

Rowan Tree musings

My beautiful rowan tree has really come into its own this autumn, pale orange berries and amber, russet and plum coloured leaves - absolutely stunning.
It lives in a big pot in my back garden, wasn't sure it was going to survive at first but have kept it well watered, fed and spoke loving words of encouragement to it. It perked up, I'm pleased to report, and rewarded my efforts with this beautiful autumnal display. Rowan trees are said to provide protection for the home, they keep evil intentions out whilst inviting fairies in! I have a fondness for 'witchy' plants, all the old fashioned favourites have a home in my garden, rosemary, lady's mantle, lavender and all my other lovely herbs.

I think autumn leaves are best in November, they're more subtle and never look more glorious than set against a moody, steel grey November sky. There's a beautiful orange cloud of a tree in a garden opposite ours, it's such a beauty. Clouds of pink blossom in the spring and now beautiful amber leaves. A tree that keeps on giving.

This morning we're paying a visit to the Abbey in Glastonbury, home to some beautiful trees, including one of my favourites, the old yew tree by the ruined walls.

Here it is. Perched precariously on the edge of the wall by the ruined Abbey, its branches spreading out towards the walls.

Very quiet in the grounds today, a still, calm day with a little light rain. A few dog walkers and one intrepid lady 'earthing' in bare feet, a braver woman than me!

The trees are magnificent in their autumn finery. Here's a few photos.

Apple trees framing the Abbot's Kitchen

 Beautiful berries against the stone walls

 Such delicate colours

 Stately old oak

 Feathery needles and green cones

Wow!