Another beautiful afternoon in Cheltenham, sunny and warm, but you can tell Autumn is just around the corner.

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This Thalictrum minus gets hacked down in August when I cut the beech hedge it resides next to. Then I run the lawnmower over it to gather the clippings! It comes back in just two weeks as green and lush as if it had never been touched. The flowers are tiny and disappointing for a Thalictrum but the ferny foliage is delightful.

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I have several clumps of Cyclamen hederifolium and coum, none of which I planted. I am told the ants like the sticky seeds and carry them long distances where they germinate. These are growing under the purple beech hedge at the front and are as reliable as they are pretty.

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The Diascia personata is still flowering her socks off and is a really hard working plant for any cottage garden. Tall, wiry stems with lipstick pink flowers which seem oblivious to heat, cold and rain. What a find!

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This box of plants arrived from The Secret Gardening Club today. A lovely job to look forward to after the Malvern Plant Fair tomorrow!

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This unusual Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’ comes into its own now and is well named with flowers shooting up and outwards in all directions. Goes well with purple Asters.

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Had to end on a high note and this Dahlia is over 6 ft tall. It is a cactus hybrid on steroids! As you can see, it is not a particularly good specimen and wouldn’t win any prizes but the bees don’t know that!

Enjoy your weekend

David