We were lucky that Storm Antoni came in like a lamb and went out like a lamb in Cheltenham last weekend, with a lot of rain but very little damage. Fortunately, the forecast high winds never materialised so the garden was relatively unscathed otherwise things like this Cosmos would have been devastated. The soil in the front border is too rich for them really so they produce too much foliage at the expense of flowers but they still put on a good show. It is a laborious task but carefully deadheading them keeps them flowering for longer. and keeps them looking good. I leave a few seedheads towards the end of the season to collect for next year.
It looks like storm damage but, in truth, it was just the sheer weight of fruit that brought down my rather old and flimsy support structure for the Merton Thornless blackberries. It’s a little more awkward now but I will pick the fruit and rebuild it in September to tie in the new canes.
The grapes are coming on nicely and should produce a huge crop this year. It is Vitis labrusca ‘Isabella’, the pink fox grape, the variety they use in the USA to make Grape Jelly which is often combined with peanut butter for a tasty snack. It is both a dessert grape and and a wine grape so I plan to start my own vineyard!
I am the only garden in my road to have a hanging basket this year! Maybe they are no longer fashionable, or perhaps it’s just the constant feeding and watering that people have found too much. They are a tie though, even if we go away for a weekend I have to ask my neighbour to water it each day. I cram so many plants into a 14″ basket that the thirst for water must be immense and now the pelleted feed has almost certainly been used up, it requires liquid tomato feed at every other watering. Mind you, I do love it and feel it is worth the effort. A miniature miracle!
Why do Hollyhocks insist on growing in the most awkward places! They seem intent on finding a tiny crevice against a wall or fence or, as in my case, up against the purple beech hedge. I hasten to add that I have never planted any myself, they have migrated from next door where they run riot against the house wall in dry, inhospitable conditions which would normally never support life of any kind; even the weeds die of malnutrition.
A plant I am often asked about in the garden is Catananche caerulea or Cupid’s Dart as it is commonly known. It is a short lived perennial but best treated as an annual or biennial. I have it in this blue/purple and white from a packet of seeds I received in a seed exchange several years ago. It forms a lovely papery flower bud which is very popular with flower arrangers and lasts for weeks. If it’s happy in your soil, it will self seed and you will have it forever, like Nigella or bittercress!
Have a great weekend.
David
Davids Garden Diary 
I love those cosmos…
Me too!
Thanks David, I have several hanging baskets. A bit of work but we’ll worth it. Regards Anne
I agree Anne. As long as you are prepared to maintain a vigilant watering and feeding regime and make arrangements if you go away for more than a day, they are a delight at the front of any property. In fact, I remember my Grandad having one on each side of the front door of his council house in Liverpool. They were fantastic!
I do like your hanging basket, I try my own, but reading your post, I don’t feed mine nearly enough. Thanks for the pointers.
Hi Rosie. Yes, they do need a lot of watering and feeding to keep them going. I find liquid tomato food or seaweed the best but I double the recommended dose!
Like you I love my hanging baskets, used to give classes when I had my nursery. There will always be one in my garden, yours is luxuriant.
Thanks Jeanne. As I said to Helen Jones in a comment below, they do seem to be dying in popularity, probably due to all the holidays people take these days!
Those Cosmos! A month of rain has reduced mine to brown mush in large part.
Hi Jim. Even with all the rain we have been having the Cosmos, particularly ‘Purity’ and ‘Seashells’ stand proud. It is the wind that knocks them over! I try to make sure they are propped up by adjoining plants to give them natural support.
That is one beautiful hanging basket! Wow! Never out of fashion.
I had to smile reading about your grapes. My (American) kids would have had peanut butter and (concord grape) jelly as young kids in the States. But that stopped when we moved to Ireland as there is no concord grape jelly here! 🙂
I’m going to make note of Catananche caerulea to plant for arrangements – thank you!
Thanks for your kind comment and for following my blog. Hanging baskets do seem to be dying out in the UK. There was a time when almost every home in the street would have one or more, but now hardly anyone bothers.’ Concord’ is a variety of Vitis labrusca, the same grape variety as the one I grow although mine is called ‘Isabella’. It certainly does make good grape jelly! Good luck with the Catananche caerulea, seeds are easy to obtain on the internet.
The hanging basket is stunning and yes, well worth the effort although I admit I haven’t bothered with them for a few years. Maybe next year . . . .
Hi Helen. There seems to be more interest in single species or single colour baskets these days eg petunias, fuchsias etc, but I have always preferred the variety of different plants, colours, habits and heights. Thanks for your kind comment and for following my blog. If anything I do or say inspires people to try something new or different then I am more than happy!
Despite having two very mature and heavy-yielding grapevines, I haven’t actually gotten around to making grape jelly yet. This is the year I’m going to change that, and this post poked me into doing it!
Great! Let me know how you get on please, I would like to the same! Do you have a good recipe?
David
I will! I haven’t got a recipe, really — I usually just go off the rations that they print on the back of the pectin packet. It works well enough when I’m making apple jelly and our grapes are about the same level of tartness as the apples.