Yesterday I had a good tidy up session in the garden, all the geraniums that I’d been keeping for Ilkley Show could now be cut back and tidied up. Ann Folkard is a big geranium with deep magenta flowers, it must be 2.5 to 3′ tall in places, it was now well and truly flopped with very few flowers, so I cut it right back and there’s a lovely cushion of new leaves already.

My OH did laugh when he looked out to the patio at lunchtime, you could hardly see the stone under a heap of cuttings and that’s despite a huge trug full going on the compost heap! I tend to do a mass tidy up at the end when I’m having a big prune, rather than bagging as I go along!

I’ve also got a geranium with gorgeous clear blue flowers which isn’t very tall but manages to get about! I always struggle to identify the actual plant in the spring until it starts to flower as it looks so insignificant, however it spreads sideways, it’s long stems intertwining with all the plants about 6′ either way. It looks really pretty and it does help to bring all the border together. I love the way it mingles, it’s a very social plant! However it was now time to give it’s neighbours chance to breathe, so I cut it right back. There’s shrubs underneath I’d forgotton about, just sitting there quietly waiting for their moment to shine, such as this eunonymous…

…and this clematis! I planted this quite a few years ago but it’s obelisk finally collapsed last year and I’ve not had chance to make a new one yet. To be honest it’s a bit overgrown down there and I thought I’d lost it, but having cleared away the geraniums I found some gorgeous clematis blooms!

Another plant that is shining at the moment is this Crinum lily, isn’t it gorgeous! The silvery leaves behind are my brunnera, Jack Frost, it’s great ground cover with lovely blue flowers in spring, a bit like long for-get-me-nots.

I dead-headed the roses about a month ago so they are all having a bit of a flush at the moment, this cluster of Teasing Georgia on the arbour looked particularly pretty.

The AA garden is perking up a bit too after the rain we’ve had, it’s looking quite pretty again, though looking at that bindweed climbing my wobble stick, I think I need to get the spray out again! The veronicas with their intense blue spikes have started seeding themselves around the garden, which is great. The purple sedum is just coming into flower too. It’s looking a bit dark as the rain was just starting to come down heavy!

From now on it will be a steady stream of cutting back, tidying up and moving plants. It’s a bit earlier than usual but we seem to be heading into an early autumn, the blackbirds are already feasting on the rowan berries and the blackberries on the back lane are starting to ripen. As someone kindly mentioned today, it’s only twenty weeks until Christmas!!