With Thanks To The Patient Gardener And Monty Don

Fashionably late as usual here is my 'End of Month View' post - in real life I am one of those people who is completely neurotic about timekeeping. Despite not wearing a watch for the last quarter of a century or so, I arrive early for appointments and am terribly impatient of those who do not arrive on time. I am working at being more tolerant.

Well here we are at the end of another month and as you can see the border is shrieking out colour wise. My senses are offended and the occupants are going, going, gone! I have realised that apart from the colour combinations that most of the plants are too tall for where they have been planted. The chocolate cosmos, day lilies and osteospernum and geraniums are staying put but the penstemons and dahlias are headed elsewhere. The dwarf French beans are just a one season wonder - surplus to room at the allotment I was reluctant to consign them to the compost heap so stuck them in the border. I have some thyme and a white parahebe to plant as well as the purple campanula in a pot which has crept into the above photo. I am looking for not too tall grasses and as yet other unidentified companions to fill in the gaps.

What may not be obvious from these photos is that there is a four foot or so drop to the lawn below, where there is another border, so the dahlias and penstemons are either headed for the lower deck and/or to grace the allotment.

With a special thanks to Helen over at 'The Patient Gardener' who came up with the idea of a critical monthly review and also this month to Monty Don, who imparted some succinct but most useful advice on 'Gardeners' World' last Friday. Deadheading dahlias has always been a bit of a mystery to me but Monty has shed light on the matter. If the bud is round it is still to flower, if pointed time for the snip. I finally now know what I am doing and am pleased to report that I am no longer feeling spent, squelchy flowers.