22 | August | 2017 | Words and Herbs

As I took my weekly photo of this particular area of my garden on Monday afternoon, there was a distinct coolness in the air. The sun was much lower in the sky with long shadows from our trees, and the chairs and table down in the garden were in deep shade. I realised that summer really is drawing to an end.

This is a lovely time of year, when the heat is fading and the garden is still thriving, with lots of insects lazily buzzing around…

There is a lot of green, but colour too: the pink rose at the top of this slope is flowering again, and the yellow Achillea and pale pink Potentilla are still flowering…

Looking up the slope, we can see the Hypericum, a few Asters, some remnants of the pink Lychnis and some of the amazing Teucrium (it just goes on and on!) under the Acer tree…

And do you see the tinges of colour on the Sedums?

Right at the bottom of the slope, below the Perovskia, the black plant support contains my tall pink Aster Alma Poetschke. I experimented with the Chelsea chop this year, cutting back this clump at the end of May by about a third, perhaps almost a half. But then I panicked and stopped halfway!

The clump is far too big for this support now anyway, so we will see if the shorter stems flop when they flower. If not, I might remove the support altogether and prune them at the same time next spring again.

Observing this view intensely this year I have often been pleasantly surprised at how well it has done, but I have also noticed where there is room for improvement, i.e. a spot or two which need a new focal point. I hope it has helped those who have joined me too! If you would like to share your Tuesday View, just leave a link below so we can find you.

Before I go, here is last year’s Tuesday View, also photographed yesterday afternoon, with the Perovskia and red rose flowering well and a new white Sanguisorba (Sanguisorba tenuifolia var. alba ‘Albiflora’) in front of the rose and lavender bush. It has become a favourite!