A last-minute planting spree to hold back the tide of autumn

There’s still time to make things grow! Just not very much of it

So, the plot is finally cleared and ready-ish for autumn. I resisted as long as I could – for which read the fag-end of July. I had become obsessed with summer’s almost feral growth. Left to its devices while I was away, it had a sprawling, falling beauty. But I needed room for two trays of Italian chicories (many more than 60 plants, ie, more than anyone would eat). Without action, the sprawl would soon die off and summer’s end would also mean the end of our growing year.

I restocked one set of the pea poles with beans and peas (hedging my bets). The other I trained with climbing nasturtium. I let the orache spike though and topped it with a giant bunch of cut coriander for the seeds to dry. We planted late corn. I went around on early mornings obsessively filling in the gaps in my new, more ordered, more elegant space. I ordered new seed: ‘Fordhook Giant’, a heritage, thick-stemmed Swiss chard, adding ruby chard and a red pak choi (there wasn’t room, but I find it hard to break bad habits), land cress, more chicory, corn salad. I sowed more calendula and nasturtium, telling myself they would get ahead for spring if they didn’t flower now (nonsensical, of course). I scattered more red burgundy amaranth seed, because why not? I knew I was likely too late. The light was already weaker in my early mornings. Dew and an occasional coolness spurred me ever on. I was a King Canute of growing, holding back the autumn tide.

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Fabric of life: a stunning rural French home

Rare textiles from all over the world enhance the rustic style of this French country house

I loved the way the light from the river reflected on the ceilings,” says Susan Deliss of the moment she first saw her rural French home. Positioned by the Serein river, which flows through the wine-growing region of Chablis, the 18th-century house has a laid-back French charm about it. Stone steps in the garden lead down to the water, where a small blue boat belonging to Deliss’s sons, Al, 16, and Gus, 14, gently bobs. Bessie the lurcher hides from the hot sun underneath a nearby fig tree.

I made a deliberate choice to fill this house with things that are old

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Fabric of life: a stunning rural French home

Rare textiles from all over the world enhance the rustic style of this French country house

I loved the way the light from the river reflected on the ceilings,” says Susan Deliss of the moment she first saw her rural French home. Positioned by the Serein river, which flows through the wine-growing region of Chablis, the 18th-century house has a laid-back French charm about it. Stone steps in the garden lead down to the water, where a small blue boat belonging to Deliss’s sons, Al, 16, and Gus, 14, gently bobs. Bessie the lurcher hides from the hot sun underneath a nearby fig tree.

I made a deliberate choice to fill this house with things that are old

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How to grow buddleja – and keep it blooming into autumn | Alys Fowler

There are many varieties and colours beyond the feral bush of our cities and railway lines

The ubiquitous butterfly bush, Buddleja davidii, so fond of the cracks in our concrete world, is familiar to all, particularly those that flutter. There is, however, a world beyond the feral bush of our cities and railway lines: those with deeply scented flower spikes in pinks, deep purples, bicolours and purest whites; those that tower as tall shrubs; and those that are happy to stay small enough to live in a pot on a patio.

The place to go and see them is in the national collection at Longstock Gardens in Hampshire. If you are passing, it is well worth dropping in to peruse the many colour variations. They are laid out in a rather splendid walled garden and there will be something in flower right into October, thanks to dedicated deadheading. If you are thinking that buddleia’s pretty spires are long gone by now, then that is the secret: when roughly half the flower spike starts to brown, remove it and this will spur the plant into producing more. Once the seed starts to set, the plant considers its job done for the summer and concentrates on producing as many babies as it can for you to weed out. If you can keep on top of deadheading, you’ll have flowers well into early autumn.

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How to grow buddleja – and keep it blooming into autumn | Alys Fowler

There are many varieties and colours beyond the feral bush of our cities and railway lines

The ubiquitous butterfly bush, Buddleja davidii, so fond of the cracks in our concrete world, is familiar to all, particularly those that flutter. There is, however, a world beyond the feral bush of our cities and railway lines: those with deeply scented flower spikes in pinks, deep purples, bicolours and purest whites; those that tower as tall shrubs; and those that are happy to stay small enough to live in a pot on a patio.

The place to go and see them is in the national collection at Longstock Gardens in Hampshire. If you are passing, it is well worth dropping in to peruse the many colour variations. They are laid out in a rather splendid walled garden and there will be something in flower right into October, thanks to dedicated deadheading. If you are thinking that buddleia’s pretty spires are long gone by now, then that is the secret: when roughly half the flower spike starts to brown, remove it and this will spur the plant into producing more. Once the seed starts to set, the plant considers its job done for the summer and concentrates on producing as many babies as it can for you to weed out. If you can keep on top of deadheading, you’ll have flowers well into early autumn.

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The ultimate property jargon buster Nottingham Estate Agents

The property world is full of words and expressions that may be unfamiliar to anyone who is not regularly buying, selling, letting or renting a home. This updated guide from OnTheMarket will help to shed light on what they all mean. Absent landlord A landlord described as “absent” is one who cannot be contacted. If […]

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What to plant now: 'As a home gardener it is the time to sow your seeds'

With spring almost here, and seeds and seedlings back in supply, it’s the ideal time to get busy in the garden

Farming is the utmost expression of optimism – nature charges ahead despite all the goings on of the human world, and you better keep up. There are really no alternatives. It is a time of manic activity around our farm.

While the growing season in our part of the New South Wales northern rivers region ticks on throughout the entire year, interspersed with green manure rotation, there’s a key indicator we need to start seeding our spring and summer crops. That sign comes from wild native raspberries (Rubus rosifolius). Now, the first canes are establishing on last year’s dieback wood, heralding their humble blossoms. The ground temperature is warming up, and daylight hours are long enough to sustain new growth.

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