Wise investments

The garden is full of colour.  The Monarda 'Gardenview Scarlet' looks lovely with deep, dark red pom-poms next to the orange Crocosmia 'Emily McKenzie'.  I love the pale yellow Achillea 'Mondpagode' set off against another Achillea, 'millefolium Lilac Beauty'.  Next year there should also be more of Helenium Moerheim Beauty as we have planted a number in the last few weeks and these will bulk out next year.  But most of all I love the purple haze created by the many Verbena Bonariensis and the way it floats like a cloud over the borders.

Meanwhile, in the Orchard, we have apples.  Big fat apples on the trees, cordons and step-overs.  Our very first crop and lovely they look too.

In the vegetable garden, we have been harvesting the produce, clearing out the peas and first early potatoes and sowing seed for Autumn crops.

All very exciting but it is however, time to look ahead and make some wise investments in collecting seeds and taking cuttings.  Today was an opportunity to take cuttings of box to increase our stock.  I cut the top of the box hedging around the vegetable garden and at the same time collected some good, healthy cuttings which I immediately placed into pots of gritty compost that I had prepared.  Over the past few weeks we have been taking cuttings from Lavender, Erysimum 'Bowles Mauve' and Sambucus 'Black Lace' and seeds have been collected from the many Foxgloves that graced the garden in early Summer.  These have been grown on in seed trays and I have just potted these on.

I find it immensely rewarding that we are investing in the garden's future.  I even find the swollen compost bins reassuring as the goodness from these will go straight back into the garden and benefit it as well.  I call that a sustainable outcome!