Looking Back at the Year and the Malvern County Show

It has been over two months since my last update, and how has the time gone. It seems just yesterday that I was admiring the hot summer displays of Hemerocallis, Clematis and Dahlias. Now the weather seems to be gradually sliding towards winter, with heavy showers becoming increasingly more common. However, there is still plenty of warmth in the soil, and whilst there are no frosts, the Dahlias are continuing to flourish. This edition will look back at the year, and also include my trip to the Malvern County Show at the end of September.

In the time I have been gardening, the summer that we have had this year has been comfortably the best. Yes, we may have had hotter spells, but the general nature and consistency has meant that plants have grown  and grown, whilst fruit and vegetables have flourished. Earlier in the year, we had the show of spring bulbs including Daffodils, which had been painstakingly planted last autumn. As the weather improved, the bulbs were replaced by Lupins and Oriental Poppies, which were replaced by the English Roses, which themselves were replaced by the Dahlias, Sunflowers and Cosmos. However, possibly my favourite plant at this time of year is the Sedum. I love them because they perform no matter the weather, bring autumn beauty and provide rich sources of food for insects and bees. They are also extremely easy to divide with a spade in early spring, and I have managed to increase my stock from one plant given to me by a neighbour to eight in the space of two years. The pictures below show some of my favourite plants and how the garden has progressed from season to the next.

Spring Blossom is one of the greats of the gardening year. Whether it is from Apples, Pears, Plums or Hedgerows, it all helps to brighten up our landscapes coming out of winter.

As previously highlighted, one of my favourite summer plants has to be Hemerocallis, with the array of different colours meaning that there is one out there for everyone. I like the sharp contrasts that they provide from the sword-like leaves to the more expansive petals.

Sedums, for their colour and what they bring to the garden have to be in my top ten garden plants. In this picture alone are hoverflies and bumblebees, with plenty of butterflies also present in sunnier weather.








Malvern County Show

At the end of September, I had the pleasure of attending the Malvern Autumn County Show for the first time. Having not been before, I was unsure what would be there, but I was amazed as soon as I entered the first marquee. Some of the displays and entries in the fruit and vegetables competition were extraordinary as the pictures below hopefully show.

I will definitely be trying to get my carrots and parsnips this long next year, although I may have to adapt my growing techniques.










Although the produce is very impressive, I could not begin to imagine the amount of time and money that has been spent caring for them. Im not sure how I feel about it, but credit has to go to anybody who can produce such amazing fruit and veg.





I will leave it here this time and as always look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions. In the next post, I will look at the various jams and chutneys that I have made this year, as well as how I will turn my apple harvest into something much more important, cider. Take care and happy cottage gardening.

CG