It is impossible to deny autumn any longer. Not that denying would have ever done any good, it was coming however much we imagined the fabled Indian Summer was just around the corner or that global warming could be a good thing. To me autumn is not really about temperature or sunshine or even turning trees; it is an inkling, a relaxing, a sudden lack of urgency, a submission to the inevitable. Quite why this disturbs me, I’m not sure. Other people love this time of year, perhaps if I stood close to these happy folk a little bit of optimism would rub off and turn my frown upside down. There is a solution to my problem! I know just where to find some of these curious beings – our Six on Saturday Capitan’s blog. Not only will you find autumn worshippers, you will also find an antipodean spring and I, for one, shall be basking in their narcissi strewn glory. Shall we proceed, it’s nearly Christmas.
When we first moved into Peggy’s house and garden there was a delightful absence of slugs and snails. It seems someone has been gossiping and now, exacerbated by cooler weather and heavy dews, they have found us out. This beauty was crossing the lawn in the general direction of the dahlias. They have now been diverted.
Next we have a tough, old, chewed and dewy leaf of a dark leaved dahlia. As the season progresses I care less about nibbling. Already my eye is set on next year’s finishing line.
The danglers are just coming into their own and Fuchsia ‘Bornemann’s Beste’ is no slacker in this department. Just waiting for Eruption now, hopefully by next week.
Penstemon ‘Dorothy Wilson’ is a rather diminutive lady, in plant form anyway. This is one of a group I bought last year, which at long last are beginning to show willing. She has been planted in a narrow raised border, all the better for appreciating her prettily perfect flowers and how they sparkle in the low morning light. I do love a penstemon.
Salvia involucrata ‘Hadspen’ and “understated” are not words generally found in the same sentence. It is brash and beautiful and I absolutely adore it.
Peggy recently proclaimed that she loves pansies. And pansies are just what she gets.
There we have it, another six over and done with. Wishing you all good health and happiness.
Off The Edge Gardening 
Last week I had the misfortune to come across not one, but two pairs of slugs mating. It’s a deeply unsettling spectacle. I should have told the randy rascals to take their hanky panky elsewhere, but I didn’t really want to get too close. At roughly 40 eggs per slug, that’s 160 new little sluglets I failed to curtail. Sorry to offload on you – your slug photo brought it all back to me in a series of horrifying flashbacks.
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I agree, it is a disturbing sight. I can almost hear the battalion of sluglets (great word thank you) slithering towards the herbaceous borders……
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Pretty flowers and leaves covered in dew , apparently it looks more humid than here.
It explains why the slugs and snails come out at your home. Very few around here at the moment, it’s rather the caterpillars and butterflies that do damage
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We have had some very damp nights, they must be having a party!
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Poor slugs! Do we look down on them as homeless snails which, unlike snails, don’t climb up windows and walls? I like to send them on holiday and they seem to like this as they don’t come back. Particularly cos I provide a swimming pool for them and we all know that saltwater pools are much better than ones pumped full of chlorine. 😏
I’d keep an eye on Peggy if I were you. She’ll be revelling in the care her garden’s getting and, for all you know, could be trying to cunningly sabotage your house purchase!
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Such a kind and caring gent! Don’t worry, I’m keeping an eye on Peggy, she can be a slippery customer.
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I trust you know I’ll be relaying your assessments to her directly.
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Oh ……
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Slugs…Yuk!! But perhaps you’re the culprit! Did they move over with you from North Devon?
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Have you noticed any missing? 😊
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I thought I wasn’t keen on pansies, being a die-hard viola fan. However, that pansy is a stunner and I love the luminescent penstemon. Commiserations on the slugs and snails.
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There is something about that pale blue that always does it for me. I’m in the viola gang too, so we got some of those as well!
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Have you seen pictures of banana slugs? I likely asked that before. They are huge and bright yellow. They really look like they could to a lot of damage. However, they consume only decaying debris.
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Just googled them, wow!
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Yes, the mascot of the University of California at Santa Cruz.
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I thought the slug lovers were quite fascinating when I first caught them in the act. Hope those perf pansies are out of harms way.
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Just a moment …..
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That slug is a bit terrifying. Believe it or not, I do not have slugs. The ravenous poisonous grasshoppers more than make up for them. Love your fuschias, every last one of them. I am one of those happy autumnals.
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I don’t mind autumn except I resent that it’s now dark just after 8pm. But it’s a lot better than winter… I have given up on Pansies and Violas, much as I love their cheerful faces, but in the last couple of years they have not done well here. Struggling to think what else I can buy to cheer up the winter months.
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A gorgeous pansy – such pretty flowers and a lovely colour.
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Great salvia, a note has been made and the penstemon too. Slugs are everywhere here, just loving the damp weather 😕
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And the quality of the light changes too at this time of year, even if we hang on to the sunshine and warm weather, the colours just look different. Those big brown slugs are just yuck.
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What a gorgeous looking Salvia! The slug looks interesting and is huge! The photo of the leaves is lovely.
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Some great photos and that is a monster slug!
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Thank you
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That pansy is such a soft blue……most unusual.
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