Hanging On, May 23, 2020.

A grey and rather wintry day today. Even though it isn’t winter yet, the temperature indicated colder days ahead as it struggled towards 13 degrees, and a cold wind nipped around my knees and ears as I visited two gardens which are going to be included in the Mudgee Open Garden weekend in October. All being well.

I didn’t have much time for my own garden today, but I’m joining this week’s Six on Saturday with some pictures of the last of what has been a perfect Autumn here in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales. We’ve had rain, plenty of sun and a couple of light frosts, but truly the weather has been spectacular.

One: Above, the leaves on the pyrus in the middle of the garden are still warmly coloured and the miniature fruit are attracting the king parrots who are coming to visit.

Two: Splendidly yellow, a tree which isn’t ours, but lives on the other side of the paddock behind us, along with the Cleo the horse, who knows Mr MG’s voice and shape and whinnies shamelessly to be taken an apple whenever she sees him in the garden.

Three: Another part of the pyrus. We inherited five of them, and another one is behind, both in position and colour. They are the columnar type so don’t really provide a great deal of shade but make up for that shortcoming with fabulous autumn colour and glorious flowers in the spring.

Four: A pyrus is framed by a purple leafed leptospermum making a satisfying colour contrast.

Five: Rosa ‘Climbing Pinkie’ has been a faithful bloomer for many months.

Six: Zinnias have been mentioned a number of times over the last few months, and here they are again, the last of them, looking somewhat moth – or should that be snail – eaten, having their last hurrah against the backdrop of a Ceonothus. They have been stalwart retainers and have given us a great deal of pleasure for their variety of colour and their intriguing habit of developing disk florets as they mature, creating a raised centre with a crown of gold .

As ever, I’m joining the Six on Saturday crowd, and you can too, by popping over to the Propagator‘s blog to see what other gardeners are doing.

Weather today: 7 – 13 degrees C. Cold and breezy.

38 Comments Add yours

  1. Chris Muller says:

    Beautiful Autumn colours Jane.

    1. Jane says:

      Thank you Chris. It certainly has been a beautiful autumn here and the colours around town have been splendid.

  2. Anonymous says:

    Lovely autumn colours! I hope the world is in a better state by the time it gets to our autumn.

    1. Jane says:

      I hope so too. Surely it will be so…..

  3. Still good colour

    1. Jane says:

      Thank you Derek.

  4. Pauline says:

    Thank you for sharing these beautiful autumn colours Jane. That’s one thing I miss in our sub tropical climate. Pleased to hear you have had a good season.

    1. Jane says:

      Thank you Pauline. I hope you’ve been enjoying some good weather too.

  5. Gill Heavens says:

    I’m so pleased that, after your challenging summer, autumn has been kind to you. Lovely colours, and that rose is a treat. Have a great week 🙂

    1. Jane says:

      The rose keeps on and on. It’s been a pleasure to see it for months. Thank you Gill. Keep well.

  6. Gerrie Mackey says:

    We have had a cold wet day here too. So lovely to get more rain. Your trees are looking very colourful, autumn has been beautiful this year I think…and especially in comparison to our dreadful smoke-filled summer!
    Happy gardening and keep warm.

    1. Jane says:

      You would have had glorious autumn colour down there in Canberra too, Gerrie. I see those wonderful red trees ( not sure what they are) behind the political interviews on the news each night!

  7. I love all the color in your garden! We have had nothing but rain, lockdown, rain, lockdown……..you get the picture!

    1. Jane says:

      Thank you CLL, I hope you get some true spring weather to enjoy before too long.

  8. Lisa says:

    The trees are gorgeous, some almost pink! I have never had zinnias bloom the colors yours have, they are really nice.

    1. Jane says:

      I planted some seeds a couple of years ago Lisa, and they’ve continued to come up all by themselves ever since. Some have two colours and I think there must be a bit of cross pollinating going on.

  9. Kris P says:

    After a very tough summer, I’m glad you’ve enjoyed splendid fall weather, Jane. I have a Pyrus calleryana and although other gardeners here complain that it’s a messy tree, I appreciate its fall color – we don’t get much of that. Your zinnias put on a great show – I’m just now sowing seeds for what I hope will be a nice display this summer.

    1. Jane says:

      Hi Kris, thanks for your comment. I really don’t understand why people complain about messy trees as falling leaves seem a small price to pay for such beauty! I guess your climate isn’t really cold enough for true autumn colours. Good luck with the zinnias. I’ll look forward to seeing some of your blooms When the time comes.

  10. Jim Stephens says:

    The Pyrus is certainly a versatile tree if it will grow as well in Mudgee as it does in Cornwall, assuming it’s the same variety of P. calleryana. Not that we get such good autumn colour., yours are pretty stunning.

    1. Jane says:

      Thank you Jim. I’m sure my pyrus would be the same as the ones you have in Cornwall. It seems to be a very popular tree just now. Not the one I would have chosen if I’d been starting the garden completely from scratch as I prefer a more spreading tree, but it has much to offer nevertheless.

  11. The nicest thing about autumn is seeing the change in the leaves. We’ve had a perfect autumn too, warm and sunny with cool nights. Do your zinnias self sow?

    1. Jane says:

      The zinnias do self sow rather prolifically, Carol. I planted some seeds two seasons ago and they have done their own thing ever since.

  12. You were certainly due some more moderate weather. Lovely Autumn colour from the pyrus and I particularly like your first photo.

    1. Jane says:

      Thank you.

  13. Carole says:

    I love the autumn colours. I don’t see them here on the west coast of the algarve

    1. Jane says:

      I don’t suppose you would, but I also expect there would be many compensations! We spent 4 weeks in Portugal a few years ago and absolutely loved it. Could easily spend another holiday there…so much to see.

  14. Catherine says:

    The autumn colours are beautiful. Nice to see your last few Zinnias. This will be the first time I’ve had Zinnias in the garden (growing them from seed) and I hope I get as nice a range of colours as you have – and that I can enjoy them as much as you also.

    1. Jane says:

      I’m sure you’ll get a lot of pleasure from the zinnias. Mine came from seeds I planted a couple of years ago and they’ve self-seeded since then. I think there must have been cross pollination too, as there have been some interesting colours appearing.

  15. Allison says:

    Your pears go great colours. Mostly I expect to see buttery yellows here.

  16. Megan Dodd says:

    (HairbellsandMaples)Gosh those Pyrus have gorgeous autumn colours. You are extremely lucky to have inherited 5! It was also freezing here in QLD on Saturday – definitely an inside day for us. Luckily it has warmed up again, and gardening is back on track again. The rose is stunning too!

  17. Lora Hughes says:

    Loved you autumnal colours, especially the zinnias, but laughed out loud at the horse/man love affair going on between garden & paddock.

    1. Jane says:

      Thank you Lora. It’s delightful to have Cleo over our back fence. We love to see her there.

  18. Jude says:

    Fabulous autumn colours here Jane, love the pink roses against that orange!

    1. Jane says:

      Thank you, Jude. Orange and pink are strange colours to be together, but somehow it works.

    2. Jane says:

      Thanks Jude. The pink and orange is definitely a pop of colour and an accident of nature! I can’t claim any credit.

  19. Catching up on last week’s. I’ve been holding off on sowing zinnia seeds until the weather warmed up and now it has I don’t think I can fit them. Grown so much on lockdown. Oh well. Seeds will last till next year.

    1. Jane says:

      Yes, colour to look forward to for next year. Must be a lovely time in your garden right now.

      1. Best the gardens ever looked with the fewest visitors ever but at least we’re getting the time to enjoy it.

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