There have been early signs of autumn for the last couple of weeks, easy enough to ignore for those so minded. That changed on Wednesday with the arrival of the remains of hurricane Erin, even though it never came very close to the UK. We’ve had rain, quite a bit, and I’ve been scurrying about making sure all my water storage is filling as it should, even though there isn’t the remotest chance of being short of the stuff for the next eight months.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time this week on my allotment and have been glad of my tunnel as a refuge from the sporadic downpours of the last couple of days. I’ll do an end of month post on the allotment and get back to the garden proper.
One.
Where we’ve had rain. I have a rain gauge and since Wednesday it has accumulated 33mm. It was less when I took the picture. More is forecast for tomorrow (Saturday). I collect water from around 100m2 of roof, the house and greenhouses combined, so every millimetre gives me 100 litres of water. Since Wednesday I could have collected 3300 litres except much of it came at night and will have filled and overflowed from some barrels before I could pump it off into larger scale storage.
Two.
Begonia boliviensis seems to be represented in cultivation by quite a few cultivars and a few years ago I bought ‘Santa Cruz’ from Avon bulbs. Since then I have picked up various similar things, often just as pendulous bedding begonias and I don’t even know which was the original ‘Santa Cruz’ or even if I still have it. I have three plants in a pot by the fastigiate yew, two are scarlet, the other closer to crimson. They’re all good but are a bit excessively attention grabbing (see header picture), so they’ll go somewhere else next year.
Three.
Miscanthus nepalensis is flowering and still in its neat stage. The flowers last deep into the winter but the whole plant gets very scruffy before being cut down to start the cycle once again.
Four.
I read somewhere about growing Wisteria as a standard, which seemed a good idea and very suitable for my small and very overcrowded garden. I planted one three or four years ago and have supported it with a variety of canes since, not wanting a heavy post, which I felt would spoil the effect. It has never flowered and has snapped its support at least once in each of the years it has been in. It may not see monday.
Five.
Hydrangea paniculata cv. I put this in a six at the beginning of August when it was not fully open and still slightly green in colour. It turned pure white and has remained so since, with almost no sign of turning pink or of going brown, unlike both ‘Vanille Fraise’ and ‘Early Sensation’. I am not sure that I don’t prefer it to the more modern varieties that turn pink. As I said back then, I don’t know the variety but think it may be ‘Grandiflora’. Canna ‘Cleopatra’ needs to be banished to a different part of the garden, perhaps it could replace the Wisteria. A three foot change in view point makes a world of difference.
Six.
This Japanese anemone is another of the many plants whose full identity I don’t know. It was given me without a name rather than the more usual case of me losing the label. By way of an educated guess I would say Anemone hupehensis ‘Prinz Heinrich’ but I’d be happy to be put right if you know differently. It is spreading quite aggressively, as these things do.
Looking down my list of possibles for this week I find I have several I didn’t use, hopefully they’ll last another week. The chances of them being elbowed aside by showier performers diminish as the days shorten. If you still have things going on in your garden, we’d love you to join in and show them off to us. Just put a link to your post in my comments below so we can all find them. The participants guide lays out the rules that we all follow when it suits us.
garden ruminations 
For a sturdy stake for the wisteria may suggest rebar, used to reinforce concrete. You could paint it. Or some of the expandable garden hoses have an outer liner that once the rubber hose is removed will slide over the rebar.
LikeLike
Oh, good to hear you’ve had rain, and beautiful images of your garden! Thank you so much for hosting this meme. 🙂
https://plantpostings.blogspot.com/2025/08/six-favorite-hummingbird-flowers.html
LikeLike
That is an excellent Hydrangea Paniculata, and I prefer it to ‘Fraise’ which I grew for a few years. It is snap regarding the Miscanthus nepalensis. I saved seed last year and I managed to get it to germinate sown straight in the garden.
https://noellemace.blogspot.com/2025/08/six-on-saturday-end-of-august-2025.html
LikeLike
Wisteria is nice, but the mantra of right plant in the right place is logical. It can be so pretty. All our native grasses are also setting seed – so pretty, the miscanthus. At work, the landscape people are always changing things, I guess they have certain beds they can do as they wish with. I think the Miscanthus that I photographed out of Babcock Hall last year is not there anymore.
Here are my six. Such a busy week I am surprised to have found six photos on my camera that were not of injuries or serial numbers of equipment to be registered with the state
https://wisconsingarden.wordpress.com/2025/08/30/august-30-2025-six-on-saturday/
LikeLike
Hydrangea panniculata is a looker. We have ‘Limelight’, ‘Little Lime’ and ‘Hobo’ here. They stay bright white for some time and then take on a greenish hue before turning brown later in mid autumn. Looking forward to some rain here soon.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your water harvesting system sounds fantastic, and very enviable. We need to think of ways to improve our capacity. 200 litres (as at present) goes nowhere.
https://tishfarrell.com/2025/08/30/strains-of-autumn/
LikeLike
I just grouped the various posts I’ve done into the category ‘rainwater harvesting’. There may be some useful info in there. I have around 6000 litres capacity in total, in a messy 18 containers, some connected together. If I had room I’d install something like a 10,000L tank and feed everything into it. As you say, 200L goes nowhere, we must get close to using that in a day on occasions.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Many thanks for this too.
LikeLike
How I giggled at your statement about banishing the wisteria! You said “It may not see Monday.”
Good riddance, I say. My huge one is flapping about the pergola like a demented ghost. I always refer to it as the Wicked Wisteria.
LikeLike
Good riddance it’s going to be. Once I start to think about getting rid of things they’re doomed, rather quickly in most cases. I start thinking about what I’m going to plant instead, often something I’ve already bought but have nowhere for, how much nicer it will be than the existing plant.
LikeLike
That sounds like an excellent way to run a garden.
LikeLike
Still waiting for the rain here! Maybe later today🤞I’ve tried but can’t work out how to fit a Wisteria into our garden so just admire them from afar. It also saves all that pruning time. That’s a beautiful Hydrangea, all the better for staying white at this time of year.
LikeLike
Your rain gauge looks and interesting gizmo, Jim.
It’s strange the UK usually have so much rain but this year, nada. What method do you use to ahrvest the water. Do use the japenese chain method?
LikeLike
I collect from the house roof via downpipe diverters into water butts, then pump from them into various bigger tanks. I’m not familiar with the japanese chain method, I will look it up.
LikeLike
Turns out I was familiar with the japanese chain method, just didn’t know it was called that, or that it was used for water harvesting.
LikeLike
LikeLike
Your comments on rain and water storage struck a chord. I’m very pleased to have had some rain here and I can see that the garden has perked up. I wish my JAs would be more thuggish!! Here’s my link https://n20gardener.com/2025/08/30/six-on-saturday-gardening-not-gardening/
LikeLiked by 1 person
I remember years ago, Alan Titchmarch saying it took 7 years before a wisteria flowered (in a pot). I kept mine in a pot and it did nothing, so I planted it in a border just as we were having work done on the house, and it romped away up the scaffolding and had a few flowers. Whether it would have had more the following years, I don’t know, as I dug it up and gave it to a work colleague with a larger garden.
LikeLike
I miss the Japanese anemones from our old place. Very pretty hydrangea.
Spring has almost sprung here https://thistlesandkiwis.org/2025/08/30/six-on-saturday-30-08-25/
LikeLike
A very slick rain-gathering operation! Water butts feature in my Six this week: https://mysanctuarygarden.wordpress.com/2025/08/30/six-on-saturday-30-08-2025/
LikeLike
I grew Miscanthus nepalensis many years ago but lost it the first winter, probably didn’t like my wet soil! Lovely hydrangea and begonia, both beautiful.
My six are here………………….www.leadupthegardenpath.com/
LikeLike
I’m with Anne on the wisteria..Mine is stand out beautiful when blooming but a pain in the neck later..It’s like something out of Alice in Wonderland ..grabbing every thing in easy and not so easy reach.
LikeLike
What a pity about your standard Wisteria. Like you, I had a standard for a good number of years. In heavy winds it was uprooted and blew over several times. It was quickly replanted and my husband constructed a sturdy H-frame that I didn’t want, but he convinced me that it was the only thing that would keep it upright. As the years went on, the frame weathered and other, lower plants provided some camouflage and took the eye away from the frame. The plant died in recently due to a root problem and had to be removed. I’m now growing Wisteria ‘Amethyst Falls’ in a large pot, but disappointingly it, so far, hasn’t flowered. I would happily have another standard – with an H frame. 🙂
Mine for this week: https://notesfrommygarden.co.uk/2025/08/30/brodick-castle-walled-garden/
LikeLike
I didn’t help myself by planting it in probably the windiest part of the garden but I really don’t want to have a heavy support for it. Sadly, it’s as good as gone already.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Jim, it hasn’t rained too much here yet, but it’s a good start and some of my water tanks have been able to fill reasonably well. Yes, wisteria can be a monster and can break all the supports as it grows.
About the wisteria and its flowering, I’ve certainly already said it, but it is important to respect 2 key periods : in July – August (remove anything that bothers you) and the essential pruning for flowering is done at the beginning of March (don’t hesitate to cut it short, leaving two buds on each stem)
My link for this week https://fredgardenerblog2.wordpress.com/2025/08/30/six-on-saturday-30-08-25/
LikeLike
I’m fairly confident that I had the pruning right but it’s a young and immensely vigorous plant and has made a huge amount of growth even since I pruned it in July. I’m not entirely convinced that it is what it said on the label to begin with, it was bought from a cheap but not very reliable nursery and while it is not shooting from below ground, there is no obvious graft union, so it’s either grafted extremely low, was raised from a cutting or is a seedling.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This would explain it. In any case, don’t hesitate to continue pruning at this time of year to calm the vigor of the plant, and you will have to do some sorting at the end of winter to see the flowering, I hope to arrive. Good luck!
LikeLike
‘San Jose’?! That is an alternate name that I suggested, along with ‘Los Gatos’, because San Jose is the most underrated big city in California, and Los Gatos is the most excellent town in the entire Universe! It’s real name is ‘Santa Cruz’. ‘San Francisco’ is red; and ‘Santa Barbara’ is white. Anyway, here are my six from that little part of Los Gatos that extends into Santa Cruz County.
https://tonytomeo.com/2025/08/30/six-on-saturday-major-minor-unidentified/
LikeLike
Oops, not sure where that came from. I have changed it to ‘Santa Cruz’. Cornwall is full of places named after saints too, which I frequently mix up.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It probably came from knowing how excellent (and underappreciated) San Jose is.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I remember admiring the Hydrangea a few weeks ago – I admire it even more now. My wife and I spent some of yesterday moving water from full water butts attached to down pipes to the empty free standing lot – it’s oddly satisfying https://onemanandhisgardentrowel.wordpress.com/2025/08/30/six-on-saturday-30-august-2025/
LikeLike
I don’t like the sound of your water moving method, even with my submersible pump it takes time and a lot of messing with hoses to shift a significant amount. My preferred method of having the collection barrel and storage at the same level and connected by underground pipes isn’t possible around the house because it’s all paved or concreted. Yesterday I turned off the pump in one downpipe attached butt and it siphoned the water back from the storage tanks which were on the same level. I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to outwit water.
LikeLiked by 2 people
What a beauty that Hydrangea is.
We’ve had some rain too! Hooray!
Here is my six
LikeLike
They have some standard wisteria at Knightshayes and I always found them impressive, however I always wondered how they made it work. I agree, a stake would spoil the effect. Lovely hydrangea, it will have enjoyed the rain. The miscanthus is my favourite, Noelle sent me some seed but I haven’t managed to get it to germinate. Failure! Here are mine https://offtheedgegardening.com/2025/08/30/six-on-saturday-the-odd-plant-out/
LikeLike
There are many things in gardening that are impressive and admirable but best left to other gardeners to do, I’ve just added Wisteria standards to the list. I’m not sure that my Miscanthus nepalensis sets any seed, I’ve certainly not seen seedlings. I’ll look out for it.
LikeLike
It wasn’t the fault of the seed Sis, the seed from the same head which I planted straight into the bed this spring germinated, Maybe it will still come up?
LikeLike
I think I may have let it dry out. Definitely my fault. I will leave it be and hope for the best x
LikeLike
Beautiful pictures with interesting read.
LikeLike