Glorious hydrangeas

As I went out to feed the hens this morning, I glanced across at the hydrangeas and they made me smile. They are in full flower at the moment, unlike the rest of the plants around the house, which are definitely going into autumnal mode. 

Each year these plants give me a glorious display, getting bigger and better as the years go by, yet they are positioned with absolutely no shelter and are battered by the high winds coming across the fields and cold frosts of being on an exposed site. 

I really need to get some work done in my garden, I'm trying to clear the multitude of violets and campanulas that I have allowed to self seed over the past few years, and try and get the garden a bit less random.

My echinacea aren't looking too bad this year, and I noticed that one of the Japanese anemones that are at their best right now is actually a white one ( hurray) , but there's not much else to cheer about flower wise.

Tomatoes are ripening at a fair rate, and the courgettes that I left are maturing into marrows nicely. The artichokes, which to be honest, I thought I'd dug up in spring must be 10 feet tall. The only real disappointments are the beetroot, which have lovely tops, but no root yet and the corn, which I know I planted too late and it's not going to mature in time.