We are deep enough into the year to reflect on the year that has passed. We had a proper cold winter after Christmas. Night after night of sub-zero temperatures and days on end barely above freezing. Which would have been normal a few decades ago but we have grown accustomed to warmer winters.

 The dry spring that followed became a fully fledged drought during the summer months. Cold in winter, hot in summer is fine by me but it was pretty parched out there. There was a decent drop of rain in early September but we had quite a dry autumn as well.

 The past few days there has been a tangible sense of transition from late autumn into early winter so the wheel turns...  

 

 Here is a tough/delicate beauty: Autumn Crocus (Crocus speciosus). The advice from Shipton Bulbs is to grow in grass that will not be mown. I planted a handful in just such a spot; I will plant some more next year seeing how lovely they are at a time when not much else is in flower.

 Said to have bluish flowers but these are on the violet spectrum to my eye. Strongly resembles the paler forms of Crocus tommasinianus which flowers in very early spring. They are near neighbours in their natural habitat which might explain their similarity?

C. speciosus hails from Crimea/Iran/Turkey and C. tommasinianus is native to Hungary/Bulgaria. 

Postscript 26/10/25 Looking again at these Crocuses on a dull, cloudy day they do indeed have a pronounced blue tint. I notice this with some other 'blue' flowers; in strong sunlight they are of a violet hue. Classic example: Bluebells can appear deep blue or violet depending on the play of light.

 Some more propagation by division. Pretty basic- I stuck a fork into a patch of Trachystemon orientalis and levered out a section of rhizome to replant elsewhere.

 Sometimes called Oriental Borage or Early Flowering Borage, it's tough as old boots. The flowers resemble those of the annual Borage though it's a different species albeit of the Boraginaceae. Large coarse leaves last through summer. 

 Use as ground cover in dry shade. Invasive or vigorous depending how you look at it; few other plants will flourish in deep, dry shade so it has its uses.

 

 I cut back an unruly Hop (Humulus lupulus) in a neighbour's garden. Hops are vigorous climbers and scramblers in their natural habitats of woodland, hedgerow and scrubby open ground. Their climbing habit is used to good effect in row after row of hop poles in the hop fields of England.

 H. lupulus is dioecious i.e. bears 'male' and 'female' flowers on different plants. The female catkins are the ones used for brewing. Decorative in a dangly sort of way; I saved a stem to hang from the mantlepiece.

 

 Bistorta affinis is a mat forming perennial from the Himalayas, very robust and spreads vigorously. I'm sure it will tolerate some rudimentary propagation by division.

 I got a serrated knife then cut off sections of mat where it is spreading from a border onto paving stones. I placed them in another bed, pressed them into loose soil and watered them in.

 Bistorta affinis was previously known as Persicaria affinis and before that Polygonum affine; part of the Knotweed family of plants by any name.

 

 "Right plant, right place" is a wise gardening adage. Japanese Anemones can be a good choice for a dry, semi-shady spot. However they can be a bit too right and spread considerably by rooty rhizomes. In this case a well established stand was spreading from a border into an adjoining shingle path.

 I dug up them out of the shingle to replant in another border with similar conditions. Actually this propagation by division is recommended as a spring thing but needs must. They may or may not flourish; hopefully they will be the right plant for that place. 

 

 A simple way to gather seed. I leave Eyrngium to self-seed after flowering but I eventually get round to cutting down the dried out stems. I snip off the seed heads and leave them in a bucket for a few weeks. A decent amount of seed collects at the bottom.