Looks superb at this time of year. Covers the fence with evergreen foliage without taking up too much depth, and may be the way forward with Plan B for the E fence.

Hole in N fence made according to this recipe.

The summer jasmine which I pruned so heavily in July has recovered better than I would have thought possible, but will it ever flower?

The clematis Montana and rosa Albertine stand out from the fence rather too much, inhibiting the plants underneath. There’s another piece of rope holding things back, and I’ll keep an eye on things.

Last night half the solanum in the NE corner blew down in a not particularly strong wind. This is a more or less annual occurrence. I must keep it more in trim. The fences are hideous,.

The Jasminum officinale on the N fence was being held up by draping itself over the fence. When the neighbours cut the bit their side my side threatened to collapse, so I cut it right back to the rather attractive branches, which are now tied in to wires.

Hopefully it will recover. The birds were crosser than I was.

The solanum was heavily cut back after being blown down last year and in the NE corner fence clearout, but is still obviously in a rude state of health, and will benefit from further treatment later this year.

The bleeding heart (now called Lamprocapnos spectabilis) has a moment of glory now before being swamped by the acanthus.

The foliage in the SE corner is now so good that I can’t see the fence at all. Unfortunately it’s all deciduous so I’ve got to do something when the fence is replaced next winter. The rosa rubrifolia always looks dead at this time of year.

This continues to be extremely vigorous on the N fence at the back. I have to give it quite a severe trim 2 or 3 times a year. In spite of this, it has flowered better this year than previously. There remain two mysteries: What sort of growth does it flower on? This year’s? Last year’s? I still can’t work it out. The second problem is how do you tell which way a shoot is growing when all you can see is the middle of a stem and it must be cut out? This applies to the clematis montana as well, but not to the rose, thankfully.

At last this is producing some flower. Not much, but worthwhile. I wonder what caused this.

See also: November 17, August 17

Aucuba japonica ‘Variegata’, Cotinus ‘Royal Purple’ and Fatsia japonica planted out from pots. Also some rather weak Evening Primrose plants from Dyffryn. The spirea is actually looking quite good again.