Abelia x grandiflora  (The Glossy Abelia)

Originating from China this evergreen to semi-evergreen shrub is a hybrid between A. chinensis and A. uniflora.

The plant is on the borderline of hardy but will certainly cope with the mild winters we seem to have nowadays as long as you find it a sheltered place.  It will grow in full sun or partial shade and you should allocate 1.5 metres of growing space as it best left un-pruned

Terminal panicles of scented funnel-shaped pink flowers tinged white are borne midsummer to autumn

The leaves may go yellow in cold weather but will green up in the summer and then turn a rich red/green in the autumn and winter.

Tend your Turf

The last statistics I read stated that 40% of people’s garden area was put down to lawn – I would imagine this has fallen a little recently though it is still a significant area for many of us and warrants attention if it is to look attractive.

September is an excellent time to spend a little effort on the lawn while the weather is relatively mild.  Those of you that play grass court tennis or bowls may well be frustrated when play is ended early in the autumn – the reason is the groundsman needs to get on with this important maintenance.

After this summer your lawn may well be looking like  pictures one and two – don’t despair grass is very resilient and it’s amazing how it recovers, particularly with a little tlc!

These are the operations I suggest

• Mow the grass down to 8 to 12 mm ( 1/3 to ½  inch)

• Scarify using a springbok rake (3^rd picture) pressing hard down to remove thatch.  A mechanical scarifier can be hired for larger areas.

• Mow after scarifying to cut off creeping and broadleaved weeds which have been pulled up by scarifying.

• Repeat the scarifying at right angles to the first time and mow again.

• Spike the area with a fork penetrating to 10-15cm (4”-6”) and 10-15 cm apart (4^th picture). Hire a mechanical spiker for larger areas.

• Overseed badly worn areas at 30grams/m2 (1 oz/square yard) having given these areas a thorough scarification first.  In dry spells you may need to water these areas whilst the grass germinates.

Other tasks later on may include -

•  raking off leaves in mid November
• mowing occasionally, if the winter is mild, to keep the grass to about 12mm (1/2 inch).