My wife and I started gardening in Fukuoka (Japan) in 2003. There was nothing but muddy clayey sloping land. At the beginning we made several structure such as steps and paths, and planted turf, fruit trees, roses, herbs etc.
In 2010, we visited several famous English gardens, including Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Mottisfont Abbey Garden and Hidcote Manor Garden. We were shocked by the glory of those gardens. Since then, we have been trying to make small but glorious gardens by ourselves.
The red colour of dogwood branches is fading and new shoots are emerging. It is time to prune the branches. Prune at a height of about 30 cm from the ground, as the branches that have grown during the year turn brightly coloured in autumn. The pruned branches are used to make cuttings, which are inserted directly into the ground to increase the number of these plants.
It's getting colder, but the coleus in our garden is still showing their bright colours. However, we are expecting another cold spell in Japan next week and there is a risk that some of our less hardy plants will die. So I have decided to winter my favourite coleus 'Cherry Star' as usual by cuttings.
Finally, spread a thin layer of red clay balls on top of the perlite. You can easily tell when the perlite in the pot is dry by the colour change of the red clay balls.
I made soft cuttings of lavender in June, however, they died while I was in absent because of travelling to Hokkaido for a week.
So, I tried again in mid-July.
