Dorset in September 

 Hydrangea - a shrub or climbing plant with rounded or flattened flowering heads of small florets, the outer ones of which are typically infertile.

Back in the garden in Dorset after a month in France, and things are flourishing. It's tricky to leave a garden unattended and expect it to be coming up roses when you return, but this time, all is well. There has been enough rain for the Christmas cactuses (cacti?), Dipladenia and cape primrose, turned out of the house into the fresh air during our absence, to be looking as if they've been on holiday.

 It's now obvious which plants feel they belong here. Euphorbia, herbaceous clematis and archangel seem to have taken over. A few other plants put into pots awaiting the builders' return and the organising of the garden have died, but I'm not sure what they are. Rather like those amorphous packages in the freezer which have lost their labels, they look brown and uninteresting, so it doesn't really matter what they used to be. Note to self to use the newly-acquired, beautiful black labels more efficiently.

 Lady's mantle is popping up through the most unpromising-looking cracks between paving stones and bits of concrete, making the whole area feel clothed. The pale pink Japanese anemones are in their prime, having been dug up and repositioned last spring. These plants are worth every inch of their space – reliable, self-supporting, long-lasting and utterly beautiful; form and function in perfect harmony.

 We broke the journey home in Sussex and visited a specialist hydrangea nursery. Macrophylla 'Redstart', 'Lanarth White' and 'Dr Jean Varnier', paniculata 'Early Sensation' and 'Kyushu', and three petiolaris are jostling for space between the dumpy bags in the garden here, and helping to make it look attractive before they find their way to France. We must call in on Dieppe sometime to see the French national collection of Hydrangeas. I just love the connections to be made between the countries.