A look at the sunniest part of the garden this week. When I moved in to this house the walled area was full of weeds (cinquefoil, silver-weed, achillea, forget-me-nots, hogweed, buttercups) and a Dianthus or “pinks.”  The Dianthus is still here and about to explode into flower so I’ll save that until it does. The weeds have mostly been removed over time though the creeping cinquefoil is almost impossible to eradicate from the cracks between the stones so I have to put up with it. I don’t mind too much as the flowers are quite pretty, but it does spread by runners so can be invasive . After three years I have finally achieved what I set out to do.  I think. Of course plants die over time so there may be replacements in the future, but for now I am satisfied. Even the colours are starting to complement each other!

1. Osteospermum. I love these daisies from South Africa. Of course not all are hardy and even those that are don’t always survive a cold winter as I found out last year when the ‘Beast from the East’ destroyed my ‘Tresco Purple‘ and a lovely orange one. Now I have four varieties – another purple, a white, a pink and a lilac shade. They are very happy in the sun and I have taken several cuttings of the purple one as it was badly broken by Storm Hannah. I must take cuttings of the others too in case they are more tender.
   
2. Weigela – possibly ‘Wine and Roses‘ as it has beautiful pink trumpet shaped flowers and dark purple leaves. A small shrub I brought with me in a pot, now planted out in the garden in two places and slowly getting established, though this has been the best year for flowers yet.
   
   

   
3. Erigeron karvinskianus – what can I say about this fabulous little daisy? It has been flowering ever since I planted it and spreading over the wall as I intended. I’d love it to self-seed so I can move bits to other parts of the garden. The white, pale pink and purple shades blend well with my Osteos and the magenta Aubrieta with the Forget-me-nots adding contrast.
   
   

   

   
4. Whistling Jacks (Gladiolius communis byzantinus) grow wild in Cornwall and the  Isles of Scilly and are a delightful magenta colour. They don’t do too well in my garden because of the wind and I keep on saying that I must dig them up and find somewhere more sheltered for them, and then I forget until I see them again the next year. Mine seem much paler than others I see around, which are a deep magenta with purple streaks and an iridescent shimmer, but they suit my colour scheme. The true kind are magnificent in the George V garden and in full flower right now.
   
   

   

   
5. Alliums. I planted Allium ‘Sensation’ a couple of years ago and only a few of the bulbs ever flowered. Last autumn I planted some mixed Allium ‘Superglobe’ (different shapes and colours) in the raised Bee and Butterfly bed and around the large granite rock in the gravel garden. I hadn’t realised just how big and ugly the leaves are. The flowers are lovely shapes and colours, but I think I am going to dig these up after flowering and maybe plant them into a large container for the future. They do fill in the space between the tulips and the summer perennials though.
   
6. Campanula Portenschlagiana. You’ve seen this last year, but as big part of this wall it deserves to be seen again. It is a low-growing perennial which forms a dense, evergreen mat of foliage adorned with a mass of bell-shaped violet coloured blooms and spreads along and down the wall,  suppressing weeds as it does. I have purchased a few different Campanula this spring, but only one for this wall (white), the rest have gone onto the Cornish hedge. When they come to flower I’ll put them in a future SOS. Again they grow beautifully with the other low-growing plants along the wall.
   
   

   

   

It has been a windy week down here and a chilly wind too. Basil plants have arrived and been potted on. And I have had several very pretty Violas arrive and also potted on. They are named varieties and several are scented. I shall keep some on the patio, including an edible variety and the rest will go into the courtyard.  As always, if you want a peek over other people’s garden walls then please pop over to our host, the lovely Jon, AKA ‘The Propagator’ where you find links to many more wonderful garden enthusiasts from all over the world

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Six on Saturday