Normal August weather resumed this week – lovely Cornish rain! Though to be fair most of it fell in the early hours with the rest of the days being hung over with glowering clouds and muggy air. I’ve been doing a lot of cutting back/chopping down this week and it was hard work in the heat! Still loads to do, but time out to capture some of the late summer beauty in the garden.
First up is my Gladiolus murielae / Abyssinian gladiolus with its lovely sword-like leaves. Regular visitors may remember my long lament about these bulbs as they have been very reluctant to flower. Last year I removed the bulbs from their containers after the leaves died down and repotted them in fresh compost. I kept the same amount of bulbs in each pot (10) and left them outside all winter instead of bringing them into the conservatory. They were slightly sheltered under a bench. This year I placed them back on the patio in full sun and, well, just look…
In the background you will see the pink of the Japanese anemones. I have three varieties, but these are the common pink ones which I inherited. Despite digging out a lot last autumn there seems to be more than ever this year. Slightly shorter and some were slightly crisped a couple of weeks ago. ‘Pamina’ is the darker pink which is a double flower and lives in one of the raised beds. She’ll need a new home once I clear that bed.
Mixed results from my Fuchsias this year. I brought them into the garden from the shady courtyard as they weren’t doing very well there. I cut them all back hard early in the spring and continued to cut back each stem for a few months to try and make them bushier. This means they are late to flower. The largest one (which I think is a Fuchsia magellanica) is the only one planted into the ground and isn’t as floriferous as last year, but still full of buds, so hopefully more flowers to come in the autumn.
Talking of the courtyard, this summer’s bedding has been SunPatiens Compact Magenta and SunPatiens Compact White and two very similar trailing begonias – Begonia Rivulet White Ellegance and Begonia Truffle Cream.
Another stalwart of my garden is this salmon-pink Penstemon which usually flowers for months, but has been a bit reluctant this year. I have noticed before that it quickly goes to seed in hot dry weather. Time to take some more cuttings.
My final selection this week is one that almost every gardener will have for autumn colour – a sedum. Or should I say Hylotelephium. This one is ‘Xenox Yellow’ slightly more unusual than the pink ones. Because my soil is richer and heavier it grows taller and falls out from the centre. Still that doesn’t appear to bother the bees.
Hopefully the weather will be dry but less humid next week so I can have another bash at attacking that bamboo! Meanwhile I shall be enjoying a break over the Bank Holiday weekend visiting some of my children and grandchildren. It is so nice to have the car back!
As always, if you want a peek over other people’s garden 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.
#See here for the participant’s guide.
Cornwall in Colours 
Yours and Fred’s gladioli are lovely. I hadn’t seen them before. I think fuchsias are such good value and a big variety of colours. GGHI always calls them “Dancing ladies”. I hope the back gets better soon.
Yes these glads are very dainty, wish they would flower like this every year! Have you read Jim’s post about fuchsias? Quite horrifying! ‘Dancing ladies’ is an excellent description.
Yes, I have read it and agree that it is quite depressing. I think that all that’s wrong with my “hedge” fuchsia is lack of water.
It has been impossible for me to leave a comment the usual way today, even though it has been OK recently and I thought I had cracked it, so I am commenting through a reply to the email alert about your post which should work… ?? Hurrah for your rain (despite some mugginess)! You have been busy busy Jude, and it has been interesting to read your experience of flowering of different things. I had to smile at your comment about the ‘lovely sword-like leaves’ of those gladioli, after I described the ugly gladioli leaves in my last IAVOM post as ‘ugly’! I know yours are a daintier variety though and am pleased you have been rewarded with some flowers this year – I am not optimistic about the 2 random blooms on mine being repeated any time soon, so my ugly leaves will be coming out…Not sure if I have seen a penstemon as pale as yours – it’s certainly pretty, even if you describe the blooms as ‘salmon’. ! wish mine would flower, full stop, let alone for months!! No idea why they struggle… Taking cuttings is also on my list of jobs to do…
Sent from Outlookhttp://aka.ms/weboutlook
Have you tried using the Reader? I find that I can comment using that method when I have problems on an actual blog site.
I never normally use the Reader, but have gone into it now and yes, because I am already in WordPress, it’s fine! 😁 Thank you Jude, that will ease some frustration in the future, I am sure…
Your Gladiolus flowers were certainly worth waiting for. The are stunning! Lucky you to be able to grow Fuchsia. I really battle with it here, although having said that I have a small cutting which is doing well. Hopefully it will be more tolerant of our climate. The anemones are lovely. Hope your weather settles down so you can get things done in the garden. I have much to do, and I can feel it getting warmer outside, so I had better get cracking on my outside chores.
Yes those glads are lovely – just what I was expecting several years ago! I have always liked fuchsias and there is an enormous hedge of them just down the road from me, I remember hedgerows like that from when I was a child, but you don’t see them that often now.
Gosh! Although I have never seen one, I can just imagine how beautiful a hedgerow of fuchsias must be!
I shall have to walk down and take a photo for you.
Oh that would be amazing. Thank you!
My fuchsia’s have been a bit disappointing this year too. Your Japanese anemones look great though.
I seem to have killed several of my fuchsias and I really need to get on top of the pruning to create nice bushy shrubs, but when they are in flower they are lovely.
Your Penstemon are lovely. I would like to get some next year. Amelia
These salmon ones seem to be the most hardy. I have lost several other kinds, including Garnet which is supposed to be hardy. A recent purchase is ‘Alice Hindley’ which is blue, but no flowers this year.
Beautiful, as always, Jude. Actually ( and perhaps perversely) my eye was taken by the very dainty fuchsia in the blue pot next to the white impatiens.
Yes that is ‘Hawkshead’ and it is very dainty with the tip of each petal stained with green. I nearly lost one in the heat, but luckily it seems to have revived.
Lovely! It seems your patience paid off with the bulbs. Love all the colour in your garden … and I think the white SunPatiens bring great balance between all the colour!
Thanks, but I think all credit goes to the sunshine we have had this year! Nice to see them looking like they did in the brochure ☺️
I’m envious of your Abyssinian gladiolus. Mine are in a garden bed in full sun and while there are lots of leave I only ever get a few flowers. Yours are gorgeous.
I figured that it was the hotter weather we have experienced this year and the lack of rain that produced this many flowers (I usually only have a couple of spikes) but that would imply yours would flower profusely every year.
Maybe I need to fertilise them.
I rarely feed any of my plants. Didn’t even feed the roses this year!
Well, who knows what the answer is. Hopefully mine will get the message and send up more flowers next year.
They do appear to be quite contrary bulbs!
The Abyssinian gladioli are gorgeous – I had a few in my garden but lost them one winter. Maybe I should have had them in a pot…must try again! Your comment about digging out the Japanese anemones has made me grimace, because I have a large clump to dig out. (Some will be moved to a ‘thugs’ area.) I realise that this might not work very well…..
I seem to have a lot of thugs! Time for a rethink.
So have I – so I’m hoping to corral them all in the same bed and let them fight it out together!