Another week of sunshine and showers and strong winds has kept me out of the garden on most days, though there are still a lot of things to get done, not least planting the spring bulbs. It’s becoming a challenge to find anything new in the garden, but some plants deserve another view.
This is the Oriental Bittersweet which unfortunately is a male. You need a male and a female to produce the lovely berries, but the rich yellow that the leaves turn in autumn are also pretty good.At last this Penstemon has flowered – I bought three young plants last autumn and overwintered them outside in pots. They were repotted in the spring and one larger one was planted into the garden. This is ‘Alice Hindley’ which is supposed to be very hardy – though I thought it should be violet-blue rather than purple.Continuing the yellow and purple theme this is Geum ‘Emory Quinn’ which is a compact variety with golden-yellow flowers which can be single or semi-double from May to September. It’s not done much flowering until now though.After severely cutting this plant back in early September Geranium ‘Anne Thomson’ has made a comeback looking fresher than ever.I tried growing sunflowers from seed this year. When they had reached a few inches tall I put some into the garden and a few into containers. The container ones grew and grew and recently flowered. The garden ones were eaten. Or so I thought, until I found this little beauty in the herb bed!These are the Island series of dwarf Michaelmas daisies with semi-double violet-purple flowers with golden centres which I did manage to turf out of their container and plant into the ground. A lovely splash of colour at the bottom of the garden and fulfilling the purple and yellow theme all on their own.
Like last year I don’t seem to have the motivation to get my spring bulbs planted. I need to get a move on before the weather worsens and I know I will appreciate those pots next spring. Note to self: Just DO it
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. See here for the participant’s guide.
Thanks for sharing some of your autumnal colours, Jude. I wish I knew why I rarely get blooms on any of my penstemon, when everyone else seems to talk of endless blooms on theirs…
TBH Cathy only the pink one which I think is Hidcote Pink, is a really good flowerer. The others I have tried have struggled and died. I hope this one proves to be hardier.
That’s interesting Jude – mone don’t die, they just don’t flower! I have Hidcote Pink, but it only flowered the year I got it, when it was already in flower…🙄 Let’s hope for better things 👍
My pink one is in full sun pretty much all day. Saying that so is Garnet and that one died. The cutting I took and raised and planted nearby is also struggling, so who knows!
Jude, those daisies are stunning. I’m looking forward to spending more time in our patch of dirt in the community garden after Dad’s service on Monday and when family have gone home.
I love the purples! The penstemon and the geranium would fit in well here and I do need to replace a dark purple penstemon that died. (Haven’t been plant-shopping in a while but trying to restrain myself until after I’ve moved a lot of things around.)
I’m trying to do something similar here – trying to keep troublemakers and thugs in their own area in the hope of stopping them from swamping the more delicate plants. Might make life easier!
That geranium is a beautiful, bright colour. I hope you manage to plant your bulbs soon. I received a selection for Christmas many years ago. I thought it was too late but they all flowered that spring, admittedly a little further on in the season.
The colour of the Oriental Bittersweet ( yet another plant I’ve never heard of before) is a glorious colour even without its berries. Having just come through bulb season, (i think) I’ve decided not to plant any more, but just let the ones I have do their own thing.
Do you find some Geums to be over-exuberant? I have Totally Tangerine which is crowding out most things around it.
Happy bulb planting Jude. Could be ok with a podcast to listen to!
The Geums I have are quite restrained. Red Wings is delightful as it has been flowering for months. I have managed to plant most of my bulbs yesterday as it was a lovely sunny day with no wind! Still a load of Tete a tete to find room for. I’m not sure why I am finding planting the bulbs such a problem as I love them in the spring.
Cornwall in Colours 
Thanks for sharing some of your autumnal colours, Jude. I wish I knew why I rarely get blooms on any of my penstemon, when everyone else seems to talk of endless blooms on theirs…
TBH Cathy only the pink one which I think is Hidcote Pink, is a really good flowerer. The others I have tried have struggled and died. I hope this one proves to be hardier.
That’s interesting Jude – mone don’t die, they just don’t flower! I have Hidcote Pink, but it only flowered the year I got it, when it was already in flower…🙄 Let’s hope for better things 👍
Are they in full sun?
Not all day – morning sun and perhaps late afternoon
My pink one is in full sun pretty much all day. Saying that so is Garnet and that one died. The cutting I took and raised and planted nearby is also struggling, so who knows!
Hmm, there seems no definitive answer, does there? It’s all very well them taking so easily from cuttings, but if they don’t ever flower…🙄
That is a lovey sunflower picture.
They took a long time to flower, but lovely to see. Not sure I’ll bother next year though.
Jude, those daisies are stunning. I’m looking forward to spending more time in our patch of dirt in the community garden after Dad’s service on Monday and when family have gone home.
A good place to recuperate from all the stress and sadness.
I love the purples! The penstemon and the geranium would fit in well here and I do need to replace a dark purple penstemon that died. (Haven’t been plant-shopping in a while but trying to restrain myself until after I’ve moved a lot of things around.)
I haven’t bought much this year either. Next year I will make some changes to try and cut down a lot of the maintenance.
I’m trying to do something similar here – trying to keep troublemakers and thugs in their own area in the hope of stopping them from swamping the more delicate plants. Might make life easier!
That geranium is a beautiful, bright colour. I hope you manage to plant your bulbs soon. I received a selection for Christmas many years ago. I thought it was too late but they all flowered that spring, admittedly a little further on in the season.
Luckily yesterday was a lovely day so I managed to get most of the bulbs panted. Just a load of tete a tete to find pots for now!
I was the same with bulb planting last year, but got out and done a few today so I’ll have a few pots at least
I managed to get most of it done yesterday, but need some more grit for the rest of the pots.
The colour of the Oriental Bittersweet ( yet another plant I’ve never heard of before) is a glorious colour even without its berries. Having just come through bulb season, (i think) I’ve decided not to plant any more, but just let the ones I have do their own thing.
Do you find some Geums to be over-exuberant? I have Totally Tangerine which is crowding out most things around it.
Happy bulb planting Jude. Could be ok with a podcast to listen to!
The Geums I have are quite restrained. Red Wings is delightful as it has been flowering for months. I have managed to plant most of my bulbs yesterday as it was a lovely sunny day with no wind! Still a load of Tete a tete to find room for. I’m not sure why I am finding planting the bulbs such a problem as I love them in the spring.
Oh, well done. We had a lovely sunny day yesterday too, such a pleasant change.
It’s always nice to have a sunny day, makes such a difference to our mood I think.
Purple and yellow are always beautiful together. This is a lovely collection, Jude.
Thanks Carol, not a lot to choose from now.