Ok, we’ve just had a mini heatwave, but there are a few plants in my garden that are still looking pretty good. The first star of the show is the Geranium ‘Jolly Bee’ which is one of my favourite plants to use in the garden as it flowers faithfully from May well into October.
This picture was taken yesterday afternoon and you can see just how many flower buds there are still to open. It’s not a neat tidy plant, prefering to scramble through the other plants in the garden in a lovely informal way but it’s always high on my list when I’m planning a planting scheme because it works very hard for its place in the garden.
Another brilliant long-flowering plant is Aster frikartii ‘Monch’ which comes into flower in mid-summer and goes on until early autumn. This picture was also taken yesterday. The flowers are now starting to fade, I suspect because we have had some cool early mornings, but from a distance they still look fabulous, bringing some interest and colour to the garden at a time when it’s not quite summer and not quite autumn.
Penstemon are also long-flowering plants. This one is ‘Raven’ which has dark purple flowers with white centres. As you can see, it’s still looking pretty good. The other variety I use quite a lot is ‘Garnet’ which provides a really good clump of semi-evergreen foliage and flowers all summer long.
When I first moved to our house, long before I learned about design and how to put together a successful planting scheme, I brought this rose on impulse from a well known DIY store…
I wish I knew what variety it is because it’s a real star performer in my garden. It has flowered repeatedly throughout the summer and, as you can see, is still putting on a spectacular performance on 4th October. It’s pretty disease free too.
Last but not least in the stars of my garden contest is the verbena bonariensis which is looking a little tired when you get close up, but still looks great from a distance.
So what’s still looking good in your garden, do you have any favourites that you couldn’t live without?
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Wonderful colours! I think nobody should be without sedums and schizostylis at this time of year. The schizostylis flowers, either dark red, pink or white, last well into December, even up here in Northumberland. They can make big clumps but are easy to thin out. I have a Rosa Canary Bird which has tiny leaves and single, yellow flowers and has been in flower more or less continuously since April. It still looks good now. On a rather strange note, I also have Rhododendrons and a Magnolia Stellata in flower now and a winter flowering viburnum which started in August! Hope they all flower at the right time next year.
Thanks for your comment, Sophie – I love Sedum too – have been planting up a garden today where Sedums are most definitely stars of the show at this time of year – I love the way they look when the stems start to appear in the Spring too.
Talking of strange flowering things, I was speaking to someone yesterday who said they have hyacinths coming up and last week I was planting a garden where the hamamelis was coming into flower. Me thinks nature is a bit confused this year!
Nature is more confused than I am and that’s saying something! I am really enjoying all the very early autumn leaf colour which has been slowly building in the acers and viburnums for weeks now. I hope all the leaves just don’t drop off overnight.
Interesting to know that G. Jolly Bee and Rozanne are one and the same. I am going to use it in the plan I’m doing for someone at the moment.
Lovely photos, especially the gorgeous aster!
I agree that the sedums are definitely lifting the garden at the moment and the bees are still enjoying them too. One of my stars for continued flowering since July and still going strong is echinacea. Also providing lovely colour are red yarrow, and the cheerful helianthus sunshine daydream.
Thanks Victoria. I love echinacea too – when I visited Loseley Park last week they were still going strong in the White Garden. Sadly my achillea has now finished!
You won’t be disappointed whichever your use – they cheer the garden up throughout the summer!