There’s some tidying up of the garden to be done. Deadheading still, fallen leaves to be collected, mulching and planting bulbs but close up there are some gems to be found. Here’s my six for this week.
One
Schizostylis or, and much easier to say, Kaffir Lilly. This came in a pot of something else when we moved house. I love the strong pink colour at the end of the season so I’m glad it stowed away and I’m hoping that it will settle into its new spot and send up more flowering spikes over time.
Two
R.Scepter’d Isle. No apologies for showing this one again. Mid October, still flowering and sending out new buds. It seems happy in my demi paradise.
Three
But not everything in the garden is thriving. One of the four euphorbia characias wulfenii that I planted to give structure to the border is failing dramatically. The plants around it seem unaffected. Possibly too wet in this particular spot? The other three are still looking good. Has anyone else experienced this?
Four
Here’s an update on the persimmon tree. The leaves are turning and amongst the beautiful copper reds the fruit is also changing colour. There may be a chance that I will have some ripe fruit yet.
Five
Geranium Brookside against a healthy euphorbia. This was a new geranium to me and I love the way it sprawls around the roses and euphorbias. The flower shines out and the leaves are beautifully cut. The plants have spread out much faster at the sunnier end of the border and so the two languishing at the shady end will have to be moved on. Right plant, wrong place.
Six
Please correct me if I’m wrong but I think I am introducing Arum Italicum. It’s an inherited plant. It grows in a north facing border in a very shady spot. Its bright orange seed berries have died back and the white veining of the leaves is particularly eye catching at this time of the year. A good autumnal photo to end on.
I hope you are still finding good things in your gardens and let’s hope the less successful ones aren’t harbouring something nasty.
Thanks to The Propagator for hosting. Read his blog posts and all the other Six on Saturday posts from around the world at The Propagator my plant obsession
Love the kaffir lillie. Am hoping to get a good display of those next year.
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Hard to kill a euphorbia. It will probably stage a comeback next year. They do seem to like it dry, though. The geranium/euphorbia combination is a real winner!
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That euphorbia likes it dry or at least well-drained; if the ground is wet, try lifting it and add about 50% gravel to the soil before replanting it. But if it flowered last year then that may be the “issue”. Individual stems are biennial so once they’ve flowered they should be cut right back. New stems flower in their second year. I just don’t know why the powers that be have to keep renaming things. “Hesperantha” rolls of the tongue whilst “Shizwhatever” just presents a spelling conundrum so people stop using the botanical name and start using the common one, which sort of defeats the object. Still Kaffir lilies add a welcome late splash of colour, whatever you call them.
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Yep. I’m definitely in the shizwhatever group. Euphorbia is a bit of a mystery. First yr of planting in a new border so hoping for first flowers next year. It’s a new garden and it does have wet areas, euphorbia has been in the ground a year now. I’ll just see how it goes.
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I like hesperantha. Sounds just perfect.
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I don’t think it helps plants like Euphorbia characias that they will mostly be sold growing in water retentive peat compost. They stay wet at the collar, where they most need to be dry. Self sown plants are less likely to go down, but may be less good in other ways.
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Hello there, yes I agree euphorbias are usually hard to kill off. I’m of the hard pruning camp (then patiently wait for new growth) when they sulk like this. I’m confident that it will recover. My fav here is the last image which looks like an Arum to me (although I’ve never grown one) what fantastic foliage and its orange berries sound like a winner of a plant to me! Lucky you 🙂
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