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October 1^st Aster Calliope

In the Autumn sunshine Aster Calliope is really sparkling. This one spreads at soil level and needs to be kept in check ever 2 years or so by lifting any unwanted plantlets in spring. 

This year because of the dry conditions Calliope is about 1ft 6in shorter than normal. 

October 2^nd More Helenium seedlings to sort through

Last month I picked out the varied seedlings from a single plant - most of which aren't worth keeping a second year as they are either inferior or too similar to existing cultivars.

In the last couple of weeks this seedling has come into flower. The problem is I only know one parent and a first year flower will tell me nothing about eventual height and flowering time of the plant. So the decision process on this one went something like this:

Well to start with it looks a bit like Blanche Royale or Sunshine, but these are medium tall varieties and there is some possibility that this seedling will be short as its seed parent is Ruby Tuesday. The plant is well shaped and healthy and has a lot of flower on it for a first year seedling. If it does turn out short (or even very tall) then it would be something different and worth a trial at least. 

So it will be given a chance to show its stuff next year, assuming of course it gets through the winter.

October 3^rd Stormy times ahead

Not a weather prediction but a flowering hope. Salvia Stormy Pink has been quietly flowering all summer and is still going strong. Let's hope this mild spell goes on so we can continue flowering through the autumn 

October 4^th Late bloomers

I give a talk titled "Late Bloomers" so I had better have some in my garden. Just to prove I'm not all mouth and no trousers (as we use to say in Essex in my childhood) here is a picture of our long border taken today.

October 5^th Hot Luv

We're really pleased to be unveiling a new Helenium that will be on sale exclusively from us in 2012. We've called her Hot Luv, because the bright colour takes us back to our Glam Rock youths. 

October 6^th Pure perfection

Scabious White Perfection is still putting on a good show at the moment and looking pristine in the autumn sunshine.

Don't let other plants flop over her in the winter - plenty of light and air is what she needs.

(p.s. I think the Hoverfly is Eristalis tenax)

October 7^th Cut flowers

I always enjoy cutting a vase (or three) of flowers for the house at this time of year. As the nights close in its lovely to see some colour indoors. 

I cut a selection of Aster, Helenium, Rudbeckia, Dahlia, Boltonia, Verbena, Hydrangea, Scabiosa, Solidago, Centaurea and Gaillardia as well as heads from some of my favourite grasses. 

October 8^th Blue evening

We picked up this phlox on a charity plant stall. Its called "Blue Evening" and was apparently introduced by Piet Oudolf in the 1990's. It is quite similar to Cool of the Evening. 

Its on its second round of flowering now and looks good in the late afternoon light. 

I'm doing the rounds of the late bloomers in the garden at the moment so more over the coming days.

Sorry for the delay in updating this diary - I've been busy uploading the 2012 catalogue, Normal service will be resumed quite soon.

October 13^th Late bloomers

Just like the proverbial bus - not one for ages then lots come all at once. Here is a little round up of the late bloomers that caught my eye in the garden today. 

Catananche caerulea (Cupid's Dart) has been in flower since late June and is still putting on a good display of flower plus the silver buds and seed heads look really good. 

It needs a well-drained, preferably sandy soil and a good sunny spot. I have the main drift growing on a really dry slope alongside a path. It does tend to lean a bit so I use a couple of short stakes and a string between just to lift the stems up a bit.

It has proved to be really hardy for us.

I've been waiting for this new Helianthus to flower and its just come into bloom in the last week. Its called "Cosmic Whisper" and its claim to fame is that it is supposed to be short - 3-4ft at most. 

In this year's drought at has only made about 3ft but I'd like to grow it on for a year (or two) before being certain of its ultimate height. 

I'd normally expect to be photographing lots of Heleniums in flower now, just like Double Trouble here, which is still looking good. However the exceptionally dry August and September we have had has meant a lot of them have gone over more quickly than normal and the new flowers have shrivelled. Still looking good are Vivace, Wesergold, El Dorado (spectacularly good I must say), Flammenspiel, Garnholt and Luc.

I've cut back Baudirektor Linne as it is producing lots of new flower shoots and buds: its fingers crossed for a continuation of the mild weather.

Erigerons are starting to rebloom after a restful summer. Their peak blooming period is May - July but if you cut them hard back to the ground (just deadheading or trimming is not sufficient) they will often bloom again in October provided the weather remains mild. 

Here is Dunkelste Aller (Darkest of All) in front of that lovely silver-blue leaved grass Helictotrichon sempervirens Pendulum.

Also looking good at the moment are Erigerons Strahlenmeer, Schneewittchen and Quakeress.

Erigeron karvinskianus, that sprawling one with tiny daisy flowers has been in flower since June and is still awash with flower.

October 15th National Collection of Heuchera & Heucherella

Visiting National Collections is a great way to find out more about plants and compare varieties.  We drove the short distance to Plantagogo today - Vicky and Richards Fox's nursery and home of the National Collections of Heuchera and Heucherella. Needless to say we came away with a few purchases!

October 16^th Autumn tasks

Spent today cutting down Heleniums in readiness for winter. I've left those still flowering but some were looking sad after the dry weather we've had. 

One plant I'm definitely not cutting back is Bidens Hannay's Lemon Drop (right). It has only just come into flower - about 4 weeks later than usual and looks a picture in the autumn sunshine.  We have a frost forecast for later in the week and I think it will be worthwhile putting some fleece over these plants to protect the flowers as it looks like the weather is going to warm up again afterwards and hopefully the flowering will continue.

October 22^nd More repeat bloomers

Walking around the garden I'm noticing more plants putting on a sometime unexpected, but always welcome repeat show. The mild weather and lack of frost (the forecast frost of last week turned into rain) are encouraging lots of the plants to have another go.

Hemerocallis can't always be relied on the bloom in the autumn. Some like Stella d'Oro, Daily Dollar and Little Wine Cup usually make the effort, but this year some normally shy flowerers are in full bloom right now. Pumpkin Kid (right) flowers in July and August and this is the first time I've know it to repeat in autumn, although according to its US database registration details it is a rebloomer.

October 29^th Gaillardias

Our Gaillardias are still going strong and blooming their hearts out. This is Torchlight (Fackelschein) in the bed along our driveway where it is as happy as a bug in a rug as my Mum would have said.

Some books claims that Gaillardia are annuals: there are some annual species, for example G. pulchella but most are perennial if happy in their spot.

What they seem to like is perfect drainage especially in winter.  In heavy soils Jelitto and Schacht (Hardy Perennials) recommend to cut the flowering stems back to just above the leaves before a frost kills the stems. This causes the plants to form new basal shoots better able to survive the winter. Also a light covering of brush wood over the plants during the coldest periods may help.

The same book also lists some varieties that seem to have disappeared from nursery lists. We'd be very interested in welcoming the following into our garden:

Baby Cole, Rascal, Croftway, Firebrand, Golden Goddess, Ipswich Beauty, Mandarin, Summer Joy, The King, Wirral Flame.

So if you have any of these please get in contact.