Tags
Aeonium Sunburst, Crocosmia Lucifer, Dahlia Bishop of Auckland, Helianthus salicifolius, oriental lily, pelargonium sidoides, six on saturday, stipa tenuissima, willow leaf sunflower
Last Saturday I set off at 0500hrs to do a walk for charity. This Saturday I found myself awake at the same hour but with no such challenge ahead. It does mean that I do however have the time to prepare my six to share with you, lovely garden friends and our host The Propagator .
This beauty is looking incredibly colourful, clearly enjoying the warm weather we have had. I love Aeoniums as they remind me of the Med and holidays. This is a really pretty variety I especially like the pink edges.
Otherwise known as willow leaf sunflower the foliage of this plant is what attracts me to it, that and its height. ( up to 2m) I actually like it less when the flowers appear in late summer. Acid yellow they are too brash for the border and last year they distracted the eye so much that I pinched off the blooms. I know, I still cannot believe I did that.
I have successfully got Lucifer coming back in my garden which is down to the drainage I believe. Here it is growing in a raised bed ( my soil is heavy clay prone to water logging) with a group of Stipa tenuissima. I love the contrast between the two.
A simple flower with handsome dark foliage make Dahlia Bishop of Auckland an understandably popular dahlia. I like it here amongst the Aeoniums and sempervivums where it brings a more exotic tone to the area. This is quite a contrast to the cooler colours elsewhere in the garden where frankly it would stand out like a sore thumb. It is in an extra large pot as it also would not like my soil. I have successfully overwintered this one.
In the same area as the Dahlias, Crocosmia and succulents are my Oriental and Asiatic lilies. The difference between them is height and scent. Asiatic lilies tend not to have scent and are smaller in height. These Japanese Oriental lilies are so highly scented they really grab the passerby. I love them in a vase but they will not get through the door this year. I have been selective with this photo as the beetles have stripped away the lower leaves and chewed some of the other flowers. That’s what happens when you take time away from the garden, the grollies move in! Yuck.
This is one of my all time favourite species pelargoniums. Small, grey- green, heart shape foliage, the flower is always late to arrive in my garden but they are said to flower from April to December. The flowers are on long stems in a gorgeous shade of aubergine purple. It is the very opposite of most pelargoniums as it is discreet and rather refined. The foliage has a slightly sour aroma. I first purchased one of these from specialist grower Woottens Nursery more than ten years ago. Alas I had to replace it this season as I lost mine this winter. One of those lockdown online purchases.
These are my six to share with you this week. Enjoy your weekend wherever you are and thanks for reading. D.
digwithdorris.com 
Before I knew what I now know about aeoniums, I underservedly had but then lost Sunburst. Yours is lovely. Did you see the Crocosmia on Gardener’s World yesterday in their natural habitat in South Africa? Well worth catching up if not.
Do you keep your sidoides outside? I agree with your description, mine is just showing flower buds…
I do from May to late September or October if it remains mild. Then it goes under glass, unheated, finally coming into the house once winter sets in. A faff really but I do love it.
Thanks for sharing. The Crocosomia & stipa are a good blend. Mine is growing through an agapanthus about similar height. Very pleased.
A white or blue agapanthus ?
It’s sky blue, Dorris. They are at eye level on rochery and are great to look at straight through. I’m told I’ll need to be careful with overspreading.
Sound lovely
Let them spread I say
That pelargonium has such pretty coloured flowers, Dorris – makes a change from pink! What a curious plant that helianthus is, and how pretty the aeonium
Thanks Cathy. I purchased some white pelargoniums to stick in a pot by the door and when they produced their flowers they were a strange pinky lilac colour! Yuck. Every time I look at them I curse that they are not white. However now the coral tops have appeared the colour works against the orange.
Coral tops?
Lovely choices, Dorris. I like that helianthus a lot and I wonder whether it is what I saw down at Walmer Castle last year. I flagged it then and must go check again now!
Thank you so much. I don’t know if it’s what was at walmer and it’s not a place I have visited.
I just checked last year’s photos and it is a very similar plant but coarser … so it may be helianthus orgyalis. At least I now have the genus!
I have just looked H orgyalis up. Very similar. You could probably order it from Beth Chatto
Yes!
Goodness! Pinched off the sunflower bloom?! The foliage is great, but does pinching the bloom off make it last any longer?
Not sure If they last longer but guilty as charged
One of my colleague’s clients in West Hollywood liked the gray succulent foliage of calandrinia grandiflora, but then disliked the magenta blooms that most people grow it for. The gardeners need to cut them all off as the stems appear.
Off with their heads!
Gosh I now realise I sound ridiculous
i also like the foliage of the helianthus, although decapitation is an extreme and tragic end!
Off with their heads!