Best spring. Aquilegia ( one of my favourites) all self seeded mixed colours. Best summer. Bedding plants. Osteospermum, mixed colours of Dahlia ( both GC bought first time in garden) flowered profusely will grow from seed next year. Charlotte potatoes. Carrots speedo. Best autumn. Veg patch. Apatchi red spring onions, raspberries ( unknown variety gifted) victoria plums, tomatoes black cherry and roma. Best Winter. Nothing is really standing out as hard frosts have knocked everything back.
I think most of my roses performed very well this year and 'Winchester Cathedral' is still in bloom today. Salvia greggi, paeony, irises,clematis and catmint all thrived, but geums were a big disappointment.
A new garden here too. I think I'd count as my best my rhododendrons - I bought one a month over Autumn and Winter last year and each one of them thrived and flowered beautifully in succession. They are now all covered in buds which makes me very happy so it will be interesting to see how the timings work out this year. I also plunked a bargain basement magnolia in the ground when it was just sticks last year and it is now covered in buds and twice the size. Best unexpected garden inheritances were an old viburnum and winter jasmine both currently flowering and bringing colour to an otherwise quite stark scene.
Biggest disappointment were my oriental poppies. Giant hairy leaves, long stems but somehow they didn't make me as happy as I thought they would. They just looked very messy very quickly, the colours weren't as I'd imagined them and I hadn't appreciated how long they would last (a day or two). Not their fault really - I should have done my research. I'll move them to a less central bed next year.
Spring and early summer: Rhododendron Percy Wiseman, flowering cherry (unknown variety), aquilegias, allium christophii Summer and early autumn: Monarda Cambridge Scarlett, verbena bonariensis, lavenders
Spring to autumn/long flowering: Nemesia Easter Bonnet, alstroemerias, geranium Anne Thompson (or Ann Folkard?)
This has probably been the best performer and delivered the most delight throughout the year. The play of late afternoon ight and the movement through the year has been magical
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Best summer. Bedding plants. Osteospermum, mixed colours of Dahlia ( both GC bought first time in garden) flowered profusely will grow from seed next year. Charlotte potatoes. Carrots speedo.
Best autumn. Veg patch. Apatchi red spring onions, raspberries ( unknown variety gifted) victoria plums, tomatoes black cherry and roma.
Best Winter. Nothing is really standing out as hard frosts have knocked everything back.
Biggest disappointment were my oriental poppies. Giant hairy leaves, long stems but somehow they didn't make me as happy as I thought they would. They just looked very messy very quickly, the colours weren't as I'd imagined them and I hadn't appreciated how long they would last (a day or two). Not their fault really - I should have done my research. I'll move them to a less central bed next year.
Summer and early autumn: Monarda Cambridge Scarlett, verbena bonariensis, lavenders
I think my leucanthemums (below) were my favourite in June/July.
Disappointment: foxtail lily - still never got one to flower!