Funny about the weather isn't it? Not at all osteospermum weather here in East Cornwall. I bought a named collection this spring and all are so slow in growth and yet to flower. But I have grown 'Silver Sparkler' now for some years, keeping it going from cuttings and greenhouse over wintering. It does much better in pots rather than in the garden but I can't resist its pristine white flowers with their blue centres plus the green and creamy white variegated leaves.
More practical for the garden are two others which are certainly hardy here and always overwinter. Neither are named, but one came from a neighbour (white with a mauve rim to the centre) and another from a cutting taken from a stand growing wild by the seashore of a West Cornwall fishing cove (pale mauve/violet with a dark mauve centre). Both spread to good size patches and have been in full bloom now for six weeks or more. They will go on to autumn.
Also good doers with me are a couple of Argyranthemums, with ten extra marks for not closing their flowers in the evening! These are a single pink and a simple single white, both with glaucous foliage. Not reliably hardy here and needing overwintering as cuttings, but when they do overwinter, boy, do they make spectacular plants next year! So I always leave some in to see! This year they were 'somthing else'!
Then, while on the tender perennial daisies, what about dahlias? The commercially available Bishop's Children seed earned top marks last year. However several years ago I grew on seed from a Bishop of Llandaff pod and now have two very nice singles, a very free flowering orange red and a Bishop like crimson but with a yellow centre. Both are in full flower just now and along with the Bishop himself are making a very bright show. ...marigolds and other successes this year so far? Ah! but this was just supposed to be a comment!
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More practical for the garden are two others which are certainly hardy here and always overwinter. Neither are named, but one came from a neighbour (white with a mauve rim to the centre) and another from a cutting taken from a stand growing wild by the seashore of a West Cornwall fishing cove (pale mauve/violet with a dark mauve centre). Both spread to good size patches and have been in full bloom now for six weeks or more. They will go on to autumn.
Also good doers with me are a couple of Argyranthemums, with ten extra marks for not closing their flowers in the evening! These are a single pink and a simple single white, both with glaucous foliage. Not reliably hardy here and needing overwintering as cuttings, but when they do overwinter, boy, do they make spectacular plants next year! So I always leave some in to see! This year they were 'somthing else'!
Then, while on the tender perennial daisies, what about dahlias? The commercially available Bishop's Children seed earned top marks last year. However several years ago I grew on seed from a Bishop of Llandaff pod and now have two very nice singles, a very free flowering orange red and a Bishop like crimson but with a yellow centre. Both are in full flower just now and along with the Bishop himself are making a very bright show.
...marigolds and other successes this year so far? Ah! but this was just supposed to be a comment!