Wow Andy - what an abundance of flowers on those Asters - they look stunning and would brighten up any garden with there colour. Can they be grown from seed - and do the slugs attack them?
That spot is east facing in a south facing garden, but at the mo' doesn't get much sun until lunchtime as most early morning sun is blocked by a sycamore in the neighbour's garden.
Soil is pretty good, loamy brown loveliness.
Dont think I fertilised at all this year as last felt there was too much foliage and it grew too high. Of course, this year they are bigger than last ?.
Just wanted to share the first few flowers from my Anemone hupehensis form. Although they are all over the place, I'm really pleased with it and a bit puzzled. I've grown several varieties, and the pinks have mostly been double hybrids, or else when single hupehensis forms they have had smaller flowers with alternating light and dark petals. This was a generic garden centre form, unnamed. But I really love it. The flowers are the larger diameter of something like 'Honorine Jobert' but a really clear purply-pink, not pale like 'Queen Charlotte'. I have seen one flower like it, a short-growing new variety called 'Pink Kiss'--as it is only in its first year it is definitely short enough, but who knows what next year will bring? Anyway a very nice plant indeed.
Ha ha! Don't worry, I am not throwing them away, just giving them to friends. But the truth is that so far I have not actually been able to give any up... I will have to though as I can't use my deck at all because of all the trial pots
Agapanthus: So 'Glenavon' has been the front runner, though I suspect it will turn up its toes in a sharp frost. Several of them are fighting it out for second place. 'Delft Blue' was absolutely amazing but late into flower and not as floriferous as some others. 'Star Quality' has been a real delight, very early into flower and long-lasting (July-late August) and excellent in a pot. 'Blue Magic' flowered plenty from a one-year start, which is unusual. I am still waiting on several others which I got more recently: 'Johanna', 'Eggesford Sky'. 'Tsolo' was also very lovely. 'Navy Blue' which I think is the same as 'Northern Star' is very nice, doesn't beat 'Star Quality' though. I do want to try a white one--these are all intense to pale blue. But only by growing them do you find out other interesting things such as their habit, quality of leaf and so on, which matter for the other 10 months of the year! 'Eggesford Sky' has black leaf bases which are very nice. Also, some are really delicate and others have big leaves. They seem to like a nice deep pot like pelargoniums.
Here are a couple: 'Star Quality' is the darker one, 'Glenavon' is the paler one--you can't tell but it is twice the size in all its parts...
My hypericum is still going strong with another flush of flowers, it's having to share it's space with a lopsided cosmos which has decided to gatecrash into my yellow corner
Some autumn colour with the fading blooms on a hydrangea which was a vibrant cerise red a few weeks ago,
And the turning leaves of my Acer, which from this angle is doing a pretty good job of screening out the ugly office building across the road
The colours caught my eye when I went out to collect the bins this morning so I took a few minutes to linger and look at the autumn changes in the garden.?
All too soon it will be gone but I spied tiny flowers on the skimmia and viburnum starting to show (I must go and check on the cyclamen, if I can remember where I planted them)
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Wow Andy - what an abundance of flowers on those Asters - they look stunning and would brighten up any garden with there colour. Can they be grown from seed - and do the slugs attack them?
I don't seem to have any issues with slugs with these. No idea about growing from seed, like I said I bought as 9cm pots (just three in March 2015).
That spot is east facing in a south facing garden, but at the mo' doesn't get much sun until lunchtime as most early morning sun is blocked by a sycamore in the neighbour's garden.
Soil is pretty good, loamy brown loveliness.
Dont think I fertilised at all this year as last felt there was too much foliage and it grew too high. Of course, this year they are bigger than last ?.
Just wanted to share the first few flowers from my Anemone hupehensis form. Although they are all over the place, I'm really pleased with it and a bit puzzled. I've grown several varieties, and the pinks have mostly been double hybrids, or else when single hupehensis forms they have had smaller flowers with alternating light and dark petals. This was a generic garden centre form, unnamed. But I really love it. The flowers are the larger diameter of something like 'Honorine Jobert' but a really clear purply-pink, not pale like 'Queen Charlotte'. I have seen one flower like it, a short-growing new variety called 'Pink Kiss'--as it is only in its first year it is definitely short enough, but who knows what next year will bring? Anyway a very nice plant indeed.
Ha ha! Don't worry, I am not throwing them away, just giving them to friends. But the truth is that so far I have not actually been able to give any up... I will have to though as I can't use my deck at all because of all the trial pots
Agapanthus: So 'Glenavon' has been the front runner, though I suspect it will turn up its toes in a sharp frost. Several of them are fighting it out for second place. 'Delft Blue' was absolutely amazing but late into flower and not as floriferous as some others. 'Star Quality' has been a real delight, very early into flower and long-lasting (July-late August) and excellent in a pot. 'Blue Magic' flowered plenty from a one-year start, which is unusual. I am still waiting on several others which I got more recently: 'Johanna', 'Eggesford Sky'. 'Tsolo' was also very lovely. 'Navy Blue' which I think is the same as 'Northern Star' is very nice, doesn't beat 'Star Quality' though. I do want to try a white one--these are all intense to pale blue. But only by growing them do you find out other interesting things such as their habit, quality of leaf and so on, which matter for the other 10 months of the year! 'Eggesford Sky' has black leaf bases which are very nice. Also, some are really delicate and others have big leaves. They seem to like a nice deep pot like pelargoniums.
Here are a couple: 'Star Quality' is the darker one, 'Glenavon' is the paler one--you can't tell but it is twice the size in all its parts...
My hypericum is still going strong with another flush of flowers, it's having to share it's space with a lopsided cosmos which has decided to gatecrash into my yellow corner
Some autumn colour with the fading blooms on a hydrangea which was a vibrant cerise red a few weeks ago,
And the turning leaves of my Acer, which from this angle is doing a pretty good job of screening out the ugly office building across the road
The colours caught my eye when I went out to collect the bins this morning so I took a few minutes to linger and look at the autumn changes in the garden.?
All too soon it will be gone but I spied tiny flowers on the skimmia and viburnum starting to show
(I must go and check on the cyclamen, if I can remember where I planted them
)