What's Looking Good in August 2011

Two varieties of Perennial Lobelia in my garden, the first a variety of Lobelia Cardanalis (just opening) and the second Lobelia valida 'Delft Blue' (in full flower); a new one on me, just bought it from a carboot sale for 75p and it has an amazing scent :thumb:

Also pictured is the unusual flower on the Castor Oil plant along with a hoverfly :D

 

Nice ones Bilbo.

Can only come up with Albizzia for now.

 

Well done Bilbo ..
I love the Lobelias ,I can never keep L.cardanalis for some reason .and I am a great fan of Castor oil plants .I only have the green one this year ..

Like the Albizzia Pete ...Never tried it, did you grow from seed?

A couple of my favorites at the moment



Heliotrope.



Iresine

Dave

 

Albizzia from seed Dave, about 10yrs ago, Might be more

Is that Iresine in the second pic?

 

Yes Pete Iresine .Sorry forgot to add names ...I've grown them for about 4yrs. Need that little extraheat in the winter though ,I usually take cuttings in the autumn,an keep them on my my heated bed ,then pot up in the spring when it warms up .
Dave

 

Gorgeous everyone.

 

Pete, is that hardy outside? I've been thinking of getting one but have hesitated because I wasn't sure. I prefer the green one to the dark one too!

 

That's gorgeous, Pete.

Davygfuschia, you've got my favourites - heliotropes. Do you have as much difficulty in keeping slugs and snails of them as I do? They're worth it, though.

 

Hi Clare
Never had trouble with snails.I do overwinter them in a heated greenhouse,I usually take them in in Oct and lightly prune,taking a few cutting as insurance , remove any yellowing leaves, and then keep them on the dry side .check them reguarly for dead leaves ..Young rooted cuttings do need a little more heat to get through the winter ...Then in the spring I give them a little water and feed just to get them started .Once they liven up lighty prune to shape, remove some of the old compost and repot.Once they start growing I get afew cuttings if I need them ...I generally keep them in pots but have planted out sometimes ..

Dave

 

Thank you, Davygfuchsia. I find it tricky to get them through the winter because I don't have a greenhouse. Sometimes they just about pull through indoors, but often they don't.

Which variety do you grow? I've got 'Princess Marina' - bought as plugs from Hayloft plants - which is OK but doesn't seem to be growing that strongly yet. One year I grew some heliotropes from seed and got a very mixed bag in terms of colour and height but a much better scent.

 

Thalictrum Delavayi

 

Thalictrum Delavayi 'Album'

 

Acanthus

 

Achillea 'Cloth of Gold'

 

Clematis viticella 'Etoile Violette'. A really good 'do-er' which produces masses of deep purple flowers and never sulks or gets the dreaded wilt. I'll leave the fancier types, which produce two flowers before going into a cissy swoon, to more patient (or talented) gardeners:-

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This perennial sunflower, Helianthus 'Lemon Queen', produces lots of coarse foliage and can be a bit of a bore in the middle of summer. By September, however, I'll be glad of it because it'll be a mass of flowers just when many others things are finishing. The bees like it, too:-

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I'm quite pleased with this dwarf buddleja, 'Buzz'. This is the blue; I have a magenta one too. I've yet to see a butterfly on either plant, however. They prefer the shasta daisies :-

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