September is halfway through already, it is darker in the evenings and there is definitely an air of autumn about the garden. Misty mornings which then turn into beautiful sunny days are the norm at the moment and will be for a while longer if the weather forecasters are to be believed. Some flowers are having a last mad fling before the onset of cooler weather, some are flowering again , but smaller, where they were cut back earlier. Some though are just starting to flower, as now is their time to be the centre of attention.
One of my favourite grasses at this time of year, forming a beautiful 7ft fountain is Miscanthus sinensis Malepartus, the flower spikes are so beautiful.
I love it at this stage while they are so purple, although they will eventually fade to beige before being cut off next February.
Stipa gigantea has been strutting its stuff for so many months now. The flower spikes emerge in May and by June it is looking like this. Eventually the winds in the winter will batter it and then is the time to cut it down. When the sun shines through it, the flowers are just like spun gold.
Verbena bonariensis just goes on and on, it never seems to stop. It has gently seeded itself round the garden and I think it has appeared in all the different borders, quite often putting itself in places where I would never have thought of putting it.
Rudbeckia Goldsturm is flowering on and on and on, there are a few areas in the garden where I have planted this and they always make me smile as I walk past, they look like patches of sunshine, even when it isn’t shining.
Hardy fuchias are one of the reliable late summer/autumn flowers. I seem to have planted quite a few, but this one, F. Delta Sarah, makes such a statement, a large bush with large flowers. Usually the flowers on hardy fuchsias are smaller and thinner, but with Delta Sarah they are the size of the tender fuchsia flowers.
The Sedum flowerheads are just starting to colour up now and attract any passing bees and butterflies. Asters are also now starting to flower, I’ve just been to have a look but unfortunately the label is missing for the aster.
This little area by the field has had interest for a long time now. The rose is Rosa The Dark Lady, with Aster frickartii Monch which has been flowering for well over a month already and Rudbeckia Goldsturm.
Colchicums are now flowering in a few areas in the garden, I think I will move some to the woodland as I think they will look nice with the cyclamen hederifolium that are already there. Fortunately they increase very well, so each year I always have some bulbs that can be moved elsewhere.
A big blowsy Begonia in one of my tubs by the back door. I would never have bought any this size, but it was a free gift when ordering other bulbs from J Parker last year! It certainly makes a splash of colour so will probably get planted again next year.
Most of the roses are flowering again, these are buds of Shropshire Lad just about to open.
Rosa Buff Beauty in the front garden, has been grown from a cutting from the one that I have in the back garden. I think this one in the front does better than the one in the back, it is in more sun.
Solidago or Golden Rod is flowering at the back of the border by the field. I can’t remember the name of this one, it is a hybrid, not the wild one, this one is fairly well behaved!
Primula aurantiaca in the bog garden, has got its seasons mixed up, it shouldn’t be flowering now at all, spring is the time for this to flower!
Linaria has spread through the garden, I have never bought it, it just arrived and also, so has the pink Canon Went. I don’t know where it came from but I’m ever so glad it came and decided to stay.
Physostegia is in the bed around the dead oak, gently spreading which is nice. Some that has spread where it shouldn’t can be moved to the bed by the field.
Still in the bed around the dead oak, Clematis Etoille Violet is still flowering. It has flowered so much this summer, escaping from its tripod, scaling the Myrtle and up into the stems of Rosa Mulligani . I must remember to reward it with a handful of fertiliser next year.
All the buddleias are flowering again, they did stop for a while when we were having our drought. I had deadheaded them, but they took such a long time to produce more flowers again.
My Japanese anemones are not increasing as much as I would like, but the flowers that I do have are such a pure white, they’re beautiful. I think this one is Whirlwind.
In the slope by the alpine scree are the bulbs of Tulbaghia, the flowers are smaller than in this photo, altogether a nice dainty plant.
Also near the alpine scree is Tritonia rosea, it is similar to a crocosmia and at one time was in the Crocosmia family. According to my encyclopedia it is only half hardy, but mine have been in the ground for at least 15 years.
Sedum Matrona is now flowering on the scree and contrasting with everything around it.
Caryopteris Heavenly Blue is just getting into its stride now, I always like blue at this time of year to contrast with all the yellows, pinks and purples.
Another blue is Nigella which has decided to delay flowering till now. Most of the seed that I sprinkled flowered much earlier, so this one is a latecomer to the party.
The lovely tassels on the Leycestaria formosa attract the blackbirds who jump up for the berries that are formed between the layers of bracts. Bees enjoy the flowers earlier in the year and the blackbirds spread the seed from the berries, so I have little bushes popping up everywhere!
Penstemon garnet has been flowering all summer long. This is such a reliable plant in my Bee and Butterfly garden, the bees love it.
I think this is Geranium procurrens, it was bought a G. Ann Folkard, but the way it rampages through the border means that it definitely isn’t. Each spring we pull out all that we can see, but obviously we miss some because at the time of year, each year, there it is again, the flowers twinkling at me through all the other flowers! Somehow it has worked its way through to the back garden where it is dealt with more thoroughly.
Last, but definitely not least are some of the cyclamen in the woodland. These are a real flower of autumn, but mine started flowering in July, a little premature! I think I will try collecting and sowing a few seeds this year, I’ll see if I can do as good a job as the ants do. I seem to be getting more white cyclamen flowers as the years go by, the effect of them all in the woodland is reminding me of all the snowdrops that will be here in just over 3 months time!!!
Even though summer has theoretically finished and autumn begun, there are still summer flowers blooming away in the garden, mixing with the plants that I always consider autumn flowers. The effect is a much more subdued palette of colours, or is it that the sun is lower in the sky and is therefore much kinder to the plants than when it is overhead in June/ July. Whatever it is, I like it.
Thanks must go to Carol at May Dreams Gardens for hosting GBBD on the 15th of each month. Do please pay her a visit and see what is flowering around the world.
So many blooms still Pauline, Rosa Buff Beauty looks a perfect specimen. Sometimes I think roses are better from cuttings than when they’re on a root stock, it should be the case but it is! thanks for sharing all your lovely flowers. I’m very envious of the Miscanthus. I bought one two years ago but it is still very small. Happy Bloom day.
I agree Christina, that roses do so much better on their own roots. I have taken quite a few rose cuttings and have always been very happy with the result. I bought one Bonica and now have six flowering merrily away. The miscanthus all do very well on my soil, it’s lovely when I find something that really likes my heavy clay!
Lots of lovely September blooms in your garden Pauline. I can’ t remember roses ever flowering so well in September before. Graham Thomas and Sally Holmes are as good now as they were in June. No flowers on my Buff Beauty though.
My cyclamen started blooming in July too. What a joy they are.
We are so lucky this year with such warm sunny days and such a lovely light.
I love your Miscanthus; grasses really come into their own now, don’ t they?
Yes Chloris, the roses are good after their rest during the drought. My little cyclamen are all that is flowering in the woodland at the moment and they do look so pretty in the shade. All the Miscanthus are looking at their best now, but I think M.malepartus is the best of them all.
What a lot of lovely treasures you still have in bloom Pauline. I am glad you added a picture of Leycesteria formosa because I am quite sure it is a plant I have seen before with no way of finding out what it was. I picked seeds which I planted this spring and they sprouted. I will be able to put a name to the plant once it has bloomed – hoping they survive the winter.
Alain, the common name for Leycestaria formosa is Himalayan honeysuckle, I feel that if it comes from that part of the world, then it should be hardy! I hope yours survives for you as it is a lovely plant. The bees like the flowers and the birds jump up for the berries at this time of year.
The cyclamen look wonderful in the woodland. But I couldn’t quite believe it when I saw your Primula!
Another name for Leycestaria is Pheasant Berry. They love them apparently. Just sayin’ .. 😉
I noticed another candelabra primula yesterday Jessica, P.Appleblossom, they are pretty mixed up plants!
I haven’t heard Mr Pheasant for a long time now, we fortunately don’t seem to get him in the garden at this time of year, fingers crossed! It is only the blackbirds that we see jumping up for the berries, that’s how we have seedlings popping up everywhere!
Pauline so much blooming and the grasses are really showing off now.
Thanks Donna, there is plenty in the garden that is looking colourful at the moment, just different from the summer colour that we have, each month has it’s own stars and I think this is the month for grasses.
Your garden always enchants me. I admire your wonderful grasses. The Leycestaria is new to me. I must research it. I love those tassels!
Thank you Deb, grasses certainly come into their own in the month of September, apart from Stipa gigantea which has been good all summer. The common name for the Leycestaria is Himalayan honeysuckle, the tassels are fantastic aren’t they and the birds love the berries in each layer.
September is certainly being gentle on our gardens this year Pauline. Fountain is such an apt word to describe that fabulous miscanthus. How many years has it taken to get to that size?
I think September is a lovely month Anna, not too hot and a more gentle sunlight that doesn’t fade the flowers. The miscanthus has been in place for about 15 years at least, but made quite a presence after just a couple of years. It does have a wire corset made of hoops, otherwise it would flop everywhere!
What a palette of colours and blooms in your garden in mid-September! There are so many plants that I haven’t even seen before! I absolutely love grasses and your Stipa gigantea looks wonderful. I have planted one to my garden this year but I’m not sure if it survives in our winters. I hope it does, jet I havn’t seen one in our gardens (ordered mine from Germany).
This is a good time of year for grasses Tistou, I do hope that Stipa gigantea will survive your winters, it is such a beautiful grass which looks good for about 6 months. The sunlight is so much more gentle in September than in the summer and I think the plants look better for it.
Must go and check my Etoile Violette after seeing yours, Pauline. My current thinking on the newly ‘reclaimed’ bed near the stream is to go for small flowering shrubs, as I tend not to give them house (garden) room at the moment, so I may soon start making notes from blogs like yours of likely contenders – you have some beauties, and those grasses too!
I was very surprised Cathy, to see that Etoile Violette was still putting out new flowers, it has certainly worked hard over the summer. The grasses have certainly come into their own over the last month, they look lovely shining in the sun.
What a nice tour full of the expected and then a few surprises too! The begonia is a lot of too much and I’d have to plant it again next year too. Tuberous begonias are iffy around here as are the fuchsia, they just don’t like our summer heat.
Love the grasses!
Hardy Fuchsias here need a bit of sun, but then our sun isn’t anywhere near as hot as yours! Tender fuchsias we have to plant in the shade otherwise they would frizzle up. Also Begonias grow well in the shade here, its good to have something to brighten up the shade by the front door. Glad you like the grasses, so do I!
What a treat your September blooms are Pauline. P. aurantiaca is one of my favourite Primula – all mines are completely puggled. I wonder if I’m going to loose them this year. Time will tell.
What a gorgeous Fuchsia colour. In answer to your question on mine – I have no idea of the name of the Fuchsia at the back of my display. It was a gift to mum from her friend, and she has long lost the label. I have no idea if it is hardy either but will bring them all indoors for winter.
Both your grasses look like fireworks exploding – wonderful!
I found another candelabra Primula after I had done my post, P. Appleblossom which also has its seasons mixed up, hopefully they will flower again in the spring.
September is the best month for the grasses we have here, you have summed it up nicely, exploding fireworks.
Seeing your plantings is always a treat Pauline. F. Delta Sarah is beautiful and you captured it perfectly in this photo.
Thanks Susie, you’re very kind. I thought because F. Delta Sarah had such large flowers, that it must be tender, but it has now survived at least 10 years, through some pretty cold winters.
I love your grasses. I have been wondering whether I can squeeze any in somewhere in my garden, but they do need quite a bit of space.
I am wondering whether my penstemon is the same as yours – I have been trying to find out what it is. Would you say it is more pink than purple, as it looks in some photos on the web. Mine is very vigorous and grows very easily from cuttings and as you say it flowers all summer.
I love the colours of your fuscia too; you really have a lot of wonderful flowers still in bloom.
The grasses do look good in September Annette, but there are much smaller ones that would suit maybe.
My Penstemon is Garnet, sorry, I should have said which one it is, and yes, it is so easy from cuttings.
Pauline,
Your garden is wonderful. What a labor of love! You have so many Fall bloomers! I haven’t thought much about all the Fall plants you have but Colchiums and Anemones are now on my wish list. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Sally, I’m finding more and more plants that start flowering at this time of year, so it makes the garden last longer. Where we are in the SW of the UK we are able to garden for 11 months of the year, so it is nice to find some flowers that will extend the season.
Eleven months of gardening! And no freakishly hot weather like in the Southern and South Western US! Wonderful!
And December is spent sweeping up all the leaves Sally!
So many glorious flowers Pauline, very hard to single anything out, but for me the miscanthus steals a lot of the show, spectacular, wish I had room for one that statuesque, but at least I now have a couple, wouldn’t be without them.
Grasses bring something else to a garden, don’t you think Janet, lovely movement and a rustling sound when the wind is blowing. That Miscanthus and the Stipa gigantea that I have are my favourite grasses here, I’ve tried others but I like those two so much more.