We seem to be having quite reasonable weather at the moment, not too wet! As the garden fades from late summer and everything changes from a lush green to the yellows, reds and browns of autumn I thought it might not be a bad idea to do some close-ups. Autumn is a time, after the summer colour displays, that, as in spring, we now turn to the individual beauty and form of flowers as they become less of a feature. Some which would be hardly inspiring during a summer of bright colours suddenly become subtly beautiful when not pushed into the sidelines by some of their more colourful cousins.
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Eupatorium purpureum subsp. maculatum 'Atropurpureum' |
Easy to grow preferring a damp position Joe Pye Weed is a beautiful late flowering six foot butterfly and bee magnet which does benefit from the "Chelsea Chop" if one remembers.
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Actaea simplex (Atropurpurea Group) 'Brunette' |
Coming in at around five feet with me the beautiful delicate white flowers of this Cohosh really stand out against the almost black foliage and are also insect magnets.
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Angelica archengelica cultivar. |
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Angelica archengelica |
Two stages of ripeness of my favourite Umbellifer, the seeds of some of my plants with Angelica 'Ebony' in their parentage have a more purple hue before fully ripening.
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Buddleja weyeriana 'Sungold' |
Still in full bloom, this late-flowering Buddleja has the beautiful yellow colour along with the vigour of the more familiar types.
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Chelone obliqua |
Easy to spot why this very hardy perennial is know as the 'turtle head', seems to thrive in the most hostile of dry conditions.
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Crocosmia |
This is not the "common" montbretia but a named variety whose name I have forgotten, none of these orange/yellow types have the vigour of Crocosmia 'Lucifer' but tend to flower later.
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Cyclamen hederifolium |
Here is a Cyclamen mini-jungle, perhaps a mouse-eyed view?
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This nasturtium is a real beauty! |
Lovely variation in what is a staple of summer in any garden, still flowering away and will last until the first frosts. Easily propagated, the seed can be found lying on the soil beneath the plants or even taken green from the plant as long as they are swollen enough. Dried and stored in the fridge will give plenty of plants for next year.
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Gentiana asclepiadea |
The Willow Gentian, yet another example of the genus Gentiana producing some of the best blues in the plant kingdom.
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Kirengeshoma palmata |
I have absolutely no idea why this plant has an AGM although funnily enough it is not listed on the RHS site as such. I have a large specimen of this Japanese rhizomatous perennial which sits at the base of a silver birch. I find the flowers are generally spasmodic and in a year with early frosts they don't make it to full flower. Although not shown all the lower leaves have been eaten away, I assume by slugs, but the damage does vary year on year.
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Persicaria |
You can't beat the knot-weeds for good late summer colour although they can be a bit invasive.
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Sedum 'Jose Aubergine' |
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Sedum spectabile 'Autumn Joy' |
For autumn read Sedum, glaucous foliage, preferring a sunny position but will tolerate some shade where they may flop, so another good candidate for the "Chelsea Chop"
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Speckled Wood butterfly (Pararge aegeria) on Persicaria |
If I ever doubted that I have dappled shade here is a native who just loves these conditions.
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Tricyrtis formosana
'Dark Beauty' |
This plant was located at the bottom of a birch tree originally but has now "walked" about six feet from the base to get to more light.
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Anemone tomentosa Robustissima |
Big and bold, this "thug" is still one of the best for good for autumn colour in the most hostile of conditions.
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Geranium 'Rozanne' |
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Leycesteria formosa |
The Himalayan honeysuckle, seeds itself around a bit and its rather fragile hollow stems mean that it needs to be away from an area where it gets brushed against, which I haven't done! but still a neat shrub to have.
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Stylophorum lasiocarpum |
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Stylophorum lasiocarpum seed-pods |
Now here is a thing, these plants are grown from seed sown in January of this year obtained from the SRGC as Hylomecon
japonica which it ain't. I have grown this plant before and immediately recognised the leaf shape and to confirm my suspicions you only have to look at the rather extraordinary seed pods of this Japanese woodlander to confirm this. An interesting post regarding the question of the misidentification of Hylomecon is to be found here.
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Lysimachia ephemerum |
Not the thug of its relatives, the cool stately spires of white flowers add to the autumn garden however the weaker outer stems are prone to collapse.
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Penstemon |
I have several species and cultivars of Penstemon all in containers as they just won't "do" in the borders, this one just happens to still be in flower due to the fact it was damaged earlier in the year.
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The Cardoon in bud. |
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The Cardoon |
These two pictures are not from this year but are two of my favourite close-ups or macros as they now seem to be known now. There is something about this plant, it may be its Scottishness but I can only refer to it as THE Cardoon, it seems such a stately icon and what exquisite shades and textures.