Readers’ gardens
We thought we’d seen all our new garden had to offer but, yet again, it has managed to surprise us! The tall, sword-shaped clumps of foliage that I’d taken for a type of ornamental grass produced long stems that erupted with fiery orange flowers, which my mother quickly identified as crocosmia.
Among the leaves, there’d been some very long, very spiky, stalks that nobody had noticed. That was until they too presented us with unexpected flowers. Pale purple clusters of tiny blooms that an internet search revealed to be verbena – their lovely fragrance is an added pleasure.
One new bloom that we’d been expecting was a plant that had been thriving in the border for a couple of months, slowly amassing a multitude of flower buds. These have now opened to show lovely pure white petals with contrasting sunny yellow centres. I think we’ve pinned it down as a Japanese anemone from photographs in our trusty RHS encyclopaedia!
I’ve also been busy taking cuttings from supermarketbought bunches of carnations – a tradition started by my mother when I was a little girl – and have been delighted to see the first flowers as a result. I now look forward to establishing a riot of colourful carnations and pinks at minimum cost.
Finally, I wanted to give a special mention to Garden News’ free seeds. The morning glory ‘Star of Yelta’ seeds have thrived and now cover a trellis up the outside kitchen wall. The deep violet blue of its flowers brighten my early mornings and it shows no sign of slowing down! Likewise, sweet pea seeds flowered beautifully, adding their honeyed scent to the garden. All we need now is
some glorious, sunny weather to sit out and enjoy all the colour and scent of the latesummer blooms!