November plants
Though the days are getting shorter and cooler, Keith still finds some late colour for the garden, from bright chrysanthemums and nerines to an autumn-flowering snowdrop
CHRYSANTHEMUM ‘HILLSIDE APRICOT’
The highlight of one trip to the USA was seeing this plant in my host’s garden, forming a gracefully arching mound of soft-apricot flowers. I was completely captivated, and when I was generously offered a tiny piece of root it became a most treasured possession. I was told it is also sometimes known as ‘Hillside Sheffield Pink’ or ‘Single Apricot’. Back on home soil, whatever its name, it has proved to be a robust plant when grown in the garden, covering itself in flowers every year late in the season in October to November. A lovely cut flower if grown under cover.
Height 80-90cm.
Origin Garden (species East Asia).
Conditions Well-drained soil; full sun.
Hardiness RHS H6, USDA 5a-9b.
Season of interest Autumn.
ERAGROSTIS CURVULA
Native to South Africa, this rarely met grass is sometimes called the African love grass but is also known as weeping love grass for its arching habit. Growing to a metre high in flower, it does need space to really show off its rounded weeping shape, and attention needs to be shown to check the inevitable seedlings are not in unwanted places. Despite these caveats this is a lovely grass whose graceful flowering shoots change colour from grey-green in the summer to straw-coloured in autumn, and through the winter months. I cut the clumps to the ground each spring when they quickly start growing again.
Height 1- 1.2m.
Origin South Africa.
Conditions Well-drained soil; full sun.
Hardiness RHS H7, USDA 6a-9b.
Season of interest Summer through to autumn.
NERINE UNDULATA FLEXUOSA GROUP
Formerly known as N. flexuosa this species flowers later and has smaller, more graceful flowers than N. bowdenii. Although considered less hardy than the latter species, I have been successfully growing and flowering this plant outside and unprotected for many years now. Admittedly, we haven’t had that many really cold winters during that time but it’s certainly worth trying in a very welldrained, sheltered spot. The white-flowered form has broader petals and is perhaps even more beautiful, but unfortunately is slightly less hardy. As with all nerines, plant the bulbs with their necks at ground level.
Height 45cm.
Origin South Africa.
Conditions Well-drained soil; full sun.
Hardiness RHS H3, USDA 8a-11.
Season of interest Autumn.
DAPHNE ODORA ‘MAE-JIMA’
This daphne cultivar, selected in Japan, is grown primarily for its striking variegation, although it also flowers prolifically in the early spring with the characteristically fruity scent of all D. odora types. With its broad, bright-yellow margin, this is easily the best variegated form of this popular species, and the contrasting dark-green central portion of each leaf supplies the plant with enough chlorophyll to make it grow well. The flowers emerge from rosy-purple buds, an exciting prelude to the promise of the heady scent to come.
Height 1m.
Origin Garden (species China, Japan, Korea).
Conditions Well-drained soil; full sun to part shade.
Hardiness RHS H4, USDA 7a-10b.
Season of interest All year for foliage, but early spring for flowers.
CHRYSANTHEMUM ‘NANTY-DERRY SUNSHINE’
A Welsh selection, raised in 1989 by the excellent plantswoman Mrs Rose Clay and named after her garden near the village of Nant-y-derry in Monmouthshire. It is yet another excellent late-flowering chrysanthemum with semi-pompon flowers that are relatively small but produced in tight branching sprays on stiffly upright stems and create significant patches of sunshine colour in the garden on neat clumps. Given an AGM by the RHS it was also honoured by the society as one of the top 200 plants of the past 200 years. It is good though. AGM.
Height 60-80cm.
Origin Garden (species East Asia).
Conditions Well-drained soil; full sun.
Hardiness RHS H6, USDA 5a-9b.
Season of interest Autumn.
YUCCA FLACCIDA ‘GOLDEN SWORD’
Many yuccas should probably come with some sort of health warning because of the spikes on the end of their stiff leaves. This species (as its name suggests) has soft, rather limp foliage, meaning it can be planted closer to paths without fear of personal injury. It certainly merits more prominent planting as the variegation is very clean, forming a compact, slowly spreading clump. I would grow it for its foliage alone, so the reliably produced, stiff spikes of large, pure-white flowers in midsummer are a very welcome bonus. AGM.
Height 1-1.5m.
Origin Garden (species southern North America).
Conditions Well-drained soil; full sun.
Hardiness RHS H4, USDA 4a-9b.
Season of interest Year round.
Daphne odora ‘Mae-jima’ is grown primarily for its striking variegation, although it also flowers prolifically in early spring with a fruity scent
GALANTHUS REGINAEOLGAE ‘ELENI’
I suspect the craze for snowdrop collecting is rooted partly in the sparsity of other plants flowering so early in the year when most snowdrops flower and when growth and colour of any sort are so welcome. This species of snowdrop, which flowers in late autumn to early winter, often goes under the radar, perhaps because our gardens are still quite colourful if frosts haven’t come early, and winter despair is yet to set in. This cultivar would be a winner whenever it flowered, with a glorious honeyed scent thrown in for good measure.
Height 20cm.
Origin Garden (species Greece, northern Mediterranean).
Conditions Well-drained soil; full sun to part shade.
Hardiness RHS H4, USDA 4a-9b.
Season of interest Autumn.
PHYTOLACCA ICOSANDRA PURPURASCENS GROUP
With crimson stems, purple-flushed foliage and months of bright-magenta flowers and crimson-black seeds it is hard to disagree with Crûg-Farm’s description of its collection of this plant in Sumatra as an ‘outstandingly colourful form of this species’. Generally not hardy so I try to keep one plant growing under light protection, but even if this fails seedlings nearly always appear the following spring. I was recently told of this species surviving several winters unscathed in the London area, so I must experiment a little more with it.
Height 1.5-2m.
Origin Central America and northern parts of South America, and widely naturalised worldwide.
Conditions Well-drained soil; full sun.
Hardiness RHS H3, USDA 9a-11.
Season of interest Summer to autumn.
HAKONECHLOA MACRA ‘ALL GOLD’
Among grasses that are happy to grow in semi-shaded and shady places, the Japanese endemic hakone or Japanese forest grass is by some margin my favourite. The deciduous, green-leaved species makes a dense arching clump (around 80cm high) of soft foliage, which turns a lovely tawny colour in autumn. More usually seen in gardens are the variegated cultivars that have less reliable autumn colour. Of these ‘All Gold’ is slightly shorter but has the brightest variegation, especially in the spring and early summer, becoming more lime green in shadier spots.
Height 60cm.
Origin Japan.
Conditions Well-drained soil; full sun to part shade.
Hardiness RHS H6, USDA 5a-9b.
Season of interest Spring to autumn.
Galanthus reginae-olgae ‘Eleni’ would be a winner whenever it flowered, with a glorious honeyed scent thrown in for good measure