Rudbeckia "Marmalade" from seed

I was so captivated last year by the displays of late flowering Rudbeckia that I paid out the pennies for a packet of “Marmalade” seed and have been genuinely bowled over with the result. The mixture has a little diversity in its range of flowers, which I like, and has invigorated our front border for weeks at a time when other flowers are waning. One of these below is a named variety costing £8, the rest cost zilch. I challenge browsers to tell the difference. I’m hoping the plants will seed themselves and I’m keeping some seed back for Spring sowing as a precaution. Some plants do over-winter in a mild one. The plants were photographed this morning.

 

Sorbus "Copper Kettle" & "Sorbus Eastern Promise", Harlow Carr Gardens, 25th September 2016

Autumn is the time of the year for the Rowan tree and Harlow Carr Gardens provided two varieties that were unfamiliar to me but ravishing in the autumn sunshine. First up is Sorbus “Copper Kettle”, a compact form with, as might be imagined, copper coloured berries. Incidentally the lower colour is provided in the first two images by Euonymus alatus ‘Compactus’, a shrub I covered last year (3rd October, 2015).

Second up is another sorbus new to me, “Sorbus Eastern Promise”, again a small, neat tree for the smaller garden. I did not take a close-up picture for some reason. The berries have a pink tinge to them.

 

Harlow Carr, White Border, September 25th 2016

Harlow Carr was its usual immaculate self. I particularly liked the White Border on the edge of the Kalmia Lawn. The planting was too lush for the plant labels to be discerned but I believe the key plants are Actaea (formerly Cimicifuga) racemosa Atropurpurea and the particularly beautiful daisy-like Leucanthemella serotine. Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ is just beginning to fade.

 

Burnby Hall Gardens: Dovecote

Burnby Hall Gardens lies in the North Yorkshire town of Pocklington, the one time home of my mother-in-law. We went to see the National Collection of Hardy Water Lilies to be covered shortly. However the dovecote caught my eye, full of birds, mostly all-white. I’m informed by a friend that a certain ruthlessness is required for a colony of doves to be entirely white – technically the collective noun is “piteousness of doves”, though I prefer “colony”.

So I guess there is to be no dovecote in our garden as I am not pitiless.

I did spot one miscreant intruder, strutting its stuff, a muscular escapee from a loft and one I should have reported.

Breezy Knees Perennials (2), September 15th 2016

North Yorkshire’s Breezy Knees Gardens were featured here last year on the 5th of the month. One year and ten days later, with temperatures in the mid-20s, we returned to once again raise our spirits and decide on next year’s flowers.

First up is a striking single flowered rose, Rosa floribunda ‘Crazy for You’. There was only a faint fragrance, normally such a key feature for me, but the flower was very attractive. (I have a similar Fremch rose in our garden that I must photograph before it fades.)

Aster amellus ‘Brilliant’ (above) was one of a number of plants attracting bees and butterflies by the thousand. I have no idea what the white aster is but the combination is a winning one.

Aster novi-belgii ‘Alice Haslam’ was another of the genus looking absolutely stunning in the borders, an inexpensive plant that demonstrates conclusively that one need not lash out a fortune when planting that prize winning display. One certainly for next year then.

Another idea I shall seize upon is to fill the inevitable gaps in the display with altroemerias, for Breezy Knees had very many of them in a wide colour range. Alstroemeria ‘Mauve Majesty’ looked the part, this particular specimen being bred by Dr Mark Bridgen from New York’s Cornell University, incidentally, a destination we have already booked for this time next year.

Helenium ‘Sahin’s Early Flowerer’ despite the name was still well in bloom for mid-September. Looking down at it is not the best view I could manage. It stands about one metre in height and well deserves its AGM and a better photographer. It is deemed to be one of the earliest of the Heleniums.

Finally for today’s post, though I will be continuing my Breezy selection later, is the perennial sunflower, Helianthus ‘Capenoch Supreme’ standing out from the crowd, not just for its height. It possesses a fetching light yellow quality. It also looks great in close-up.

Single Colour Dahlias at Belton House, Grantham Lincolnshire, 9th September 2116

Belton House looked stunning in the Spring with its light woodland and grounds festooned with naturalised bulbs that I’m sure to write up when I discover the photographs. However here is a little bit of early autumn colour from Friday. In particular I noted two varieties of dahlia with purple foliage, a nameless yellow and red, both varieties attracting a host of bees and butterflies. They were featured in the Italian Gardens by the spectacular Orangery, designed in the 19th Century by Jeffry Wyatville.