My Gardening View is definitely one of change as one season slowly tips over into another. Some plants seem to be welcoming the end of summer while others are grimly holding on. There are even a few that are either fashionably late or under the impression it’s spring of 2027 already.
The first spears of kniphofia rising up through the leaves are always a welcome sight, not least because I nearly lost them a few years ago when the plants became waterlogged – hard to imagine on my sandy soil.
This is a late flowering variety and gives a lovely blast of orange against the now sun-bleached stems of Stipa gigantea.
After a very slow start, the dahlias are now flowering although one or two have still to make an appearance.
‘David Howard’ is an old favourite – I love the way the dark leaves set off those golden blooms. For many years, it was grown in a pot but I liberated it last year and it’s thriving.
I usually lift and store my dahlia tubers, as much as anything to grow them on until they’re big enough to frighten the slugs and snails. However, talking to some flower farmers recently for a feature, they suggested that plants left in the ground get off to a better start in the spring. Certainly their plants were three times the size of mine.
I’ve got two tubers of one variety and am tempted to use one as a sacrificial trial tuber and leave it in the ground to see if it survives.
The hylotelephium (sedum as was) is starting to colour up. It’s one of those ‘common garden plants’ for good reason. It isn’t troubled by extremes of weather and shrugged off this summer’s drought. I’ve yet to see it hit by pests and, bar possibly giving it the ‘Chelsea chop’ to encourage shorter, less floppy stems, it needs little attention. Add to that the fact the bees love it and it provides some great late summer/autumn colour, and it’s clear to see why so many grow it.
Despite the heat, the roses are having their best year and don’t seem to have got the memo that summer is over. ‘You’re My Everything’, Rose of the Year in 2025, is covered in buds and blooms and it’s not the only one.
I always thought that roses were tricky on my soil but this year has proved me wrong. True, they’ve been watered but not as much as many other things and they have more than repaid the effort. I think it’s important to choose varieties carefully as some have done better than others but it appears heat need not stop us growing them.
Another plant whose name change is proving difficult to remember is oenothera, or gaura. It too has had a great year and I’ve just bought a white variety to add to the borders.
For a while, I thought the persicaria – now Bistorta amplexicaulis – was a goner. It really didn’t seem to be enjoying the heat, despite being in partial shade, and the leaves were browning at an alarming rate. However, this is a tough plant and is now flowering as though nothing happened.
I’m just hoping the same will be true of my berberis. It’s usually a plant I enjoy and pretty much ignore when it comes to tending. This year, we were forced to start watering when the leaves began to brown.
The plant above has a fair amount of green on it still and I’m hopeful it will recover. Its sister plant on the other side of the house is in a drier spot and looks worse. I can only hope winter rain will help it recover.
Begonias are one of those Marmite plants but I couldn’t resist the colour of these a few years ago. I overwintered the corms in the greenhouse but didn’t think they had survived as it took ages for any sign of life.
It’s turned to be one of my favourite summer displays – I love the colour against the blue pot.
And if everything else is getting ready for winter – except the roses – this choisya has decided it’s spring. I know it can produce a second flush of flowers in late summer or autumn but mine has never chosen to do so – until now.
Meanwhile, I’m still picking tomatoes and watching the weather forecast. With luck it will be weeks until the first frost and more of those dahlias may yet flower.
You can read more of my gardening views here.
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