Six more things from my garden - SOS - 27 September 25

Over the past three weeks or so we have had good colour in the front garden as the Amelanchier trees change and this week they are shedding their leaves, meaning summer is over according to the Amelanchiers.  Whether we can still call this late summer or early autumn depends on your local conditions, here we are yet to have any frosts. I am linking this post to Jim's post in the same way that several of us do each week, you too may should you feel inclined to keep a record or share Six things from your garden.

1. I bought this Fatsia Japonica Spider's Web five years ago and it has been subjected to a number of disasters and tribulations over its sojourn in the garden.  One year,  in its pot but outside the whole root system got eaten by the horrible vine weevil grubs over the winter but I managed to salvage the top just in time and used it as a cutting. Last year it had lots of leaves eaten by snails, so I cut it down again to remove the damaged leaves. It has had its best year so far, and not a damaged leaf in sight. It was amazingly resistant to the drought, but is in the small shaded part of the garden, so has suffered no scorching.

2. Sedum 'Autumn Joy' is looking at its best in the back garden.  Sadly the one I divided and replanted in several bits in the front garden this year are very poor in comparison.  They did not have time to get established properly before the heat and long dry spell. Hopefully with the winter rain and rest they will spring up next summer.

3. The low angle of the sun shows up the form of this rosemary beautifully.  This is the softest and tastiest of my rosemary plants and my favourite one. Although I showed it a few weeks back it is in this one that you can see the upward arching stems.

4. The Ginkgo biloba 'Mariken' which I acquired a couple of years ago and planted in a large slate pot is still in its green state and again a plant which looks lovely in the early morning light.

Ginkgo biloba 'Mariken'

5. I've been out in the garden digging out plants that have not been performing or declining such as my Iceberg Rose and one of the Rose Grace shrubs. On this little corner lifting plants or removing them just so that I can have a little rearrangement of plants in front of the Dierama 'Snowbells'. The ones I dug up were divided with plenty to  be repositioned elsewhere as well as to be given away as divisions.My Hori Hori is of our my great helper and comes out with me each time I am shifting and dividing plants. I wanted lower growing plants to allow the dierma plenty of room.  The Betonica officinalis 'Ukkie' was completely overwhelmed by the other plants growing there, and when I removed those, and lifted the betonica I could see that it was easily dividable, and now I have several little plants.  It only grows to about 25 cm to the tip of its flower spike. This is another plant that had had its name changed; it used to named Stachys.

I did the same type of division for a nicely performing white Betonica 'Wisley White' given to me by gardening friend Maggie. It went in the area where the large and aging clump of Marjoram Bristol Cross was growing.  It all feels a little like rearranging the furniture but with plants. 

6. Bang in the middle of this picture is a delightful small grey leaved Fuchsia 'Silver Linings'. It was first given to me by a great plantswoman, Janet, who like me was one of the members of the 'Kenilworth in Bloom' committee.  Each year a reminder of her birthday comes up on my Facebook: I was able to send her birthday wishes this week and attached this picture to show her that I am still thinking of her after all this time. It was Janet that spotted a small plant during a memorable day out, which we of course all immediately admired and coveted.  By the end of the season she presented each of us a small plant.  

Fuchsia microphylla ssp. hemsleyana 'Silver Lining'

I found out that the full name is Fuchsia microphylla ssp. hemsleyana 'Silver Lining', and being of the curious type I wanted to find out what hemsleyana stood for and within a few minutes have understood not only a little more about the name but also the type of terrain Fuchsias such as this comes from.