It’s been cold, wet and windy all week and I have spent most of it indoors going stir crazy! Despite my best efforts at catching up on all those jobs I promised myself I would do on rainy days, most of them didn’t get done. Lockdown 1.0 was wonderful in April and May, I was doing 10 hour days outside. Lockdown 2.0 is not much fun in the rain!
Still, the garden continues to cheer me and some species just go on and on regardless. These Scabiosa atropurpurea in shades of pink and purple have been in flower since May and may not stop flowering until I am forced to cut back the old growth in February.
I swear they keep changing colour from year to year. These were once all ‘Derry’s Black’ but after three years are now various pinks with just a few of the dark ones left. Some flowerheads are tight and neatly contained while others are open and blousy.
In the same border are the remains of my Echinacea pallida which have been a big attraction for our local Goldfinch population who perch precariously atop the seedhead, even in the wind and rain, to get at the seeds.
Ten years ago I made the mistake of planting some Callendula officinalis and have never managed to get rid of them since! They are real survivors and resist all attempts to eradicate them. They hide away unseen until , one day, ta dah! there they are again, in full flower and spreading their seed for yet another generation to come. They clash with everything else around them, grow absolutely anywhere, in any soil, in cracks and crevices, and literally never stop flowering. Some might call that the perfect garden plant!
The purple beech hedge is always the last to open and the last to change colour and, as it does, it provides this wonderful tapestry of golden yellows, greens and purple for a few weeks before finally turning brown for the winter.
I think perennial wallflowers are one of the hardest working plants in any garden and, despite their short life, are very good value and one of the easiest to propagate from cuttings. This Erysimum linifolium ‘Variegatum’ was given to me by a good friend this year as a tiny cutting and has flowered its socks off all summer in shades of salmon pink, brick red and purple. The pale yellow variegated margins of the foliage add interest and mark this plant out as something a little different.
Well, that’s me done for another week.
Enjoy your weekend and stay safe.
David
Davids Garden Diary 
Callendula officinalis make my heart sing! Unfortunately I have to sow mine every year.
I’ve added Erysimum linifolium ‘Variegatum’ to my wish list. I like a plant which can look after itself.
Beautiful hedge. And the perennial wallflower reminds me of my childhood in England. Never see wallflowers here in the US.
The hedge is giving a beautiful display.
Wonderful! My meager container grown efforts, while rewarding during Spring and Summer, have decided that Winter is upon us and they’re all going to sleep!
I’m very partial to calendula and would happily let them rampage in the veg patch but maybe not elsewhere. I’m so pleased the goldfinches have found your echinacea buffet.
I know what you mean about calendula, but I let them be. They’re pretty in with vegetables. And so many variations I never stop photographing them!
I have the same Erysimum and it has flowered non stop all year. I was a bit worried it might exhaust itself so have taken cuttings. Your Scabious look lovely.
So much to admire here! Your swath of colorful scabiosa are magnificent and the variegated erysimum is one I must look for. Stay safe.
Gosh, that’s a marvellous hedge! I agree about Erysimum being easy to propagate as well as being a shrub that flowers for months. Such good value in the garden. I’ll keep a lookout for one like yours, I think. I have a pretty yellow and white one that I’m fond of.