Echinops ritro | Davids Garden Diary

There are some plants in the garden that I rarely look at, much less talk about. They are just there, lurking in the background, unexciting, marking time. Then, one day, they do something which gets my attention and I take notice. This Echinops ritro is such a plant. Ugly and untidy, just spiky leaves for most of the year before a sudden explosion of colourful azure blue flower balls appear accompanied by the almost constant buzzing of honeybees.

Allium ‘Millenium’, a bargain from the forecourt at Lidl a few weeks ago, is now showing what makes her one of the best late summer flowering ornamental onions for the front of a sunny border. Another great bee favourite, and will multiply over time to make a decent clump.

As some of you will know, I am a ‘Plant Guardian’ for a number of rare or unusual plants which have either lost favour with gardeners and nurseries or were literally lost to cultivation due to war, disease or such other catastrophe. This Dahlia ‘Winston Churchill’ came to me in this year’s Plant Heritage Plant Exchange as one such plant, or tuber to be precise! It is such a pretty flower and strong grower, I am surprised it isn’t grown more. However, with thousands of alternatives on offer, it is a crowded market!

Another plant I often walk past without noticing is this pineapple lily, Eucomis bicolor, which has been in the same big pot for thirteen years and enjoys the partial shade of the corner by the side gate. I donk a bit of water and feed on it when I think about it but then feel guilty when the beautiful flower spikes appear in July and August. A record 21 this year! It does get shoved under the greenhouse staging for the winter where it stays completely dry for several months before being put out again in May when the new fat red shoots appear.

The Rudbeckia laciniata was divided and replanted earlier in the year which may explain why it is not quite so tall this summer, although it may have been the very dry June, it did flop quite a bit! Normally around 7 feet tall, it is barely 5 feet this year. Still one of my favourites though and seeds itself around a lot so I always have loads of young plantlets to share.

I have finally got a colony of Purple Honesty, Lunaria annua, to grow in my garden after years of trying to coax it in from the adjacent hedgerow. It is such a fickle plant, only growing where it likes, and it has chosen a shady spot under the Photina hedge facing north, which is just fine by me.

Finally, this is my apple tree! Now fully clothed in Clematis ‘Alba Luxurians’, the one with the rather odd white flowers splashed with green tips. In truth, it is an old and decrepit apple tree which produces tasteless fruit and is only useful to hang the bird feeders on so this was a good decision. The clematis needs a bit of a hand to get going so the trunk is wrapped in green square mesh for the petioles (leaf stems) to twist around, although the rough bark of the tree trunk and branches do offer some support. It will get chopped back to 18″ in December and I will then no doubt spend hours unpicking the dead bits out of the wire mesh! Hey ho!

Have a great weekend

David

One of the beautiful Tradescantias from my ever increasing collection which, fingers crossed, will become accredited as a National Plant Collection by the Plant Heritage Conservation Committee on Monday 6th September. Currently 39 hybrids and cultivars, two species and 7 identified and awaiting collection from Nurseries around the country.

This Bishop’s Children dahlia, grown from seed this year, has been getting quite a lot of attention on social media, due mainly to the colour combination I think. The peachy apricot flowers go really well against the dark foliage. Unfortunately, the blackfly have been a real problem this year and even if squished or washed off, they seem to keep coming back for more! I don’t spray with chemicals in case I also kill off natural predators like Ladybirds, lacewing larvae and blue tits.

So, here we are at the end of August and still no flowers on the Cannas! They are trying really hard but they need warmth and sunshine. Hopefully they will get both this coming week as the weather forecast is for a return of summer for a few weeks.

It’s not glamourous or even particularly attractive, but the spikey leaved Echinops ritro is a real survivor and is one of the best bee plants you can have in any garden. It thrives in poor thin alkaline soils in full sun which is why it loves my dry stony border. It is almost impossible to eradicate and spreads by underground runners which is why it is so easy to propagate from root cuttings.

Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’, the most common form of perennial rudbeckia showing why she is so popular in gardens at the moment. Bone hardy, totally reliable and yellow with a black eye, hence the common name Black Eyed Susan. Mixed with purple monarda and orange heleniums, it revels in a sunny border unfussed by soil type and moisture. Almost the perfect border plant..

I have a bit of a love hate relationship with Scabious because it is beautiful and a useful bee plant but is becoming invasive due to it’s annoying habit of self seeding everywhere. This Scabiosa atropurpurea ‘Derry’s Black’ is now officially a weed in my garden and needs a firm hand otherwise it swamps it’s neighbours. It gradually finds its way into all parts of the garden and must be removed swiftly and without compassion, something I am not good at.

Well there we are, six things on a rainy Saturday in August!

Have a great weekend

David