Whats Looking Good In August

Erica's coming into their own right now.







Cotoneaster full of berries again this year.

 

The young Fuchsia 'Hawkshead' I planted earlier this year.





Hanging over my garden wall from my neighbour's garden. Scrumping? No, knowing my luck I'd get caught in the act.

 

Love that fuchsia, it's so dainty. There are some huge bushes of those smaller style of fuchsia in the gardens around me.

By law you're allowed to cut off anything that overhangs aren't you? And strictly speaking you're supposed to offer it back to the neighbour, though I'm pretty sure nobody does and they'd think you pretty weird. You could always hand back a branch full of apple cores.

 

I like going on Ebay and just searching something pretty generic like "plug plants". That way I see things I never heard of before. Then I can research a bit more before deciding whether to buy.

I know what you mean about growing from seed, but I love the thrill when you first see the little seedling emerge, and there's a great sense of accomplishment when you finally get something to flowering stage. This is the first year I've successfully grown nicotiana; I only managed to raise half a dozen but the scent fills the patio area in the evening.

 

Thank you Escarpment. I didn't know how well the Fuchsia would do there, it's a north facing wall with sun early in the day. It's yet to get through its first winter, so fingers crossed.

Yes, you're correct. Either way I haven't bothered, I can't reach the plums because they're quite high and I'm not keen on apples. The birds will probably enjoy both, in fact I'm surprised the Jackdaws haven't taken the plums. They stripped my large pear tree of all its fruit back in the spring.

 

@Sheal Lovely Erica in your garden.

 

That fuchsia is reliably hardy @Sheal , so should be fine there, especially with the wall. I used to grow it in a previous garden, when we used to get 'proper winters' - unlike the ones we seem to get now. It never faltered, and I had it for many years, before then I moved out.
Unless you get a more 'normal' winter for the area you're in, it should be fine.

 

All looks wonderful and colourful and yummy :Sheal,

 

Mixed bed of perennials and grasses in my lower garden. The Imperata rubra looks like flames in the morning sun.

 

Canna Cleo has two more flower spikes, four in all.

 

Hedychium gardnerianum and H. tara.

A self sown sunflower.



Butia flower 4th and final for this year.
The bees seem to love these.

 

Thank you both. There's hardly any colour at all in the garden @Victoria - being full of shrubs. The previous owner obviously wasn't keen on flowers. I hope to catch up on all the pruning soon, ousting a few shrubs along the way. I also have some hard landscaping to sort out, so hopefully next year I can introduce more flowers and colour.

Despite the decent weather this year I've hardly been near the garden due to other demands on my time.

I've always liked 'Hawkshead' and had one in a large pot when I lived on the Isle of Man. The climate there being fairly even with very few frosts, it did very well.

 

I don't like any of the 'usual' fuchsia colours @Sheal, so I never grow any of them, and Hawkshead [being white flowered] was ideal for those tricky shady spots, which was my main reason for getting it.
The hardiness was also a big factor as I had young children, and not so much time for a lot of gardening as such, so shrubs/plants that looked after themselves was a high priority!

 

Pennisetum in the rain.