A Sense of Place

It's been a hot dry Summer and for the last few months it seems that I've been constantly pouring water onto the garden just to keep things alive. However it's slowly occurring to me that the most successful plants are those that have survived all on their own with little help from me. Thankfully we got a lot of rain today, but I will not forget that the plants that were the least dependant on me for water, were perhaps, the most rewarding. Newly planted Hydrangeas were likely to wilt in the heat of the day, but older more established shrubs like H. "Limelight' were no trouble at all. In fact along with Catalpa bignoides 'Aurea', it was unaffected by the worst of the midday heat and humidity, and provided, visually at least, a calm and cool vignette.

My hybrid Pelargoniums have been in flower for weeks, they are, in fact, blooming machines. This is problem for some gardeners I know,who grow them for their spectacular foliage and strip away the flowers as soon was they appear. The same gardeners would not find the same problem with the species Pelargoniums, they have recently have come into bloom and although they are generally less floriferous than their interbred relatives, they can be admired for the subtle beauty of their fantastic flowers. Here are some of the species that I have in my garden at the moment: Pelargonium dasyphyllum. Pelargonium enlicherianum. Pelargonium sidoides

I know some people who would look with scorn at the subject of my last post. Clematis 'Cassis' is, for them, too overbred, too complex and in the worst possible taste. For them, the simplicity of the species, unmixed with the genes of others, is the only choice. I am unrepentant in my love of the big and bold and complex structure of double flowers, I also have to admit to loving with equal affection the unaffected beauty of species as well as the inherited qualities of the 'primary hybrids'. Since we are in the middle of Clematis season here are some of my favourites. Clematis adisonii ,a species found in the mountains of Virginia , USA. The lovely seedhead of C. addisonii. Clematis 'Odoriba', a C. viorna x C.crispa cross. Clematis 'Sonnette', derived from C. viorna. In the UK it is known as 'Peveril Peach'. Clematis 'Harlow Carr', Clematis on the Web mentions that the origin is withheld by hybridizer, but it must have C. integrifolia ...