Warm November

I had to pinch myself the other day.  It is November, isn't it?  The Banksiae lutea rose and Leycesteria formosa  in these pictures - both summer-bloomers - have just coming into flower. 

One of my favourite jobs in the garden is rose care.  I love the versatility and resilience of roses and their enthusiastic response to pruning:  a few snips with the secateurs influences their growth for months ahead.  The roses in thise pictured suffered with blackspot and rust in the first half of the season but, with a mid-season feed and regular dead-heading, they've rallied and are now - in November - still flowering and looking really healthy. 

Salvia Elegans

I love this plant, Salvia Elegans (Pineapple Sage).  It's been on the patio since June and  just won't stop growing.  Just as the garden starts to look drab, these velvety red flowers appear - and keep on appearing! The leaves give off a lovely pineapple scent evocative of summer days.  It's a tender perennial, so will need to be brought into the conservatory when the days get colder, which is where it was when I took this photo.  

Bulbs and Coir Pots

 

I recently attended a course on planting ideas for spring bulbs. These coir pot liners (shown in photos) are great.  The large one contains 3 layers of tulip bulbs topped with violas, and the smaller one, again, layers of tulips.  I haven't used them much so thanks to Lynn of Horticolous Landscape and Garden Design for the suggestion and for running a great course.