The warm September and early October weather has been appreciated, by me and by the plants, especially the roses. They’re not all looking good, some have succumbed to the advancing season and others to the effects of black spot, which has been awful this year. There are a few that are looking great, and although they’ve been shown on the blog in the past, I can’t let the season pass without allowing them another weekend in the limelight.
The warmer weather also brought back the aphids and I’ve been trying to squish as many as possible when I see them, but it’s turning cold now, and hopefully, that will finish them off because my gardening gloves have been getting into a terrible mess. Yuck.
So without any further ado, here’s my selection for this weekend.
Rosa ‘Bonica’
There are four Bonicas in the garden, and they’ve all been very generous with their large clusters of beautiful flowers throughout the summer. The clusters of buds are becoming fewer now, but they still have much to give and I think they’ll be putting on a good display for a few weeks yet.
Rosa ‘Princess Anne’
This rose is another that caught my eye this week. Gorgeous Rosa ‘Princess Anne’ is still in a pot, but I’ll have to move her to a border early next year as she’s getting quite tall. Her current location is in one of the more sheltered, sunny spots in the garden and I’m fairly sure that helps to account for the number of flowers and buds she is carrying.
Heuchera ‘Peach Flambe’
I planted three Heuchera ‘Peach Flambe’ earlier in the year, one in a border and two into pots. They’re all looking good at the moment and the colours are perfect for autumn. It’s easy to see why it was named ‘Peach Flambe’ as some of the leaves have very lovely peachy tones. The plants are all quite young, but by next year they should be thickening up and spreading a little.
Patio Dahlia
This little unnamed variety has grown and flowered well this year. I much prefer taller varieties of dahlias, but the patio sized plants have their place in a garden too. The flowers have fine magenta veining in the petals giving them the appearance of a soft pink flush.
Dahlia ‘Daisy Duke’ revisited
Daisy was lifted from the ground when we started stripping out the border that she was planted in. She was firmly tied up to prevent her stems from being snapped while she sat at the side of the greenhouse. She’s now been released from her bonds and in planted a 20-litre plunge pot in the border but in a different spot. Once the tops of the plants have been frosted, the dahlia and pot will be lifted out of the soil, then at some point in November, tulip bulbs will be planted into the pot and slipped (hope it’s that easy!) into the vacant hole. For the moment, she’s settled into her new place in the border and despite being tied tightly for weeks, she’s looking pretty good.
Dahlia ‘Chat Noir’
Today I have a fence to paint, or to be more accurate – I will be helping to paint a fence! We’ve had a lot of heavy downpours during the past few days so I’m hoping that the wood will be dry enough to allow us to paint. Whatever you are planning to do, have fun, take care and stay safe.
ABOUT SIX ON SATURDAY
To join with other garden enthusiasts from around the world, and see how they garden, just take six photographs and post them to Twitter and/or your blog each Saturday. You can get all the details from The Propagator who kindly set it all up.
All photographs copyright of Catherine Wood unless otherwise stated
Notes From My Garden 
Chat Noir is rather special; I can see why you would feature it again. I may have to look out for one next year. Your roses are still putting on a show. I have a few in bud so hopefully they’ll flower soon.
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I’m planning to grow more dahlias next year – I do believe I’ve joined the fan club.
Your roses probably will be in bloom again soon, they can cope with most weather conditions. I have three bare root roses on order, so new faces in the borders for next year. One is a standard rose tree – I’m looking forward to getting that into the border.
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Hello again, Catherine, and thank you for such a pretty post. My Princess Annes (a trio) are only in their second season here and are well over 5 feet tall, which I’m surprised by! Your heucheras are so perfect for the season — lucky you!
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Hi March, that is tall for Rosa Princess Anne. The given size is around 4 ft – they must really like your growing conditions in Washington State. Keep up the good work over there! 😊
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The dahlias and roses are stunning! What a beautiful Six-on-Saturday, again.
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Thank you. You have some lovely summer plants this week too. Hard to believe that the frosts might bring it all to an end very soon – so we must enjoy it while we can.
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The ‘Black Cat’ dahlia is very pretty. In French, a black cat (Chat Noir ) is often a sign of bad superstition. Having one is a sign that you trust and don’t believe in these bad ideas : Maybe the same thing for dahlias? 😂
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I knew that a black cat is regarded as a sign of bad luck (poor little black cats) but I hadn’t heard that having one is a sign of trust and that you don’t believe the old wives tale. I didn’t think to compare dahlias with the bad luck superstition – only you could think of that one! 🤣
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Because ‘Chat Noir’ sounds to me ! 😂
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A lovely selection Catherine. I’m all for continuing with the summer flowers whilst we still can!
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Thank you Alison. I agree with that, and as long as the really cold weather holds off for a while longer, I’m sure everyone will enjoy keeping a few of their summer flowering treasures
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Ah! Your beautiful roses again. They are just lovely! Keep on squishing those aphids until the cold weather hits. Seeing the flowers is so worthwhile!
The unnamed patio Dahlia also caught my eye. The delicate colouring of the veins on the petals creates such an interest. It is a lovely colour too.
Hope you are able to complete the fence painting this weekend. Not my favourite job.
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The little birds ate the aphids during the summer, but they seem to have deserted me now. I guess they weren’t expecting such juicy treats in mid-October.
We spent the day working on the fence, but only managed to paint two full panels and a third, smaller panel. We put trellis into position on all three panels and painted it. We’ll be working on it for a good while yet! Not my favourite job either!
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Well I for one don’t mind seeing repeats of your lovely flowers, nor your gorgeous photos. Your roses are wonderful. And the unnamed dahlia is charming.
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Thanks for the reassurance. I think they will be past their best fairly soon, and I’ll be scurrying around looking for worthwhile subjects.🤔
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I usually take a break in the winter. Too wet and windy here for outdoor photography.
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That’s a good idea.
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‘Chat Noir’ is quite similar to ‘Karma Choc’, but not quite so dark. What a difference that makes, it’s dark red not nearly black except when the sun shines through it. I got the wrong one.
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Karma Choc’ is beautiful too (I’ve googled) and also seems to have some red undertones. ‘Chat Noir’ does show a lot of red when the sun hits it, though I prefer it in overcast conditions.
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Lovely dahlias.
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Thank you, I’m hoping to grow more varieties next year.
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Dahlias seem to be having a comeback of sorts as I often see them in garden centres during my wanderings around the aisles. Love the rose, didn’t particularly love growing them though I do enjoy admiring and receiving them.
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Yes, they fell out of popularity for a long time, it’s good to see them back in fashion, slugs & snails are enjoying their reappearance too! 😆
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