Shades of Autumn

Published on by Catherine

July was a wet, windy and cold month, and I see signs of autumn creeping into the garden already. But if the gorgeous colours of the Rudbeckias will stay with me for the next few months, then I’m ready to welcome Autumn in!

Six on Saturday

Rudbeckias. Recently planted Rudbeckia hirta ‘Enchanted Glow’, Rudbeckia hirta ‘Enchanted Ruby Crush’ and Rudbeckia hirta ‘Enchanted Romance’ (above and below) are described as perennials by the online garden website I bought them from, but the site goes on to state “Rudbeckia is best grown as a magnificent half-hardy annual”. I’ve never been successful in getting Rudbeckias through the winter, but I plan to leave them in the soil when they die back and hope for the best.

Rudbeckia hirta ‘Enchanted Glow’
Rudbeckia hirta ‘Enchanted Ruby Crush’. 
Rudbeckia – my current favourite shot.

Rudbeckia hirta ‘Marmalade’. I grow these from seed every year, as I love their bright cheerfulness in the borders at this time of year.

Sown from seed – Rudbeckia hirta ‘Marmalade’
Rain-soaked Rudbeckia hirta ‘Marmalade’
Rudbeckia hirta ‘Marmalade’

Allium sphaerocephalon. This is an adorable allium. I planted several hundred of the bulbs a few years ago, and they come back reliable every year. They create a fabulous pop of colour in the borders – and bees love them! The biggest problem that I have with them is that the winds all too often take some of them down, or leave them growing at an extreme angle. I’ve tried using plant supports but the supports create an artificial look – the plants look bunched together. This year I’ve left them alone, they still flower well and the bees still come.

Allium sphaerocephalon
Allium sphaerocephalon

Phlox paniculata ‘David’ with Thalictrum Delavayi. I thought last winter had killed off this Thalictrum, until I spotted the white Phlox paniculata ‘David’ coming into flower, with Thalictrum delavayi draping over it. I almost gave it a round of applause. Sadly there’s been no sightings of Thalictrum delavayi ‘Album’.

Thalictrum delavayi & Phlox paniculata ‘David’

Rosa ‘Dame Judy Dench’. The roses have been under a lot of pressure this year. They flowered profusely during the June heatwave, then gave into the strong winds and rain that followed. They’re beginning to recover now and although Dame Judy currently only has two flowers – the perfume is as heavenly as the richness of her colour.

Rosa ‘Dame Judy Dench’

Verbena ‘Santos Purple’. This is another purple that gives great pops of colour in the borders. It doesn’t grow too well in this garden, but it still looks great when grown alongside plants with light leaves, such as the lavender providing the background to this shot.

Verbena ‘Santos Purple’

The Garden Table – an extra! I mentioned last week that we’d just finished constructing a new garden table. There’s a separate post about it and you can, if it interests you, find it HERE.

Homemade table & benches

I won’t be joining Six on Saturday over the next two weeks as I have two of my grandsons arriving from their home in Washington. This will be their first trip away from home on their own so we’ll be keeping a close eye on them. We’re planning to pop over to Edinburgh, with the festival being on they should find it interesting, we’ll go to the Kelpies, possibly the Falkirk Wheel and visit some castles – all weather dependant of course. I’ve no doubt that rain jackets will be essential. Finally, we’re sending them up to Aberdeen by train to visit my daughter, her husband and the two cousins they haven’t seen since well before the pandemic. When they return it will almost be time for them to head home.

So have a happy time, wherever you are, and I’ll catch up with you all around the end of the month when I’m sure leaves will be starting to tumble from the trees!

Six on Saturday is hosted by Jim, and if you follow the link over to his website, you’ll meet other keen gardeners from across the world. Feel free to join in, you’ll pick up valuable tips for your gardening passion and make new friends.

26 thoughts on “Shades of Autumn”

  1. You make me want to rush out to the garden centre and buy more Rudbeckias, obviously I haven’t enough! Dame Judy is a gorgeous colour, glad she is having a second flush.

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  2. A lovely selection, especially the Rudbeckias. I grew a similar sort (Cherry Brandy) from seed. It survived one winter and did really well the second year and then disappeared. The white Phlox with the yellow centre is rather nice. I seem to have foolishly got rid of my white variety, keeping yet another pink one by mistake. I’ll have to look P ‘David’ up. Enjoy your next few weeks.

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    1. I usually grow R. Cherry Brandy from seed but this year the timing of May planting out was going to be a problem because we’d be away, I didn’t sow nearly as many seeds as normal.
      Good to hear that yours survived the winter. I have a pink Phlox too, but it’s too vivid for the border it’s in, so it will be dug up fairly soon, divided and given to friends. I might keep a piece. Do have a look for Phlox ‘David’ – it’s very tall – but so far hasn’t needed support in my windy garden.

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    1. If you have the space to grow them, pack them in – their colours are needed as the weeks move on. I need to take my own advice, Rosie, and plan more for next year!

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  7. I get tempted to grow Rudbeckias but want to grow the snazzy Enchanted sorts from seed since I wouldn’t have high hopes of them surviving our soggy winters and I don’t like to pay perennial prices for what end up being annuals. I’ve never been tempted enough by the seed strains I’ve seen to try them.

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    1. I so agree with you about growing them from seed. I usually grow ‘Sahara’ and ‘Cherry Brandy’ along with ‘Marmalade’ from seed – but couldn’t deal with them all this year. I haven’t seen any ‘Enchanted’ seeds for sale, perhaps because they are PBR? The ‘Enchanted’ series I bought in 2l pots, discounted 50% + 3 for two which kept the price down, but I’m wondering if I can gather seeds from them. If successful, I’ll be in touch.

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    1. I have a few in a most sheltered position this year, Chloris, perhaps they’ll make it through – whatever the winter throws at us! Wishful thinking?

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  10. Those rudbeckias are beauties Catherine. I know what you mean about that allium’s tendency to not always stay upright 😂 Enjoy your time with your grandsons.

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    1. Thank you, Anna. Maybe the answer is to have more planting around the alliums to hold them in position. I’ve noticed those that are still completely upright are encircled by other plants. 🤔

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    1. Hello Cindie – it’s nice to meet you. I’ve had a quick peek at your blog and see you have a lot of lovely flowers growing where. you are. I’ll pop back over shortly and have a read. Thank you for your comments, they mean a lot. 😊

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  12. Like Pauline, I think I’ll be buying more rudbeckias, especially if I see “Enchanted Ruby Crush” because that’s a stunner. I never think of rudbeckias being red, despite “rud” no doubt being a huge hint!

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    1. I’ve been wishing that I’d bought a few more Rudbeckia plants, Helen. The rest of the garden seems to be fading exceptionally fast and we’re only at the beginning of August. I hope you find the rudbeckias that you’re hoping for – there are more lovely varieties in the ‘Enchanted’ range that I’d like to get too.

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  13. I just discovered the joy of rudbeckias this summer! Loving your ‘Ruby Crush’ ones especially — will have to look for those when I expand my collection next year. My current ones are on their second year, and came back very strong after one of our typical snowy winters. I hardly remember what they were like the first year at all, though there might have been a few flowers, so they definitely needed more than one year to hit their stride in our climate. They’re known for being pretty hardy, so I’m suspecting there was a bit of fast cutting and pasting going on in that site description and that bit just didn’t get corrected. Fingers crossed that both yours and mine get through this winter as well!

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    1. I’m glad to hear that your Rudbeckias got through your snowy winter, Angela. I’ll give the plants some protection and see if I can persuade mine to do the same. Just in case…I’ll try gathering seeds from the plants and hopefully, they will germinate. Best of luck with yours too!

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