Not an Ugly Duckling

Published on by Catherine

Six on Saturday

Three of the six photos are from this week, and the other three were taken just before my teenage grandsons arrived on their first international trip without their parents (actually, their first trip anywhere on their own!). Am I cheating with my before and now photos? Perhaps I need to read the rules for Six on Saturday, but for this week, I hope our host Jim will forgive me! The boys have gone home now, and I’m surveying the sad state of the garden. It’s looking sad because many of the plants are already fading as autumn creeps in and also because too many have failed to perform this year.

The main failures this season have been the dahlias, two so far, have failed to produce any flowers at all, and the remainder have produced far fewer blooms than in previous years. To add to the problem, the snails, slugs and earwigs have been feasting well on them. Is anyone else having dahlia problems this year?

Not a single plant has escaped the munching mob, and I’m starting to wonder if it’s worth the heavy-duty cycle of lifting, storing, planting, watering, and feeding the tubers to end up with a disappointing result. Or, on a cheerier note…perhaps next year will be better!

That’s my thoughts for today, but I hope that you’ll enjoy my selection for this week, and I’ll be around to see yours at various points over the weekend!

Dahlia ‘Cafe au Lait‘. I’ll make a start with the lovely Dahlia ‘Cafe au Lait’, which, at first glance looks fairly intact, but if you look closely you’ll spot where it’s been, at the time of its photoshoot, only slightly munched. I’ll call that a success.

Dahlia ‘Cafe au Lait’

Stachys byzantina ‘Silver Carpet’. otherwise known as Lambs’ ears has to be the most strokable of plants! I have three of them planted at the edge of a border and they should be ready for dividing early next spring. Planting information states that they like light, well-drained soil, however, they seem perfectly happy in my heavy clay and have successfully survived two winters. Let’s hope they make it through the next as I’m looking forward to a few free plants to add to a different border. Another bonus is that the munching mob really don’t like this plant.

Stachys byzantina ‘Silver Carpet’

Syringa ‘Red Pixie’. I spotted this Lilac making a welcome second appearance yesterday. It’s not very floriferous, but nevertheless, it’s very welcome. It has timed its appearance perfectly to coincide with that of the Japanese anemone in the background. Now, if I could just get that anemone to grow a little taller instead of lurking in the shadows.

Syringa ‘Red Pixie’

Achillea and Ammi ‘Snowflake’. This Ammi was planted further back in the border, but over the weeks it has managed to sprawl forward to snuggle up with Achillea ‘Crimson Queen’, much as it has been doing with other plants all summer.

Achillea and Ammi ‘Snowflake’

Dahlia. The label firmly attached to this plant says Dahlia ‘Bargaly Blush’ but as ‘Bargaly Blush’ is a deep-rose pink, this is clearly something else. I don’t know what it is, but it’s rather nice.

Dahlia

Hydrangea ‘Pink Annabelle’. Finally, today’s feature image is one of the previously shot images. I have to admit that this particular hydrangea, which I passionately disliked in its first year, has morphed from an ugly duckling to a beautiful princess – hence the rather odd post title! The flowers are large, but light and airy. Those gorgeous blooms are fading rapidly now and I really wanted to get it into this post before the next camera shots show it in its autumn colours which are still (to my eyes) rather dull – but perhaps only when compared to its summer splendour.

Hydrangea ‘Pink Annabelle’. No longer an ugly duckling,
Hydrangea ‘Pink Annabelle’

That’s all from me for today, I hope you have a happy weekend and are able to enjoy some sunshine as you beaver away in your gardens! Where I am, I believe we’ve to have some pleasant weather, although much cooler than earlier in the week. Perhaps it’s time to look out the autumn scarves and gloves?

Please take a few minutes to visit our host’s website. Jim from Garden Ruminations hosts Six on Saturday where gardeners from across the world meet on Saturday to post images from their gardens. Everyone’s welcome, so do join in!

32 thoughts on “Not an Ugly Duckling”

  1. Not an ugly duckling at all, in fact some very pretty flowers. I was admiring the wonderful Hydrangea at Wisley last weekend.

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    1. Thank you Rosie. I planted the slightly shorted variety, H. ‘Ruby Annabelle’ several weeks ago, and I’m hoping it will be just a pretty when it establishes itself.

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  3. I’m having similar Dahlia woes – although mostly of the few/no flowers kind though. However, when I see Jim’s Dahlia ‘Summer Dazzler’ and your Dahlia ‘Cafe au Lait’ I find myself pondering getting more! Your garden is still looking good. I’ve heard that the Korean lilacs can produce a second flush of flowers, although mine never has.

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    2. I think the problem, Greame, is that we find them irresistible, just like the slugs ‘n snails. No doubt we’ll be browsing the catalogues to find new varieties before the winter’s out. I think possibly the lack of blooms this year might be down to the weather that’s been all over the place this year. It’s been hard at times to differentiate between spring, summer & maybe even autumn too.

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  4. I had the same feelings about Hydrangea ‘Vanille Fraise’ which until this year produced very few blooms, but with all the rain this year and 20 flower heads is looking very beautiful with the pink blushes.

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    1. Hydrangea ‘Vanille Fraise’ is another beauty! I don’t have a spot for it, or it would be outside my window where I could really enjoy watching it. 20 flower heads is brilliant!

      I’m having a problem posting on your blog at the moment, Jude. Clicking on ‘add yours’ is just bringing up a message “let’s have a conversation…You must be logged in to post a comment.” I’m logged in, and I’ve checked my browser settings but I’ll try again later in the day. Maybe a WordPress issue.

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      1. WordPress has made some changes which is causing problems. I imagine it is to try and cut down on all the spam that has been happening. On several sites today I have had to click on the WP button to refresh my login details, even though I never log out! And then you get the box about new posts etc. Most annoying.

        As for new plants, I too have run out of room, but I shall be getting rid of a few of the ones that no longer excite me or don’t provide interest for very long as well as those that are struggling.

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  5. Stachys byzantina grows very well in soil that is quite clayey and heavy so you will see it will work well for you too. It tends to spread out a bit and I love the very soft leaves !

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  6. Definitely not an ugly duckling, and I love “Cafe au Lait” too. I always see stachys recommended as being unattractive to slugs but that wasn’t my experience – the biggest slug I’ve ever found in my garden was hiding on the underside of a stachys leaf!

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  7. The Stachys does well in sun and part sun for me. It seems to thrive in less favorable soil conditions then its brightly flowering brethren. It makes an excellent border plant since it tolerates division and transplanting very well.

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  8. Where I’ve managed to keep the slugs at bay my Dahlias are great, but I have two with no flowers and very few leaves that I’d overlooked. I find that once they’re about a foot tall I can relax a bit. I planted Achillea once, it lasted a few weeks. I could use it as a decoy to save my Dahlias maybe.

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    1. The slugs and snails seem happy to leave my Achillea alone. Perhaps I need a few basic hostas scattered around to do the trick. But then, I’d hate looking at them once they’re munched to bits!

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  10. Oh what a shame about your dahlias Catherine. I lost all my pot planted dahlias over the winter but those that were left in the ground and heavily mulched came through. Unfortunately the foliage has been nibbled somewhat during this wet summer but they are flowering well. The flower on ‘Cafe Au Lait’ looks stunning. I hadn’t realised that there was a ‘Pink Annabelle’ – she is rather appealing 😀

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    1. I always lift and store my dahlias indoors, but it makes me wonder if it’s worth it when summer results are so poor. I think a lot of people are having the same/similar problems this year. I’m glad to hear that you have good flowers though. 😊

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    1. Thank you, Pauline. The not-so ugly duckling now has a little sister growing in the garden, because I planted H. Ruby Annabelle recently as I like the pink variety so much. 😂

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  13. I love your dahlias and hydrangeas. I was never big on them growing up – my mom had planted one out front and it was one of those pH indicator varieties – she favored blue flowers so used feed that maintained the soil pH a little more acidic. In my area, more people are growing white or vanilla fraise, or even greenish varieties that have elongated flower clusters compared to my mother’s (and come to think of it, her sister’s) rounded ones. I prefer the elongated clusters. I wonder if Japanese beetles like them – I have not noticed damage on the specimens I see in the neighborhood…

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    1. Thanks, Elizabeth. I previously didn’t like hydrangeas at all, but just like dahlias, there’s so many lovely varieties now that they’ve turned into a ‘must-have’ for the garden. When I was in Washington last month just about every garden in my daughter’s area had hydrangeas – though they were all the same – they all looked like H. Annabelle or H. Strong Annabelle. I wanted to knock their doors and tell them about all the other lovely varieties they could have. I didn’t of course! 😁
      I don’t know about Japanese beetles, but I’m guessing that if your neighbours’ plants don’t have damage, that could be the best indication that they don’t like them.

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  14. Every time I see someone post Cafe au Lait, I keep telling myself I’m going to order it. There’s just something so soothing about that color. Yours is lovely, and I think the tiny nibble adds a bit of character! Sometimes dahlias seem almost *too* perfect, if you know what I mean. Right then, if you don’t see me post it next year, feel free to throw potato in my general direction!

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