The stars of the August (and July too) garden are undoubtedly dahlias, which seem to be doing exceptionally well this year, perhaps encouraged by the mulch of manure applied to much of the garden over winter, and I could easily have filled my quota of ‘top ten blooms’ for Chloris’ monthly meme with individual dahlias. This would not have been fair on the also-rans which have been doing their very best to keep up with them, so I will just offer up ‘Twyning’s After Eight’ (above) and ‘Top Totty’, ‘Jescot Julie’ and ‘Happy Single Juliet’ (below) as examples of dahlia fecundity.
None of my August blooms are particularly special or unusual but they are all good do-ers, an important feature in our August gardens which can have a reputation for looking tired. Hence the inclusion of bog-standard Japanese anemone…
…and unusually long flowering cornflower ‘Blue Boy’, which has never flowered as well before:
Another patch of blue has been created from a second flush of blooms on clary sage ‘Oxford Blue’ and Geranium ‘Rozanne’, just getting into its stride:
…and another from that too-big-for-its-boots herbaceous Clematis ‘New Love’ decked out with another clematis, C ‘Gypsy Queen’:
Several roses have done well this year but most felt they deserved a brief rest before flowering again; not so ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’ which has flowered continuously and profusely since the end of May. Resident here for less than a year, the two bushes have excelled themselves, apart from needing a little staking to stop their exuberance from flopping onto the adjacent path:
Persicarias are at their best now and I love them all; P ‘Inverleith’ in the streamside border has done exceptionally well and looks as if it would yield a few divisions to sell at next year’s garden openings:
Sedums (OK, hylotelephiums if you must, but I would rather you didn’t) are beginning to colour up and will undoubtedly be stars of the September garden but some, like Sedum ‘Jose Aubergine’, are already making an impact now, much to the delight of the local bee population:
I am delighted that Annabelle (Hydrangea arborescens) has joined the August party-goers this year as she was conspicuous her absence last year, put off by the dryness of the party I imagine; she is so pretty, whatever the stage of her finery, and always looks so downright cool:
Last but not least is Sunflower ‘Velvet Queen’ which despite the generosity of her blooms has sadly not yet made it to a vase, a result, I suspect,ย of the combined effect of her tallness and my shortness. Nevertheless, she looks both regal and magnificent, especially against a clear blue sky like those we have experienced in recent days and which somehow is not apparent in this photo!
That, I believe, is my allocated ten blooms for this month so please now pop over to Chloris’s blog and see what blooms are delighting her and others.
Great selections Cathy. Love the Clematis combo.
An unintentional combo Susie – Gypsy Queen is loosely trained against a trellis fence on the RHS but has grown especially vigorously this year and, as you suggest, it looks attractive climbing into New Love so I just let her have her way
Very nice! Beautiful color and form. ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’ is my favorite color of rose–wow!
I bought her after reading the frequent enthusiasm of another blogger for it, and have not been disappointed
Lovely 10, especially love the Twinings picture. Is that in your garden? It looks like itโs on its way somewhere with the sea in the background?! Is my imagination getting carried away?
Thanks Dorris and yes, your imagination is getting carried away as it is in our garden so it’s definitely not the sea!! ๐ There were several butterflies flitting about at the time and almost exclusively on T after 8, but I couldn’t get a full frontal of both flower and butterfly at the same time
Yes, very top !
Good journey
Thank you Jacqueline
Yes, dahlias rule in August. I love them. Nothing else gives so much pleasure for so long. Roses that keep on giving, and Lady Em is one of the best, are wonderful. And amongst the ramblers, Phyllis Bide is queen. Love the sunflowers. I didn’t sow any this year but they appeared anyway. Lovely ten Cathy, thank you for joining in.
Velvet Queen has been brilliant this year, unlike Italian White which has been rubbish although the seed of the latter was from a previous year. Does Phyllis flower over a long period?
Indeed, she does, she repeats all summer, I think it is the best rambler, if there is another that does it so beautifully, I’ve yet to discover it.
I really enjoy looking at your garden, Cathy… Mine is losing the battle with the brambles…
Thank you Jenanita. Sorry to hear about your battle with brambles – are you fighting back?! We get them growing in the hedge where they are not too much trouble unless the stems, which are exceedingly long, flop over into the garden
I do try, even bought arm protectors to avoid being ripped to pieces. But they are still winning…
Oh deary dear – how big an area is affected? They are quite shallow rooted though, I believe, so if you can cut then down, lifting the roots shouldn’t be too hard – don’t let them beat you, show them who is boss!!
I like to think I’m in charge, but then one comes out of nowhere and wraps itself around my arms or legs! I swear they can move around…
I am visualising the scene!
It would be hilarious, if I wasn’t bleeding to death…
I don’t think Japanese anemones are bog standard in the least ๐ Very pretty flowers and the bees love them too. I do admire your lovely clematis – mine are pretty much finished now, but I hope they perform well next year.
Oh I agee they are pretty, and so reliable too – but you couldn’t risk falling out of love with them as you wouldn’t be able to get rid of them!
What a lovely selction you have Cathy, so many different beautiful blooms. I planted Japanese anemones, whie and pink, many years ago, the pink have flourished but not the white, so I am envious of yours!
And here I have no pink, Pauline, and yet I have planted it in the past!
What nice anemone. Quite enviable. I got to get some. Chill is minimal here, although anemone does well in some gardens.
I have been avoiding this meme just because I still do not want to get started until I have time to do it regularly.
Best only to blog when you feel you have something you want to show or say, surely? No need to put yourself under any pressure Tony
Yeah, that is the problem. If I were to get started, I would self impose the obligation to do it regularly.
I suppose I do the same, to a degree