Traditional autumn colors don't usually arrive in my area until sometime in November, and I'm not sure that the autumn foliage colors will be very pretty here this year anyway, it's been so dreadfully dry. :-? I guess I'll just have to try to get by with what the garden still has to offer. Physostegia virginiana - so called "Obedient Plant" ('tho it won't mow the lawn, no matter how nicely I ask) Cassia alata - "Golden Candlesticks" glowing cheerfully. Gloriosa rothschildiana - This is the last pot of the 3 that I planted in sequence this summer, doing so has provided me with a nearly unbroken supply of these flowers for cutting and making arrangements for indoors. Hedychium coronarium - "White Butterfly Ginger" the scent is simply wonderful, and at it's strongest in the evening and early morning. These are planted near the patio where we can enjoy them during leisure time. Orthosiphon stamineus - "Cat's Whiskers", these make me wish the season were even longer, there seem to be more buds appearing each day now. Turnera ulmifolia - "Yellow Alder" is a big hit with the bumblers. :-D Dahlia - an unknown red cactus-flowered variety, the flowers were much larger earlier in the season, but they still provide a very pretty splash of color. The bed in front of the glasshouse still looks pretty good . . . . . . while inside, the Orchids continue to put on a show. a spidery Brassia rex - and if you like purple, here's a frilly corsage-type number, Brassolaeliocattleya - Hunting Island x Toshie Aoki "Pokai".
Wow, I would think those will do nicely for fall color. Where did you find the White Butterfly Ginger and the Cat's Paw. I give up on finding anything but the usual type of plants at garden centers around here....I love my catalogs.
Gorgeous blooms as always Zuzu. I just love the Cats Whiskers...the color is great and they really DO look like my cats whiskers!! Your gardens still look great. Mine are getting quite naked.
Ooh . . very pretty! Your gloriosa rothschildiana and spidery Brassia rex are flowers I've never seen before, I like 'em! And the dahlia is also nice! Love all the color!
Thanks, everyone. I was fortunate to find both of those at local, independent nurseries several years ago. The Cat's Whiskers had been on my wish list for years, after seeing some photos in a gardening magazine. I kept nagging the owner of the shop about them, and he finally got some in. He had both white and this soft lavender color, and I bought both. I managed to save cuttings of both through the winters, for several years. And then one year, I apparently cut the lavender twice and mis-labled half of them as white. I didn't discover my error until the middle of the following summer. I'm still kicking my own backside about that, but if I had to lose one, I'm glad it wasn't the lavender, as I like it a bit better than the white.
Beautiful flowers and beautiful garden. I wish my garden were as spacious as yours and wish the weather here in Chicago were as warm as in your place.
Thanks, Nan & Petunia. :-D The Cassia (Golden Candlesticks) is only reliably hardy in zone 10 and up, so mine (I'm in zone 8 ) will have to remain a potted specimen. In their correct zone, and in the ground, they grow to be about 10 to 15 feet tall, rather full and shrubby - but since mine will have stay potted, I don't expect it to get to that size, in fact I won't be able to manage, if it does.
I'm so green with envy right now of your beauties.Your flowers are just so wonderful.I have the White Giner but never knew of the lilac .i gotta find some of them.I do love all your blooms and of course I'm still enjoying my Golden Candle sticks They last so long.
Lovely flowers, your bed is beautiful! I also have an obedient plant, but it won't do as it's told either. The "Cats' whiskers" is beautiful, and so is the Gloriosa. Your orchids are great, especially the spider!
Many thanks, Droopy and Glenda, OOPS! Sorry Glenda, I didn't mean to cause confusuion, it's the "Cats' Whiskers"(Orthosiphon) that I had in white and lilac/lavender, not the ginger. I do have some pretty colored varieties of ginger, :-D but those are all in shades of yellow, peach and orange. :-? If there is a lilac/lavender-colored Hedychium, I'm not aware of it. Petunia ~ I will keep my ear to the ground for more info about the Cassia - maybe someone will suggest a way that folks living in colder climates can winter them over without going to too much trouble. I'm planning to move mine into the glasshouse.
