Thoughts for next year....

[4pygmies]

Well, that's the summer over! Now I'm looking forward to combing the seed catalogues and planning next year's planting. I have a pro wildlife garden mainly and so the predominant colour is green but since getting into these boards I've been thinking about doing something different - b****r the wildlife! (not really) - but I am going to grow some different plants next year, lots more colour and texture within my various areas. I usually put flowers I particularly like in pots on my patio, like chocolate Cosmos, fuchsias, Eucomis, and my semervivums but they all seem to be variations of red/ maroon! So thanks to everyone on these boards who've made me realise that my choices were getting a bit narrow and conservative (crunchies! I really am getting old!), next year I'm going berserk with a kaleidoscope of colour!

[obelixx]

If you look at wild meadows they are full of colour so no need to restrict yourself to green or go madly non native to get colour in your garden. If you sow yellow rattle into some bare patches (natural or scraped) of your grassy area they will reduce its vigour and allow other meadow plants to establish.

Loads of non native plants are also excellent for wildlife. Buddleia is a prime example and there are plenty of annuals and herbaceous plants that will do very well and provide nectar and shelter for insects and critters. Just try and keep flowers to simple forms, not doubles, so access is easier.

[Dutchy]

4pygmies, my garden is wildlife friendly too and at this time of the year very green. Just when I desperately grave some colour to continue the summer a bit. I haven't got grass. Hence no meadow. So what I do is buy slightly dilapidated and cheap plants in bloom at the garden center. They are cheaper than a bunch of flowers ;D
I just got 4 cosmea for under two euro and plonked them in pots also a white bud lea and plonked it in a pot too. I know neither will survive the winter but it helps prolonging summer and they will look great within a week, just give them some TLC. Pots can be placed in the border easily ( I tried budlea in my garden but the winter wet kills it). Anyhow the bumblebees love the budlea and I still have summer at hand. Now if only the weather would please please please change back to sunshine. I could do with that after this wettest august in over 200 years.
Dutchy

[4pygmies]

I do have a huge selection of native flowering plants most of which have finished now (so I can collect the seeds), just the odd flowers on the oxeye daisies, yarrow, cornflowers, soapwort (aargh...)etc but if it wasn't for the huge red apples and pears about it would be a very very green garden indeed overall! And my huge patch of Echinaceas is doing well. I have some tall summer cosmos and a few white buddlejas near my kitchen window but I long for Rudbeckias,
Heleniums, Michelmas Daisies or even the pesky Morning Glories which have grown huge but will NOT flower. I planned all these last Spring but because I grow so many plants to sell I never got round to it - I will next year though!

[jlottie]

I have grown Rudbeckias from seed for the first time this year and have been amazed at how long they have lasted, and are still going strong, Heleniums are on my list next year too. Yarrow is a great plant for colour and bees. Have you tried sedums? mine are coming into flower and are a welcome splash of pink and red in an otherwise green corner.

[4pygmies]

Evening all, I love Sedums too, they grow really well in my sandy light soil. I only have a couple but I just sneaked into the local nursery and got one of those gorgeous ones with the dark red leaves - bargain at £1.99! Has anyone ever had any luck growing them from seed? I've sown Sedum ussuriensa twice now with no luck at all..

[jlottie]

4P

My brother grows them to sell (I managed to sneak a few) he doesn't use seed, but takes some of the leaves off and pots them on in gritty soil, there is a problem with sedums, think its some kind of beetle that eats the roots, I will have to pick his brains.

jl

[Jonah]

Hi 4pygmies.
Ditto most of what has been said. I got into the rudbeckias and heleniums this year. I planted Helenium Moorheim Beauty [having a second lease of life after the rain], Autumnale [which is soon to flower], Autumn lollipop, much smaller flower heads than I expected, and rudbeckia green Wizard, which was interesting!
My Echinaceas haven't done as well as I hoped, but as they were seed grown or bare root plants, hopefully they will be better next year. And I finally ordered my Arts Pride and another I can't remember, pinky orange I think. I feel like an expectant mum again! The Michaelmas daisies I divided from my dads have come through really strong, I got 2 little pots at the W/E of the mini ones to add a splash of colour.
I have a little patch with a buddleia, lavendar, berberis and sedum that is looking good. Another thing that has really got strong in that area is Agastache Apache Sunset. Lovely grey green foilage and quite striking orange pink flowers. Maybe they would do OK in your soil?
Goodness me, just got a busy server message [or is it just that i've been going on a bit?!]

[Deleted]

I would certainly agree about the Echinacea - wonderfully long flowering, I am certainly be going to plant more nest year.

Also another big bed of lillies, I just removed 300 stem bulbils from my double tiger lilies so in a couple of years time I will have masses of those.

[Auricula]

I looked around my long herbaceous borders and realised that, this year I have leaned heavily towards "daisy type flowered" plants. I have lots of rudbekias heleniums osteospernums and some others I can't remember the name od but they're yellow and orange and begin with c I think. ???They look very cheerful and I'm pleased with them but hadn't realised quite how many I had!!
Incidentally, my alsteromerias have done really well and I'll certainly be buying more next year