SHADE LOVING PLANTS FOR JUNE AND JULY.

These plants do not require too much moisture and are growing strongly now.


Ligularia intermedia - BSWJ606a and Pseudolysimachion kiusianum set off the splendid

Veratrum ‘Irish Green’ a gift from the (equally splendid ) Margaret Owen.

EMERGING FOLIAGE

Some of the new foliage unfolding at the minute deserves a closer look.

ROY LANCASTER AT STONE HOUSE COTTAGE GARDEN.

Thanks to Roy Lancaster for this article in the September issue of the RHS publication 'The Garden'.www.shcn.co.uk/roy1.htm

WOODLANDERS IN AUGUST

Woodland plants seem to be associated with spring but here are three that are at their best now.

They all prefer some moisture as well as shade.

Briggsia kurzii is a hairy leaved creeping rhizome from Sikkim. It grows to about 18" and the flowers resemble a yellow foxglove.

Roscoea 'Red Gurkha' has stout red flowers now. The foliage does not appear until quite late in the spring which makes it a perfect partner for a summer dormant plant.

Anemonopsis macrophylla is an elegant Japanese perennial and flowers for some weeks during July and August. Like the others it likes to be moist in the summer but never too wet during the winter months.

BORDERS AT STONE HOUSE COTTAGE IN JULY 2010

INDIGOFERAS

These beautiful shrubs never fail to delight me. They are shrubby legumes with bright pink flowers and delicate pinnate foliage.
They prefer full sun and a well drained soil.
The first to flower here is Indigofera hebepetala, it makes a wide spreading shrub and flowers on bare wood in early May. It looks a bit like a miniature Judas tree.

Indigofera pendula comes out later and is a more fastigiate grower. It has pinky-lilac flowers that hang from the branches for many weeks.

Indigofera subverticillata beats the lot.
It starts in June and seems to go on all summer and into the autumn. The flowers are pink but fuller and with a hint of peach. Mine is 8' high and was undeterred  by last winter - but I do grow it against a wall.

COW PARSLEY TIME.

Three of my favourites are at their best now.

Smyrnium perfoliatum is biennial but it takes a little time to get a colony established.

If you can get hold of a pot of seedlings plant them as they are and leave them alone.

It is the greeny-yellow colour of a Euphorbia and stands at about 2’ high.

Chaerophyllum hirsutum ‘Roseum’ is far better behaved. It is perennial and has soft lilac mauve flowers. If you remove the spent flowers you are left with the delightful ferny foliage scented of apples.

Zizia aurea is also perennial, but shorter with neat yellow flowers and a tidy habit. It does not have the same presence as the other two but is an easy and reliable plant.