It didn’t manage to flower last year, but this time it’s looking promising. This is Actaea simplex “Carbonella”. Several flower spikes waiting to display. The odd cultivar name relates to its dark, chocolatey foliage.
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Two of the first few flowers of Nicandra physalodes, commonly known as Apple of Peru. This is a tender annual which seeds itself around the garden, though not truly an invasive plant. It is a tall plant with arching branches which carries abundant flowers. The species name is in recognition of the seed receptacles’ likeness to the Chinese lanterns of Physalis. A couple of these, the pale yellow things. Visible just below the left hand flower. The seedlings appear around the garden in Spring when small plants with serrated leaves and tiny black spots appear around the garden.
View of the autumn heavy herbaceous border seen from the bedroom. Classic Michaelmas daisy just showing bottom left, but being put rather in the shade by the highly floriferous Aster x Frickartii (bottom right) which has now been in flower about 6 weeks. What a winner! Heavy rain battering it around a bit, but still lovely. In the background Silphium perfoliatum, and Rudbeckia laciniata ‘Juligold’ steal the show.
A previous post here dated July 19 spoke of these Heliotrope arborescens just reaching peak flowering. Well, it’s now August 27, and they are looking just as good, if not better. Will definitely be growing these again next year. The bees (look closely) have been identified by an apiarist friend as honey bees, so that’s another plus.
Although this is a member of the Geraniaceae family, this is a genus separate from the more common Geraniums. It is an Erodium manescavii, or Manescau stork’s bill. It has been flowering since early June, and is a hardy perennial. Manescau refers to a small region in the foothills of the French Pyrenees.
