We’re in a nice benign spell of weather just now which is keeping the flowering going. Cold first thing but pleasant if you’re working or wrapped up. Long may it continue. Most things survived the recent gales, beaten down but not broken. I haven’t done a lot of patching up, it’ll mostly get chopped down in a few weeks time.
It’s the time of year for moving stuff around and several of my six concern plans to do just that.
One.
For a long time I’ve cropped and tweaked the pictures I use on here and saved them as SOS***.jpg. This one is SOS666.jpg. Just saying. Every time we pull into our drive, this group of plants is there to greet us. At the back is a shattered Salvia ‘Amistad’, at the front a wrecked Amarine. (which last very well as cut flowers it turns out). The pot of Begonias though is the best it’s been all year. Love ’em or hate ’em, you have to give due credit to anything still flowering its socks off mid October.
Two.
Miscanthus ‘Ferne Osten’. In nursery days we did several Miscanthus forms and this was the best of them. In the garden though, it’s never fulfilled its promise. It always flops into an untidy tangle as it comes into flower, even this year when I thought the dryness might give it some backbone. I have Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’ lined up as a replacement and I think I can find somewhere for ‘Ferne Osten’ where it may behave better.
Three.
Zingiber mioga ‘Crûg Zing’. I bought this because a fully hardy ginger seemed exotic and the picture of the flower made it look quite showy. It has spread to form a really dense clump about four feet across and three tall. The flowers though are at ground level and if you can see them at all are hardly lighting the place up. They’re 2 inches high at most, dull pinkish orange. Do I move it or do I dispose of it? Can I find someone who’ll take it, or most of it? I want to put Hedychium ‘Tara’ in its place, a much better plant.
Four.
Plectranthus zuluensis. Now this is a lovely thing. We were given a somewhat potbound specimen earlier in the year, which we put into a decent sized pot. Rather late in the year we are getting rewarded for our efforts. Another thing needing space under cover for the winter though.
Five.
Polytunnel. Yesterday I cut down and removed the tomatoes. Best year ever without a doubt. I have a lot of small Camellias in this unheated tunnel and I’m going to plunge some of them up my allotment. The tops are hardy, but not the roots, so they will be safer up there, planted but still in their pots. That’ll give me some room to move potted Fuchsias in for the winter. Just need to prepare some ground up the allotment, which in turn means moving strawberry plants.
Six.
Camellia of the week. Camellia sasanqua ‘Tanya’, which is actually growing on my allotment and desperately needs rehoming. It’s a damn fine plant; small dark green glossy leaves, dark purple to begin with. Masses of pink scented flowers up to 5cm across in October and November. Compact dense habit.
One more Saturday in October, then into November. No real sign of winter here. The maritime climate of Cornwall isn’t characterised by sharply defined seasons, which does make deciding when to do things difficult sometimes. Cut Dahlias down once they’ve been frosted; what, February, seriously? Then again, if I have six things flowering for Christmas and New year, who am I to complain.
Lots of links to other posts will as ever come into The Propagator’s comments as the day wears on. Everyone’s favourite over the garden fence moment; ooh, aren’t your aster’s looking lovely, mine have finished but my nerines ain’t bad. Shame we can’t all share a coffee and biscuit.
garden ruminations 
Afternoon Jim, catching up on proceedings. I look forward to reading your posts as I’m all but guaranteed to read about something I’ve never heard of, never mind have in my garden. That spiky ginger looks quite good but I agree with you on the pointless flowers. If in doubt, hoik it out!
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I totally agree with the if in doubt, hoik it out approach. I just wish I wasn’t plagued with doubt and guilt when I apply it. Mind, a short memory helps.
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I bought a Salvia or three at Malvern. One of them had lost its label by the time I got home. It’s just started flowering and I was going to include it next week (still will I expect). I just googled your new Salvia purchase and now mine has a name! Thank you. Love the Plectranthus but I’ve told myself I can’t have any more tender plants. Ha ha.
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Your post caught my mood. Weather mild, things still flowering, jobs to be done. I do feel like I’m sharing a coffee! The pleccie is lovely. As one thing comes off the wish list another goes on it!
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I’d love to have a chat over a cup of coffee and a biscuit and that Camellia is a beauty. No room in my garden unfortunately 😦
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You can come any time for a chat and a coffee, should you venture up this end of the county.
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I’ll let you know!
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I’m in the love ’em camp, when it comes to begonias. Mine really stalled during the drought, but are performing now, even though they’re smaller’n usual. You’ve got some nice colours there, in yours & good looking foliage. All that Latin flying around in your comments this week. One day, Mr Stephens, I, too, shall speak the dead language. But not today. Today, it’s just, o another pretty! Can I ask, the rehoming of the camelia – such a big job to take on. Is it because you need space?
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I should make more of an effort to at least put common names as well as Latin names, sorry. The Camellias were only planted on the allotment originally as a temporary measure and needed to be moved before they got too big for that to be practical. Most of them have gone, sold, given away, potted up; just a few stragglers remaining, but one or two good’ns among them. Permanent planting of woody plants is against the allotment rules, not that they enforce them, but I don’t like to push it.
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Don’t give up the Latin, Jim. How’m I ever going to learn if you mollycoddle me? I look up all the names & pretend I can pronounce them, dredge up the horrors of my convent school Latin days, & some, actually some of these names stick in my withered brain. The common names are fun, but there’s often too much room for error. It just tickled me there was so much Latin flying around. I had wondered about planting shrubs on the allotment, but didn’t conclude that was the reason. Hope it finds a good home.
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I have some history with both Latin and convent schools, mercifully not at the same time. The Camellia is looking even better now, I must take more pictures.
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That blue is beautiful! The salvia Mr P gave me has been the best blue I have had in the garden for a long time. Another camelia… impressive!
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You did a picture of your Salvia, I coveted it. (There’s nothing in the rules about not coveting thy neighbour’s Salvia is there?) I bought another Salvia today, S. corrugata, a different beautiful blue. I have some way to go on Camellias, I can assure you.
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I have a variegated version of the Zingiber mioga that doesn’t seem so vigorous. Individual stems pop up, sometimes with a foot or more separation between them.
Hedychium Tara is definitely showier, but my favorite hardy ginger is Hedychium coronarium.
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French Fred has Z. mioga ‘Dancing Crane’ which is variegated, but in a pot. The stems on mine are really close, the clump is slowly spreading, consuming everything in its path. Hedychium coronarium has a reputation for being a shy flowerer here, not that I’ve tried. ‘Tara’ I have elsewhere in unsuitable conditions, it’s earned a break.
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I agree about the coffee and a biscuit, maybe one day we can have a SoSers convention. 🙂 That ginger is interesting, but as you say, not a showstopper. The plectranthus is a beauty, we grew this at Cliffe and you have now reminded me what a great plant it is. As for the camellia, that is special!
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You can have the Camellia if you have somewhere to put it and could collect. I’d dig it, it’s big but would move if cut back a little. We were just outside lamenting the parlous state of our Salvia atrocyanea and came in to find you’d sixed it. Another classy plant (when grown well)
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Thanks Jim, but it wouldn’t fit into my little garden (unfortunately) and I don’t think any of my client’s would travel down (I might ask though). When you say big, how big? My salvia has only just kicked into action, perhaps time enough for yours? I noticed the S. corrugata has buds on it, perhaps in time for next week. 🙂
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The camellia is about 4ft tall x 3ft wide. We just bought Salvia corrugata (like this afternoon just) from Treseders. Another costly and entirely unwarranted nursery outing.
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The best kind of nursery visit! Will check with clients, thanks.
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I was thinking that we could have a meet up. It would be lovely to meet folks irl.
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It’s a nice idea but we’re a far flung tribe.
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Coffee and biscuit would be nice. I’m raising a virtual cuppa to your lovely blue Plectranthus!
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I also grow a Zingiber Mioga (Dancing Crane) and mine is in pot. I have just seen new shoots that look like flowers. Do you eat yours? Will it be difficult to dig up? (I was thinking of planting it in the ground but maybe I should keep mine in a pot …)
About the Plectranthus, I also grow it (P neochilus) and it is in bloom: I will post their flowers on Twitter.
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I haven’t tried eating the buds. I don’t think digging it up will be too difficult, I’ve dug a chunk out before. I don’t know if ‘Dancing Crane’ is as hardy as the form I have, mine seems to get more vigorous every year.
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If you would be happy to post I would be very interested in your Zingiber mioga. I am interested in edible perrenials and this can be used as a ginger substitute – apparently eaten as a vegetable in Japan and Korea. Likes shade. I’d really like to try it. If you do dig it out and divide it let me know!
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Should be doable, have to wait till it dies down in a month or so.
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Thanks so much. My email is nancy at p6resthome dot co dot uk. I don’t suppose I ‘ve got anything you’d be interested in, but am happy to refund postage. Use RM for Scotland, it’s usually quicker and cheaper.
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