September garden highlights

A whole list of things looking gorgeous in my garden at the moment.

Waving deep pink Japanese Anemones.

These darker ones flower for much longer than the paler more rampant ones I also have which are well and truly over now.

My favourite Echinacea (which collapsed whilst I wasn't looking!), fluffy Sedum - new this year and Erysimum 'Bowles's Mauve' which has been flowering since June, cuttings from my Mum which have done so well!

Lovely vivid blue Larkspur, with Heuchera flowers (second flowering) on the right and Rudbeckia behind.

My very first successful Echinops - I've lost count of how many times I've tried.

Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm' - my favourite new plant this year. It's in the new bed at the bottom of the garden, flowering madly and cheers me up every time I open the front door! I need a least one more of these.

My new Cotinus and Golden Sambucus. Again my new bed, and the foliage is starting to look as I hoped it would - a lovely contrast of colour and form.

Echinacea head - lovely shape, lovely colour.

Another new Sedum 'Autumn Joy' with green Sage, a soft and dreamy combination.

Now round to the back garden and a new raised bed we built this year is looking lush with Ipomoeas, Nicotiana (unintentional) and Osteospermum, my cuttings from last autumn.

The trailing Rosemary is flowering again.

My vivid Geraniums haven't stopped flowering all summer, I love their lack of subtlety!

Osteospermum, this is the parent plant that I took all the other cuttings from.

My first Eucomis 'Burgundy Sparkle' was a great success...

...unlike...

...my Dahlias. I tried two this year: 1, Rip City (above), which I planted as a corm and whilst it is still alive it's unimpressive and has not even the hint of a flower (I know it looks chewed but that's quite recent and it didn't look any better before it was munched, frankly),

and 2, a plant of Bishop of Canterbury, which came with buds and good growth only to look happy as Larry for about two weeks and then to determinedly die no matter what I did!

I have the feeling me and Dahlias might not mix, but I did try and I will keep the Rip City and see what happens next year.

This years random attempt at something I've never grown before is a packet of Lily bulbs - watch out beetles here I come!!!

And so September draws to a close, the work in the garden is piling up and the planning for next year already underway. The cycle never stops, things succeed and things fail, the balance is maintained and we move on - which is what I love about gardening.