Six on Saturday

Posted on July 1, 2023 by davidsgardendiary

It’s the height of summer and everything in the garden is jostling for position, pushing and pulling or reaching for the skies like this Veronicastrum ‘Lavendelturm’ which is peaking over Veronica longifolia at the back of the border.

The same border is fronted by this tall Lysimachia ephemerum which always causes a stir when visitors see it. Firstly, they can’t believe it is a Lysimachia, and secondly because of its elegance and beauty. It is tall, 150cm or more, with glaucus foliage and spikes of pure white florets which, despite the name, go on for several weeks.

This unusual and diminutive Persicaria microcephala arrived with a health warning as it has a reputation for spreading uncontrollably under the right conditions. Fortunately, I don’t have the ‘right conditions’ which is a moist fertile soil. My dry clay soil should slow its progress outwards and instead, form a nice mound of pointy foliage topped with pretty white flowers.

My ‘go to’ downpipe concealer is this climbing foxglove, Lophospermum erubescens, which a kind friend gave me many years ago and which, owing to its propensity to drop seeds everywhere, has stayed with me ever since. I have given up trying to overwinter the mother plant as it never seems to do as well in subsequent years so instead, I simply dig up one of the myriad seedlings it kindly provides and overwinter that instead. This is one I dug up in October and is now 8′ tall. It produces hundreds of pretty pink foxglove shaped flowers and felty, heart shaped leaves which go on for months. Highly recommended.

Alstroemeria ‘Summer Break’ found last winter tough going and has only just produced its first flowers which is much later than its companion ‘Indian Summer’ which has been flowering for several weeks already. However, the flowers are so exquisite that she is forgiven for her tardiness.

Very tricky to photograph, this Verbena officinalis ‘Bampton’ sits in a dark corner of the rose garden next to a path which is where it seems to enjoy life with its feet under the paving, rather like V. bonariensis does. I have given lots of volunteer seedlings away this year to people who either don’t know it or can’t grow it, which I find astonishing. It is now officially classified as a weed in my garden! Contrary to its hot, arid origins, this plant prefers to be in the shade and needs quite a moist soil, perhaps because it was found in Bampton in Devon!

Just had to end this week’s Six on a rose, and what a rose! ‘Camille Pissarro’ at his absolute crazy, zany impressionist best!

Have a great weekend

David

Social Climber

Posted on July 23, 2014 by davidsgardendiary

This delightful little twining climber is properly called Maurandella antirrhiniflora but fortunately its common names are the much easier Climbing Antirrhinum, Twining Snapdragon or, in the States, Roving Sailor. It is very easy from seed and produces hundreds of plants from an early sowing in a 3″ pot. I give lots away to people who probably don’t want them but are just being nice. However, they tend to come back for more the following year if they haven’t saved their own seed.

The flowers are a delicious almost luminous dark violet with a white throat and shaped, as you would expect, just like an antirrhinum. It needs to climb and twist around something but the vines are so small and delicate that it works well planted with something tall like Agastache foeniculum which is strong and upright and a complementary colour. It can reach 2m high if you wish but I find 1.2m about right. When it reaches the top of the plant or the support it just falls backwards and continues to flower on the way down.

It produces a lot of seed at the end of the season which keeps well in the fridge for the following year. I would heartily recommend it as an extra which ‘peps up’ a container display or an otherwise boring tallish plant which might be past its best by July when Maurandella comes into its own for a couple of months.

I have a feeling it might be related to the climbing foxglove, Lophospermum erubescens which I also grow and which I wrote about last year. They both seem to have the alternative genus of Asarina and both originate from the southern United States and Mexico. However, the Lophospermum overwintered as a dormant tuber in the cold greenhouse which I don’t think the Maurandella would. There are also red, white, pink and orange varieties to brighten up your patio or conservatory. Really worthwhile trying…if you like that sort of thing!

Lofty Lofos

Posted on October 10, 2012 by davidsgardendiary

A friend kindly gave me a tiny self-sown plant in August and told me to ‘have a go’ with it, which usually means it is going to be difficult. Not this one! Lofos, or more accurately Lophospermum erubescens (meaning reddening or blushing), was formerly called Asarina and, confusingly, is sometimes also called Maurandia erubescens.

Creeping Gloxina

It has the common names of either Climbing Foxglove, Creeping Gloxinia or Twining Snapdragon depending on which part of the world you come from. Originating from Mexico, but now also common across the Mediterranean, it is a beautiful climber with felty heart shaped leaves and mid-pink flowers like foxgloves, which appear from July to October. I believe this is the species form but there are creamy white and dark red cultivars too which may be hybrids. I have read that they work well in hanging baskets as they fall as well as climb. I have been amazed at it’s rate of growth. From a nondescript 9cm pot plant it has shot up to the top of a 5′ cane in just a few weeks and two flowers opened today! I can’t believe it will keep up this phenomenal growth much longer and with the nights drawing in and getting colder it will surely stop soon.

Species: Asarina erubenscens Family: Scrophulariaceae Image No. 1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In summer, this vine will climb to about 10′ using its leaf stems to attach, and does well in full sun or part shade. It needs a moist soil though, so it mustn’t dry out. It is a half hardy perennial and apparently forms a tuber, which can be dried off and stored over winter, but judging from the number of self-sown seedlings in my friend’s greenhouse, it is also very easy from seed! It should be happy to grow as a houseplant over the winter if you have the room, or in a heated conservatory. I haven’t got either so it will have to take it’s chances in the greenhouse cuddled up to the cannas and dahlias!