What's Looking Good In The Garden

<p><em>Hylotelephium</em> 'Autumn Joy'</p>

Hylotelephium 'Autumn Joy'

Autumn is here, Splashes of Colour and a Happy Seniors Week to you!

 

The Formal Garden is a rainbow of colour right now. In the Rosarium the red Polyantha,  Rosa cv Claret Cup, and the lovely apricot David Austin rose, Rosa cv 'Leander' continue to delight us, as does the climbing rose  Rosa cv Paul's Scarlet Climber. If you want to catch the wonderful aroma of the Tea Rose, Rosa cv Devoniensis there are just a few blooms left. The glorious Life-everlasting, Hylotelephium 'Autumn Joy', is now a beautiful deep rich pink shade.  She has been recently joined by the fluffy mauve and white blooms of her relative Sedum telephium 'Beth Chattos form'. There is also plenty of colour for the Dahlia lovers, including Dahlia 'Bishop of Landaff' with its red flowers and purplish foliage and Dahlia 'David Howard' with fabulous orange flowers. Salvia cv Phyllis Fancy has also come to the party with a huge splash of mauve right in the middle of this section.

 

Helichrysum argyrophyllum

 

If you are looking for an escape from the sun, the Plant Explorers Walk is just the thing! It is lush, and green and cooling and you may catch sight of the last of the lovely purple Angelica gigas blooms. The Japanese Wind Flowers, Anemone sp, are highlights along this walk and in so many other parts of the Garden. There are many varieties and culitvars from white to pink to mauve, blooming in many sections.

 

 

If on the other hand you are heading out into the open and venture into the Rock Garden, you will be greeted with it?\'s usual mosaic of colour, texture and shape. Our many varieties of Red Hot Pokers, like Kniphofia 'Blaze', are attracting honeyeaters to the Gardens. The Rock Garden also boasts beautiful drifts of the glorious Golden Guinea Everlasting, Helichrysum argyrophyllum, which is a beautiful backdrop for many other amazing rock loving plants.

<p><em>Anemone</em> x <em>hybrida</em> Honorine Jobert </p>

Anemone x hybrida Honorine Jobert

In the Rock Garden and in other parts of the Garden, there are lovely stands of the popular Japanese Windflower, Anemone x hybrida, to be found.The single white variety ' Honorine Jobert ' looks particularly fetching in the Residence Garden.

 

Don't miss the delicate white blooms of the Kinlochruel Heather Calluna vulgaris cv Kinlochruel in the Heath and Heather Garden. Along the banks of our pond beside the Southern Hemisphere Woodland, the spectacular Gunnera tinctoria displays large heads of tiny orange flowers amongst its spiky rhubarb-like leaves.  Stand on The Beach and admire the marvellous red flower spikes of the Devils Tobacco Lobelia tupa from Chile.

Gang Gang feeding

 

Dont forget that Autumn is a great time to observe birds in the Garden. There are migratory honeyeaters supping on sweet nectar in the Rock Garden. The parrots are still happily feeding on all the fruits of Autumn like the Sweet Chestnuts Castanea sativa and the Sand Pear Pyrus pyrifolia at the bottom of the Brunet Meadow. 

 

The cheeky Gang Gangs are feasting away on the fruits of the Ivy-leafed Maple, Acer cissifolium and other  parrots, including the pretty King Parrots are chomping into the edible fruits of the Himalayan Dogwood, Cornus capitata.

 'The Jungle' is now open to all Garden Visitors and its well-formed paths provide a gentle interaction with real Blue Mountains rainforest. Add to this the availability of a vehicle ride back up the hill to the Visitor Centre and Restaurant and the allure of the wild becomes more compelling. 

Dont forget that on Wednesday 24th March we are celebrating a Seniors Day as part of Seniors Week. All Senior Card Holders will be allowed free entry into the Garden - so why not make it a family day here at the Gardens?

See you then!

 

Many of these plants have featured as a Plant of the Season