Now we can be thoroughly sure of the season. It has been damp and cool for a while, with trees from abroad losing their leaves and telling us it has been autumn. And now almost at the solstice, there is barely a leaf to be seen on any of the many deciduous shrubs and trees that I grow. The chill air is breathtaking. And despite some rain (Monday was bleak) we have had a run of still days with blue skies. I will not complain about that. It is winter after all.
Even with the loss of leaves, that were trumpeting warm notes of strong autumn colour for weeks and weeks, the garden continues to provide vivid interludes of ongoing floral display. Sasanqua camellias, plectranthus and the nerines are almost done for another year, but the Gordonia powers on right next to the white thryptomene that glows like snow over winter. I am not sure ‘glow’ is the right word actually. In my mind, it implies warmth, and there is nothing warm about this cold shade. Although as the flowers age and the cold white ascends along the spike of innumerable small flowers, there is some bloody pink that emerges. But really, that is months away and we can enjoy the pure, icy white for a while yet.
I have been impressed by the longevity of this Thryptomene calycina, (the Grampians thryptomene or heath myrtle); it would be abour twenty years old. It has grown a bit leggy thanks to time, but also to the ungainly shasta daisies that flop in a rather intimidating way on any plant within leaning distance, shading out any chance of growth surviving below about 400mm. Thankfully, the thryptomene grows part way down the slope and the undergrowth of insane perennials does tend to cover the bare legs, while I enjoy the blossom at the top. And with a clip back each year, there are more tiny myrtle flowers offered in a dense profusion.
Another flower that always surprises me, even though it has been here for as long as I have gardened here, is the winter or Algerian iris, Iris unguicularis. It creates great clumps of green strappy leaves. And then, from autumn through much of the winter, these tussocky clumps are plump with sky blue flowers. They are tough and very much a plant for successional planting. They recede into the background over the summer as yarrow and salvia nemerosa and geraniums crowd around them, stealing the show. And now while these fair weather flowers are missing, the iris holds court.
There are so many wonderful flowers of winter in the gardens around here. The naturalistic beds in colder climates, that blanch white over the winter, are magnificent, gothic installations, but there is just too much life here to carry it off. Is it because we don’t get the crippling frosts, or is it our inability to be without flowers for very long? I am not sure. Maybe there will be time this winter for another blog post, for I would love to show you the leucadendrons, grevilleas and helichrysums. Now glow is the right word for them. Stay tuned and stay warm.
