As October turns to November and I walk around the garden, it’s a time when certain plants impress me most. Those plants are the ones that have been planted at the beginning of the summer in May- June, or may even have overwintered from previous years, and they are still looking good and flowering in November. They have been through the heat of summer, they’ve survived their owners summer holiday when they may have been neglected a little, they’ve coped with the colder nights of autumn and this year they’ve coped with a deluge of rain through October. And they’re still looking good!
There are 4 plants I would pick out that are still looking good in November in my garden and therefore for me are must have plants for any garden, they are;
- Alstroemeria Indian Summer; This plant is truly amazing, it’s still producing new buds in November! And hardy, so much so I’d be happy to put a fair bit of money on this plant appearing next Spring to perform all over again. They are not cheap to buy- the Royalty and young plant is expensive but if you were to look at the cost over the years of flowering and length of flowering each season, it would be one of the best value plants you can buy.
- Salvia Amistad; This plant looks more like a shrub or small tree at the end of the season! And it’s still flowering. Beautiful purple flowers keep appearing all through the summer and into the winter. It’s interesting that this plant doesn’t like cold at the beginning of the season but seems to keep performing at the end of the season when the nights get colder, and the plant is more established. The only downside is it seems to have more limited hardiness to get it through the winter, although I’m going to try again this winter, maybe leave more foliage on for longer to give it some protection.
- Gaura Sparkle White; Beautiful white flowers keep being produced up the stem all summer. I planted it in flower in June and it’s still flowering now. Top plant.
- Salvia Hot lips; Fairly common variety but it’s performance shows why, hardy, long flowering and very little care required. Many small white and red flowers. There are some new types of this plant coming in 2020 which we will be trialling so look out for them.
Needless to say we’re growing loads of these next year so look out online or in our plant centre.
