Orange......

​Letters from the garden
 
Dear Readers,
 
Oh well Autumn is creeping upon us already, misty mornings and muggy days, leaves starting to fall, it’s a shame to say goodbye to summer especially as we’ve had a good couple of months, but I do like the seasonal changes, especially the last hoorah of the hot borders, so a quick visit to Wisley is required before it all finishes.
 
I grew Tithonia this year which is a Mexican sunflower and they take a while to get going, but at this time of year they are in flower with a lovely orange almost like a moon Dahlia shape, I love them I know they are only annuals here but they are well worth the effort, adding orange with blues and purples always works well as cool and hot mixes do work.
 
Talking orange I would like to encourage people to use this colour more, especially in winter, in a mist of foggy or just cloudy winter days the one colour that will stand out is ‘Orange’ sorry to say but it works. There are various plants that can be used, Cornus ‘midwinter fire’ is great, others include Hamamelis ‘Jelena’ Whitchazel, Grevillea victoriae ‘Murray Valley Queen’ – a winter-flowering grevillea, which is something a little unusual for you to try, Grasses are a great choice also as you can get various colours and habits for all sizes of gardens.
 
To make room for winter planting I have also been collecting my seeds and sprinkling a few around at the same time, keeping some for sowing in spring. As we are starting to do now, make sure you collect and use everything your Garden provides, it’s definitely a ‘everything is right with the world moment’ I hope you enjoy it.
 
 
 
Lynn Dupont