Some lovely foliage, Stromanthe sanguinea ‘Triostar’. #stromanthe #stromanthesanguineatriostar #stromanthesanguinea #stromanthetriostar #prayerplant #stalwartplants

Dahlia ‘Thomas A. Edison’. Magenta purple flowers. #dahlia #dahliathomasedison #dahliathomasaedison #stalwartplants

Dahlia ‘Witteman’s Best’. A really nice strong red semi cactus type. #dahlia #dahliawittemansbest #stalwartplants

Calibrachoa RAVE PINK. Tender perennial usually grown here as an annual, it has been flowering non stop for many months. #calibrachoa #calibrachoaravepink #millionbells #stalwartplants

Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Double Click Rose Bonbon’. The Cosmos have been flowering for months and still going strong. #cosmos #cosmosbipinnatus #cosmosbipinnatusdoubleclickrose #stalwartplants

Quite a pale red-hot poker but of my favourites, Kniphofia ‘Toffee Nosed’. #redhotpoker #kniphofia #kniphofiatoffeenosed #stalwartplants

The silky seed heads of Clematis tangutica, a vigorous deciduous climber. #clematis #clematistangutica #climbingplants #stalwartplants

It’s a very blustery day today, quite different to the calm of last weekend when I visited the gardens at Abbey Wood, Delamere. This is the pool garden. It’s so relaxing watching the koi move gracefully about in the still water. #garden #abbeywoodestate #stalwartplants #pond

Autumn crocus, Colchicum autumnale. Probably battered to bits after the heavy rain this afternoon and evening! #colchicum #colchicumautumnale #autumncrocus #stalwartplants

Torrential rain here this afternoon but this morning the Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm‘ was providing a sunny splash of cheerful yellow! #rudbeckia #rudbeckiafulgida #rudbeckiafulgidagoldsturm #coneflower #blackeyedsusan #stalwartplants

Impatiens omeiana 'Sango' flowering in our exotic courtyard garden today. #Garden #Gardening #Design #Plants 🌱

One of my favourite asters, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae ‘Harrington’s Pink’. Quite a tall one but fairly sturdy. #aster #asterharringtonspink #symphyotrichumnovaeangliae #stalwartplants

Verbena bonariensis. I noticed that the individual purple flowers fade to blue as they age and wondered if it was just a decomposition thing or if they had been pollinated and it was a signal to bees and butterflies that there was no more nectar to be had. I know this happens with forget-me-nots.

The beautifully black calyces of Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Bloom’. #salvia #salviaguaranitica #salviaguaraniticablackandbloom #stalwartplants

The twinkling flowers of Eucomis comosa ‘Sparkling Burgundy’, pineapple lily. #eucomis #eucomiscomosa #eucomiscomosasparklingburgundy #stalwartplants #pineapplelily

Hesperantha coccinea (Schizostylis coccinea). Such a beautiful flower and useful for its long flowering period when other plants are finishing. It’s often in flower in November here. #hesperantha #hesperanthacoccinea #schizostylis #kaffirlily #stalwartplants

Spindle, Euonymus europaeus, just beginning to take on its beautiful autumn foliage. Until then the little pink fruits are providing the colour and will soon split open to reveal the little orange seeds. #spindle #euonymus #euonymuseuropaeus #stalwartplants

It’s that time of year for collecting sloes for sloe gin. They look so plump and juicy this year I was very tempted to eat one but know from experience how astringent they are! The colour is beautiful though especially with the waxy bloom. #sloe #sloegin #stalwartplants #foraging #prunusspinosa

Trachelospermum jasminoides 'Tricolor' with a pink and white flushed foliage. First time I've seen jasminoides, tricolor, it's normally T. asiaticum distinguished by its rounder leaves. #GardensHour #SixWeeksOfColour #Pink #Garden #Gardening 🌱

I love this hidden spot at my parents’ garden in Yorkshire. Sheltered from the wind, it also catches the afternoon and evening sun and is a perfect place to sit and have a chat. #lothersdale #stalwartplants

My step mum’s sweet peas for cutting. They got trashed earlier in the year in one of the storms but bounced back! Amazing how just a small bunch of them can scent a whole room. #sweetpea #stalwartplants #lathyrusodoratus

My mum’s front garden is still looking lovely and being enjoyed by bees and butterflies. It’s been an even drier than usual summer for her in East Kent though, so she’s considering creating a more drought tolerant planting scheme. #frontgarden #stalwartplants

Passiflora caerulea, the blue passion flower, covering a large wall near me. The orange fruit look very pretty too although by all accounts not very tasty. #passionflower #passiflora #passifloracaerulea #stalwartplants #climbingplants

Salvia viridis, an annual sage with striking purple bracts. You can just about see the tiny purple and cream flowers where the bracts have fallen away. #salvia #salviaviridis #stalwartplants

Plumbago auriculata, Cape Leadwort. Fast growing shrub inside or out usually grown as a climber. #plumbago #plumbagoauriculata #capeleadwort #stalwartplants

Annual mallow, Lavatera trimestris (syn. Malva trimestris). Trimestris gives a clue to its long flowering period. #annualmallow #malva #malvatrimestris #lavatera #lavateratrimestris #annualflowers #stalwartplants

A striking Asiatic lily which I think is ‘Forever Susan’. Looks wonderful against the froth of Alchemilla mollis flowers. This was late June and I forgot to post it but thought it would be a nice memory of a lovely summer. #lily #lilium #asiaticlily #liliumforeversusan #stalwartplants

One of my favourites, Lychnis coronaria (Silene coronaia). Looks wonderful here against the yellow froth of Alchemilla mollis flowers. #silene #silenecoronaria #lychnis #lychniscoronaria #rosecampion #stalwartplants

Wells-next-the-Sea. Initially walking through the sandy pine forest to keep Barney out of the sun, it was exciting to see the beach gradually revealed as we climbed a sand dune. It reminded me of childhood holidays with my grandparents near Bordeaux.

Beautiful Wells-next-the-Sea. #beach #holiday #wellsnextthesea #norfolk #stalwartplants

Plume poppy. I think this particular one is Macleaya microcarpa ‘Kelway’s Coral Plume’. Beautiful herbaceous foliage plant with great stature. Seen in the walled garden at Holkham House. #plumepoppy #macleaya #macleayamicrocarpa #macleayamicrocarpakelwayscoralplume #stalwartplants

Citrus ‘Buddha’s Hand’, a type of citron (Citrus medica). First time I have seen this curiosity! #citrus #citrusmedica #citrusbuddhashand #citron #stalwartplants #holkhamestate

Sanvitalia procumbens, creeping zinnia. Nice to use as an edging plant that looks cheerful all summer or in containers or as ground cover. Several cultivars available. Annual. #sanvitalia #sanvitaliaprocumbens #creepingzinnia #stalwartplants

Hemerocallis fulva used to great effect here in a tropical style planting scheme at Holkham House (Norfolk) with a stunning banana and some tetrapanax and what I think is Alternanthera dentata ‘Purple Knight’ providing a contrast with its dark leaves.

A very fiery day lily, Hemerocallis fulva. #daylily #hemerocallis #hemerocallisfulva #stalwartplants

Some beautiful herbaceous planting in the walled garden at Holkham House, Norfolk. #perennialplant #herbaceous #prairie #stalwartplants #holkham

I think this is so charming, nettle-leaved bellflower, Campanula trachelium. #campanula #campanulatrachelium #bellflower #nettleleavedbellflower #stalwartplants

Rosa gallica var. officinalis, the apothecary’s rose. Beautifully fragrant and I love how the flowers fade as they age. #rosa #rosagallica #rosagallicaofficinalis #rosagallicavarofficinalis #rose #stalwartplants

From a distance you might think these were very plump alpine strawberries but they are in fact fruit of Potentilla indica, mock strawberry. Little yellow flowers precede the fruits. #potentilla #potentillaindica #mockstrawberry #stalwartplants

Digitalis lanata, Grecian or woolly foxglove. Nice markings inside the flowers. #digitalis #digitalislanata #foxglove #stalwartplants

I love the soft round leaves on this Origanum dictamnus, dittany of Crete. The flowers are pretty too and look a bit like little hops when they are fully out. #origanum #origanumdictamnus #dittanyofcrete #stalwartplants

A slightly different foxglove here, Digitalis parviflora. Unusual orange-brown flowers. Quite striking. #foxglove #digitalis #digitalisparviflora #stalwartplants

Vivid flowers of Phlox paniculata ‘Purple Eye Flame’. The eyes have faded a bit here. #phlox #phloxpaniculata #phloxpaniculatapurpleeyeflame

Great sunflowers for cutting, Helianthus annuus ‘ProCut Plum’. #sunflower #helianthusannus #helianthusannusprocutplum #stalwartplants

Pelargonium ‘Freak of Nature’. White stems and variable amounts of white on the leaves. #pelargonium #pelargoniumfreakofnature #holkham #stalwartplants

Pelargonium ‘Lord Bute’. Beautiful dark petals edged in pinky-red. #pelargonium #pelargoniumlordbute #stalwartplants

The ever so sweet annual baby’s breath, Gypsophila elegans. Happiest in alkaline or neutral soil and the name comes from the Greek for lover of plaster (chalk). For use as a cut flower it’s a good idea to sow every few weeks in spring. #gypsophila #gypsophilaelegans #babysbreath #stalwartplants

A blaze of Alstroemeria INDIAN SUMMER. #alstroemeria #alstroemeriaindiansummer #peruvianlily #stalwartplants

Beautiful vivid orange flowers of Leonotis leonurus, Lion’s Ear. Tender shrub but can be grown as an annual. #leonotis #leonotisleonurus #stalwartplants

A favourite Pelargonium of mine, ‘Mr Wren’. The flowers are so cheerful to my eye. It can get a spurt on and go a bit leggy but I just prune back the lanky stems to keep it tight. #pelargonium #pelargoniummrwren #stalwartplants #bicolourflower