up here in sunny St Helens (Lancs), we haven't had any rain for months - in
fact, I can't remember last time it rained, at least not enough to actually
wet anything.
The result being that the new spring growth seems to be suffering - even the
grass on my lawn is burnt away and yellow, while the soil below is hard and
cracked and I'd lost two shrubs before I realised, one isn't so important
because I've got other specimens of this, but I don't know what it's called,
and the other I'd rather have kept - it's got slender green leaves and puts
on a show about this time of year with firy red growing tips, it also has
bunches of whitish seeds hanging down - whatever it's called, it appears to
have given up the ghost.

While me cakehole's open, what's thos blue small flowers called? - someone
mentioned them as an alternative to lobelia for borders/baskets etc?

TIA