Just thought I'd post my top plants for this year. Different people will
have different
criteria, mine are ease of care, length of flowering and appearance.

Going on that basis my best plants a-
Erysimum 'Bowles Mauve' ( sort of a perennial Wallflower ); slightly untidy
but has flowered continously
since April.
Brachycome 'Blue Mist'; zero maintenance, ferny foliage, pretty daisy-like
flowers from june to the frosts.

Impatiens (various) : zero maintenance, flowers July to frosts, can take a
bit of shade.

Hollyhocks ; included despite their tendency to suffer from rust and insect
damaged leaves, because
they are still flowering now ( alright, one or two are, just about, after
starting in July ), and they are so
gorgeous. Am bringing on some rust-resistant ( allegedly ) varieties for
next year.

Convolvulus Sabatius ( Mauritian Convolvulus ) : trailing powder-blue
convolvulus flowers all summer
into autumn. Zero maintenance.

Alyssum : ubiquitous but a good gap filler and prepared to flower 'til the
frosts if given a haircut.

Dascia : same as Alyssum.

Morning Glory : took a while to get started but beautiful now. Pity they are
only out in the a.m.

Yarrow ( Cloth of Gold ) : Rather a bright yellow but lasts longer than the
millefoil type yarrows which fade
quite badly in the sunlight - they all end up looking a dirty white whatever
colour they started. July to
September. Not a stunning display but very useful, and ferny foliage.

Pacific Delphiniums; impressive while they're out, though difficult to grow
well. Have had them in flower
through the summer, still coming out now.

Trailing Lobelia : didn't get on with the upright stuff. Blue seems to keep
going longer than the other colours.
Blooms from July into autumn, no maintenance.

Cosmos : first time I've grown these annuals, but seem to keep flowering.
Very pretty flowers, will plant
more next year to see what a drift looks like.

Large Flowered Penstemons : will come back and flower again. Foxglove like
flowers, very cottage garden.
One drawback is a tendency to flop.

Dianthus Crimsonia Superbus : cautious mention, first time I've grown it and
the plants really are a bit immature
but seem to keep flowering and have interesting ragged crimson petals.

By the way, as far as I can see, if the insects had a vote, they'd go for
Goldenrod - mine are like Insectopolis
at the moment, but they don't flower long enough IMO.

Any comments/additions?

Andy.

In article , Andy
writes

Convolvulus Sabatius ( Mauritian Convolvulus ) : trailing powder-blue
convolvulus flowers all summer
into autumn. Zero maintenance.

Beautiful plant. I wish it would survive the winter.


Morning Glory : took a while to get started but beautiful now. Pity they are
only out in the a.m.

Fun to grow a mixture of species/varieties so you never know which
colour combination you will see in the morning.


--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , Andy
writes

Convolvulus Sabatius ( Mauritian Convolvulus ) : trailing powder-blue
convolvulus flowers all summer
into autumn. Zero maintenance.

Beautiful plant. I wish it would survive the winter.

--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

Mine have survived at least 5 winters, I just pop them under an overhanging
tree and the next spring give them a little tlc and off they go again!!
Regards Grannieannie

"Ann Heanes" wrote in message
...

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , Andy
writes

Convolvulus Sabatius ( Mauritian Convolvulus ) : trailing powder-blue
convolvulus flowers all summer
into autumn. Zero maintenance.

Beautiful plant. I wish it would survive the winter.

--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

Mine have survived at least 5 winters, I just pop them under an
overhanging
tree and the next spring give them a little tlc and off they go again!!
Regards Grannieannie

Sorry forgot to mention that I have tried to keep it alive overwinter in the
garden but no luck the ones that come through are in large pots!!
Regards Grannieannie

goldenrod is one of those perennials which if some stems are shortened in late spring/ early summer can have its flowering season extended the shortened stems flowering later than those un-touched....there was big publicity thing about this when some american gardening goddess brought out a book earlier this year detailing her experiments and what worked and what did nt....she did nt invent the process though...a few years ago my nephew threw his frisbee around a border in early summer with interesting subsequent results.

In article , Ann Heanes
writes

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , Andy
writes

Convolvulus Sabatius ( Mauritian Convolvulus ) : trailing powder-blue
convolvulus flowers all summer
into autumn. Zero maintenance.

Beautiful plant. I wish it would survive the winter.


Mine have survived at least 5 winters, I just pop them under an overhanging
tree and the next spring give them a little tlc and off they go again!!

I guess you're not on wet clay 400 ft up in Yorkshire ;-)
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

On Mon, 5 Sep 2005 23:15:07 +0100, "Andy"
wrote:

Impatiens (various) : zero maintenance, flowers July to frosts, can take a
bit of shade.

Mine take quite a lot of shade, and seem to have denser flowers than
those in bright sunlight.

Convolvulus Sabatius ( Mauritian Convolvulus ) : trailing powder-blue
convolvulus flowers all summer
into autumn. Zero maintenance.

Do you grow these from seed? Who sells seed (preferably on the web)?

Thanks

Mr F.

"Mr Fizzion" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 5 Sep 2005 23:15:07 +0100, "Andy"
wrote:

Impatiens (various) : zero maintenance, flowers July to frosts, can take a
bit of shade.

Mine take quite a lot of shade, and seem to have denser flowers than
those in bright sunlight.

Convolvulus Sabatius ( Mauritian Convolvulus ) : trailing powder-blue
convolvulus flowers all summer
into autumn. Zero maintenance.

Do you grow these from seed? Who sells seed (preferably on the web)?

No, bought them at the local garden centre. I am in Devon, and since they
are planted in a raised bed near a south facing wall they are perennials. My
plants are now three years old. Same with Brachycomes, they also act as
perennials. The one thing I failed to coax through winter was Marguerites
(Argyranthemums ), they just didn't like even a hint of frost, and they were
too
big to cover.

Andy.

In message , Andy
writes
Just thought I'd post my top plants for this year. Different people will
have different
criteria, mine are ease of care, length of flowering and appearance.

Any comments/additions?

My Candelabra Primulas started flowering in spring and the last few
scattered flowers are just fading now. They have been fantastic.

Lavatera. I have 4 colours including a variegated one and they are laden
down with blooms.

Best value annual has to be Godetia. They have flowered non-stop for
months now and are still a blaze of colour. Possibly a bit garish for
some people's taste, but they really brighten up an empty corner.
--
Sue
Remove the puppies to reply

On Thu, 8 Sep 2005 14:03:19 +0100, Sue Begg
wrote this (or the missive included
this):

Lavatera. I have 4 colours including a variegated one and they are laden
down with blooms.

In my unheated greenhouse,

Best tomatoes = Shirley and Santa.

Rubbish tomatoes = Ferline.


--
®óñ© © ² * ¹°°³ -¹

"Andy" wrote in message ...
Just thought I'd post my top plants for this year. Different people will
have different criteria..........

Any comments/additions?
Andy.


Didn't plant much 'new' stuff this year, but ...........from seed:
Asaarina scadens - Common name: Trailing Snapdragon - Creeping Gloxinia
Picture at :
http://www.ljconline.nl/garden/Plant...2005August.htm

Amazing thing that creeps over shrubs or hangs over the pot. Might be a good
plant for hanging abskets :~)
Jenny

On Tue, 6 Sep 2005 07:29:54 +0100, Kay
wrote:

Convolvulus Sabatius ( Mauritian Convolvulus ) : trailing powder-blue
convolvulus flowers all summer
into autumn. Zero maintenance.

Beautiful plant. I wish it would survive the winter.

I had one last year in a pot by my front door, planted with a
surfinia, (blue vein). They survived the winter and have been a
picture all summer, with plenty of watering and occasional feed.
Best value I've had from 2 plants!
Now I have put a few pieces of the convolvulus in water and they are
rooting, so I may one way or another have it again next year.


Pam in Bristol