Plant some Autumn and Winter Interest in your Garden - Cyclamen coum

Woohoo!

I've got that Friday feeling again! Oh, maybe that's because

IT IS FRIDAY!

If you've been following my Friday Plant File then should know all about

Rhus typhina

Berberis thunbergii 'Atropurpurea'

Sedum spectabile 'Autumn Joy' and

Carex buchananii

What's that you say? You don't know about them! Well, shame on you and get yourself to my archives to read up on them! Only joking...you don't have to if you don't want to! (Although, you will learn about a few plants that will provide you with good Autumn and Winter colour!)

For those of you wanting more, today I'm going to look at bulbs that will flower along side these plants during their most attractive time of year -Autumn/Winter.

Today's plant is:

Cyclamen Coum

Deciduous or Evergreen: N/A

Design Function: Ground Cover

Form and Shape: Rounded mound

Texture of Leaves: Round, veined and glossy

Colour of Foliage: Dark green and variegated

Colour of Bark: N/A

Colour of Flowers: Pink,Carmine or White on tall (3-4inch) stems

Main Season of Interest: Midwinter to Early Spring

Horticultural Information:

Country of Origin: SE Europe/W Asia

Soil Type preferred: Humus-rich and well-drained

Aspect preferred: Sheltered

Height and Spread at 5 years: N/A

Height and Spread at maturity: 8-10cms

Common Problems: Will rot in wet conditions

What I personally think about Cyclamen coum

These bulbs are really attractive during months of the year when not much else is flowering. Their cheerful little flower heads will brighten any dark corner of a garden and work well planted under trees or somewhere with protection from the rain. Cyclamen coum will, if in a good situation, naturalise beautifully and you can create a lovely woodland feel.

Cyclamen coum can usually be found in the alpine or rockery plant section in garden centres and shouldn't be mistaken for the "mini cyclamen" that are for sale in the bedding plant areas. Although these bedding varieties look very similar, they are not frost hardy and will most likely perish after the autumn, leaving you with a rotting pile of leaves.

Friday's Plant of the Week- Carex buchananii

Another week is coming to an end and so we need to add another plant to your file.

This week I've chosen a grass to look at which can be planted with our previous plants; Rhus typhina, Berberis thunbergii 'Atropurpurea' and Sedum spectable 'Autumn Joy' to provide you with a fantastic display of autumn interest.

This Friday's plant is:

Carex buchananii

Deciduous or Evergreen: Deciduous

Design Function: Ground Cover, Architectural

Form and Shape: Round, spiky mound of arching leaves

Texture of Leaves: Smooth with course edges

Colour of Foliage: Bronze

Colour of bark: N/A

Colour of flowers: Brown

Main Season of Interest: Autumn

Horticultural Information:

Country of Origin: New Zealand

Soil Type Preferred: Moist, well-drained

Aspect Preferred: Sun or Shade

Height and Spread at 5 years: 75cm x 90cm

Height and Spread at Maturity: 75cm x 90cm

Other notable Cultivars of Species: Carex oshimensis 'Evergold' (Gold-green striped leaves)

My Personal Opinion of Carex buchananii

In the past I've never really been a fan of grasses. I always thought that they were too messy! However, I planted Carex buchannii in a gravel path and it has performed beautifully. It takes the harsh edge away from the path and creates a more relaxed, informal atmosphere to the garden. It also looks fab all year round, which is a bonus. I believe you can plant it next to pretty much any thing and it will enhance whatever it is surrounded by. Easy to care for, this grass just gets on with things!

Hey it's Friday!! It must be time to learn about a new plant!

Okay! The end of another week!

What plant category do you want to look at today?

We've looked at Rhus typhina and Berberis thunbergii 'Atropurpurea', so how about we choose an herbaceous perennial to add to them?

For those of you that get confused about annuals, perennials, herbaceous, etc - basically an annual only grows for ONE year. It may set seed and you might get NEW plants the following year but that original plant will only live for ONE year. A perennial, or Herbaceous perennial, will live for MANY years. The growth of the plants will die down during winter an the roots will become dormant during that time ( think of them like hedgehogs hibernating over winter). Once the weather warms up a bit in the Spring, they will begin to grow again. As our winters are becoming milder though, many herbaceous perennials are forgetting to "hibernate" and as a result can look a bit untidy in the spring. If you have plants like this you can cut off the dead leaves and flower heads. Don't worry if this is a majority of the plant it will re-grow and look lovely because of its hair cut!

Back to Plant File Friday!

Today's herbaceous perennial is:

Sedum spectabile 'Autumn Joy'

Deciduous or Evergreen: N/A

Design Function: Ground Cover, Attractive to wildlife

Form and Shape: Mound

Texture of Leaves: Fleshy, serrated-edged and glossy

Colour of Foliage: Pale blue-green

Colour of Bark: N/A

Colour of Flowers: Flat flower heads of deep red-brown

Main season of Interest: Autumn

Horticultural Information:

Country of Origin: Europe, N Africa, W & N Asia

Soil Type preferred: Well-drained but will grow in any type

Aspect preferred: Sunny

Height and Spread at 5 years: N/A

Height and Spread at maturity: 45-60cm x spread as permitted

Common Problems: Prone to mildew in prolonged wet periods

National Collection: Mr & Mrs R Stephenson, Northumberland

My personal Opinion of

Sedum spectabile 'Autumn Joy'

This perennial is great for attracting wildlife to your garden, especially bees. It flowers late in summer and Autumn and so gives you a display when not much else is doing anything. The colour of the flowers perfectly complement a wide range of other plants and so makes an excellent companion plant. It does suffer though if an autumn is particularly wet - suffering from mildew and possibly the stems will be flattened to the floor with the weight of the wet flower heads. That said though, its worth the risk of planting as the advantages far out way the disadvantages for this plant.

Top Ten Favourite Shrubs - Berberis thunbergii 'Atropurpurea'

It's Plant File Friday day again!!!

So last week we looked at the profile of a small tree - Rhus typhina. Trees are great in any garden as they add height and structure and help to form the backbone of a garden. You can also plant them alone and make a feature of them.

Today, lets look at a shrub that you can plant with the Rhus typhina and start to form that backbone!

Latin name:

Berberis thunbergii 'Atropurpurea'

Deciduous or Evergreen: Evergreen

Design Function: Structural, hedging

Form and Shape of Shrub: Round

Texture of Leaves: Smooth

Colour of Foliage: Maroon

Colour of Bark: Dark Reddish-Brown with thorns

Colour of Flowers: Yellow followed by Deep Purple Berries

Main Season of Interest: All year for foliage / Spring for flowers and berries

Horticultural Information

Country of Origin: Japan, China

Soil Type preferred: Acid or Neutral

Aspect preferred: Suits any aspect

Height and Spread at 5 years: 1.8m x 1.8m

Height and Spread at maturity: 1.8m x 1.8m

Common Problems: None Known at present

Other notable Cultivars of Species: Berberis thunbergii 'aurea' (foliage), Berberis darwinii (flowers/fruit)

National Collection: Mr R.J. Gregory, Nottinghamshire

My personal opinion of Berberis thunbergii 'Atropurpurea'

I love this shrub! I'd have to say it's in my top ten all time favourite shrubs. Hence why it's the first one I've listed here! This shrub is so versatile and can be used in the back of borders to add backbone and structure or as a hedge. As it's prickly it works well as a security boundary. Anyone trying to scramble there way through a hedge made of Berberis thunbergii is seriously going to feel it! Being evergreen the leaves stay all year round and even in the thick of winter you can have a stunning display of bright red leaves. Not only is it attractive to look at, but it doesn't need much care. Apart from an annual prune to keep it in shape, and regular watering/ feeding when it is young, you can leave it to pretty much get on with it. It's fab! The flowers are quite an acid yellow which are quite welcoming in Spring and are followed by masses of berries which the birds absolutely love. I use this shrub a lot in my planting plans.