Friday 20 July 2012

Sale plants for the roof garden

The roof garden really looked like it needed some refreshing, especially with the weeks of scorching heat we've had, so I took a trip out to a local garden center to see what I'd find.  Turned out they were having a sale on all their smaller containers of annuals and perennials.  License to buy!

Despite it not being on sale, I couldn't resist an enormous white butterfly bush ('White Profusion'):


It's hardly exotic but there's a big empty spot beside the composter and I think the butterfly bush might be good there.  At this point I just need to try something substantial to fill in the space.  Plus, it's in bloom now and not much else in the garden is.

The other non-sale item that I had to have was Incarnvillea delavayi 'Snowtop', which is apparently also called hardy gloxinia:


This photo I found online absolutely doesn't do it justice.  In real life it is so gorgeous and tropical-looking.  The flowers are impressive: an interesting trumpet shape that I don't have elsewhere in the garden and a nice size.  The leaves are also a change of pace shape and size-wise.  I'm not sure if 'Snowtop' are okay with sharply-drained soil, so I restrained myself and only bought two in case they don't make it. 

On sale, I bought three more huge 'Silver Brocade' artemesia, to commune with the three I bought locally in April that are thriving and very pretty. 

I also picked up two more big calamints (calamintha nepeta nepeta).  I was going to add them to the happy clump of three that I already have but it turns out that the new kids are significantly taller - I think they're a different variety - so I planted them a bit apart from the others.  I'm amazed by how fresh and green they look, despite the heat wave.


Lastly, I got five Gypsophilia repens 'Filou White' to replace some of the shorties that I killed off (two of the lemon licorice and two of the pennyworts).

Fingers crossed that they stay looking good: my short friends haven't been doing great.  Overwatering, maybe?

No comments:

Post a Comment