As we progress into October, our gardens change. The flush and excitement of early spring are over: everywhere, azaleas - that looked so glorious a month ago - are covered in the papery brown ruins of their flowers, victims of petal blight. The intoxicating blooms of the jasmine that heralded the end of winter (Jasminum polyanthum) have gone; the delightful spring bulbs of jonquils, freesias, babianas and spring starflowers are now sad floppy, fading bunches of straggling leaves. The fairy-floss blossoms of Prunus and flowering quince are just fond memories, and the lilac trusses of Wisteria have been replaced by a tangled mass of questing new twining stems. To non-gardeners, the end of these flowers means there is nothing more of interest in the garden till next spring.
However, all is not lost, as we have entered the season that Tim Entwisle in his book Sprinter and Sprummer: Australia's changing seasons (2014) has dubbed 'sprummer' (which I've always called 'late spring'), which comprises October and November in Sydney. He bases his seasonal categories on the timing of native and exotic plant flowerings and the activities of animals, as well as weather patterns, with sprummer being a time of unpredictable and unsettled weather before we move into summer - and boy, hasn't the weather been bizarre this past week! Entwisle believes the traditional four seasons we imported from Europe are not appropriate for us here in Australia.
Brunfelsia australisCertainly, October and November have a different feel about them to early spring (Entwisle calls August and September 'sprinter'). I actually prefer this time of year to early spring (possibly because I don't have many sprinter flowers?!). A host of interesting shrubs come into flower in October, with a quartet of classic deciduous ones bringing gorgeous fresh blooms amidst fresh new leaves on arching canes. The funnel-shaped pink, white or cerise flowers of Weigela; the large, flat, white blooms of Philadelphus; the soft pink or white bells of Deutzia; and the round white 'snowballs' of Viburnum opulus 'Roseum' (syn. 'Sterile') make a significant statement at this time of year and make good back-of-the-border shrubs. There are dwarf varieties of some of these around these days for compact spaces. Another lovely shrub in flower now is the yesterday-today-tomorrow bush (Brunfelsia australis) with its scented flowers that open violet in colour, then change to pale blue and then white, giving a multicoloured effect. There is a small version of this plant too, called 'Sweet Petite' (ht 1 m).
Aquilegia hybridThis time of year is when cottage-style gardens with their profusion of English perennials are at their peak. I've found that many of these don't flourish well in Sydney (in my garden, anyway), because of our mild winters and humid summers, but I still have vestiges from my cottage-garden days: the ones that do perform well, and I love seeing them in sprummer. The tall purple-blue spires of clumping Campanula rapunculus give that quintessential cottagey look; at groundcover level, pretty Campanula poscharskyana is about to open its blue, white or pink bells. Self-seeding Linaria purpurea is starting to bloom, with slim spires of tiny pink, white or purple flowers. Lychnis coronaria is sending up its felted, silvery stems, which will open to cerise or white blooms. Tall bearded irises are opening their flamboyant inflorescences, in a rainbow of hues. The beautiful nodding heads of Aquilegia are appearing, and the very best species Geranium for Sydney, 'Rozanne', is just about to open its first buds. In gardens with roses (alas, not mine) they are coming to their peak now.
Salvia hybrid Angel Wings is just coming into bloomElsewhere in the garden, hybrid Fuchsia are budding up, as are the many and varied forms of Hydrangea shrubs, with the promise of their plump domed heads in November. All the Salvia that were cut back brutally hard in August have filled out again and are just starting to reveal their colours, which will last all summer and into autumn. All my stalwart warm-climate shrubs, also pruned in August, such as cane Begonia, Justicia carnea, Plectranthus, Brillantaisia, Cuphea and Gardenia are growing madly; and Canna and Dahlia are rising up from the ground to make their big clumps again.
Jacaranda trees have shed their leaves and look quite bare: soon they will be producing their simmering purple haze of flowers all over Sydney; and the Australian native Illawarra flame tree (Brachychiton acerifolius) has also lost all its foliage. If we are lucky, it will open its orange-scarlet bells flower at the same time as the Jacaranda, giving us the brilliant spectacle.
This is a fabulous time of year! Let me know what's out in your garden now.
A favourite time of the year! Hydrangeas, crepe myrtles full of promising buds, dahlias reaching skyward, mock orange, snowball, white weigela and cane begonias, already in blossom. Flowers include hippeastrums, alstroemeria, early cosmos, gerberas, dianthus, aquilega, nasturtiums, beaumontia and the Australian-bred clematis, "Auman", to name a few. An absolute plethora of colour, which makes the heart rejoice! Thanks, Margaret. Your garden must be so pretty with all those flowers! Deirdre
Let me add the sensational display put on by my Alloxylon Flammeum (Tree Warratah) - a red flowering tree that comes in two versions, one from north Queensland and the other from the Dorrigo region. The first has large clusters of warratah-like flowers, from red to strong orange-red. The Dorrigo version has a more delicate blossom - towards pink - but I only get occasional blossoms on mine which is grafted onto stock from the north Queensland version. The Brunsfelsia are in fine show as well. Those tree waratahs sound amazing. I have only seen them once or twice. Deirdre
Having gardened in Sydney for so many years, it is fascinating to observe from Beechworth,in Victoria"s hills, the difference in timing. We are at least a month behind, and, to my initial surprise, most salvias, for example, shrug off the frost and sing through the dry summer heat. And, yes, I am up in the hills and not down in the floods! It is interesting how different the seasons" timings are in different parts of the country. Many salvias are very cold- and drought-tolerant, especially S. greggii and S. microphylla cultivars, which have small leaves. Bigger-leaved varieties tend to be more frost sensitive. Deirdre
We are a bit behind too - with Japonica still in flower, rhodos not quite in bloom but bearded iris and Weigela are in time with Sydney. Unfortunately we have had an excessively wet winter & spring & have lost a few plants and will probably lose a few more. Its amazing tho how resilient some plants are. Several rose bushes have been flooded repeatedly this year & have bounced back each time. I hope most of your plants will survive the wet winter. As you say, most are very resilient. Deirdre
In my Sydney garden I am delighted to see the pink Evening Primrose, (Oenothera fruticosa I think), out and making a good showing as well as the brilliant different colour Arctotis flowers showing off in the sunshine. The evening primrose is so pretty and the Arctotis are such cheerful blooms. Deirdre
Deciduous azaleas are looking wonderful with their apricot colours - don"t seem to get petal blight, and the new leaves are just starting so no problems with leaf insects. Roses are looking great, especially the ones I pruned back hard. Sounds lovely in your garden, Pam. Deirdre
Further to my comments last year, this October the humble nasturtium has excelled. The bees have been busy and apart from the orange and yellow, tawny yellow, bronze, burgundy and deep red colours are abundant. A tower of bright yellow, in one area, and rambling plants in other spots, are providing the bees with a feast. Poppies - Shirley, paeony and Flander"s, lupins and schizanthus are also adding to the colour parade. It sounds gorgeous, Margaret! Deirdre
2017 update for King Is, another cold very wet winter--does help to sort out which plants are truly adapted. The old garden favourites have come through so well --roses, hydrangreas, weigela, wistaria, escallonia. Hydrangeas. I have added some smaller varietes of Hydrangea this year. Some salvias are struggling & will be shifted to try a new spot. We thinned 0ur golden elm copse a bit last year, allowing a little quince to flower this spring-- in full flower now-- such a pretty little tree. Thanks, Helen. What different weather you have had than we have had here in Sydney, where we have had no rain for months! Glad your garden favourites have come through OK. Deirdre
My garden is full to overflowing with sweet pea at the moment looks and smells wonderful but I"m not sure what it is hiding underneath. The geraniums have put on a great display for ages and continue to flower prolifically even though recently cut back.I"ts a new garden which now gets more sun as a neighbour removed some trees recently so am still sorting it out.Having lots of fun though. The sweet peas sound amazing. The geraniums have been very good this year, perhaps due to the extended dry period. Changes in sun patterns in the garden are a challenge but give new opportunities for plantings! Deirdre
My honeysuckle lonicera (white/yellow blooms) are flowering now adding to the fragrance of dianthus. My petunias and pansies and violets are blooming too It all sounds lovely, Priya! Deirdre
Spidery plants
21 Apr 24
Meet some plants that have a 'spidery' look.
Top ten long-bloomers
14 Apr 24
These plants bloom for ages!
Planning for spring colour
07 Apr 24
Now is the time to put in some colourful plants for spring!
A shift of season
31 Mar 24
Late March brings a welcome shift of season in our Sydney gardens.
Early-autumn daisies
24 Mar 24
Daisies contribute to the beauty of early autumn in Sydney gardens.
