Spiraea Week

The early July week, 2009/27, marks a kind of pause in the flowering schedule. The first blooms are on the Spiraea japonica, there is some colour on the Hypericum and the Lavatera is going strong, but perennial plants such as the tiger lilies are really leading the charge now. Flowerheads do seem to be forming on a new arrival in the garden, Romneya, and my son's very late planting of pumpkins has expressed its enormous cotyledons and the shoots are now developing proper leaves. But his climbing strawberries are a disappointment: perhaps they need more moisture or fertilizer. The newly acquired Topaz has flowered, but is still looking very ragged and needs to expand into its new location against its dry and sunny wall. A walk along the street suggests neighbours were right to invest in polyantha roses: they are the dominant new appearance in Zone 8 this week.

Spiraea Week

As the height of summer approaches in 2008/27, the bigger shrubs have dropped their bright dress and it is up to the lower shrubs to keep the colour showing, with Spiraea japonica my personal favourite. Strictly speaking, the plant is Spiraea x bumalda, with S. japonica only one of its parents. Ours is 'Anthony Waterer', a magnificent crimson variety named after the great rhododendron breeder of Victorian times. Its neighbours Laburnum x watereri and Cotoneaster x watereri are, as far as I know, also products of the Waterer family's Knaphill garden-cum-nursery. The Lavatera x clementii is the great eye-catcher of the garden, but has already received its honours in this diary. Also coming up are the mopheads of Hydrangea macrophylla varieties: perhaps they will be next week's glory. Among the perennials, the first of the "hel" flowers is out: Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra is showing its great "ox-eye sunflowers" at chest height. Lower down, Coreopsis grandiflora 'Sunray' is showing a similar colour at ankle height, while Astilbe, which we planted to frame a low Prunus laurocerasus is also there with its bursts of white and pink.