Sedum Autumn Joy - Stonecrop

This week's Plant Of The Week is Sedum Autumn Joy (Sedum Herbstfreude) known commonly as Autumn Joy Stonecrop.

Autumn Joy is by far the most popular of the Stonecrops, most of which are a dependable choice for the late summer and autumn garden. Autumn Joy also provides good foliage interest earlier in the season. By mid-summer the plant has started to produce green, broccoli-like buds. These flower buds gradually open into creamy-ivory coloured blossoms which slowly change colour from cream to dusty pink, to cherry, to russet, then copper and finally to the dark mahogany of the seed heads which can be left on the plant to provide wonderful winter interest.

Autumn Joy is drought and heat tolerant.

Hydrangea paniculata 'Unique' - Unique Hydrangea

This Week's Plant Of The Week is the Hydrangea paniculata 'Unique'.

'Unique' is a beautiful, deciduous shrub which bears long white flower heads in the summer. The flowers slowly fade in colour from white to pinkish white as the season progresses. The cultivar name 'paniculata' refers to the shape of the flowers which are broad at the base and gradually narrow towards the tip.

'Unique' flowers on new wood. Deadheading can be carried out in the autumn or in the spring if you like to leave blooms on the plant for winter interest. Pruning is not necessary but if you prune it hard in spring, it will tend to produce larger blooms.

'Unique' will do equally well in full sun or part shade and it is looking stunning now!

Rudbeckia - Black Eyed Susan

This Week's Plant Of The Week is Rudbeckia.

Rudbeckia, or Black Eyed Susan, is a bushy, upright, clump forming perennial with a profuse display of brown-centered, golden-orange daisy like flowers. There are many varieties available however, our favourite is Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm'.

Rudbeckias will bloom from now until late autumn and the seed heads can be left on the plant for winter interest. They generally prefer a location which gets full sun (at least 6 hours per day) but they will also tolerate a partially shady spot. They are moderately drought tolerant once established.

Removing faded flowers regularly will greatly increase the plant's blooming time. Larger plants may be easily divided in early spring.

The hot spice colours of the flowers work particularly well with blues such as Russian Sage, but they can also be partnered successfully with other jewel toned blooms such as Sedum 'Autumn Joy'.

Rose Of Sharon - Hibiscus syriacus

This week's Plant Of The Week is Rose Of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus). Rose Of Sharon are deciduous flowering shrubs which have just started to bloom around the valley.

They are large upright shrubs with quite a distinct form - its general habit is taller than it is wide and it makes a lovely specimen plant in the garden. The shrub has deeply lobed mid-green leaves and large single, or double, flowers in a range of colours, often with a strongly contrasting coloured center. The single blooms are generally larger and showier than the double blooms. The flowers also attract butterflies to the garden.

Rose Of Sharon prefers a location in full sun and is relatively heat and drought tolerant. Another point in its favour is the fact that it is quite late blooming.

Sunflower - Helianthus annuus

This week's Plant Of The Week is the sunflower or Helianthus annuus to give it its botanical name.

Sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) are annual plants native to the Americas, with a large flower.

The flower is actually a head comprised of lots of very small flowers (florets) crowded together. The outer florets are the sterile ray florets (petals) and can be yellow, maroon, orange, or other colors. The florets inside the circular head are called disc florets and these are arranged in a spiral pattern which then mature into seeds.

Sunflowers are familiar to most people and are a wonderful plant to grow with children. The flowers can be left up over the winter to provide seeds for birds.

They are available in a range of colours and heights and can be seen blooming all over the Okanagan at the moment.

Crocosmia

Our Plant Of The Week this week is the Crocosmia.

The plants in these photographs are in Ken's front garden. They have been there for about 4 years, so have survived a couple of very harsh winters.

Crocosmias are members of the iris family and are also related to gladiolas.

They produce clumps of green sword-shaped leaves (rather like irises) and in mid to late summer, tall, arching spikes of funnel-shaped blossoms appear. Several named varieties are now available, in a range of hot colours.

They make great cut flowers. Clumps should be divided every three years, in spring.

Lilium - Lily Family

This week's Plant Of The Week is the lily family, botanical name: lilium.

Lilies are beautiful, large, showy flowering garden plants which grow from bulbs. They comprise a genus of about 110 species in the lily family (Liliaceae) and many of these species are native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The species in this genus are the true lilies. Many other plants exist with "lily" in the common English name, for example daylily, however these are often quite unrelated to the true lilies.

The large flowers, which are often highly fragrant, come in a range of colours; whites, yellows, oranges, pinks, reds and purples. The markings on the petals include spots and brush strokes. The plants are late spring or summer flowering.

As well as their importance in the garden, lilies are important culturally and in literature in many parts of the world. They can be used in herbaceous borders, woodland and shrub plantings, and as a patio plant in a container. Some species are also sometimes grown or harvested for the edible bulbs.

Our photos show some beautiful lilies we have seen recently in gardens around the Okanagan.

If you have any suggestions for our Plant Of The Week or have photos of plants in your garden which we have featured on our website and would like to share with us, we would love to hear from you. Happy gardening!