#penstemon dark towers

[hisinfernalmajesty666]

Penstemon 'dark towers'.

I just love the contrast of the pink flowers and dark foliage!

[ahamiltongarden]

SALVIA CULTIVARS TO ACCOMPANY ROSES

Last year I put in Salvia guaranitica ‘Amistad’ under the young standard wisteria where it gets full sun but mostly half shade. Now it has taken off with the recent bouts of rain. Its black bracts and bright blue funnelled flowers are delightful and the textured dark leaves are handsome in their own right. I placed it near Salvia Love and Wishes ‘Wendy’s Wish’ so that both bloom against the backdrop of the wonderful ‘Annabelle’ hydrangea whose cream flowers turn vibrant green in late summer and autumn. Half of the pink salvia bush died off when we sprayed the very pervasive strawberry like plant ground cover last year in that area that has now thankfully been abolished. In time these salvia plants will get bigger and by then the new white and purple striped Old Rose ‘Variegata di Bologna’ will have grown big enough to rest around its obelisk support in full sun. I am hoping the newly emerged and glorious Lillium candidum I was given by David Glenn will mingle with these striped roses in spring.

The poor kinds of penstemons I had growing between the Old Rose towers have been removed and in their place I have planted more Salvia Love and Wishes ‘Wendy’s Wish’ so there will be a continued effect of this plant behind the border of ‘Hidcote’ lavender in front of the rose towers in both spring and autumn. In front of the between the towers ‘Wendy’s Wish I also have some replanted Lillium longiflorum bulbs, and in fact had so many of these bulbs that I was able to create four other clusters of them along the long garden too. Aster ‘Ruby Buttons’ is also a presence in this particular part of the long garden for autumn flowering.

[homobotanica]

Penstemon "Dark towers"

[hisinfernalmajesty666]

Penstemon 'dark towers'

Have three of these in a triangle, with a lil family of ducks!! 🦆

Been very slow growing these but in the past few weeks have tripled in size. I hope they'll flower this year. They have dark, almost black leaves with pastel pink flower heads. Such a pretty combo!

[hisinfernalmajesty666]

Bee landing into penstemon (2023)

[hisinfernalmajesty666]

Received my penstemon 'dark towers' in the mail today! They look so healthy which is a pleasant surprise. I potted them up where for a few weeks they will remain until cold weather passes and they establish roots. Then they'll be ready to plant in the ground. I Included a photo for reference of what they look like once grown.

[hisinfernalmajesty666]

It's been a busy morning for me! Had a few plants ready to plant on my day off, then another 7 arrived today! Scroll down for some updates!

The new border I created at the back of my garden. I began this a few weeks prior but it needed topping up with some compost and I filled in some more spaces with plants.

Bottom left and bottom right are dianthus 'rocking red'. In the centre is a fern and in front of the fern is a couple of campanulas and a lithodora. In the upper left is a sea holly (eryngium) and upper right is a baptisia. Between two rockery stones is a sedum 'atlantis'. Either side of the big penny stepping stone are penstemon 'dark towers'.

A closer look at the sedum 'atlantis'.

The wildlife pond. I'm hoping for a frog to come and make its home here. The aquatic plants are growing as well as the bulbs I planted around it. My garden is prone to slugs which destroy some plants so I'm hoping a frog will come and eat them!!!

A little experiment of mine. I began making my own compost last year. Want to test its effectiveness so I bought two achillea plants of the same size and planted them in the same sized pots. The pot on the left is my homemade compost and on the right from a garden centre. I don't expect mine to be as good but I'm just curious!

Just some things I planted out in the border today and a spare dianthus.