Geranium peloponnesiacum

Im putting this on my faves as I think it might be one I have that flowers early. Is it quite a large one - about 2' tall.. and forms neat but generous clumps?

Yes, that's the description. :-)))

Oh, right, good. I'm hoping you'll be able to help me id a few others as they flower! Just been on Claire Austin website ordering some plants. Have you seen the price of some of her irises? I wanted to get one that's in Gardeners W mag. this month. It's called 'Broadband' absolutely stunning.....£30 per plant!! I'll wait until the price goes down. They don't send them out until the autumn anyway so I'll see what they are like then!

Now 'that' is serious money! Wow! What did you order??

Yes, of course I'll have a go - but not on the 'anonymous pink' ones...you know, the ones that hybridise and all look the same...lol.

Mine are all listed, with photos where possible.

well, I didn't order any Irises! i did order a couple of geraniums though (and an amsonia blue star) and then I found that other site that I pm'd you about and I ordered a few geraniums from them as well...oops!

I've got a few Amsonias! I planted A. tabernaemontana x 2 last year, and a different one a few weeks ago. :-))

I'd never heard of it, but when I saw it on the website I thought it looked absolutely lovely with the black stems and pale flowers......couldn't resist!

Oh, and a Cirsium Rivulare Atropurpureum which will be lovely and give me some height at the back of the border later.

Now that's funny! I put three in my top border about 10 days ago - it needed some height, where I took out two very dead (large) Lavandula stoechas 'Tiara' plants. I don't regret their passing, as the scent from them was revolting!

Aha! synchronicity!!

I've said to you before that we seem to share the same taste in plants! Apart from 'Purple Rain', do you grow any other Salvias, by any chance?

I have salvia sclarea and a few of the lovely mauvey pink one that I can't recall the name of, but yes I adore them! Not the bog standard ones though that you get in the GC, they are a bit dull. Oh, and I have pratense too but I don't know if it will have made it through the winter. I think it's called 'cambridge blue' ? but not sure it's a fabulous bright blue colour though. I split my purple rain by the way, very tentatively - chopped some of the bits off the edges and replanted them!

I have an area in my top border which is a sea of purple and blue in the summer through to autumn, planted with Salvias, Marjoram and Eryngium planum and others... I had S. sclarea, but I lost it. it used to seed itself regularly, but no plants this year. :-(

I have some more interesting ones, can't remember their names, a pratense, not 'Cambridge Blue', though, and shrubby ones - several. I thought I'd lost a couple, but they are shooting again. ;-)) I used to have S. uliginosa, but that didn't appear last year!

I rescued my Purple Rain - and potted two babies up. They seem to be doing OK, so I might be all right this year. One of the plants in the front of the border is A1 fine, and it will flower soon - not too sure about the new ones I had to buy, though! The border won't be right this year. :-((

I like this one but would never have it my garden as I couldn't pronounce it!

Ha ha! you could just rename it to your liking!! :))

Barbara, that's gardening eh? You get something really stunning one year and next year it doesn't quite do the same job! I suppose the transitory nature of a garden is also part of it's appeal....things get too big, come out and get replaced...nothing's ever set in stone..except the things that are set in stone! lol x

Yes, you're right, Karen - what I must NOT do is think of the garden as 'just' for the open days - it's mine all the year round. 'Joe Public' may see different things this year, but they won't necessarily remember what was where.

Nah, I can't see them remembering it all. I can understand you getting a bit anxious about the open days though. I would be the same. Thing is, when we go to open gardens we don't look for faults do we...we look for new ideas and we admire the beauty of it and yet we think that all others want to do is pick fault!! I bet you will have wonderful open days...I hope not too many people will be pinching cuttings - I hear that goes on a lot! - and I bet you'll raise loads of money, main thing is the weather....if it's pouring rain, not so good!

We were really lucky last year - two fine days. We heard about people snipping cuttings, so we had plenty of helpers around.

I'm awful when I go to open gardens - OH tells me off for noticing weeds etc...LOL. I do try to say nice things to the owners, though - and I 'don't' take cuttings!!! :-)))

I should hope not.........here come the HGs folk.......lovely plant.

It is - I was pleased to come across it, Dd. :-)))

Mine has it's first flower on today! and it looks exactly like this!

That's good!!! :-)))))

I forgot to tell you - I bought a white S. vercillicata last year, and it's doing well. :-D

Oh, that sounds nice. One of the best things about purple rain though is the fact that the seedheads stay purple. I hope the white ones don't go brown!.....we shall see!

Oh, forgot to mention, I had a phone call from that cranesbill nursersy this morning, to take my credit card details. Lady was very nice. Hopefully get plants the end of this week....can't wait!

That's good - please let us/me know what the plants are like!

That white vercillicata - the flowers didn't go brown - I kept dead-heading anyway, as I do with 'Purple Rain' and it flowered on and on. :-)))

Thanks for the tip, I didn't know that it responds well to deadheading. I shall do same this year if/when it flowers! I'm sure it will, but everything is so late...moan, moan, moan! ;))

Oh yes, take out the finished centre 'spires' and the side shoots flower, then take it back to the next 'joint' and so on - it flowers on and on, then!

I agree - AND the one in a pot has been nibbled by snails!!!! MORE moaning!

Ah yes, now that you say that I can visualise what you mean. I sometimes take them for cut flowers and I recall the side shoots!

:-)))