Only a plant for containers?

I remember a few years ago seeing some diascias in a show garden and thought they were lovely, i think they may have been the apricot one with black phormiums which looked great, have only grown the annuals in the past though, but would like to try some of these :^)

Added to favs for future reference, they are lovely plants and so many to choose from, I have a pink trailing one in one of my baskets, hadn`t got a clue what it was called as the basket was a gift last year and the little plant came through our hard winter with no help from me at all.
Thanks Spritz for another very imformative blog, lovely photo`s as well......

lovely pictures and another species of plants to have a try at... Looks like they are very pretty and useful.. I only discovered penstemons a few years ago and I would'nt be without them now.. thanks for the great blog

Hi Spitz I love them and have them in my baskets and in my containers the salmon pink one you have I had last year but didn't see any this year went for deep red and orange but they are lovely and didn't realise how many different types there were and that they were so hardy! Lovely photo's and blog:)

They are gorgeous. I love them and I love Nemesias even more, especially the scented ones. At Chelsea there was a Diascia Nursery in the Great Pavilion. I can't remember the name but it was in the hills of Wales and the Nurseryman was very very chatty and lovely! Denise and I were there for ages discussing the hardiness of them etc. He said they are hardy, but they cannot stand winter wet, so not good for Clay. They must have good drainage to survive over the winter, but when mature they can make about 3' mound of flowers....stunning!

I am often able to keep them over winter in my shed, and I think on occations when they die it's because I've kept them too dry.
It's nice to know they are so hardy. I will try them in the garden next year (haven't got any now but I'll get some next year) Thanks for this information :)

Beautiful colours :O)

That's quite an eye-opener, thanks Spritz. I love the Lilac Belle. Like Karen, I love Nemesias even more, and they DO survive over winter in clay.

yes i too thought annual or tender, but I had a deep pink one come through the winter. I also bought a bright orange one whose name escapes me now.

lovely photos too Spritz.

Thanks for your interest! I'm glad you all enjoyed the blog. It's just one family of plants that isn't very well known to many people, apart from the ones that trail. I've had my eyes opened - I'll be looking out for them now. :-)

Had a look today, mine is called 'Little Tango' and is a soft orange.

I hope it survives until next year for you. :-)

I found a new one when I went off out on Wednesday - called 'Daydream'. It's a salmony-pink, and may need some extra compost over the root ball in colder weather, so I was told. (I think that's Nursery-speak for 'not very hardy'!)

That happens to me too, Homebird . . . don't you feel exasperated when you think you've "missed out"?! But everything normally works so smoothly, I suspect it's an occasional computer glitch.

No idea, I'm afraid - you need to contact Peter/Ajay,I think.

Interesting plants, aren't they, Homebird. The Diascia vigilis has flowered now - I must take a photo. :-)

What a fascinating blog Spritz. I gave up on them because they are quite expensive if you treat them as annuals. I will give these a go too. I could do with trailing plants in my new raised beds. You have stirred up a lot of interest with this one. I hope you are both back in the pink and ready for the students. Are they staying or just visiting for the day. Eva says Hello to Henry.

Hallo - Glad you found it and enjoyed it. My Diascia vigilis has flowered since I wrote this, and it's very pretty - supposed to be one of the hardiest forms, too!

Yes, I've been working hard to be ready for the students tomorrow. The tutor came on Saturday to check details.
I've typed a list of the geraniums that are in flower, which he thought was a good idea, as they're my 'thing'.

Unfortunately, the forecast is not good, but we'll just have to manage somehow. They're only here for the morning, then they go to another garden in the afternoon.

You are very generous with your time and with sharing your knowledge with us and others. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the rain does not hit you until after the visit.

Thank you - but having seen the forecast just now, we'll just have to don our macs and put our umbrellas up!

I'm amazed - I have 52 Geraniums actually in flower! :-))

WOW that is amazing. This is different varieties? Get to 57 and you can ask Heinz to sponsor you lol. Have you any idea of how many varieties there are in total?
We have a bright and warm day here so hope your rain stays away until the visitors are gone.

We were very lucky, Scotsgran. It rained at 9.30, and my heart sank at the thought of a wet visit. However, it stopped, and stayed dry for the whole morning! They were delightful people, so it was actually a pleasure to show them round. I'm glad I did type out that list - it acted as a focus for them, and they were very interested. I noticed that some of them were making notes on their lists!

I think i'm up to 108 different Geraniums now. I have duplicates, too - so that's not the number of plants - it could be about 120 in all.

It rained most of the afternoon, so that's how lucky we were. :-))

Well done. I'm glad it went off so well. Plenty spares to divide for the sales tables then. You will need to put up a list of what you plan to have for sale so we too can come prepared. You can do a blog showing what you have available.

Very interesting blog, must try some next year....120 HGs that is fantastic, please dont forget the list of suitable stout ones for our garden when you have a spare minute.....

I shall do it while OH watches his favourite programme tomorrow evening. Not one that I enjoy - I have to leave the room! :-((

Pray what could that be......you have me intrigued!!

BBC2 at 8 p.m. :-((