by Leslie Cox; Saturday; September 1, 2018

As dry, hot, and dusty as it has been this summer in our garden, the sedums are putting on a grand display for us. A nice wrap up to the end of summer, I must say.

Ours is not really a true fall garden but we do have enough variety of plant species that spots of vivid colour and a few blossoms pop up here and there in the landscape. A happy circumstance as we are not ready to let go of summer just yet…as much as we welcome cooler temperatures and look forward to the fall rains.

I noticed my Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum (doublefile viburnum) is starting to turn colour. Indeed, it is usually one of the first of our shrubs and trees to start changing colour…sometime towards the last two weeks of August. I know, right? That is still summer as far as I am concerned so what is up with changing colour that early? Could it possibly be linked to the last four summers being the hottest and driest on record? Hard to say for sure, but a look back in my photo library for previous pictures of that viburnum taken in late August may shed some light. I will put that chore on my To-Do List to tackle when harvest season has wrapped up.

But I do know the sedums are right on time for their typical display. There is one called ‘Autumn Joy’ which is planted where we can see it from the window over the kitchen sink. (I really love the elevated view we have of the back garden from the rooms on that side of the house. One of the bonuses of a sloping lot…level entry at the back to the basement and main living area entry level at the front.)

 

Elsewhere around the garden, we have a lovely variegated one, Sedum spectabile ‘Variegatum’, plus three purple-leaved ones called Sedum telephium ‘Purple Emperor’, Sedum ‘Lynda Windsor, and Sedum ‘Garnet Brocade’. The latter holds its purple leaf colouring better, even in slight shade. ‘Purple Emperor’ and ‘Lynda Windsor’ tend to fade to more green with purple accents on their leaves when given too much shade. Regardless, they are all beautiful.

One more worth mentioning here…Sedum ‘Matrona’. This one graces the west bed beside the greenhouse. Reddish-purple stems, pale green leaves edged and gently highlighted with the same reddish-purple make this one stand out amongst the rich plantings abounding here. (‘Matrona’ is shown in the lower right corner of the photo, next to ‘Purple Emperor’.)

I am so inspired with these sedums right now as the garden transitions from the hot, dry summer into a slightly cooler fall, I am starting a new blog category: “Plant of the Month”. Problem is…which of these sedums mentioned should I showcase first? Stay tuned to find out.