October to December - South West England

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viburnamlantana.jpg (93923 bytes)   Viburnum Lantana from Christine Ann

Also known as Wayfaring Tree.  The book says that this Viburnum thrives on chalk and limestone soils - my soil is mainly clay. A very attractive shrub with individual flowers making up the large white flower head which appears around May and June, followed by attractive, vibrantly coloured berries. Expect a height of up to 6m - I keep it pruned down to about 4 feet and cut it back quite hard in the spring or after the berries have gone.  West Dorset; 1 mile from the sea so very little frost; sunny position.
 
 
stipatenuissima.jpg (145266 bytes)   Stipa tenuissima from Christine Ann

Common name feather grass. A neat, compact, perennial grass, this has lots of close-packed, stiff, thread-like stems forming a strongly horizontal shape about 60cm (2ft) tall. In summer, plants are covered with masses of elegant pale feathery seed-heads which are held a little above the foliage. These can be cut and dried when first opened for use in winter arrangements indoors. Alternatively they make a useful winter food source for finches and other seed-eating birds. Plants like a sunny well-drained spot. To propagate, divide plants from mid-spring to early summer.self-seeds profusely in my garden
West Dorset; 1 mile from the sea so very little frost; sunny position.
 
 
cortaderiaselloanapumila.jpg (110407 bytes)   Cortaderia selloana 'Pumila' AGM from Christine Ann

Common name: Pampas grass,  Family: Poaceae.
Height and spread: Up to 1.5m (5ft) tall x 1.2m (4ft) wide.
Form: Perennial grass. Soil: Fertile and well drained. Aspect: Full sun.
Hardiness: Hardy throughout the British Isles.
 
coronillavalentina.jpg (90920 bytes)   Coronilla valentina from Laura Penstemon

A member of the Papillionaceae family, this is a Mediterranean shrub. Subsp. glauca has glaucous blue-green leaves and yellow flowers. The cultivar 'Citrina' has paler yellow flowers and not such an overpowering scent

 
euonymusalatus.jpg (89855 bytes)   Euonymus alatus from Laura Penstemon

Common name - Compact winged spindle tree. Family: Celastraceae Height and spread: 1m (3ft) x 3m (10ft).  A deciduous shrub that likes well drained soil in full sun or light shade.  Fully hardy.

 
ivyleavedtoadflax.jpg (32676 bytes)   Ivy-leaved Toadflax from Deaw Grow

Cymbalaria muralis (‘cymbal shaped (leaves), grows on walls’) Lovely little flowers that last from April to December. Has long creeping stems with dark green leaves that covers walls and rocks. It is pollinated by bees, and bends the ripe seed pods inwards to push them into crevices in rock. The stems are delicate and don’t like drying out. It’s easy enough to pull out if the plant gets too much, but is often considered a weed. I love the way it drapes over plant pots and rocks. I’ve got some trying to grow over the front step into the house, and some more in a pot indoors and growing along the radiator. Leaves are used like cress in salads. Apparently introduced from Southern Europe in the 1600s, but now widespread in Britain.
 
jasminumnudiflorum.jpg (47118 bytes)   Winter flowering jasmine from Deaw Grow

Jasminum nudiflorum (‘Jasmine, flowers before leaves are out’). Will apparently grow in most soils and places and grows to about 3 m - I’ve read ‘magnificent on a sunny wall’, which is where mine is. Mine looks happy in a large pot, and is just starting to get going (been in two years). It flowers in winter, then the leaves come out after that. Apparently is partial to regular feeding with Bonemeal.