Serendipity

Orange seems to be springing up all over our garden now, in mid-August. Once known as 'Monbretia', these brilliant flowers have colonised little sunny patches in the vegetable plot, in a couple of beds and in gravel, where they really seem to be happiest. Their big cousin, Crocosmia 'Lucifer' - a larger and more fiery red version, has almost faded now, while these gloriously brilliant flowers are at their most profuse and dazzling ever. But a happy accident has created a lovely planting combination with the burgeoning hips of Rosa rugosa.

Not far from these there is also a Lonicera periclymenum 'Serotina', which, with its vivid pink and yellow flowers makes another, almost tropical contrast. As mentioned last year, the burnt orange of the David Austin rose, 'Summer Song' (see photo below), continues flowering until late autumn and is happily placed close to the other three. What would also work with this combination is Hibiscus syracuse 'Woodbridge'; ours has just come out and is smothered in shocking pink flowers with an even deeper pinky red heart.