I’m pretty sure all gardeners are constantly asking ‘What more can be added to the garden?’ and, especially at this time of year, ‘What do I need less of?’ I’ve just about finished thinning out the alchemillia mollis. I definitely needed less of them, lovely though they are. I’ve decided I need more salvias, in particular Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’. I should have thought of this earlier and taken some cuttings. Of course, ‘more bulbs’ is an annual cry and I have managed to plant a couple of hundred muscari bulbs this week. This six is a bunch of other things I could do with more of.
One
Nerines fall into the more of category. This is my only one and have bought bulbs over several years. I am envious of those who have swathes of these lining charming paths that wend their way through verdant borders. Here I have one in a pot. It’s a start and I am persuaded to buy bulbs again – or even pots of them in flower if I come across them.
Two
Cosmos ‘Dazzler’, I have the right amount of these I think, but then again they are popping out of the gloom so well at the moment that I could be persuaded to have more. I was lucky this year to have self seeders that I transplanted around the garden. Will I be so fortunate next year? I may have to sow a few seeds myself to be sure.
Three
Liriope ‘Big Blue’. I used to have more of these but they refused to flower so I moved them to a new spot. Unfortunately the new spot had been home to self seeded carex that I did not want and I think in my enthusiasm to rid myself of carex seedlings I may have pulled out a couple of Liriopes! This one has stayed strong and has flowered for the second year. Thoughts of division come to mind but I’m leaving well alone for the moment.
Four
Berries on the snowberry was the wish for last year and this year they have arrived. I have been hacking this shrub back for the last five years, which explains the lack of berries. I’ve been taking out a mass of dead wood, dealing with the subsequent regeneration and finally getting it into a more or less reasonable shape. Of course it grows relentlessly and I’d really like to have less of it but that’s not going to happen. The birds are enjoying the berries and it fills a difficult corner so I will learn to love it.
Five
Anemone ‘September Charm’, still going into October and I think it started sometime in August. I am a fan of anemones and I did have success taking root cuttings one year. SOS posts have recently introduced to me to some really zingy pink ones that are high on the wish list, more, more, more!
Six
An unknown variety of hydrangea, that generously offered a little more in the shape of this late flowering stem. I have several hydrangeas around the garden and thought I had enough but this year I added a little pot of ‘Limelight’. I am very impressed by how quickly it bulked up, more please.
Of course less weeds, less slugs, less fox poo and less tree seedlings would make life easier but then what would we gardeners have left to moan about! The Propagator blazes the trail ahead through the winter months, challenging us in the northern hemisphere to come up with the weekly six, while those in southern hemisphere get to show their blue skies and summer gardens. Plenty for all to enjoy.
n20gardener 
I was wondering exactly the same question this morning: ‘What could I add to the garden this season …?”
I’m going to take a walk to the garden centre this afternoon to try to answer it.
I can see that you still have pretty cosmos and flowery nerines…
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I keep looking online, but now most of the things I am thinking of are out of stock! Good luck with your garden centre visit.
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Bulbs and bulbs were in my basket…
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Beautiful pale anemone! I have purple, white and dark pink, and would happily take more more more of any colour. Also cosmos and nerines and that hydrangea. Very lovely 🙂
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Thank you, purple anemone sounds like a must!
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I also have too much Alchemilla and not enough Salvia caradonna. Took cuttings last week, very late but you never know…Those Cosmos are so vibrant…I also like the snowberry although they do get big and gangly!
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There’s nothing to lose in taking a cutting is there?!
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Exactly!
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Yes, it is a time of year when the demanding activity of the garden slows down and there is time to consider, to assess and to dream. It is what keeps us interested and our gardens improving year on year. Now, the thoughts of adding muscari…..as I’ve spent years trying to get rid of them….Noooooooo! (though there are some very pale blue ones that I love!)
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I didn’t have any muscari – it might be a few years on before I regret them!!
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Muscari armenaicium has always increased very quickly here both at the bulb and by self-seeding so we now take them out whenever we see them. The light blue ones seem less vigorous – don’t seed about at any rate!
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Anemone ‘September Charm’ is a pretty one. I have too many of the bog standard tall pink ones, but they have flowered beautifully this year so I shouldn’t complain. Your Cosmos are lovely, I wish mine would grow let alone self-seed. I could do with less of the forget-me-nots. I still need to pull out a few hundred from the pebble paths – luckily with weed membrane so they come out easily.
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Yes, I could have added in forget-me-nots. I see you are off air, so to speak, for the winter, I hope all goes well and that winter treats us and our gardens well.
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I’ll be taking a break from the SoS at the end of the month, my garden is rather boring during the winter months and usually wet. So another couple of weeks yet 😉
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Liriope can be so aggressive. I pulled a bunch out of my downtown planter box, but could not bear to discard it. Instead, I canned it, as if I will ever have a use for it somewhere else. Hey, I just might. There are quite a few of them out there in both #1 and #5 cans. Those in #5 cans were just heeled in for division later.
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So far not in the least bit aggressive here! I sort of wish it would be a bit more thuggish! I have a corner at the back of the garden for those ‘heeled in’ things. It’s gettting quite full!
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Now that you mention it, I noticed that the original variegated cultivar was more docile. The reverted growth, which lacks variegation, is what became invasive. I would not have minded so much in a larger landscape. The problem was that it got under the perennial succulents, and was difficult to remove without damaging desirable plants. I intend to eventually return a ‘small’ amount of the variegated form back to the planter box, and keep it contained. It had been there for many years, prior to my acquisition of the planter box. Since I did not plant it, and do not know who did, I do not want whomever planted it to come by and notice it missing! Right now, there is only a very small tuft remaining there.
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I would like to have more nerines also, but they flower just as the frosts arrive and the flowers get burnt. I’m slowly finding places that are a little more sheltered. The anemones are pretty. I’d be happy if they found their way into my garden.
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We are heading towards the frosts now, but I think we’ve got a few more weeks to enjoy the nerines.
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What a great theme for a post. I have some Nerine bulbs in a pot that have never flowered and think I will have to try some already in flower instead.
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Thank you, I haven’t spotted any nerines in flower at the garden centres but the hunt goes on!
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I could do with less Forget-me-Not seedlings in the borders and less Verbena bonariensis in the front garden. I envy you your Nerines, I can’t get them to re-flower, having tried them in the ground and in pots. I’ve admitted defeat this year.
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