So, what temptations have you succumed to this year? Don’t worry, I’m not being ultra inquisitive – it is your garden temptations that I am interested in.

This time of year, gardening catalogue after catalogue drop on my door mat, and increasingly via email too.  There are a few that I bin straight away – those that concentrate on bedding plants – they just aren’t my style.  However any that contain perennials and sometimes bulbs, get a lot more attention.

Gardening catalogues can be very daunting and I know I have spent a great deal of money on them in the past.  All sorts of plants need to be investigated.  Over time, I have learnt which plants do not survive in my garden and so I just go straight past those. 

Anemone leveillei

This year, I decided that it would be useful to have a little more colour in the late summer and so was looking at Japanese Anemones when I noticed Anemone leveillei.  Although the flowers are much like the Japanese version, they appear in late spring and are a little shorter in stature.  So guess what is on my shopping list :). 

I also have ordered Cosmos, as usual.  I find them wonderful, flowering their socks off all summer in excahnge for some dead heading – a real bargin.  I usually grow on a few in pots so that they can fill in any gaps that may appear in the beds.

Fortunately, my garden is pretty full now, so there isn’t too much space for new plants. I think I’ll resist any more temptation for now – until the Spring at least, when I find out which plants haven’t survived the winter. But that is another story …………………….