Yay! It’s officially Autumn.
I stepped outside in the early morning sunshine to take a close look at the tall grasses in the Gravel Garden. They are truly beautiful. I was also delighted to see that a small shrub that I planted a couple of years ago has at last produced a good show of flowers.
It’s taken a while… but it was definitely one of my star plants today.

Blue is a brilliant colour in the garden. It makes a small space seem bigger and combines well with the mellow colours of autumn.

Caryopteris x clandonensis ‘Heavenly Blue’
This is a lovely bushy aromatic shrub for a south facing garden. It’s hardy but needs well drained soil and full sun… position it close to a warm wall for best results.
The leaves are soft greyish green and the flowers really are a heavenly blue colour.
Now is the best time to see it as it flowers from late summer until late autumn.
It will reach a height of 50cm and spread of 1 metre in 5 to 10 years.

Be patient… mine has taken a few years to reach a decent size and produce lots of flowers but it’s well worth the wait. Harsh winter weather will cut it back to ground level. After a mild winter prune it back hard in March.