The late summer flowers are doing their thing. The sunflowers in particular are a joy of colour and cheerful faces. I grow mine for cutting and pick 5 or so at a time, clipping the small ones to sit in a short mug, and keeping the large ones for tall vases. No need for words, I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
This one is 6 foot tall, a pale apricot dusted with cocoa
More of a classic sunflower colour but with a more dainty flower the size of my palm (left), plus another cocoa dusted pretty (right)
The bees love these; I have to check before every cutting that I’m not disturbing some nectar-sucking-action
Going over now, but two plants are the darkest burnt caramel
These ones are diddy, smaller than the round of a tea-cup
Elsewhere there’s dashes of strongest colour. The lilies have been a VERY long time coming but yesterday this one reluctantly decided to wake from slumber.
Star-gazer lily
The dahlias are flouncy and camp and marvellous. I want to pick them all to sit on the kitchen table, but the blooms are limited so I’m resisting temptation.
Bright red with laced-edge petals, as if they’ve been trimmed by shearing scissors
This one’s more prim and proper
A delicate buttercup yellow with flouncy interior
The show-stopper: the size of a dinner plate, marbled and lion-headed, and far too showy to be stuck next to the parsnips. The Shirley Bassey of the dahlia world.
