sUMMER FLOWERS STILL LINGER

nbelievably, in spite of cyclones and the coldest rainiest Autumn I ever remember, there are still some summer flowers in the garden which amazingly, have escaped the sad soggy end which has been the fate of so many.   The garden may be almost devoid of the colour of flowers, but it is the lushest and greenest I have ever seen in autumn, and so are surrounding lawns, gardens and trees.  
​It all looks so abnormally emerald, and out of character for Canterbury.  At this time of year, when the air is usually crisp and golden with blue skies, and when trees and foliage, are dry and gasping and lawns brown and dusty, everything looks unnaturally green and lush, as though dreadful irrigation pivots have been at work.
But no, it's all natural!  Or is it global warming, as there is no hint of any frosts yet?  Is Canterbury going to become green, humid, damp and lush instead of blue, gold, tussocky, dry and spiky?

 
​I purchased 2 of these dwarf Abutilon 'Lucky Lantern Orange', at the final Ellerslie Flower Show held in Christchurch in 2013 .  They have proved to be one of my best buys, as their orange bell shaped flowers are the perfect colour for my garden, and situated either side of my front gate they flower prolifically, nonstop from early summer till the frosts come. 
​This Abutilon never outgrows it's welcome, keeping its compact rounded shape all year.  The leaves may droop a bit during frosty weather, but all I do, is give them a little clip and shape in early spring and away they go again sending out new spring growth with the promise of new seasons flowers.

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Are these the blackest Dahlias you have ever seen?   It is an unnamed Dahlia which was given to me by a friend - perhaps 15 years ago?   She didn't know how it had arrived in her garden either - just that it was gorgeous.  Unthinkingly, all those years ago I planted one tuber in a wildish part of my garden, then completely forgot about it.  Utterly neglected it survived, and comes up faithfully every year, finding it's way up through Hostas, Hydrangeas and a prickly Japonica bush.   It does grow long and lanky, as it knows it needs too, to reach daylight.  
​It's not a prolific flowerer, and has the old fashioned look of one of those obscene double heavy headed Dahlias.  But it isn't!  Instead it has an enormous bud which opens into an almost single flower, it's dusky dark crimson petals opening wide to show a cluster of prominent golden stamens.   How lucky am I to get something so stunning from such unassuming origins.