I realise that in my last few posts I have shown mainly foliage and grasses; but that isn’t all that is flowering. So today on the last day of October here are some of the flowers that are beguiling me with their beauty.
Rosa ‘Scepter’d Isle’
Rosa ‘Scepter’d Isle’
unknown Salvia that has flowered all summer
Salvia ‘Indigo Spires’
Gaura flowering beautifully after it was chopped in mid-August
Gaura
Rosa ‘Tradescant’
Rosa Sophie’s perpetual
Rosa ‘William Shakespeare’
View across the Large Island
Rosa ‘Queen of Sweden’
White Asters
Rosa ‘Clair Martin’
Iris ‘Immortality’ – re-flowering and looking beautiful
It isn’t unusual for the roses to be flowering now but I think they are producing more perfect flowers than they usually do at this time of year. Are your roses flowering?
Creating my own garden of the Hesperides 
My roses are flowering but not more profusely than usual. Amelia
The Large Island planting is just beautiful Christina! I nearly bought ‘Queen of Sweden’ in the summer but changed my mind at the last minute. Your photograph has made me regret! You’ve some lovely roses – I need to stop looking at other people’s roses and wanting them (Sophie’s Perpetual looks a bit gorgeous too! Thanks
Queen of Sweden is a very upright rose and re-flowers better than any of the roses I have, even without dead-heading. The flowers are almost too perfect if you know what I mean. If you look back to some of the images in May or June, you’ll see that Sophie has a rather beautiful colour combination having darker outer petals. My ground isn’t at all good for roses but these too perform well.
Our roses all had big fat buds, which the deer munched, every one. They (the deer) are protected only by their cuteness. I wish ‘Immortality’ would rebloom for me. I was told it would. Many beautiful blooms to keep your vases coming.
This is the first year immortality has re-bloomed, but others say it is reliable. Cuteness might wear a bit thin if they ate my flowers. I don’t really like picking flowers from the garden that’s why I started the cuttings bed.
Rosa ‘Scepter’d Isle’ is on my list, for the form as much as the colour and scent. The roses are still flowering here, but the blooms are smaller and don’t last as long. Not helped by the rain.. the David Austin ones tend to go brown and papery, I know there’s a technical term for that but can’t remember it.
Your roses are lovely! I particularly like ‘Scepter’d Isle’- very, very charming. I think your salvia might be ‘Pink Preference’ – I know it has variable shades of pink flowers on little the purple sepals/receptacles…..
Oh I do like the shape, colour and form of ‘This Scepter’d Isle’ Christina. Is she scented? I do not have many roses but ‘Blush Noisette’, ‘New Dawn’ and ‘The Fairy’ are still in flower. They may get a shock next week when temperatures take a nosedive.
Its always a surprise to me to see you growing such beautiful Roses Christina as I imagined they would not grow so well in your climate. I planted 5 new roses last Winter but none have really gone on to produce flowers this late, I am hoping for better next year.
I’m not sure why you are surprised roses actually need some sun to harden their wood. My ground isn’t good, it’s too late, but friends with clay soils grow some superb roses. They don’t flower well in mid-summer but May and September are usually perfect
Now you say that I am not sure why I should be surprised either. A clay soil would be a mixed blessing for me as its heavy to work but it would be lovely to be able to grow more vigorous plants. Have a lovely weekend Christina.
Thanks Julie, you too.
I hope your weekend was good Julie; your good wishes brought perfect weather both days, really warm and strong sunshine, perfect for gardening and a pleasant walk.
I love that ‘Queen of Sweden’ and ‘Sceptre d’Isle’, they look like big soft pink peonies. The Gaura and ‘Indiigo Spires’ are really nice, too.
Both of the roses are great repeat flowers.
You do have some great flowers still going. My Immortality is also blooming but we’re heading into a very cold weekend with first freeze predicted. I saw a cherry tree flowering in our neighborhood today.
Was it a cherry that should be flowering now, in the UK there is one that flowers almost all winter. Hope they’re wrong about the freeze. Have a nice weekend.
I don’t the cherry should be blooming now. Temps were near-freezing last night but things look ok today. Another freeze warning for tonight.
I hope you garden isn’t too damages by the frost Susie.
Such beauties, especially the roses.
Thanks Cynthia
Your roses make me green with envy. It has been an especially bad year for roses in my garden. They’ve appear here and there at irregular intervals this year, singly or in small numbers, but I’ve had no large flushes of bloom. My bearded Iris also flopped this year. Only the daylilies surprised me – my re-blooming ‘Spanish Harlem’ is on its 4th round.
I’m surprised about your Irises they are usually my most dependable plant during a drought, but maybe they need some winter wet, which you didn’t have much of last year.
The iris is a lovely sight at this time of year. and can fool you into thinking it’s June! Lovely roses. I only have the odd one or two, but the flowers are not terribly pretty in November!
The roses like the cooler days and usually flower quite well in October and hopefully into November.
Your roses are beautiful Christina – I particularly love the Queen of Sweden- perhaps one I should add to my garden. My roses are producing some beautiful blooms at the moment – the flowers are smaller than back in June and not as prolific but very welcome nonetheless. I usually have a few flowers into November and then nothing until next June – when will yours start to flower next year?
Roses flower in May here and continue into June. Everything comes at once, roses, azaleas, a bit like a Chelsea garden, then by the second half of July there is nothing!
Scepter’d Isle is absolutely gorgeous, isn’t she, and lovely to still be seeing roses, isn’t it?
Yes it lovely to still have such lovely roses but they are usually still flowering here in early November but maybe not such perfect blooms.
You Rosa ‘Scepter’d Isle’ is so beautiful – it looks like it is made of paper. I don’t do very well with roses generally. They get a lot of greenfly and black spot unless I spray them which I won’t do unless I can get a calm day before the bees appear. I did have a few out a week or so ago, but they have all finished now. Your white iris is wonderful too – another plant that I love, but haven’t had a lot of success with so far. I put a lot in last year which didn’t flower this year, but I am hoping they will give me a good display next summer. I noticed that white gaura a lot while I was in France earlier in the year – I have a new pink one that performed well this summer.
roses and Irises both appreciate some hot sun which I imagine is in rather short supply in Aberdeen. R. ‘Scepter’d Isle is a very good repeat flowering rose even for me!
I still have a few roses but nothing fragrant. I miss the summer fragrances and was just thinking that this afternoon as I moved the rosemary to warmer quarters. No lush cascades of healthy rosemary around here!
You’re right there isn’t a noticeable perfume of roses in the garden even though all of these roses have a good fragrance in summer. The strong perfume at the moment is provided by Eleagnus. I hope your rosemary survives the winter.
Yes, my roses are flowering. Yours are gorgeous! The lighting this time of year is magical. I love the mellow glow over your garden and roses.
Yes, mellow is the perfect word to describe the effect the light gives. I’m glad your roses are flowering too.
I love the colour of William Shakespeare. I’m down to one unknown yellow rose here, which is flowering away but which I need to prune back as it is a hideous shape. Though a rambler we thought we’d got rid of is also making a determined effort so I may have more roses here next year, observation suggests they do well here, there are lots in the front gardens that are exposed to the sea and northerly storms, but they seem to love it. I remain to be convinced, though it was your use of roses that persuaded me to give the yellow rose a go. The others I rescued when we moved here are martyrs to blackspot. Revolting.
William Shakespeare also has a wonderful perfume although it isn’t very obvious in autumn. After all the rain this year and attacks by various insects most of my roses are completely without leaves – a bit alarming. I blow hot and cold about the roses; they aren’t really suited to my soil but when they are flowering they do add to the overall effect. I am seriously thinking of removing (or moving) the ones in the left hand border, either that or I must feed and water a great deal more.
So nice to see these flowers. And I am smitten with The Queen of Sweden. My knockout double pinks are blooming as are my miniature and fairy roses.