With the skies now empty of swifts, their screaming mobs careering around the garden in the evening light now long gone, it seems autumn, if not already upon us, is lurking and waiting just around the corner.
We always associate anemones with autumn and here they are doing their best to light up the north side of the garden at Genus HQ. Anemone x hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’ has performed brilliantly for us for over a decade, flowering well into September and October. Even after the petals have fallen to the ground, attractive pincushion ‘buds’ remain, lasting well until the winter cold and icy winds whip around the cottage and cut them to the ground.
These hybrid anemones are extremely popular with over 40 varieties available to gardeners in the UK. Often with a reputation for running and taking over, ours are nothing but well behaved, in fact so well regarded is ‘Honorine Jobert’ that the RHS honoured it with the Award of Garden Merit. If you have found these Japanese hybrids to be a bit too enthusiastic in your garden there is another hybrid that is far better behaved. Anemone ‘Frilly Knickers’ (yes, really!) is a clump forming double flowered variety that was discovered by Rosy Hardy of Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants in Hampshire. Growing as a side shoot off of another Anemone, Rosy’s experienced eye spotted the unusual colouration and double flowers. From that single ‘sport’ discovered in 2015, stock has been grown on and it can now be spotted at many of the autumn flower shows that the Hardy’s attend.
We rather like the idea of inviting the vicar to Sunday tea and then asking him to come for a walk around the garden. Perhaps he’d like to see our ‘Frilly Knickers’!