While Sarah is off galavanting at the Ballymaloe Garden Festival I have the responsibility of selecting our Plant of the Week. With cooler nights it clearly is a sign that autumn is on the way and for that reason there is no better choice than the the Sedum which has the aptly named ‘Autumn Joy. And this autumn has been a joy with warm days with cooler nights which mean that soon we shall see the brilliant autumn show of the red, orange and amber colours in the garden.
So why ‘Autumn Joy’? well the succulent, green leaves which are topped with salmon-pink flower-heads in summer, then mature to pinkish-bronze then coppery-red in autumn. And even better it provides a valuable late source of nectar for butterflies and bees, and the dried flowerheads provide structure and colour in the winter garden, providing both a floral joy as well as the beauty of visiting butterflies
Another looking good Sedum at this time of the year is Sedum ‘Chocolate Drop’ a new release Sedum with soft rose pink flowers with dark chocolate foliage on a compact upright habit. It is excellent for borders for late Summer mass colour.
Sedums are generally associated with the low growing alpine varieties which are often used on green roofs, just as we have done on our own over the beehive. However these larger varieties are perfect for rock gardens and sunny borders and like last weeks choice rabbit resistant so hopefully Sarah will approve.
Lovely macro shots there Brian and love the sedums too for their fantastic bee attracting qualities. I have the purple emperor but the autumn joy looks like a variety I’d like to add to our garden.
Hi Dee. I am afraid with a new macro lens I may be taking a few more pictures :). Definitely worth having for its bee and butterfly attraction.
Lovely blog Brian. I adore Sedums especially ‘Autumn Joy’ which I have planted in several spots around the garden. Love the vivid red/pink colour in Autumn and then the dried flower heads covered in frost during the Winter months. ‘Chocolate drop’ looks very interesting indeed….another plant to add to my ‘to buy’ list.
Thank you Mary. Imagine your garden to be a wildlife haven. ‘Chocolate Drop’ is definitely a nice contrasting addition.
It’s an over grown wildlife haven this year Brian but bees and insects are not complaining though!