The Nerine bowdenii were defiant, weathering the rougher side of autumn and standing alone with colour dimmed around them. The slender buds were pushing through while the colour was gathering in the trees, and they have lasted a good six weeks – a twist of bubblegum pink neon now the light is dimmed.
Nerine and I have had a longstanding relationship and the plants I have lined out for cutting were given to me by my gardening mentor when I was a child. I have moved them with me ever since, retaining the image of where Geraldine had them grouped with figs and Algerian iris at the base of a hot, dry wall. Given light and a free-draining position to remind them of their South African heritage, they are dependable, long-lived and welcome at this tipping point into winter.
Flowers that arrive at unexpected points in the year are always a delight and worth finding room for, to draw you into the garden. Neighbours up the lane have offered me some of their Schizostylis coccinea, which are apparently running wild and needing control. I cannot quite believe that until now I have never grown them for myself. Perhaps it is because you have to make the room for them in the summer garden and to have the patience to wait this late into the year for their flower. As I mature as a gardener I can see that this is nonsense and that putting a planting together is a little like pacing a good meal. There should always be something to look forward to until you are replete.
We will wait until the spring now to move them, but I will be pleased to have another South African to take the end of the year by storm. Schizostylis coccinea are not always easy as they prefer moisture at their feet, but if you have a heavy soil or a damp piece of ground the rewards are plentiful. There is a red and pink on offer and my guess is that they are the brick-red S coccinea "Major" and "Mrs Hegarty" or "Viscountess Byng" – both soft pink and in cultivation now for the best part of a century.
I must admit to liking the heat in the red of "Major" and never worry this late in the year that its strength of colour might be hard to place. The spikes of flower rise up to about 18in above grassy foliage. The pinks are easy in combination with asters and I like them, too, with the indigo blue of Ceratostigma and fleshy sedum. Tawny switchgrass – Panicum virgatum "Shenandoah" – and late-flowering Kniphofia galpinii are good partners and will help in retaining the blaze well beyond the autumn cacophony of foliage.
Striking an altogether different note are the autumn-flowering Camellia sasanqua. Autumn is a loose term, for they start to flower in late October and are often still out in January in a mild winter. I first came upon them in Japan, where they provide rare flower among falling leaves. As natives of the warmer parts of the country, where the summers are hot and humid and the winters chill rather than freeze for lengthy periods, their requirement for a warm position is a given. A south- or west-facing corner – where their growth can start early without frost damage and then ripen in sunshine – will be needed if they are to flower well. Their ranginess also marks a contrast to the spring-flowering Camellia japonica but their growth is light, which I like in an evergreen.
I have taken to planting Camellia sasanqua in pots so that their out-of-season flower and perfume can be brought into a key position when they come into flower. This is often just when you need it. "Hugh Evans" is a delightful single pink, the flowers loose and open, and smattered lightly through the foliage. "Crimson King" is one of the hardiest, with deep crimson flowers and golden anthers. "Narumigata" is a beautiful single white with just a flush of pink as it ages, and "Fuji-no-mine" is a clear pure white and, by the time the leaves are down on the trees, a treasure in the gloom.
Get growing
Terracotta pots suit pot-grown camellias. Place the pots in a saucer of water to prevent them from drying in summer, and wrap the pots with bubble wrap in winter to prevent both the terracotta and the roots from freezing.