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Great Plants this Month Summer

Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora ‘Coleton Fishacre’

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Louise Sims

Late summer in our garden – and predominant in the beds are shades of purple, lavender, blue and pink; the hot colours of the autumn garden have yet to get into their stride.

So, my subject today is the perfect antidote to fit into this misty mix. Neither yellow, nor rust, nor ochre, it is unapologetically orange, and this is quite an unusual colour at any time of the year. Bright but not shouty, it fits in anywhere.

Formerly called ‘Gerbe d’Or (and it is not immediately apparent when and why the name was changed), it was raised by Victor Lemoine of Nancy, France, as long ago as 1855. It bears a profusion of arching stems with nodding trumpets of intense golden apricot flowers; these grow through the coppery, olive-brown, sword shaped leaves which beautifully complement the flower colour.

I have found this Crocosmia (height about 60 cms) to be hardy and strong growing, it is easy to divide (best carried out in early spring) and can therefore be repeated through your border. It associates especially well with purple leaved Sedum, smaller grasses and Eryngium, Limonium, Perovskia, and Tulbaghia.

Eat your heart out Monty – one for your jewel garden!

NB Louise has published a beautifully produced book of her plant profiles – A Plant for Each Week of the Year. It costs £9.99 inc P & P and is for sale in our online shop here.

More NB If you’d like a bit more gardening chitchat from the3growbags, please type your email address here and we’ll send you a new post every Saturday morning.

By the3growbags

We're three sisters who love gardening, plants and even the science of horticulture but we're not all experts. We'd love everyone even remotely interested in their gardens to be part of our blogsite.

4 replies on “Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora ‘Coleton Fishacre’”

Searching for scaveola seeds after buying a beautiful white one at Arundel last year, can’t find a supplier, any ideas

Hello Carolyn, I must say Arundel Castle Gardens was the first time I had come across Scaevola aemula and I know that they had bought all theirs in as plug plants in the spring and it does seem that this is the only route to getting your hands on them! I’m wondering if this means that they are tricky to grow from seed and so this is done in some huge Dutch greenhouse and then exported in thousands of plug trays to British nurseries ?🤷‍♀️
Sorry not to be more helpful on this one but maybe one of our other subscribers has an idea of how you could obtain seed??
All the best and good luck with your search, Laura

Coincidentally, I came across Crocosmia ‘Coleton Fishacre’ on a recent trip to the glorious Cambo Walled Garden by St Andrews up here in Scotland. Definitely one to have, so I would second Louise’s recommendation!

Alison, Caroline here, so good to see your comment. I couldn’t agree more about Crocosmia ‘Coleton Fishacre’. I saw it when we visited the stunning garden at 2 Durnamuck near Ullapool/Gairloch this year (and last!). What a cracker! Obvs I had to get one. I was a bit concerned that its leaves looked a bit less vibrantly green than my other crocosmia but I’ve discovered this is just a trait. It’s flowering beautifully. Wishing you all the very best XXX

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