Geranium Rozanne

There seem to be several phases of spring in Sydney, and as October arrives, we leave behind 'early spring', with its ethereal blossom trees; camellias and azaleas; traditional bulbs such as bluebells, freesias, Dutch iris and snowflakes; clivias; and Cymbidium orchids. That season was all I knew of spring in my early gardening days, but gradually I realised that mid-spring is an exciting time in the Sydney garden. Because of our unique climate, we can grow some of the beauties from cool to mild temperate areas, as well as other wonderful plants from warm temperate and subtropical zones, and October sees these two sources of plants interact to form what can only be described as a 'very Sydney garden'! By October, the garden is really filling in with so much lush growth and some beautiful flowers appear at this time.

Weigela florida

Weigela florida

Some of the classic, frost-tolerant deciduous shrubs (which tend to be regarded as late spring or early summer bloomers in cooler climates) do quite well in Sydney and they are at their peak in October: Weigela with its pink, white or cerise funnel-shaped blooms; the large, flat flowers of Philadelphus; the soft-pink or white bells of Deutzia; and the rounded, white 'snowballs' of Viburnum opulus 'Roseum' These are joined by some colourful warm-climate shrubs such as yesterday-today tomorrow bush Brunfelsia australis with its flowers that open violet, then fade to blue then white; a different form with larger flowers, Brunfelsia pauciflora 'Macrantha'; the huge, pendulous trumpets of Brugmansia in hues of white, pink, apricot and yellow; the soft-mauve bells of Mackaya bella; a renewed flush of the scented, white blooms of Murraya paniculata; and the tubular, scarlet flowers of the native holly Graptophyllum ilicifolium). I even have Tibouchina 'Jazzie' (which I forgot to prune in August) in bloom with its rich purple flowers!

Rosa Lady Hillingdon, a tea rose

Rosa Lady Hillingdon, a tea rose

Roses join in the fray in October and are often at their most beautiful at that time. Though Sydney's humid summer weather is a challenge for rose growing, there are many that do well here, including the old-fashioned tea roses along with various cultivars bred to be resistant to black spot. Though I have only a couple of roses, which were given to me, I love to see gardens at this time of year where roses flourish. The combination of roses with flowering perennials is so evocative of the cottage gardens I strove to emulate in my early garden years. Though many of those cottage garden perennials don't do well in Sydney, because of our mild winters and humid summers, there are some that succeed, such as Lychnis coronaria, Aquilegia, Geranium 'Rozanne', Campanula poscharskyana, green-leaved perennial Dianthus, Lamium maculatum, Arthropodium cirrhatum, Polygonatum x hybridum and Linaria purpurea. Individual plants of Lychnis, Aquilegia and Linaria may not last more than one or two years, but they leave behind a host of self-sown progeny to take their places!

Salvia Love and Wishes

Salvia Love and Wishes

Warm-climate shrubby Salvia that were pruned back in May are now offering their lovely spires of bloom that add to the cottagey look, such as Salvia 'Love and Wishes' and the rest of the 'Wishes' clan; 'Indigo Spires'; Salvia x jamensis cultivars; Salvia microphylla cultivars such as 'San Carlos Festival'; Salvia splendens and Salvia 'Desley'.

Clytostoma callistegiodes on a pergola in my garden

Clytostoma callistegiodes on a pergola in my garden

Lovely warm-climate climbers such as mauve Petrea volubilis and Clytostoma callistegioides wreathe pillars and pergolas and add more fresh blooms to the scene; and self-seeding annuals such as nasturtium, Orlaya, Cynoglossum and Nigella fill gaps between other plants. The many types of Pelargonium, grown as summer annuals in cooler climates, are perennial here and are in full bloom at the moment, adding plenty of colour.

Epiphyllum hybrid

Epiphyllum hybrid

October also sees the flowering of various succulent plants such as orchid cactus (Epiphyllum species and hybrids) and many Kalanchoe species and cultivars. The exotic soft-cane Dendrobium nobile orchids with their gorgeous rounded, pink or white flowers with a large black eye grow epiphytically in trees and add a striking accent. Other bold notes come from the Hippeastrum bulbs in flower now, with their enormous trumpets; the chunky spires of Acanthus mollis; and the pristine-white spathes of Zantedeschia albomaculata.

All in all, it is a glorious melange, and as the year progresses, more and more warm-climate plants will begin their period of bloom, taking centre stage in summer and continuing on into autumn. We are so lucky to be able to grow so many different sorts of plants in our Sydney gardens, so that there is a constant parade of flowers throughout all our seasons. This is what (to me) makes gardening so thrilling!

October tends to have lots of garden festivals and open gardens, and visiting some of these can be inspirational for those wanting to expand their plant palette and get ideas for planting combinations.