At the weekend (so before the rain!), I spent some time deadheading dahlias, in hope of maintaining a billowing display in the borders; set off here by the bleached plumes of Miscanthus sinensis swaying in the breeze….
We cut the Cannas back hard in January, in hope of coaxing and maintaining their soft apricot display, juxtaposed against the strappy bronze leaves of Phormium tenax, New Zealand flax.
And though it was risky, we also cut the Russian sage, Perovskia atriplicifolia back very hard in January and it’s just beginning to produce new flower spikes….I’m hopeful it will be at its soft blue-haze best for Open Garden! (That’s if it doesn’t drown in the meantime….).