The Best of 2023
It's the end of another gardening year. One reflects deeply, and then compiles a list of 'Best of's. But summer flowers usually win everything - spring blossom and autumn leaf colours are firmly out of sight, out of mind. So in the interests of seasonal inclusivity 2023 has some exciting new awards.
Rugspin - Best Rose Award for 2023
Rugspin is a striking rose - a rugosa, single, with magenta-red (AKA carmine) coloured petals. Same old story for me - I bought one, I loved it. So of course I bought another. Only two so far, though.
I've always loved rugosas, but there's something about Rugspin that really speaks to me. We are both slightly fragile when there's a strong wind blowing!
Orlaya - Best Annual Flower Award for 2023
Understanding that it could become a self-seeding nuisance, Orlaya is now filling up many a flowery garden bed for me with its white lacy flowers. I've encouraged it to do so, chopping old plants up as 'mulch'. Will I regret this? Hope not!
The flowers are long lasting, and when the seeds arrive they are super-sticky. Legs of dogs and gardeners, beware!
Foxglove - Best Perennial Award for 2023
I love foxgloves. The bumble bees love foxgloves. In my windy garden foxgloves are the last of the tall flowers to fall over. They produce baby foxgloves easily. They will usually regrow when I cut down the stems to the base.
If I find a foxglove seedling in the wrong place I can usually replant it somewhere else without worrying. And the species magenta foxgloves? A glorious colour for a country garden.
Camellia takanini - Starring in Spring Award for 2023
This japonica Camellia is early to flower, and then it seems to keep on producing more and more blooms. They are a stunning shade of muddied red. Blood red, perhaps?
In a moment of greediness I bought three and planted them in a big-garden triangle (this is what one did in a big garden, I'd read). But I'm so glad I did, now that their growth is speeding up.
Berberis - Awesome in Autumn Award for 2023
Oops. Berberis may not be the most desirable of shrubs. It's thorny and horrible to weed under. The birds like to spread it around (Berberis is on the banned list in parts of the USA).
But its autumn colour is magnificent. Some varieties turn a bright cherry red, those with variegations turn pink and cream.
Hellebores - Wonderful in Winter Award for 2023
with their subtle colours and shy demeanour, these gentle winter flowers start blooming without any fuss or fanfare, reminding the gardener to look down as well as up and along.
And finally, the greenery award - since green is quite by far the best colour in any garden.
Gunnera - Gorgeous Greenery Award for 2023
Gunnera with its magnificent green leaves has to win this award. Other evergreens may be shinier, or more constant (Gunnera is perennial), but the size and texture of Gunnera make it the most memorable. Go, you gorgeous green thing.
Congratulations to all the winners. Please don't let these 2023 awards go to your heads. Don't make a mess of things by becoming a nuisance, over-stretching your planting locations, or over-powering your plant neighbours. Gunnera, I'm talking about you!