Garden Diary: Container Gardening – What’s Flowering in September?

For this week’s Six on Saturday, I focus on container gardening. Plants still flowering in late September in my urban plot in the Western Algarve, Portugal. I aim to nurture plants and shrubs that offer interest or year-round colour and do not require huge amounts of water.

Friday afternoon, I thought we would enjoy rain in our corner of the Western Algarve, but nada. It hasn’t rained properly for months. On a positive note, heavy rain did snuff out the horrendous wildfires in Northern Portugal, but God has a sense of humour because although he extinguished the fires, the area experienced floods.

Saturday dawned once again to threatening clouds, and so far, we’ve had six spots of rain.

Are Dipladenia’s Better Than Bedding Plants?

I think so. I’ve had these plants for a couple of years. They don’t need as much water as bedding plants, they are hardier plus they are still flowering. Note: Can I take cuttings?

Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia milii) Grow Well in Pots

I love these quirky plants as they are always in flower so perfect for pots! The ones I planted directly in the ground are not doing as well. This is another flowering plant that is semi-drought resistant.

Cyclamen

The cyclamen I planted on the 17th of August is still alive and thriving in a shady corner of my terrace. I know nada about cyclamens, so I have no idea of the expected flowering season in my area. It will be interesting to see how long it flowers for. (If I’ve not killed it with love).

Madagascan Palm –Pachypodium lamerei

This spikey palm has already rewarded me with one flower this year (it’s the first), so I was pleasantly surprised when it flowered again.

Hibiscuses

Once again, I feature the hibiscus plants, which are still flowering! Poor things are suffering from blackfly infestations on the buds, which then attract the ants. Another job to add to the gardening job list!

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Pelargoniums

A month ago, I was ready to discard these. I cleared out the debris of dead flowers and cut back and sprayed the stems that were infected with some form of rot/virus/disease (take your pick) and stopped watering. In fact, I completely ignored them.

I was delighted to return from holiday to be greeted with…

Finally, I’ll finish my garden roundup with

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) 

This started as cuttings taken from a friend’s plant many years ago. It’s struggled for years, but for some reason, it looks healthier this year than ever—probably because I fed it once and then ignored it.

That’s it for this week.

I know I am late and Six on Saturday became Seven on Sunday (I realised I’d included seven items instead of six. Ho hum! Please do check out other SoS bloggers.

Until next week.

Related Posts:

August – What’s Happening in My Garden? Woes and Wows!

August Garden Diary – Growing Hibiscuses in Pots