Funny that the only pure white flowering one should have red autumn colour?Hydrangea paniculata is starting to turn yellow too and has faded a lot in a fortnight. Quite a colourful autumn bank here now but Lindera cercidifolia is still green. One to watch and a good yellow I expect.

2015 – CHW
A surprising day for flowers in the garden just when everyone might think there is nothing doing.Rhododendron ‘Yellow Hammer’, a Caerhays bred plant, is absolutely full out and looking wonderful. This is in fact a secondary flowering and a repeat will appear in the spring. Rhododendron flavidum is one of its parents and often has an autumn show too as we saw earlier but nothing like this.

What I have always known as Mahonia lomariifolia is full out alongside ‘Yellow Hammer’. The botanists have had a field day with mahonia names but I find mahonias pretty dull anyway so cannot be bothered to delve into the latest renaming of lomariifolia. Look it up if you must!

I had thought earlier that Hoheria populnea ‘Variegata’ (yellow variegation) was not going to flower this year but it has suddenly and belatedly proved me quite wrong. The flowers do not show up much amongst such distinct foliage but are a nice surprise in November.