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The flowers of autumn will soon be a memory. There are still some around but most are are gradually ebbing away and there will soon be very few left to photograph.
My photo files are full of reminders of the flowers that I’ve seen this year. The photos of the two pink flowers here stood out among the more recent ones because of their vivid pink. It’s easy to think of pink as being delicate and soft, but these two are as boldly-coloured as any of the red or orange flowers of late summer. The echinacea in the top photo is a particularly strong shade and brighter than the more dusky pink echinaceas that I’ve had in my own garden.
Sadly there have been no established echinacea plants in my garden this year. The red one that lit up summertime for the last few years has at last petered out, but there are a couple of tiny seedlings. (Echinaceas are short-lived, but do carry on by self-seeding.) Other echinaceas in a mix of orange and pink shades didn’t last quite as long as the red one, but I’ve seen the odd seedling that has managed to produce a flower…hopefully they’ll survive and become bigger plants in future.
The Japanese anemone below is attractive, but not something I’m looking to plant here. I already have two other pink Japanese anemones that are being very greedy for space, so best not to risk another! I’ll be happy to just admire it in other people’s gardens. But, while I’m unlikely to choose this anemone, I’d be very happy to grow the vibrantly pink echinacea. It’s very pink and it’s fabulous!
Ann Mackay: Inspired by Nature 
While I’m generally less fond of the shade of pink shown in your Echinacea, I do like it paired with the orange disk flowers; it tones down the pink a bit, and is a nice contrast. The anemone looks remarkably like a wild rose. I could be tempted by that one!
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I think that the success of colour in a garden all comes down to groupings and how colours make each other look. It’s something I have lots to learn about! 🙂
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Japanese anemones are one of my favourites so I was thrilled to find we have inherited a clump of pale pink ones here; the one you’ve captured so beautifully in your photo is much darker and very gorgeous. I’ve never managed to grow echinacea successfully in mid-Wales before (too wet?) but I have been given several plants in white and that fabulous pink so fingers crossed for more success this time!
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I hope you do have success with the echinaceas, Lis! I have pale pink anemones here too – they must love the soil here because ours spread like mad – they’re so beautiful that I don’t mind too much.
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Sorry your Echinacea didn’t establish itself. Once again you’re extolling a flower that’s native in Texas; the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin often has good displays of them. It’s easy to see why the Japanese anemone appeals to you.
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It wasn’t really that it didn’t establish, because these varieties are fairly short-lived as individual plants. They self-seed, so you do get a continuation but the seedlings here are still very small. (It doesn’t help that I’ve made changes to the area, so have accidentally removed a few seedlings, oops!) There are some very bold and bright cultivars now, so maybe I’ll treat myself to some different ones next year. 🙂
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Beautiful pink flowers!
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Thank you Emma! Roses are always so beautiful, even when the weather turns wintry. 🙂
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I adore roses – especially pink ones!
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