When a plant has as it's title "Autumn Joy" it predicates the season for which we should be able to expect it's flowers. Well, this sedum has not let the side down, only 4 days premature of our version of Fall.

I must confess that this is not actually a picture of our sedum as all the batteries for the digital camera are flat. However, this photo does bear much resemblance to the plant I was about to take a photo of - mayble a little less magenta and more pink in the flower - but very similar.

We bought this from a nursery last year, as it was flowering. After it's flowering period its leaves begin to turn a brown colour and it withers up. We cut the stems back to ground level and from then until it flowers again it begins its travail upwards. The lime grean leaves would accent any foliage planting and the flower colour is very trendy at the moment.

They don't need a lot of sun but require regular watering. They grow to about 70-80cm and look better mass planted than if they were grown as a focal plant or individually.

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There are more than 100 different types of Lavatera which are found in mediterranean regions. The Australian Hollyhock or Lavatera plebia is a short-lived perennial which can grow to 1-2 m. It flowers prolifically throughout spring, summer and early autumn and is very showy.

It fits well within our cottage theme in the front garden and its bushy nature can really fill a void. It can also be well fitted as a foliage plant around water features.

Easy to grow and propagate from seed and soft and hardwood cuttings.

The Lavatera Pages.

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If there were ever a flowering plant that could challenge the sunflower at cheering you up - Gaillardias would be it. These small clumping plants send out innumerable single stemmed flowers that are so bright they would cheer up any garden.

Gaillardia's are a short-lived perenial that will self-seed at the drop of a hat. They can become quite a nuisance in a formalised setting but will thrive in a cottage garden where they need to compete with other plants to survive. The clumps of dark green foliage will grow to no more than 30cm (12 inches) while the flowers will shoot up to a height of about 80cm (31 inches).

They flower prolifically through summer and early autumn (fall) and their seed heads look great perched next to the flowers.

These were introduced to us by a friend who gave us some of the self-sown plants out of her garden. When we moved we transplated a couple of our own self-sown plants into our new garden and they haven't looked back since.

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We originally bought this plant for our last house to hide an unsightly bore pump. It did okay in this position, although it didn't see a lot of light, but in the position it is in now (lots of morning sun and late afternoon shade) it is absolutely thriving. We planted it in this position, again to hide something but this time it was the pipes protruding from the hot water system.

This version, petiolatum, has soft leathery silver foliage while another type "Limelight" has limegreen foliage. It's dense foliage can hide just about anything and can soften walls very well. It displays non-descript white flowers in summer and its main growing period is spring through summer.

It is very easy to propagate from cuttings as we have done with this one and it has only taken 2 seasons to get to this size.

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I really enjoy this groundcover. It's so adaptable as it can grow in full-sun or almost full-shade. I've used it twice in my garden, once here as it fills in between the slabs which softens the whole aspect and again out the front under a group of Silver Birches. I've naturalised some daffodils under the dichondra in this bed and it looks great in spring.

It takes a little while to get going but give it some liquid fertiliser, spring sunshine and warmth and a regular supply of water and you'll cover any spot in the garden.

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My best performing plant this week would have to be our Alyogyne huegelii - Native Hibiscus. We planted two of them only 12 months ago. This one was planted facing west which recieves a great deal of the morning sun but is then shaded for the afternoon. The other one was planted in a very shaded position, covered by two towering Agonis - Peppermint trees.

Their spindly foliage is graced by a flurry of candle-like flowers in Spring through Autumn and it's a real stand out plant in my garden. They're native to WA, SA and parts of the Northern Territory and enjoy semi-shaded moist soils. They grow to around 2-3m high and about 1.5m wide and can be successfully espalliered or even grown in mass plantings.

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