Plenty of sun this week and it was really warm on a couple of days although windy, then the wind dropped along with the temperature.

1 Helenium with bonus butterfly

This is Helenium 'Mardi Gras' with a comma butterfly blending in fairly well.

2 Penstemon grown from seed this year

I grew a few Penstemon from seed this year. I wasn't sure if they would flower the first year and of course they may not survive the winter anyway - the one I had last year didn't.

So very pleased to see this. There is another one which is starting to open which is a very, very light pink almost all white really.

Does that top one look like a face, or is it just me?

3 Tiarella 'Mystic mist'

I just got this in August. It ought to be a spring flowering plant, so why is it flowering now - the …

Yesterday's storm was probably the strongest winds I have seen here, at least while the leaves were on the plants.

Nothing is staked so how did everything fare?

A couple of things in containers were broken off: a Zinnia and part of the petunia. The only thing in the ground that was broken was a Polemonium. This was a plant that I grew from a piece that was itself blown down in high winds earlier in the year. I guess it is just not meant to be. The original plant is now protected by a few annual plants so it still survives.

Otherwise the damage is to leaves and flower buds which are curled and dried out.

Here is the Helianthus 'Lemon queen'.

Many buds are now dried black husks.

Next here are some leaves of a Actaea, dried out and curled up. It is in a particularly windy spot …

Two of the Penstemon that I grew from seed this year are starting to flower. This is the first and has a couple of fully open flowers. I wasn't sure if they were planted early enough to flower in the first year, so I am glad they have. After all they may not survive the winter; the one I had last year didn't.

Actaea simplex 'Pink spike'

This has been in bud for a long time and at long last the flowers are opening As they first opened they appeared completely white, but there is some pink visible now. Will have to wait and see if this pink colour develops further.

I don't normally comment on scent, but this is highly scented and is noticeable from a distance.

My other Actaea is even further behind, the original stems never developed any buds, but newer stems that are still quite short do have buds. They seem to be no where near flowering though.

Lysimachia Candela 'Innlyscand'

This is a smaller Lysimachia, about a foot high. It is rather hidden by everything around it. The flowers are white, and they curve a little, somewhat like Lysimachia clethroides.

I am well behind with writing things up, but I thought I would do a Six on Saturday anyway, just to make the problem worse.

There are lots more sixes from gardens around the world, see this weeks post at The propagator for more.

1. Sanguisorba hakusanensis 'Lilac Squirrel'

This was one of my must-have plants for this year. It is now at about its peak with many long tassel like flowers.

2. Lobelia cardinalis 'Bees' Flame'

This is new this year too. The flowers are similar to the 'Starship scarlet', perhaps a bit bigger. The plant is much taller, which is a disadvantage in this location, as the wind blowing around the side of the house causes everything in this area to lean.

In the background are a couple of the blue Gladioli 'Blue mountain'. I have a small patch of these in the main area and they have …

See the August round up for last year.

I suppose this is the peak month for flowers in the garden so lets start of with some pictures.

Gladioli

This was one of the 'mixed' selection I bought, that were all red/orange or orange/red. This one stands out for being completely different.

Lobelia cardinalis 'Bee's flame'

The dry weather this summer may not have been ideal for the Lobelia but they have all flowered well enough. This has been perhaps the best.

Rudbekia

this has bulked out a lot this year. Strangely the place where the flower stems were last year, is devoid of them this. All the flowers this year are in front (towards the house) of last years.

Geranium wallichianum 'Crystal Lake'

This has a lovely flower, but the plant is spread out in among other things and there is only the occasional flower. I'm going to …

I know it doesn't look much, but I get so pleased whenever I see this flower.

This was one of three that came in a packet. One was dead on arrival (probably), and the other has leaves at ground level but has not grown a stalk at all.

I got another packet of three from Aldi, and they turned out to be saponaria ocymoides. Yes I know, not even close.

So it is one out of six. It even has a side branch with another flower bud.