Re: Sedum "Autumn Joy"
I had this plant in my garden in London, and liked it so much that I took a
piece of it when I moved to Tuscany. It survives the heat and drought very
well, but the flowers are now a wishy-washy pink, and the flowerheads, while
numerous, are not particularly large and lack style. It's the same plant,
so not an inferior substitute; but the strong sunlight, the change in
climate, or possibly the change of soil (London clay to Tuscan clay) must
affect it somehow.
For late summer/autumn colour I'd suggest planting bulbs of sternbergia
lutea. They have brilliant yellow crocus-like flowers in September, require
no care except thinning when they're overcrowded (often, since they multiply
like mad), no summer water, will grow through tough grass and--unlike real
crocus--are unattractive to chickens, rabbits etc. The only thing they seem
to require is lots of sunshine.
Ruth McVey
Montisi (Siena)
Sunset Zone 7
