The hardy Begonia

I am having such serious rabbit damage in my garden this summer that I have been quite demoralized. So I went looking for a bright spot to lift my spirits. This is what I found: Begonia grandis on fire from the late afternoon sun. 

I tried this plant three times before it finally decided to stay! Maybe that's because it's a Zone 6 plant and I never realized it when I bought it. But it is increasing beautifully and seems totally happy. So I added another one on the opposite side of the garden last summer and it seems equally happy. 

Comments

[danger garden]

Beautiful! I remember "discovering" that begonia on a Fling, maybe DC? Maybe Toronto? Anyway I really wanted to add it to my garden but kept hearing that it comes up super late...so I knew that meant I'd hate leaving the space empty and want to plant something else right on top of it.

[Kris P]

It provides just the right kind of warmth in that spot, Linda. I'm sorry to hear about the rabbits - the coyotes here cull ours relatively quickly.

[Lisa at Greenbow]

One of my favorite plants. It is always a nice surprise to see them finally pop up in the spring. Then on it is such an interesting plant to see growing in my zone as it is a begonia for goodness sakes. :) I hear ya about the rabbits. They are horrendous.

[Nell Lancaster (z6b/7a Va)]

On a cool grey day here (is it really August? Where am I?), that color really warms. Is it just the leaf underside, or the top surface too?

[Christine]

Rabbits seem to be a “thing” this year. Even here in NW Washington there seem to be more than I can remember in a long time. They don’t always thrive in our wet, cold winters, so it will be interesting to see how many appear next spring.

[Linda Brazill]

Christine — Everyone seems to have a rabbit problem this year. A U.K blogger was complaining about the size and number of slugs and snails they are dealing with. Always something.