Dweezal Mc Sqeezal also known as Little Man…
Posted on | August 4, 2011 | 13 Comments
Dweezal Mc Sqeezal also known as Man
Unfortunately my daily walk around the garden was a rather sad occasion this morning as Dweezal one of my Devon Rex cats was unfortunately run over last week, so as you can probably imagine I am rather bereft to say the least as he used to follow me everywhere. The dear little fellow was only two years old. I know it’s unwise to have a favourite cat, but he was. His brother Genghis is still very much alive and kicking, so he walked me around the garden examining every flower, so I am writing this with a rather heavy heart. Genghis has been missing his brother as he has been trying to get through my bedroom window in the early hours of the morning for some company – of course I let him in – he is sitting beside me right now…
Luckily the sun is out today and the temperature is on the warm side which is really good news after a month or so of leaden skies. We all deserve some good weather to enjoy the rest of the summer in our gardens. A friend of mine visited this morning and was amazed at how much the garden had grown in just one week, with so many plants coming into flower at the moment. A perennial favourite here at the Exotic Garden is the giant thistle Cynara cardunculus more commonly known as Cardoon from the Mediterranean area. Despite the warmer latitudes it hails from this vigorous and robust plant is amazingly hardy. At this time of year it becomes a statuesque clump-forming plant easily growing to 2mtrs or more tall with enormous and very thick architectural greyish silver-green arching leaves up to 1m long. The pinnacle of its glory though has to be the myriads of thistle-like, purple blooms held well above the foliage. At this time of year the blooms are covered with buzzing bees which is an excellent site to behold as bees are in decline, but luckily not here! When in full leaf and flower this garden monster does have a tendency to flop and fall over as half of mine did last week, hence a sturdy support is absolutely essential to keep this beauty upright.
Cynara cardunculus
Close to this is a large group of Rudbeckia ‘Prairie Sun’, a delightful and exceedingly loud short lived perennial, often grown as an annual. I love this plant as a grouping of seven or more makes a very prominent splash of colour in the garden on countless 2½ foot tall stems. The petals on the large 5ins wide daisy-like flowers are intense golden-yellow at the base with lighter yellow tips which really do glow like the sun especially in the evening as twilight approaches, where they appear to become even brighter!
Rudbeckia ‘Prairie Sun’
The whole group is over looked by a large clump of rich blue Agapanthus I bought from Beth Chatto gardens about 15 years ago and is now a fine specimen with dozens of 4ft stems topped with rich blue flowers making a perfect foil to the bright yellow Rudbeckias. Unfortunately I lost the plant label years ago hence I do not have the name for this beautiful Agapanthus.
I have gone mad with Dahlias this year as they are such spectacular flowering plants that bloom profusely from high summer right through to first frost providing they are dead headed regularly. Like the Cardoon, it is absolutely essential to have them well staked, as the stems are so brittle that they are virtually impossible to stand up again once they have fall over. One of the first large flowered ones to come into flower here was Dahlia ‘Wittemann’s Best’, a semi-cactus type, with well-formed flowers of intensely vibrant red from 6-8ins across which stand out well above the bright green foliage. Staking has to be very solid for this one as it grows from 5-6ft tall.
Next to this I have Dahlia ‘Thomas Edison’, a decorative type noted for its stunning, very dark violet flowers that can be 8ins or more across, on 4ft stems.
On a more diminutive scale though none-the-less beautiful is Dahlia ‘Princesse Gracia’, a dwarf decorative dahlia, growing to about 2ft tall with blooms of softest peach, turning to yellow at the centre.
All my Cannas have been rather slow into growth this season, presumably because many of the nights over recent weeks have been a little too cold for them, though they are now starting to catch up. The first to come into bloom for me is an old favourite that can be rather difficult to find named Canna ‘Cleopatra’. This very desirable Canna has foliage that can be all green, all dark purple or a mixture of both. Likewise the flowers are equally interesting either being all red, all yellow with spots or a mixture of both. When this happens in a plant, it is referred to as a Chimera (consisting of at least two genetically different kinds of tissue as a result of mutation) It grows to around 5-6ft tall and is just coming into bloom.
Most visitors to the garden prefer the dark leaved varieties such as C. ‘General Eisenhower’ which is also just coming into bloom here at the Exotic Garden. I have to agree – the dark leaved forms really do stand out and ‘General Eisenhower’ is no exception as it is a tall and rather imposing dark leaved canna, growing from 4-6ft tall with big showy bright red flowers.
If you like purple then Canna ‘Australia’ is a must, a variety that is generally considered to have the darkest foliage of any canna available. This highly desirable form is tall and slender with very shiny lance-shaped leaves in a shade of rich bronzy-purple. The whole plant is topped with large orangey-red flowers from August to first frost.
Up until two winters ago I had overwintered most of my Cannas outside, but after loosing most of them I had to start build up fresh stock again last year. In late October into November, around about the time when the leaves are blacked buy the first frosts of the year, they will all be dug up and cut down to about 6ins or so above the tubers, then placed in large slated trays and surrounded by chipped bark. The trays are kept frost free over the winter months, checking them every month or so for any mould that might be forming which must be removed immediately to stop it spreading to the other tubers. Canna ‘Australia’ is the only one that I actually keep growing during the winter months as it is very difficult to bring back to life once dried out – this also gives me the added bonus of having it flower on Christmas day! From every single plant bought this summer you should be able to get about 3-5 new divisions next spring.
PLEASE NOTE - Thorpe Road outside the garden entrance at Alan Boswell Insurance at 126 Thorpe Rd is being resurfaced on Sunday 7th and 14th of August, but the council have advised me that visitors will still be able to gain access during the gardens opening times of 1-5pm via Cedar Road and that diversions will be put up accordingly, hence the garden will be open as normal, though you will need a little more patience in getting there!
My Little Man...
The Exotic Garden opens for the NGS on Sunday July 31st
Posted on | July 30, 2011 | 5 Comments
Gosh – it’s that time of year again, when we fling the gates of the Exotic Garden open for the National Garden scheme. This year sees the garden opening for its 22nd year to raise monies for NGS charities. It only seems like yesterday that I was first asked to open the garden to the public, how time flies! When I look at photographs from its early days, it’s almost unrecognisable from how it looks today, so do come along and support such a renowned institution raising monies for charities including Marie Curie Cancer Care, Crossroads Care, Help the Hospices and Macmillan Cancer Support.
At this time of year there are so many plants coming into bloom that it’s almost impossible to keep up with them, hence a daily walk around the garden to inspect everything (with cats in tow) is de rigueur. Last week I mentioned Thunbergia grandiflora and am pleased to say that mine is just coming into flower for the first time this year, so great excitement all round for having such a full blown tropical climber in bloom on my doorstep!
As you probably know, I have always had the urge to grow hopelessly tender plants in the garden. One plant in particular that I first grew when I was seven years old was Aphelandra squarrosa ‘Saffron Spike’, an incredibly exotic looking plant with glossy dark green leaves with sharply contrasting white or yellow vein and midrib markings. It has waxy yellow flowers that emerge from stiff yellow bracts clustered along a spike up to 8 inches long at the top of the plant – in fact the whole plant could almost look as though it was made of plastic! I first spotted this irresistible plant delight when my grandmother Nellie Giles took me to Kew Gardens way back in the 1950’s. I spotted a group of them in a series of glasshouses that have long gone called the T range. Of course I am still growing it to this day and find it just as alluring as I did way back then.
I plant all sorts of tender things out for the summer months where they usually grow away regardless of the fact that most of our summers are nowhere near tropical and often rather cool! Of course I have lost countless plants over the years while experimenting, but have settled down to a collection of tropicals that I know take our summers in their stride whether hot or cold, bright or dull!
Some of them are not even houseplants, but tender bedding plants introduced from the US in resent years like the ridiculously metallic purple Strobilanthes dyerianus more commonly known as ‘Persian Shield’, a real corker of a plant with dark green leaves flushed purple with a silver overlay. This ludicrously over-the-top plant hails from Burma and is actually a soft-stemmed shrub grown for its awesome foliage. For some reason it seems to have become more difficult to get hold of this year, but never-the-less worth seeking out and if you do find some take cuttings for next year.
A perennial favourite of mine here at the Exotic Garden is the good old ‘Swiss Cheese Plant’ Monstera delicious (the one with all the holes in its leaves!) I find this an incredibly rugged plant, growing really well during the summer months in a dappled shade situation, where, with a little judicious feeding it will produce enormous lush and extremely bold shiny leaves well over 1ft across that will really get your neighbours talking! It takes cool to cold nights in its stride despite being tropical in nature, only having to be brought under cover when temperatures get close to zero. I find that Philodendron selloum with even larger deeply cut leaves, grows well in the garden, taking deep shade and low temperatures well. I have managed to over winter this monster for many years in my tree house!
Thinking of plants that shouldn’t take cold conditions at all is the totally tropical Tradescantia ‘Maidens Blush’. I planted this very succulent leaved houseplant out last summer and to my amazement it has come back with a vengeance this year, having survived at least 2ins of permafrost in December and now producing drifts of green leaves with wide splashes of white to pink throughout the summer to first frost. It is growing to perfection in a drift underneath a towering Tetrapanax papyriferus (Tung-tsau or Rice-paper Plant).
Another good summer bedding plant that only survives the mildest winters if mulched well is Sparmania africana, a very vigorous shrub from South Africa. It can grow from a small plant up to 6ft tall in a single summer season with large leaves easily reaching 1½ft across if well fed. There is also a variegated form which I unfortunately lost a few years ago – I do hate losing plants!
Aspidistra elatior more commonly known as the ‘Cast Iron Plant’ as it is virtually impossible to kill in a living room as it takes low light conditions and extreme neglect well. Plant it in the garden though and it slowly grows into a good sized clump of stiff leathery upright leaves on long stalks, taking -10C in my garden without any ill effects. The only drawback is slugs and snails are rather partial to the taste of its chlorophyll!
Chlorophytum comosum or ‘Spider Plant’ is another plant that desperately needs to be liberated from the top of a wardrobe or window ledge, where I think they tend to look rather awful when neglected! In the garden, either planted in the ground or as a hanging basket plant they come into their own and ‘sye with relief’ as they enjoy fresh air and rain for the summer months before being tortured again in some dark place during the winter months!
There are countless houseplants that can be liberated to the garden for the summer, though like us, if brought from a darkened room to full daylight will get sun burn, so be aware of your plants needs and slowly introduce them over a couple of weeks to strong light or cover with horticultural fleece on very bright days, or to be really safe place in a shady corner of the garden where they can relax and enjoy the rest of the summer.
Fabulous Thunbergia’s brighten up the dullest of summer days…
Posted on | July 23, 2011 | 6 Comments
Thunbergia alata ‘Superstar Orange’
Rain, rain, go away – come again another day! An old nursery rhyme that I’m sure many say in their heads when the heavens open, especially last weekend which was a virtual washout for most of us. I think we have had enough rain to make up for our drought ridden spring here on the east coast of the UK. Of course with all that lovely wet stuff everything is growing like mad here at the Exotic Garden, though some plants like the Cannas are still being rather slow in gaining any height due to many of the recent nights being relatively cold for the time of year – some plants really do need heat to get them going. Never-the-less many annuals have put on masses of growth, including one of my favourites at this time of year – members of the Thunbergia family with their radiant, almost day-glow colours.
I think Thunbergia alata more commonly known as ‘Black eyed Susan’ is one of those annuals that have a perennial fascination for me as they always grow so well producing countless flowers over the summer season from June right through to first frost, giving me a summer of fabulously beautiful five-petalled flowers.
Thunbergia alata ‘Superstar Orange’ growing up canes collected from the garden…
Unfortunately, they have no scent though I think they can be forgiven for this small misgiving as they are so eye catching even on the dullest of days, lighting up any amount of British gloom! ‘Black Eyed Susan’ don’t seem to mind cool weather as long as they are kept moist with no growth checks.
This easy annual used to be regarded as a conservatory climber for growing in tubs, soil borders or from hanging baskets, but in recent years it has become a popular subject for outdoor cultivation, both in baskets, pots and in more protected corners of the garden and in my case, up bamboo canes collected from the garden and grown in large containers up to 6-ft tall.
The most commonly available forms from seed are the ‘Suzie Hybrids’, which can be found in shades of orange through yellow and salmon to white. Seeds sown from March to May will flower almost continuously from June to October, provided that the flowers are deadheaded regularly. Later in the season, it is advisable to let a few go to seed, so you can grow them again the following year.
Thunbergia alata ‘Superstar Orange’ is a stunning bright orange ‘Black-Eyed Susan’ with larger flowers than normal in a shade of intense orange with a jet black eye. It’s a vigorous plant, quickly covering a trellis against a sunny fence, or growing up an obelisk in a container where it looks stunning when dripping with flowers in high summer.
Thunbergia alata ‘Superstar Orange’
Thunbergia alata ‘Superstar Orange’ looks good even on those wet dull days of summer...
In recent years Thompson and Morgan have produced a stunning new Thunbergia alata named ‘Blushing Susie’ – the result of years of careful selection by T&M’s flower breeders. Unlike many other varieties that only have the odd red bloom, with a high proportion of salmon, ‘Blushing Susie’ is predominantly red, with other shades of ivory and apricot adding contrast. All-in-all, it makes this a very exciting and easily grown annual climber for the exotic garden.
Thunbergia alata ‘Blushing Susie’
Thunbergia alata ‘Blushing Susie’
Thunbergia alata ‘Blushing Susie’ flower detail
I have also tried two fabulous new ones this year both with large 1½ins wide flowers produced in abundance all summer – Thunbergia ‘Lemon’ with, as its name suggests has the brightest lemon yellow flowers with a black eye in the centre and Thunbergia ‘Red and Orange’ which has rich, almost burnt orange flowers with a dark reddish-brown eye. A very stunning Thunbergia for the garden and one I will be certainly growing again next year.
Thunbergia alata ‘Lemon’
Thunbergia alata ‘Lemon’ up close!
Thunbergia alata ‘Red and Orange’
There are several perennial Thunbergia’s worth trying in a warm spot in the garden or conservatory. One of my favourites is the ‘Orange Clock-Vine’ Thunbergia gregorii. The amount of colour that can be put out by this Thunbergia is unsurpassed, as it glows in the evening with intense beacon-like pure orange. This gem is a woody perennial that will creep and crawl over everything in reach, and provided it is kept frost free during the winter months, it will give years of pleasure.
The ‘Orange Clock-Vine’ Thunbergia gregorii doesn’t have a black eye!
‘Orange Clock-Vine’ Thunbergia gregorii
A rather moist ‘Orange Clock-Vine’ Thunbergia gregorii
Thunbergia battiscombei is another perennial worth seeking out and one of my personal favourites. It is a herbaceous, weakly stemmed perennial vine that tends to lean upon other plants for support. When unsupported it will form a symmetrical mound of flopped over stems to about 3ft tall with light green stems with large bright green 5ins heart-shaped leaves. All through summer it produces intense blue-purple trumpet-shaped flowers that really stand out against the handsome foliage – a real show stopper that deserves wider recognition as it is so easy to grow.
Perennial Thunbergia battiscombei with Eucomis bicolor
Perennial Thunbergia battiscombei
For sheer grandeur and opulence, nothing can beat Thunbergia grandiflora from India. From a distance, this creeper creates a wall of flowers. Each individual flower is about 3ins long and borne in drooping clusters on stems often many feet long in hot countries. The most commonly seen varieties are sky blue to light violet, although there is a white-flowered form as well. The leaves are leathery and have a distinctive elongated heart shape. This Thunbergia is ludicrously tender though I am flowering one for the first time in the garden this year; though it will only be a mere shadow of the ones I have seen the tropics.
Perennial Thunbergia grandiflora
Perennial Thunbergia grandiflora - white form
My personal favourite has to be the ‘Clock Vine’ Thunbergia mysorensis, another fast grower in warm conditions that’s best suited to a conservatory here in Britain. It has to be one of the most beautiful climbers in the world! In the tropics and sub-tropics, this treasure flowers almost every day of the year, with a mature specimen bearing hundreds of 3ins yellow and russet-red flowers in spectacular hanging chains 3-4ft long, which would look excellent hanging from greenhouse or conservatory rafters. Like T. grandiflora it requires minimum winter temperature of around 7C (45F) though I’m sure it would appreciate being warmer!
Perennial Thunbergia mysorensis
Whether you’d like to try some of the easily grown annual Thunbergia’s or – like me – you are tempted to try some of the heat-loving tropical forms, you will certainly not be disappointed as they’re all exceedingly exotic plants and whether fussy or easy are all a joy to grow!
Shrubby perennial Thunbergia erecta
All flowers eventually fade and fall but never the less look attractive in their demise!
Dweezal has now had enough of Thunbergia’s and is pestering me for something to eat!
Thunbergia alata ‘Superstar Orange’ looks good even on those wet dull days of summer…
growing up canes collected from the garden…
looks good even on those wet dull days of summer…
Don’t forget to water your containers in wet weather!
Posted on | July 15, 2011 | 6 Comments
Colocasia esculenta with Hosta 'Fire and Ice'
I feel a bit sluggish this week as I had an angiogram on Monday which made me seriously depleted for a couple of days, so two of my good friends kindly took on the daily chore of watering all the pots and containers in the garden, a relatively easy and quite pleasurable job, though it does take well over an hour to do seven days a week! I shouldn’t say it’s a chore really as it gives me a chance to see how every pot and container is progressing as I have to look at every one individually rather than seeing them as a group, where things can often be missed, especially if a pot is hidden away behind larger ones and some of my pots are very hidden indeed!
Far to many pots!
Visitors to the garden often think that if it has been raining that plants in containers don’t need watering. Unfortunately this is not the case as many plants (especially if they have a wide canopy of leaves hanging over the sides of the containers) funnel the rain away from the soil and onto the ground around the pots, hence whatever the weather come rain or shine you should always check that your containers are moist.
Large leaves drain rain away from pots and containers, often leaving the compost dry...
Of course arid loving plants take drought periods well and don’t require daily watering. If the weather is damp and cool with no wind, you may get away without watering, but if your cherished plants start to dry out and the foliage withers, it is often difficult to get them back to life and looking as good as they did before. This is especially true with thin leaved plants like coleus that hate having a shock.
Having such thin leave Coleus (Solenostemon) dry out really easily if not watered regularly or the leaves will go crispy!
Visitors to the garden often ask me why my plants are so darn big, especially those in containers! I always ask them if they feed their plants and a good number think there is enough food for potted plants in the compost thinking that water is all they need to keep them healthy and even, though even that is not always consistently done! I always tell them that plants are like us – if they don’t get fed they don’t grow! Feeding is so important if you want your plants to perform at their best and this is especially so when they are constricted to the growing medium in a pot. Most of the composts that are commercially available whether organic or not have about six weeks feed added to get plants going and no more, hence after that they need feeding. Some gardeners use a regular liquid feed which is fine if you only have a few containers but if like me you have a large number of containers other methods must be employed. The easiest to use are slow release pellets that usually last up to six months thus feeding the plants during the whole summer, slowly releasing feed into the potting mix every time they are watered.
Slow release fertilise...
As many of my containers are large or are established, using pellets in not possible, so instead I use a generous sprinkling of my favourite feed, blood fish and bone or if you are not organically minded you can use growmore which is chemical based. In the larger containers, those over 1½-2ft across I also sprinkle a generous handful of pelleted chicken manure – lovely stuff full of wonderful nutrients. Some find it a bit smelly when watered, but at least it tells you that you are doing your plants a power of good!
Totally organic Blood Fish and Bone…
Blood Fish and Bone and Dweezal!
Do this plus watering regularly and your plants will become enormous, especially if you apply some more feed at this time of year to really give them a boost. If your plants are grown for flowers rather than foliage you should rigorously dead head fading blooms to encourage more throughout the summer month and into the autumn.
Removing faded flowers from summer flowering plants is important if you want them to flower to the end of the season rather than go to seed which is their preference…
So what’s looking good at the moment in the Exotic Garden? One plant that I am exceedingly pleased with, which not only came through a really cold winter but is now looking absolutely stunning, is my specimen Schefflera macrophylla. I bought this hopeful monster with only four leaves on it from Crug plants in Wales a few years ago.
Schefflera macrophylla bought from Crug Farm in Wales two years ago…
It was planted out in a permanent position in front of my house last spring with several generous handfuls of blood fish and bone added to the soil at planting time. During our now historic winter, it only had a covering of thin plastic that was open to the elements on one side. Despite a frigid -11C the foliage only became slightly burnt at the edges though thankfully the growing tip was unaffected with only a handful of straw around it for protection. Now that high summer is here it has produced an incredible new canopy of foliage that is much larger than last years, with huge dark green leaves over 2ft wide and still growing, composed of paddle-shaped leaflets on long petioles (leaf stalks). One of the most spectacular parts of this plant is the new emerging growth which is smothered in a ginger indumentum (a velvety covering that washes off as the leaves mature). The whole plant is now just short of 9ft tall by 7ft wide and is an amazing specimen. According to Crug farms website Schefflera macrophylla can grow up to 7m tall in the wild so should be passing my gutters in a few years time!
Schefflera macrophylla two years on – how big is it going to get!!
Schefflera macrophylla leaf detail...
I’m sure this delectable plant will become a rival to Tetrapanax papiferus (the Rice paper plant) in years to come.
Tetrapanax papiferus (the Rice paper plant)
Close by to this giant is part of my collection of Bromeliads. One in particular is drawing much interest at the moment Neophytum ‘Galactic Warrior‘ an apt name for such an ‘in your face plant’, as at this time of year the entire plant transforms from pale pinkish-green to vivid red, standing out above all the other bromeliads as it swaggers with intensity even on the dullest of days!
Bromeliad - Neophytum 'Galactic Warrior' with Lady Bird!
During the winter all the Bromeliads are kept at a rather chilly 5C where most tend to loose their colour becoming pale reflections of the intensity they sport in high summer. I haven’t counted them all, though I imagine there must be around seventy Bromeliads dotted around the garden, with some having become very large specimens indeed and very heavy!
One of my many bromeliads – this one is Neoregelia ‘Pink Fingernails’ grown from a small pup hived off a larger plant two years ago and is now just over 2ft across!
Another week has past and with all the rain of late everything in the garden now looks blooming wonderful!
Summer at Exotic Garden…
Posted on | July 9, 2011 | 8 Comments
Solenostemon (Coleus) with Colocasia (Edo) from Morrison’s supermarket!
It’s been a very busy week here at the Exotic Garden with lots of coach parties arriving come rain or shine. The most exciting group though were three coach loads of children from Avenue Junior School here in Norwich, who were all on a jungle plant hunting expedition. They all had to find fifteen things in the garden then draw them and anything else that took their fancy – what enthusiasm; I think a couple of them are going to be budding gardeners!
Two of the things they had to find in the garden were sculptures created by a member of the Norwich 20 Group, Oliver Creed. I was really pleased when Oliver offered to place two of his works of art in the garden for the summer months. Oliver Creed studied Sculpture at the Norwich School of art in the late 80’s. For the last decade he has worked exclusively with stoneware clay, having previously used cement and plaster. He told me that he is a modeller by temperament and enjoys working with clay and within the structure of its limitations. It is a delight to have his sculptures nestling amongst the plants in the desert garden, where they look very much at home.
'Pagoda' by Oliver Creed in the Xerophtic garden
Tree piece sculpture by Oliver Creed
One of the sculptures called ‘Pagoda’ has another very architectural shape close to it, Agave celsii (century plant) a species which is native to the cloud forests of north central Mexico which grows to about 45-60cm (18-24in). It’s a fabulous Agave which forms large colonies in the wild. Like many Agaves it can tolerate sub zero temperatures under the right conditions. My specimen has been sending a rather imposing single vertical spike up for the last three months and at 1.5m (5ft) tall it is is now coming into bloom. It looks absolutely amazing with its very dark purple flowers with bright yellow anthers all tightly packed together. This gem should be flowering for many weeks to come and will hopefully produce some viable seeds. Unfortunately being monocarpic it will die after flowering, though pups will form around the base.
Agave celsii coming into bloom in the Xerophytic garden – originally bought from Amulree Exotics here in Norfolk.
Agave celsii up close
Agave celsii even closer!
Now for something completely different! In the spring Thompson and Morgan sent me a dozen summer flowering Daffodils, something I had never heard of before! I planted up two pot-full’s of Narcissus ‘Erlicheer’ in April when most Daffodils are coming to the end of their season. Now they are in full ostentatious bloom. An oddity I know, but beautiful never-the-less, highly scented and enjoying the July weather. They look somewhat like a variety that can be forced into flower for Christmas called ‘Cheerfulness’. If nothing else, they will be a talking point in the garden over the next couple of weeks! In past years I have planted the winter flowering ‘Paperwhite’ Narcissus in August and had it in bloom by mid September – all we need now is one that flowers in August! Another out of season bulb I have grown is the normally winter flowering Amaryllis hippeastrum, also associated with the darkest days of winter. A couple of years ago I placed a large bulb at the back of my fridge to keep it really chilled and then potted it up into a terracotta pot in June where it quickly grew a flower stem that subsequently came into full bloom in July with its large intense red flowers.
Narcissus 'Erlicheer' floweing in July!
Narcissus 'Erlicheer'
As for the rest of the garden – it is now really powering up, with some plants like the ‘Elephants Ears’ Colocasia esculenta ‘Mammoth’ forming enormous plants already, and I’m hopeful that a new form I purchased last year called ‘Jacks Giant’ should get even bigger than ‘Mammoth’. Maybe its wishful thinking on my part, but I hope it gets absolutely enormous this summer!
Colocasia esculenta 'Jacks Giant'
Colocasia esculenta ‘Mammoth’ after a rain shower…
Last week I lost my car keys and spent a very frustrating two hours or so looking for them everywhere including my fridge, airing cupboard, and all my pockets many times! I ran out of places to look, so in total frustration I took the drastic action of digging up about 15 plants I had planted in the garden early that day looking for them in the planting holes! Eventually I gave up looking a decided to get on with the daily watering – then low and behold I found them on top of my propagator in one of the Polly tunnels with Dweezal guarding them!
Dweezal guarding my lost keys
Genghis gardening the garden!
My Tokenise cat called ‘Dog’ decided to move in with my neighbours a couple of years ago and is now called ‘Biscuit’. While my neighbours are having a week’s holiday, he is back in the Exotic Garden and temporarily called ‘Dog Biscuit’!
