Late June at the Exotic Garden…..
Posted on | June 27, 2009 | No Comments
What a deliriously wonderful time of year this is, with such warm days and – moderately – mild nights. Well we do live in Britain after all!
The garden has seen several coach parties of keen gardeners over the last week with not a drop of rain on any of the visits, quite different to last year… let’s hope this is going to be the summer predicted by the Met Office!
I spend most evenings outside until late, watering all the container plants and enjoying the evening scents and light play on the garden as the evening progresses into twilight. This usually takes about an hour, thus giving me a chance to see all the potted plants in detail and whether any of them need any special attention. Several containers of billowing, Begonia sutherlandii for instance, have started to develop powdery mildew on their leaves, a fungus that always appears in warm weather here. They have now been treated with a fungicide; otherwise they would have looked un-garden worthy in a few days time, and certainly less pleasurable to the eye.
This afternoon I have had the pleasure of working in the garden with my friend Chris Ridley, an exotic plant maniac of the first order and designer of the exoticgarden website. We have been potting-up the last few display containers with Cannas and Solenostemon (Coleus) in readiness for the next garden visitors.
So many things are now coming into bloom that it is very easy to miss something special. One small tree I keep missing because it is so far from the house, is Magnolia macrophylla, a striking tree with large leave 2ft or more long on slender stems. This handsome plant has been flowering on and off for the last few weeks, and because the flowers only last a day before turning brown, are easy to miss amongst its large leaves.
Many of the bromeliads in the garden are now coming into bloom, and one I obtained only last week, is now reaching a crescendo. I’m pretty sure it is Billbergia x windii, though I could be wrong – any ideas? I have photographed it for your delectation against a black velvet sheet to bring out the detail.
Finally, and before I go and finish the evenings watering, I want to show you the evening light coming through an Ensete Ventricosum Maurelii leaf, another joy of this wonderful time of year…
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