Planting spiky things…
Posted on | August 6, 2009 | 8 Comments
Hallo fellow gardeners. It is high season and very warm here at the Exotic Garden with everything going crazy, especially with all the rain of late. In the last few days the heat has turned up a few notches with very warm humid days and nights. Visitors to the garden have risen appreciably since Matt Biggs article on the Exotic Garden appeared in this month’s edition of the RHS garden magazine.
Out of my studio window a friend of mine (Jamie Spooner) who has just come back from 20 months in New Zealand, is planting a very large Puya chilensis. This is a vicious plant with sharp spikes along the leaf edges that point inwards – ouch! He is now sporting many fine wounds…
Many of the gingers in the garden have started to bloom with Hedychium wardii being the first with intense lemon flowers, while a large clump of Hedychium densiflorum ‘Sorung’ is starting to put on a show of sensuous salmon pink flowers.
At this time of year the Ricinus communis sown in April are now beautiful large leaved plants, though I especially like the new growth and flowers.
This year has been the worst I have known for lily beetle, which have all but devastated some of the many lilies grown here. For your delectation though, I have only photographed one of the cleanest blooms I could find.
Finally – for those of you who like to see strange things in the garden, here is one of my baby doll head moulds sporting some cool shades…
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8 Responses to “Planting spiky things…”
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August 6th, 2009 @ 7:12 pm
Love the top photograph, amazing sky!
Makes the greens really vibrant.
Lovely stuff
August 6th, 2009 @ 9:07 pm
Your garden is just delightful! I’ve been a visitor for years, but only just found your blog.
We just missed the gingers flowering when we came on Sunday, so we’ll have to revisit very soon!
August 6th, 2009 @ 11:23 pm
I was admiring a puya at the Chelsea Physic Garden the other day when it bit me. I think they’re wonderful…from a distance.
August 7th, 2009 @ 12:44 am
The Lilly Beetles have been busy eating my Lillies too. I found some Beetles sitting on some leaves yestrday and took great pleasure at picking them off and then squashing them….. Dead. Am I cruel?
Strangely I have got a different variety of Lilley right next to the one the Beetles were on and it is totally untouched!!!! Perhaps it does not taste as nice?!?!
August 16th, 2009 @ 6:07 am
A visit to your garden last year turned us into Exotic Plant addicts! We’re very much looking forward to another visit today, but as it’s your NGS day, unlike last time we certainly won’t have your undivided attention!! Looking forward to it nonetheless. And thank you for all the entertainment and interest your blog brings, including stories happy and sad of your beautiful cats, whose undivided attention we also enjoyed last year.
August 21st, 2009 @ 11:49 am
Saw The Exotic Garden on ITV1s Countrywise programme last night. I also see that this programme is available on the ITV Player for the next 29 days.
I wish they had devoted the whole programme to Will’s garden, but it was nice to see the garden again.
Hopefully I will be making my second visit to the garden next May.
August 24th, 2009 @ 1:56 am
Beautiful Hedychium! Gingers are my favorites, but this year the squirrels discovered them and I’ve had trouble. Yours looks great. (The baby is too cool!)
March 14th, 2010 @ 4:26 pm
Hi Will
Very interesting pictures and news of your trip brings back memories of the trip we did with you and matt.
Hope to see you soon
The Bees