Tag Archives: Echium pininana

December …

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has been either rain-sodden or bitterly cold down at the Priory.

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I much prefer the latter.

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The west pond has been frozen but Solo …

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… no longer ventures out onto it.  A couple of years ago (when this photo was taken) she ran across the ice (chasing a snowball), broke through and had to be ignominiously rescued.  She wasn’t happy.  So no, Solo doesn’t do ice.

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This shallow arm of the east pond has been frozen too.  I love this unkempt area of willow, water and alder.  Grasssnakes live here (though deep underground now), heron visit and moorhen hide amongst the battered reed mace – not very well; they always break cover long before I’m aware of them.

With the ground either wet or frozen I’ve been chopping firewood; cutting back lots of brown, mushy plants; turning compost; tidying outbuildings; sharpening tools; raking leaves and pruning roses and apple trees.

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There are nine old apple trees at the Priory but they have all been abused over the years with, for example, limbs removed leaving horizontal cuts which allow water to pool and the trunk to rot.  They’ve fought back with a forest of shoots and it these I mostly remove or prune back each year – as well as any crossing or damaged branches.  I remove canker too with which the poor things are riddled.

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Sometimes, I’m so very cold (usually when I’ve forgotten an extra pair of socks) that I just gaze into the house and wish I could go inside and play with the boys.

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Thankfully (with a heater and the morning sun) the greenhouse is warm.

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Perhaps a little too warm.  My echiums, uprooted from the outside glum, have responded with vigorous new growth.  I do wish they’d stop it for goodness sake – one has almost reached the roof.

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Sadly there wasn’t enough room for all of them.  This one stayed put -  RIP.

Rob the Brickie (not his real name) does a lot of work at the Priory during the winter.  I call him Rob the Brickie though brick paving is but one of his many talents.   For instance, he loves digging …

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… trenches.  Yep, really.  Ditches for drainage, ditches for power cables or, as above, a ditch for the water pipe up to the greenhouse (June 2011).  Dug, piped and refilled in under two days.  And unlike some of the other ground work at the Priory, Rob’s trenches don’t slump afterwards.

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You might remember that cows broke into the gardens a while back (see ‘Cows In The Asparagus’).  Bless them – how I chuckled at their antics.  In their unbridled lust to gain access to a place long-denied them, they knocked down a couple of stretches of post and rail fencing.

The cows are now indoors for the winter …

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… but the sheep aren’t.  So Rob is replacing the sixty yard length of old, damaged two-rail fence with a stouter, higher three-rail one.

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This is one of two stretches of twenty-year old fence that will be replaced in the next few months.

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Oh and I’m about to lose my terrifically useful holding bed.  I use it for heeling in new trees, shrubs or roses and for holding herbaceous ‘stuff’ – until I have space for them in the borders.   Like I say, terrifically useful.  I shall have to build a replacement.  And I’ll also be losing the asparagus bed which is sad but, you see, they both have to go; we’re getting another greenhouse.  It will be the same size and design as the existing one and will sit right behind it.

It’s been ordered and will go up in the next couple of months.  Rob will lay the pavers and build the base wall.  Useful chap to know, Rob.

And then I will have to think long and hard on which greenhouse to drink my tea in.  Tricky.

oooOOOooo

As I won’t be posting again this month, I’ll take this opportunity to wish you all a Very Merry …

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… and a Very Restful Christmas.

The Tropical Border Revisited

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Back in April, I told you about the new tropical or hot border I was developing (see ‘Planning for the Tropical Border’).  And I promised to let you know how it turned out; unless, of course, it was a humiliating disaster in which case I most certainly would not.

Well, actually it hasn’t been too bad (despite the absence of a ‘topical’ summer) so here are a few shots taken over the last few weeks.

Various Cannas (including coccinea), Bishop of Llandaff dahlias, Fuchsia thalia and Lilium pardalinum have all flowered pretty well.  As did several self-sown, gaudy snapdragons that artfully filled gaps I’d purposefully left.  *Cough*

While foliage plants including Colocasia esculenta, Tetrapanax papyrifer ‘Rex’, Melianthus major and the bananas Musa basjoo and Ensete maurelii all put on good growth and should be more impressive still next year.

I’ve really enjoyed watching an entirely new bed fill out with unusual and exotic large plants, with the big leafy planting meshed together with Verbena bonariensis.

Not everything has been a resounding success.  The giant reed (Arundo donax – centre, rear) only threw up three or four canes and looks decidedly spindly; but it is a thug and I’m sure it will muscle itself to the fore next year (though I wish I’d followed Christopher Lloyd’s suggestion and bought the variegated form).  And also (sniffle) my Echium pininana didn’t flower (sob); I grew them from seed last year.

Here they are (right) just after they were planted out in May.  I  had banked on them carrying the whole border on their tall, stately, blue-flowered shoulders.  But no, they have let me down and must be transplanted back to the greenhouse to overwinter, in the hope that they will flower next year.

Easily said.  These are now hefty, prickly plants …

… and moving them is hard work.  And besides, I’m not convinced they will survive the process and another winter under glass.

Colocasia is easier to handle and barrow …

… to where I could pot it up in leaf mould.

I almost put my back out moving this fellow.  The red banana (Ensete maurelii) is instant impact when planted out in the spring.

Though I wonder how much longer I will be able to lift this particular specimen without help.

The hardy bananas (Musa basjoo) are not worth lifting.  They are young and didn’t grow much and so can stay put.  I don’t mind if they are killed back down to ground level – which is what will happen if I don’t protect their stems.  But over in what was an experimental ‘tropical border’ last year is a …

… larger specimen.  Last year I wrapped it in hessian to ward off frost.

But I obviously didn’t do it thick enough and the three-foot trunk turned to mush.   This year I intend to protect it properly.  I put a column of wire netting about the de-leafed banana …

… and then stuffed it with straw (knowing the local farmer is a real boon!).

Hmmm.  Not a thing of great beauty … but it should do the job and next year’s new growth will be given a three-foot head start.

I rather like this border.  It is a lot of work preparing it for winter but some of the plants like the dahlias and melianthus and tetrapanax can be mulched and left in situ.   Having seen how the various plants meld together, my spacing next year should be better and, if we actually get some decent sun, then this new bed should really get underway. And, who knows, my echiums might just flower!

A Priory Pause

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I’m about to toss my blogging beret (with ostrich feather) to one side; take off my blogging smoking-jacket (burgundy with faux-ermine trim), lay down my blogging cigarette-holder (fake ivory with diamante inlay) and flick-out my blogging monocle.

Yep.  Time for a break from the blogging treadmill.  At least for a while.  But before I go, I’ll leave you with some recent snapshots from the Priory.

The kidney beds with absurdly huge (and very stoutly staked) echinops – left, have put on a good showing this year.  Over on the right, behind the persicaria is …

… Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’.  This is a widely grown garden stalwart … and quite right too.  A gorgeous, and reliable, thing.

The long borders are looking neat and trim but I shall be giving them a major revamp over the coming months.  The cardoons for a start will be coming out – their enormous leaves take up a huge amount of space but then die back leaving unsightly gaps.

Here, in the rock border, is Lobelia cardinalis ‘Queen Victoria.‘  I’ve grown this in my garden before but this is its first year at the Priory.

You will have to do battle with slugs, to get it to flowering size.  Persevere – she’s worth it.

For these past four years, I’ve experimented with different climbers on this wooden post:  morning glory, passion flower, Spanish flag and this year black-eyed Susan (Thunbergia alata).  I can now announce my climber trial is over and we have a clear winner.  Of the four, I am most impressed with (…drumroll … bugle … more drumroll … a touch more bugle …) the Thunbergia.  It has won itself a permanent spot. *Applause, whistles and foot stomping*

I started clipping the box the other day – of which I’ve planted rather a lot.  This hedge is a free-form shape.  A sleigh?  A recumbent giant (waist down only)? A pair of racing caterpillars?  No idea.  It will become clearer in time, perhaps.  Or maybe I should run a competition?  You suggest it; I’ll clip it.

A view across the new path beds (planted with but not yet filled by Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’) to the new tropical border.

It hasn’t been a brilliant year for establishing a hot border.  But it is now, finally, beginning to plump up and have a romp.  Agonizingly, my Echium pininana are still only three-foot tall.  Will they flower this year?  I demand it but your guess is as good as mine.

Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’ adds spots of colour …

… as did Lilium pardalinum and …

… Canna coccinea; all three are new additions to the gardens.

And if you haven’t grown Eucomis bicolor before (like me) I would heartily recommend it.  The flowers are simply (insert superlative of choice here) and very long-lived indeed.  I do so like a hardworking plant.

I’ll finish with this shot of an only recently transplanted Verbascum olympicum.  As a ghostly specimen this particular plant takes some beating.  The silver, unblemished leaves; the symmetry, stature and slightly bashful nod; that promise of gold flower.  I shall be transplanting more of these from the Old Forge.

Right then.

That’s enough.

Break-time, already.

See you soon ….. Dave

Planning for the Tropical Border

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In between mowing and planting and fretting, I’ve been cracking on with the tropical border and the two completely new beds (see – ‘Busy, Busy, Busy’).  I finally finished cutting the turf (on either side of the path) for the two new beds;  rock hard soil didn’t make this task any easier and yep, I’ve hurt my back.

Looking a little like an oil-tanker, it needs more work as I’m not happy with the shape – it needs to be ‘curvier’.  (Incidentally,  these beds don’t extend all the way along the path, as this is the only access to the east lawn for the ride-on mower and quad bike).

With the new beds cut, the next job was to transfer two or three inches of top soil from the tropical border to the new beds and begin preparing the former.

The new tropical border is close-by the path.

Next job?  Barrowing several loads of very well-rotted manure in from out on the drive.  Next job?  Barrowing several loads of compost in from the ‘bins.

I've been asked to leave the roses in situ - though if all goes to plan they will find themselves smothered by the new tenants. And also, looking at this photo, I'm thinking, "We're going to need a bigger bed!" It needs to be deeper.

And then?  Digging it all over – before it gets a final compost-mulch top-coat.  Thankfully, I still have loads of compost available.

With the hard work mostly done, I thought I had better make a start on getting some plants ready to go into this new tropical/exotic (call it what you will) border.

First up, were various dahlias that I dug up last autumn; dried, wrapped up in newspaper and squirrelled away.  I checked them twice during the winter (to remove any rot) and, on unwrapping the other day, found that they were in fine fettle and raring to go.

I also had my box of Precious Things; an order from Peter Nyssen and various other bits and bobs that I’ve picked up recently.

I’m particularly excited about these ten Lilium pardalinum which, with luck and a fair wind, should reach two metres in height.

Great to re-use some of the large number of old pots hanging about the place.

Quite a lot of time spent potting then and er, I might have overdone it on ‘Bishop of Llandaff’ dahlias.  I’m a bit embarrassed at how many I’ve got (though I can use them in other parts of the garden too).  I’ll say the number quickly and then we’ll move right on, OK?  OK.  Ready?  Here we go … 29.

I recently bought these rather lovely Melianthus major.  Not a plant I’ve grown before but I’ve been itching to get my sticky mitts on one (or two) for a while.

To augment dahlias, cannas and lilies, is my over-wintering collection of Echium pininana – grown from seed last year.  I lost one over the winter but these seven seem healthy enough and have continued to grow these past few months.  Indeed, every time I’ve moved them, I’ve had to prise their pots from the soil below.  In the above photo there is also red banana and a variegated ginger.  In addition to all these, I have some ‘Musa basjoo’ hardy bananas and …

… a colocasia.  I know the latter should probably have had a rest period over the winter but last September I dug it up, popped it in a large pot of leaf mould and put it in the (heated) greenhouse.  It’s a little tatty (hence the close up shot!) but it can go back out soon with a head-start.

A lot of plants then but this is a big new border – and the old tropical bed needs plants too.  I’ll let you know how it all turns out … unless, of course, it is an unmitigated disaster, in which case you will hear nothing more.  Zilch.  Nada.  Nowt.  Instead, I’ll concentrate happily on daisies in the lawn, dandelion seed-heads, frogs and back-lit oak leaves; the usual AG fare.  But my silence will speak volumes and you’ll know, you will know, that the new tropical border looks absolutely rubbish.

Echium pininana

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It was only when my Agave americana started whimpering and heaving itself out of it’s pot, millimetre by millimetre, that I thought, “Hmm, really must repot that.”

After a prolonged struggle I managed to lever it out;  the state of the roots were, frankly, shaming.


Sorry, sorry – so sorry.   I’ve now re-homed it into a nice new roomy pot.

Really, I’m so sorry.  Forgive me?  I haven’t been so inattentive with all of my plants.  Honest.  For example, back in the Spring, my good friend David (his real name and such a pretty one) very kindly gave me some tree echium seedlings.  At about the same time I sowed some echium seed of my own and managed to raise four to a decent size.  Along with the plants from David, I now have eight of them.

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Every few weeks throughout the summer, I’ve potted them on as their roots (very quickly) filled their pots.

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Do you know Echium pininana?  I first came across it some years ago in Cornwall.  I drove past one growing out of a crack in the pavement and, as it towered some twelve foot into the air, I had to pull over and investigate.  They are biennials and in their second year throw out an incredible, an amazing and really quite preposterous flower spike – up to eighteen feet long!  Eighteen feet long and smothered in blue flowers.  Imagine that!  I’m hoping that next year my eight plants will each launch their own infeasibly long flower spikes.

The Marsden Echiums stored away for the winter. (Sorry about Solo the Terrier hogging the shot. Lift a camera to your eye and she sprints into shot and strikes a pose. Like working with Lady flipping Gaga).

The problem is they are not hardy so I shall need to overwinter them in the Priory greenhouse.  What concerns me is that next Spring, when I plant them out, will they have sufficient time to put out enough root to support such a long flower spike?  Won’t it just be “T-I-M-B-E-R” at the first puff of wind?  I guess we’ll find out, eh?
Having squirrelled away my eight precious plants into the greenhouse, I dreamed of a bank of tremendously long blue flower spikes towering over oohing and ahhing visitors.

A few days later, I was at the Old Forge and was busy pruning a bay tree and almost trod on an … yep, you’ve guessed it.  An Echium.  Obviously, the previous owners had grown them and this one had self sown.  The Old Forge is only a mile or so from the South Coast and the plant is in a very sheltered position.  I’m going to hope (against hope) that it will pull through this coming winter and flower next year.  Without protection.  Big hope.  I may try and drape it with horticultural fleece through any really sharp frosts but they are difficult to protect long term with their large, floppy leaves. I have my fingers crossed and would ask, politely, that you do the same.  Thanks.