Tag Archives: Tropical gardening

The Tropical Border Revisited

Posted on by
29

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

Posted on by
36

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

Where’s Spring?

Posted on by
34

Early April was so hot and so sunny that I screened the south-side of the greenhouse with netting.

The nine automatic wall and roof vents cool it a little but it still gets terrifically hot in there.  Of course, as soon as I finished stapling the netting into place, the sun slid behind …

… dark cloud, temperatures dived and we had weeks of rain.  And rain.  And then … some rain.

But if the sun does ever peek out again, I shall be prepared.  It had grown too stifling in the greenhouse for me to sit and drink tea.  And that will never do.

In previous years, I have lost plants to late frosts (to which the Priory is prone) and so I am probably overly cautious in moving tender stuff outside.  The greenhouse is heated by a fan heater (the size of a small jet engine)  and the cosseted plants within are blissfully unaware of the wet, cold horror outside.

.

The auriculas have been blooming since March; as has …

… the lovely scented Pelargonium ‘Royal Oak.’

Last year I potted up a Pachyphytum oviferum leaf.  It doesn’t look much does it?  But it has doubled in size (and not just shrivelled up and died which some do) and it will eventually grow into …

… the weirdly beautiful, powder (or bloom) coated sugar-almond plant … or moonstones … or, as Jim calls it, the hemorrhoid plant.  How uncouth.

The lithops are stirring and beginning to gape as …

… new ‘leaves’ begin to emerge from between last year’s …

… though this one’s new growth is itself splitting, to reveal yet another new set of leaves.  Curious.

An interloper has found a home in one of the pots of sarracenia but I haven’t the heart to remove it; I love ferns.

Other sarracenias are flowering …

… but unlike the nondescript green flowers of last year, these …

… are a deep claret.  I have no idea why.

Most of the dahlias I potted recently are poking forth.  I find starting them off in pots gives them an advantage over the slugs – for when they are eventually planted outside.

After a recent visit to Architectural Plants (on yet another rainy day), there are new tenants in the greenhouse.  For the tropical border, I’ve bought a plant I’ve long hankered after – Tetrapanax papyrifer ‘Rex.’  This architectural, hardy exotic should reach 3-4 metres in height with leaves a metre across.  Goodness.

I also bought Arundo donax or Spanish reed – another 3 – 4 metre hardy big boy and …

… this not-at-all-hardy canna lily, Canna coccinea; relatively petite at about one and a half metres tall (though I’ve heard that it might struggle to get that high).

Now I need it to stop raining and for it to warm up outside.  I’ve got loads to do; the grass is still growing but the ground is too sodden to mow; I’ve got planting to do but the soil is gloop; I’ve got plants to harden off but the wind would rip them to tatters.  There has been so much rain that …

… water from the surrounding fields is still pouring into the grounds, filling …

The east pond. Normally the alders stand well clear of the water.

… the ponds to full capacity.  Thankfully, the emergency channel we dug three years ago  …

The flood waters haven't washed out as much duckweed as I would have liked.

… is carrying excess water out to the river – and away from the front door of the house.  Phew.  Thank goodness the South of England is officially in a state of drought.  Otherwise who knows how wet it might be.

Planning for the Tropical Border

Posted on by
38

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.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Posted on by
27

When not gallivanting around the north of England, I’ve been gardening frenetically these past few weeks.  Why, I’ve barely had time to file my nails and flick through ‘Hello’ magazine.

Some jobs are annual tasks, such as …

The Long Borders are full of allium and tulip promise. Since this photo was taken I've pruned the cornus in the foreground.

… the mulching of the beds.  I normally try to get them all finished during the winter but I seem to be playing catch-up this year.   I also finally got round to …

… digging the vegetable beds and adding three barrows of compost to each; except the one that holds, frankly, disappointing over-wintering onion sets.  I also added two barrows of manure to four of them – from the infeasibly large manure pile out on the drive.

Working through my bin of compost. The pale green lump by the spade is duckweed. Note to self - it doesn't break down (who knew), so don't bother composting it again.

I’ve used up most of my leaf mould now.  It went as a mulch on some of the beds (the kidney beds in particular) and on the young beech hedging.  With the leaf mould all but gone, I started to use the compost that I made last year.  I’m terribly pleased with it.  It is almost entirely composed of grass cuttings but regular turning and the adding of green waste, paper and cardboard has made it into the above.

I’ve also been digging up herbaceous plants and relocating them into gaps in the borders.  Splitting and dividing where they have been large enough to do so, moving plants to more suitable locations and generally striving for more cohesion.  The trick though, is to remember what’s planted where – something I have yet to master; though it’s been fun trying to work out which dormant plant is which.

I finally dug up the Gunnera manicata (see earlier post -  ‘Gunnera manicata’) which was struggling on the east lawn.  It split easily into three parts which I barrowed over to the meadow and re-planted next to another gunnera that is much happier (as much as a gunnera can be happy).

Hopefully, I shall end up with a large bank of huge stately leaves.

And in the space vacated by the GM?  Well, I put in a Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple.’   I’ve been meaning to plant a Smoke Tree/Bush for a couple of years now.  When I saw one recently reduced by 50%, I grabbed it quicker than quick can be, clasped it tightly to my chest and scowled at anyone who came too close.  Here, with plenty of space available, it can attain any size it pleases.

The Priory has a rose tunnel.  Not a gorgeous, elegant rose tunnel but a rose tunnel nonetheless.  It is old and rustic and made from chestnut posts and top-rails.  I would prefer something more architectural and curvy but hey, it is a rose tunnel – not something I’ve ever had the chance to play with before.  Some rotten and some missing posts were replaced last year and it was extended in length too.

I’ve dug nine more planting pockets for David Austin roses and I’m now awaiting their delivery; all disease resistant, repeat flowering whites.  Edging the planting spaces are snowdrops and I’ve ordered more to plant in the newly cut squares.  I’ve had a murderous glint in my eye ever since I first spied the evergreen honeysuckle (above) and was finally given permission (after much nagging on my part) to despatch it.  Hoorah!

A quick unravelling of stems and …

… a maniacal whizz-whizz with the chainsaw and the deed was done.  A few swipes with the mattock and out came the roots.  Hoorah again.

In leaf and flower, the roses will, with luck, hide much of the tunnel structure.

The Iris Bed hasn’t worked.  I’ve tried but have decided that, like the honeysuckle, its time has come.  I inherited three patches of bearded irises with planting spaces in between.  I then added two more patches – creating five planting spaces.  When the leaves were tidy, the irises could look rather good and provided some structure in the bed all year round.

The Iris Bed (with iris leaves waiting to be cleaned up) - September 2011

But the flowering season was terribly short and the amount of time needed to weed in amongst the rhizomes and take off dead shrivelled leaves meant that the bed as a whole was simply too labour intensive.  They had to go.

So the iris bed is to become a new tropical border.  I planted a small one last year and the owner was rather taken with it; so we’ve decided to expand  into this bed.

I spent quite some time digging up irises and some double tulips I didn’t much like (though I re-used a few Carnival de Nice) and then replanted sedums, rudbeckia and other bits and pieces in various parts of the garden.  I’m now almost ready to dig it all over, incorporating manure and compost.  I do though need to remove a few inches of soil;  it is banked up too high against the outbuilding wall and causing internal damp.

Nearby is a relatively new path; looking like nothing so much as a runway.  I’ve ‘painted’ it with watery manure and a broom (fun job) in an attempt to age it and it isn’t quite as shocking as when it was laid.  I’m cutting two new borders along side it in order to soften the straight lines.  Excess soil from the Iris Bed will be incorporated into them when ready.

This is a big job as you can imagine; the path is about twenty metres long and the new beds will have curved outside edges when I have finished.  I’ve got some ideas for the planting plan but I also have a big pile of books and gardening design mags to thumb through for inspiration – while filing my nails.