April 27, 2005

'Y GWYLLT' Portmeirion Gardens January 2005

Portmeirion Village	Campanile Clock Tower	Salutation Wood	Temple pond January 05	Chinese Pond
Maytenus boaria original plant Salutation	Maytenus boaria main trunk	Detail of bark Maytenus boaria	Maytenus boaria detail of leaves	Maytenus boaria sucker near main plant
Maytenus boaria canopy	Maytenus boaria canopy	Chinese Bridge	The ethos of the Gwyllt	Looking across Whitesands Bay towards Moel y Gest
Rhododendron 'Nobleanum Group' Camellia Bay	Rhododendron 'Nobleanum Group' fallen flowers	Rhododendron protistum Chinese Lake	Rhododendron dauricum 'Midwinter' Old Camellia Bay	Rhododendron 'Choremia' salutation
Rhododendron 'Seta' Jan 05 Salutation	Rhododendron falconeri Camellia Bay	Eucryphia lucida in January! Chinese Lake	Cryptomeria japonica reddish, shredding bark, Salutation	Betula albosinensis 'Hergest' Camellia Bay
Pittosporum tobira Village	Garrya elliptica Hotel	Abies spectabilis Chinese Lake	Acer palmatum 'Osakazuki' unfurling leaves, Salutation	Ulex europeus Village
Acacia dealbata near Hotel
Who said that nothing is flowering during the Winter? They are certainly wrong. Depending on how mild the winter, there are always odd plants of a number of genera flowering during this month. Roses in the Village are a case in point. Eucryphia, Pittosporum tobira, Cistus species and their varieties and others regularly have a few remaining blooms. However, some Acacias such as A. dealbata by the Swimming Pool near the Hotel is at its best with its haze of yellow tiny pompoms. There are a number of stalwart Rhododendrons, every year that start things off, notable amongst these are Rhododendron 'Nobleanum Group', Rhododendron dauricum 'Midwinter', Rhododendron protistum and Rhododendron 'Seta'. There is always an underlying structure to the place throughout the seasons, almost unerring, a skeleton of colours, shapes, textures which makes the Gwyllt have an all the year round interest. The wonderful barks of Cryptomeria japonica Elegans, Sequoia sempervirens, Taxodium distichum, many of the mature Rhododendrons add a structure to the place no matter when you visit the place.