December 27, 2007

What's New 2006

This page hopefully will give an overview of what is happening on this website and in the garden. It should be a summary of what is mentioned elsewhere on the site.

January 2006
On the first of this month the list of plants flowering in this garden on this day, was sent up to the famous quarterly magazine 'Hortus'. A survey of plants flowering on the first of this month to try and ascertain whether or not global warming is a possible factor. One pattern to the beginning of this year is the high incidences of frosts which has not been a feature for a few years.

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February 2006
Planting continues apace before March/April as one is never very certain when dry weather takes hold. At least some plants will have had a chance to settle before this happens. It would be nice to think that the summer will be a wet one! Sorry to all you sun lovers! From the 6th to the 13th of this month the frogs have been back with their usual racket and have left their usual large lumps of frog spawn. Lets hope this year is more successful for them; either they suffer from the frost or the newts have a feed. If they do manage to survive these traumas the garden in July is full of baby frogs. Some fine chipped bark has been used on some beds to help suppress weeds and reduce hopefully some of the labour needed for maintenance. We shall see. My only worry is whether this layer of bark will affect moss now colonising most areas on the side.


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March 2006
Weeding, weeding, getting rid of grass, planting!! Even though it has been so cold - snow, frost, you name it! and surprisingly dry! The dryness and frost was seriously desiccating some plants. If one doesn't get on with this now, chances are, later on, the weeds become rank, the grass forms huge tufts and you then might as well give up until they die back next winter! This is really the last chance to plant that is unless you want a summer of watering! So far there is no ban on watering in this area, but it has happened before - many years ago. By the way the weather forecasters expect a dry summer yet again!! So the importance of planting now becomes that much more critical. Even so it might well be too late. We shall see.

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April 2006
At least we have had rain, but is it enough? The springs on the side give a good idea to answer that question more accurately. They depend on ground water, not run off. Two years ago they were flowing strongly this time of the year, now there is a trickle. It means that, even when we have heavy rain as we have had, and everyone thinks we have plenty of water, we are still really short of water! Half way through the month, the weather is warmer (13°C) and in the sun quite pleasant. Swallows? - only a few, last year they arrived in March! This shows how late this season really has been. Only a small amount of planting is taking place (see comments above). A blog and pod cast has been set up for this site, we shall see how these develop!

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May 2006
Clear sunny skies, warm drying winds do not bode well for the garden. The springs have completely stopped flowing. Everything seems to becoming out at once and only now is the Ceanothus arboreus 'Trewithen Blue' coming into flower. This over the last 3 years this website has been in existence has flowered intermittently throughout the winter months. This year flowering stopped before Christmas. Found another wild collection of Polystichum setiferum 'divisilobum' in the same area that the original clone was found 36 years ago - see ferns 2006 for full details.
Malvern Spring Three Counties Show was visited on the preview day (11th). Very enjoyable, for the public that day as there were no crowds and it was easy to move around especially in the Floral Marquee. All my favourite nurseries were there, it was nice to meet my friends again especially Fernatix and Nigel of Long Acre Plants. Needless to say some interesting plants were bought e.g. Drimys winteri var. andina from P. W. Plants. This is an excellent plant which I have been hankering after for some time. There is a plant of this at the top of Shelter Valley in the Gwyllt, Portmeirion. It only grows up to 4 feet and it flowers freely - a much better proposition than the type species which can grow into a huge tree and is really unsuitable for a small garden - the specimen in this garden will probably provide a headache sometime in the future.

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June 2006
Apart from the hot weather, and high winds at the end of the month, plants survive with watering. No planting has taken place due to this and the back of the house looks like a nursery as plants steadily accumulate. The death of the Tetrapanax is particularly disappointing. The sculpture by Jem Stiff 'Cofia fi' (Remember Me) is particularly pleasing and hopefully blends well into what one might call this naturalistic planting. Hosta 'Remember Me' has been planted around the sculpture. This Hosta is a tribute to a lady who has passed away due to cancer and perhaps the combination of this sculpture and the associated planting could be considered a celebration of this persons life and all those who have suffered and fought through such adversity. I have known of a number of such people I have taught over the years, some have passed away, some are still with us. I think of them when I walk past this spot in the garden. As an addendum, the full history of Hosta 'Remember Me' can be found on Walter's Gardens Inc. and I quote 'In 2002 Walters Gardens, Inc. started a program with Hosta 'Remember Me' to help support the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, an organization with a mission to eradicate breast cancer as a life threatening disease by advancing research, education, screening, and treatment. The hosta was named in honor of Sandy DeBoer, a former employee of Walters Gardens, Inc. who died of breast cancer the previous year. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of these plants continues to be donated to the foundation, and to date, over $11,000 has been contributed to our local affiliate'.

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July 2006
What can I say - drought and high temperatures and even more frantic watering! At long last, a dewpoint cabinet propagator bought last September (2005) has been assembled and is now working. It's trials and tribulations are recorded separately and hopefully will give people an idea of its overall value.
The garden is now going into a phase characterised by Eucryphias, Crocosmias and Hydrangeas. I call it a 'quiet time' and I suppose it is, as it is primarily a spring garden. At least the above do give colour and scent. Even ferns do not flower, it is wonderful to see the fresh green fronds of the Polypodium cambricum varieties unfurling after their summer slumbers. They seem to revel on the moss covered shale slope which stays quite dry over the early part of the summer. The lower part stays moist right through the year with the result that Heloniopsis species do well and thrive.
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August 2006
5th - drizzle overnight, but the garden is still desperately dry and watering continues unabated. The Embothrium and Cornus kousa both had a good soaking otherwise there would be a good chance of loosing them. Both these trees have set seed well. It will be interesting to see if the seeds of the Embothrium are viable when they are ripe. Seedlings of a variety of plants seem to be establishing in a number of parts of the garden. Notable amongst these are:
Hylomecon japonica, Nepeta subsessilis, Lamium orvala, Corydalis siamensis, Roscoea species.
That reminds me if last month was characterised by Hydrangeas and Crocosmias, this month it is the turn of Cautleyas, Hedychiums and Roscoeas. The Cautleya spicata this year is flowering well at the front of the house and this is largely due to the consistent watering this strong colony has had. Of course the Crocosmias and especially the mop head Hydrangeas are still in full flight, but the Hydrangea serrata varieties are certainly past their best.
11th - more like autumn than summer! 13°C sometimes patches of drizzle which helps the garden, but certainly not enough to allow planting (of the dozens of plants that are accumulating around the house!). Swallows were gathering on telephone wires yesterday - very early - do they know something we don't?

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September 2006
With rain more of a feature of this month (and associated high winds) planting has been the main activity this month. Temperatures have on the whole been well above average and this with moisture means that whatever has been planted has time to establish before the winter months set in and whatever the winter has to throw at us. I know there is the argument that if the winter is severe, you will loose these newly planted specimens. Ah well time will tell and life is full of risks!!
Another aspect of this month has been the removal of areas planted with daffodil bulbs. These modern varieties should have not been planted, it was a mistake. They are large, blowsy and with any windy weather they get flattened very easily and can become a terrible mess and then you have the rotting leaves which hang around for ages. Doing this allows a more diverse planting. Paths have been created to gain access to a number of parts of the garden. This will help with access and help avoid trampling.
Daphniphyllum himalaense subsp. macropodum dwarf or Daphniphyllum humile - here we go again, you would think I had learnt my lesson with Daphniphyllum aff. teijsmannii BSWJ3805 which dropped down dead in September 2004 !! Daphniphyllums are very sensitive to any excess moisture around its base. Once the soil is too wet, fungus attack sets in (probably Phytopthera species). It must be planted in very free draining soil and put proud of the soil. If you do not fungal attack will be guaranteed with its ensuing death. Bleddyn at Crug has lost many of his Daphniphyllums if the have been potted up incorrectly. Oscar Wilde had one of his famous sayings, but at least this is not the third time - not yet! We shall see. This has been planted at the very top of the garden in very open freely draining soil well away from any spring lines and with the main trunk well above the soil surface - fingers crossed! Many plants in the garden are showing re growth with the higher than average temperatures especially at night. Many ferns are putting new fronds out especially the genus Polystichum.

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October 2006
Officially September average temperatures are the highest since records began. October is much colder - the normal temperatures one would expect and rain. However not enough rain to prime the spring lines on the side. They are not running yet and shows how low the ground water is. With Septembers above average temperatures, many ferns have put out new fronds. In the gully, plants of Woodwardia unigemmata have their characteristic reddish fronds. These fronds are very young - will they mature enough to cope with the lower temperatures? Similarly Woodwardia orientalis plants have put forward new fronds. Most of the Polystichums are behaving similarly as was commented upon in September.
Amazing the number of plants seeding themselves around the garden - Acacia melanoxylon with its characteristic juvenile leaves, Hylomecon hylomeconoides, Hypericum aff. uralum, Roscoea species, Aruncus aethusifolius 'Little Gem', Geranium palmatum, various Geranium species and Hydrangea serrata.
Further batches of plants and ferns from Crug, Fibrex, Rickards Ferns, Mill House Plants and Longacres have been acquired. Crug of course closes on the 1st of October for the winter as they go to far flung countries to bring back introductions. Typically Bleddyn persuades me to buy a few more shrubs, very nice plants including Hydrangea scandens and H. luteovenosa. We shall see how these do. Mill House Plants has provide some very interesting Hydrangea serrata varieties.
Paths are being improved and extended. Slabs of sedimentary rock originating from India (is this sustainable?) are being used in areas where more stability is necessary e.g. where the spring lines cross the path on the side and where it is particularly steep.
More excellent ferns have been bought from the Levers of Aberconwy Nurseries(17th October). Included amongst these are a range of Polypodium cambricum varieties, Paesia, Onychium and Chelianthes species. There is one patch of Asplenium adiantum nigrum and A. bilotii where these grow successfully. There is 'room' for these Chelianthes species and we shall have to see if they have a chance of survival. This area stays dry during the winter months. The Polypodiums will be planted on the shaley steep area recently cleared. Two plants brought from Rumsey Garden Nurseries as 'Polystichum interjectum' have turned out to be Polypodium cambricum 'Omnilacerum Superbum'. These are beautiful, large plants, so even though they were misidentified, I really did not mind and have been a useful addition to the Polypodium collection. The name 'Polystichum interjectum' was originally listed by this nursery in the RHS 2006 Plantfinder edition. The plants then came labeled as 'Polypodium interjectum' which was partially correct! It does illustrate the importance of correct identification.

November 2006
More ferns and this time from Rumsey Gardens. What was amazing was the quality of the plants received. They were all mature plants of some quite rare Polystichum setiferum varieties. Now the clearing work starts in earnest. Around the house, where some plants have become vastly overgrown, have been grubbed out. Hard decisions which have to be taken unfortunately unless one wants an impenetrable jungle! The large Rhododendron arboreum hybrid has been removed on the side. It had become huge and the flowers and foliage were nothing to write home about! Parts of the garden at the far end have been 'left' with now the need to get things back in order. My work is well and truly cut out! How I coped when I worked, goodness knows. The truth was I only just kept certain parts of the garden in a reasonable state. There is, at last, a chance to really sort things out - exciting!
This mass clearance is also tinged with sadness. I think back to when I first acquired these plants - the Rhododendron arboreum hybrid taken from a plant as a tiny layering in the Rhododendron Garden Of Plas Newydd in the late 1960's when I used to have permission to botanise in these woodlands from the Marquis of Anglesey. The Camellia x williamsii 'Donation' bought as a tiny plant from the Ulverston market around 1984. The conifers were bought from a small nursery just outside Kendal in 1980. They have been moved from one garden to another. They have been my friends for all these years. No wonder I find this difficult.
The far end of the garden has regrowth of brambles, how quickly do these grow. At least they are quite easy to pull or grub out. However it does show how quickly a garden can revert to a wild state. Give this garden five years of neglect and it will be thicket of brambles, just as it was originally!
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December 2006

The piles of cut material grows higher and higher! Ceanothus arboreus 'Trewithen Blue' regularly loses branches every year, however this year a large major branch has died back (8 inches diameter). This has necessitated major surgery or there is a tendency for other branches to be affected. It had to be cut in stages to minimise damage to the Acer palmatums below. All the Rhododendron bushes have had their dead branches cut out. Juditious pruning of Crinodendron hookerianum, Drimys winteri has helped to keep the garden from becoming too shady and dry.
Hopefully the whole site has been checked for links that do not work. Surprisingly quite a few do not, one or two were my fault, but there are some new additions. It does bring home the weakness of the Internet compared to books in a library. However information in libraries I thought would be permanent or reasonably so especially in Universities. Unfortunately this is no longer true. In this age of materialism, librarians calculate the costs of books depending on their use - shelf space costs. Books get thrown out if they are not used and amazingly this actually happens.

areas below Acers being cleared	piles of rubbish from the garden	my favourite mattock	more rubbish	plants past their sell by date

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