Broken Traditions

We didn't make it to the first RHS plant show of the year which was held last weekend. The second tradition we have broken since we have started this blog. The first one was a yearly spring trip to Cornwall which we didn't do last year and looks like it'll be the case again this year.

RHS Plant and Design Show 2014

Which makes me wonder now, will there be a third tradition that we'll break in the near future? And if so what would it be?

On traditional I don't think we will break will the the annual pruning of the large old sycamore tree at the bottom end of the garden. However I suspect that traditional may in part exist as it gives Gaz a chance to play with various boys toys or garden tools to you and I

Breaking traditions are not always a bad thing. In fact it could be the other way around and be a good thing, breaking monotony and introducing new things into ones system.

Cornwall, when will we see you again?

Going back to the tradition we have just broken, for years that plant show was dubbed as 'RHS London Plant and Design Show'. This year it has become 'RHS London Plant and Potato Fair'. I'm not sure what was the trigger for the change of title apart from the obvious which is the increasing popularity of 'grow you own produce' over or at least equal to ornamental gardening.

The change of the title and focus of the show however had no bearing to our non attendance this year. It was simply because of work which is extra demanding at the moment. We're both managers in our careers which makes taking time off extra tricky. Even when going on holiday. Ironically though we have both gained extra paid days off this year. But time off not taken this time is time off that can be taken later on. So our minds are hovering already on what other new things we can try this year.

Happy memories - our Cottesbrooke plant haul in 2011

and in 2012

Perhaps the Great Dixter Spring Plant Fair, or perhaps the Wisley one. They are both on the same weekend hence it will have to be one over the other. And for the first time Kew Gardens will have a plant fair as they take on the Plant Finders Fair which used to be held at Cottesbrooke for years before moving to Borde Hill last year then to Kew this year. Will it stay in Kew this time and become a tradition there? Who knows, we'll all have to wait and see (personally even this early I'd rather it go back to Cottesbrooke, it was perfect there).

Which reminds me, there is a third tradition (or is that the first?) that we have broken already, and that is going to Kew Gardens on a regular basis. We haven't been for over a year! So if we go to the fair on the last weekend of April we'll be sort of unbreaking a tradition. Or is that we'll be starting a new one?

Time to see Kew again?

It's getting a bit confusing now! Whether breaking old or making new traditions, isn't it nice to know that it simply means there lots of options out there? That choices are there for the picking. And that's a fabulous privilege!

Mark :-)

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Palm Crazy at the Palm Centre

So we had three choices this morning of what to primarily do today: go to Kew Gardens, go to a shopping mall and brave the sales again, or stay at home and do some gardening.

Ok, it's not a palm but a handsome specimen of Dasylirion serratifolium

All three started on equal footing but choosing one would be essential otherwise our sense of laziness would have prevailed and both of us could have easily stayed in bed all day (a luxury activity in its own right).

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Call of the Familiar

As I sat yesterday trying to think of things to possibly see and do for the coming new year I also found myself making a list of things and places to best perhaps steer clear of temporarily, just to inject some variety on our visiting repertoire.

Three places stood out for us, namely Madeira, Kew Gardens, and Cornwall.

Madeira

Nothing wrong with these places, in fact we love them to bits! It's just that we have visited them far too many times already and although each visit is enjoyable, it does make you wonder too if we've just let ourselves get stuck in some sort of routine.

Variety is the spice of life as they say and new experiences keeps ones interest refreshed and on going. And if you only have a limited amount of days off from work in a year there is this little pressure from within to try and include as many new things within this finite amount of free time.

Kew

So no visits to Madeira for quite some time? Perhaps bypass visiting Kew Gardens all of next year? And maybe break tradition and skip a spring week in Cornwall next year? There are so many other places and people to visit out there, so many things to see...

But there is also the call of the familiar. If you enjoy a place so much then what's wrong with visiting it over and over again? And isn't it nice that when you go to a place you know it so well than you don't have to adjust to your surroundings anymore? That you can just immediately settle in and not think anymore, but just feel it, straight away.

Cornwall

Heed the beckoning of the new or the call of the familiar? Sleep over it and let the universe answer the question for later on.

And I got some answers this morning, looks like it's going to be a 'meet halfway' thing. Despite initial hesitations due to our previous repeated visits, the feeling seems just right now to just give in and....what the heck, visit it again for the nth time soon. And one we'll be visiting again very soon as it's near a nursery that has a post Christmas sale ongoing.

Looks like only one will get the chop for a visit next year. But what about all those wonderful nurseries there, in a year when we need to stock up on plants again?

Ahh C'est La Vie! But what about you, would you prefer to keep coming back to the same place you are familiar with, or would you rather visit somewhere new each time? Or have you found a middle ground between the two?

Mark :-)

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Exotic Escapism

We are having a relatively mild winter this year but this has been combined with very wet weather, so much so that in parts of the country, many have had flooded homes and roads and railways are disrupted. Our local area is, fortunately, largely unaffected, other than the rain. 

We spent Christmas day celebrating with my Sister and family, but after a day of food and celebrations we decided that a trip to Kew Gardens would be a lovely way to unwind and walk off some of the extra calories. My parents, gave us an annual pass for Christmas so to take advantage the four of us headed into London.

Kew itself wasn't too busy, despite them having run a promotion in the run up to Christmas  with a number of free entry vouchers available, although the glasshouses (with their warmth and shelter from the rain) were where we, and everyone else, headed.

Outside the Princess of Wales Conservatory: Not the most beautiful of displays in December, but rather unusual in that Kew normally lifts the Agaves and other succulents  This winter they appear to be experimenting.

Arid landscape in the Princess of Wales Conservatory

The Princess of Wales Conservatory has had something of a makeover recently, In the arid section, many of the cacti and other succulents have been trimmed and thinned out, giving a more arid effect. It was starting to look like a very lush garden in places rather than a more typical arid bed. I'm sure they will allow the plants to expand again, but at the moment its looking very tidy.

This Glasshouse soon gives way to a Humid Tropical section, and with the rain coming down harder outside we stayed for a while enjoying the plants and warmth!

Anthurium salviniae

David Nash Sculpture. I really like this one, and quite fancy creating something similar in our garden, from stone rather than iron.

From the Princess of Wales Conservatory we headed onto the iconic Palm House, which is warmer and more humid.

Within the Palm house there were a selection of metal bugs made from recycled tin cans. We didn't spot any information about these so I don't know if they are connected to the David Nash exhibition.

Crinum purpurascens

Psychotria ankarensis

Pritchardia elliptica from Hawaii

Lush Jungle planting within the Palm House.

Encephalartos villosus is a shade-loving Cycad from South Africa

With the rain still coming down we headed to the final glasshouse of the day, the Temperate House. This is about to start on a major renovation, and many of the plants have been removed or are in preparation for removal. We will feature the preparations in a separate post.

Gaz

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Kew's Big Dig

Cycads lifted and ready to be moved to their home
for the next few years.

The Temperate House at Kew Gardens is coming up for a major renovation, and ahead of the £28 million, 8 year makeover many of the mature plants have been removed already or are being prepared for removal.

This Glasshouse is the largest at Kew, originally opened in 1863 and now the largest surviving Victorian Glasshouse in the world. Time and water have taken their toll on this building, and just 30 years since it was last restored it needs another full restoration. This does seem quite a short period of time, although the building itself was not constructed to todays modern standards, so hopefully the restoration will include modern techniques to ensure its long term survival, and hopefully allow it to reach its 200th anniversary in some 50 years time.

Many of the palms are having trenches dug next to them prior to moving. This is to encourage the palms roots to form a dense root ball, which will hopefully allow a more successful transplanting when they are eventually lifted completely. Kew state that they intend to return these palms to the Temperate house at the end of the project. With many likely to be stored in the tropical nursery at Kew in the meantime.

Washingtonia Palm also being prepared.

The Stump of a former Washingtonia that was removed a couple of years ago when it outgrew its space.

The final section was previously home to a number of Proteas and Cycads but is now mostly empty with many already removed.

That's a serious bit of lifting kit!

Cycad already lifted

In places the Glasshouse more closely resembles a nursery with plants lifted, potted, divided, and labelled. 

With the work underway, sadly a common sight in the Temperate house now is this one until it re-opens.

The work is due to take place in stages so parts of the glasshouse will be open during the works, which also hopefully means some of it will be completed and re-opened ahead of the eight year timescale. As we are members we will be regular visitors during the restoration and will be keen to see how things develop.

Gaz

Kew Gardens Appeal

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Kew, A Wander Through the Palm House

When we visited Kew a couple of weeks ago, we included a tour through the Palm House. Built between 1844 to 1848 its one of the most iconic looking Victorian Glasshouses and home to a fantastic collection of Palms, Cycads and other exotic plants. But on a cold day the warm and humid tropical conditions are a real draw and the lush exotic plants a wonderful escape from the cold autumnal weather outside.

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Behind the Scenes at Kew

Last Sunday, Kew Gardens held an open day for members to go behind the scenes at the Tropical Nursery. The Tropical Nursery is where Kew keeps its scientific collections and also where it propagates plants for use in displays within the Palm House, Temperate House, Waterlily House and Princess of Wales Conservatory.

The Tropical Nursery covers an area of over 6,500m2 and is itself divided into a further 21 climatic environments that are separately controlled and monitored by computer. These zones are split into four main divisions Cacti and Succulents, Moist Tropics, Orchids, plus Temperate and Conservation Collections.

So with various guides and Nursery people on hand we called in for an hour or so on Sunday.

The main walkways though the nursery more closely resemble a laboratory than a nursery, with computer control panels for the climate control situated outside each section. Temperature and humidity are closely monitored and adjusted as required automatically. 

Cacti, Euphorbia, Agaves, etc all being carefully tended and grown on, perhaps some of these will grace the arid section in the Princess of Wales Conservatory one day. 

Just one section along from the arids and the area is dedicated to exotics, every available space is used, with pots hanging on racks on the walls.

Please dont water the Saintpaulias... no really please dont! 

A selection of more tropical plants needing warm, humid conditions

I don't think we have seen a variegated lemon before, not just variegated leaves, but fruit too. Stunning!

Close up of the fruits forming on the Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum)

Seed of Agave bracteosa drying ready for sowing and storing,

The world smallest waterlily (Nymphaea themarum), incredibly rare and endangered. but something of a success story at Kew

Nymphaea themarum is extinct in the wild (native to Rwanda) but a small number of plants were collected by the Bonn Botanic Garden. However despite the care and attention lavished on them in Germany the scientists were unable to successfully propagate more from seed. That was until Kew worked out the secret and have now grown on a significant number of plants. Perhaps one day this will be reintroduced to the wild.

Aloes as far as the eye can see!

Its lovely to see behind the scenes to get an idea into just how much work goes into maintaining the glasshouses, as well as getting to talk to a few nursery men and women that tend to these plants :)

Gaz

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