Surprise Hit

Whenever we highlight certain plants in our blog it's not always easy to predict what response they will elicit. Some will be hits while others will get a lukewarm response (not that it matters anyway, we highlight plants depending on our mood). One of the plants that surprised us by being a hit was the Stachyurus we featured on our bloom day post a few days ago. We received questions and queries about it (not counting the comments on the blog). To be honest I don't know why when we only showed two photos of it, both close-ups of its tassels of blooms too. A rather pleasant surprise.

Anyway, we got hold of this plant at one of the HPS meetings we attended last year. The one wherein the speaker was Colin Ward of Swines Meadow Farm Nursery with a consequent plant sales after his talk. We bought it for its large glossy leaves with the late winter blooms not even registering as a bonus for buying it. 

When I did the bloom post I didn't have it's full name. I've since dug out its label from my 'label bin' and this surprise hit of a plant is Stachyurus praecox var.matsuzaki.

It's just leafing out for the spring, mature leaves will be much larger

Have to say I found this plant hard to photograph in its entirety even if it's still only small and in a pot. But the bench turned out to be an adequate back drop.

Stachyurus praecox var. matsuzaki

So looking forward to it fully leafing out and must find it a permanent spot on the ground soon!

Mark :-)

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They Look Like Flowers

On my recent trip to our little succulent greenhouse I can't help but especially notice the group of Aeoniums on the right hand side by the door. At the moment some of them look more like flowers than fleshy leafed succulents.

I love Aeoniums, it is a fantastic group of succulents but this year only one made it outside (Poldark), the rest remained in there. I have bought a few more in the past month or so to add to my collection and they all went straight into the greenhouse as soon as I got them home.

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Aurea, Aurea!

Phyllostachys aurea, more commonly known as the Golden Bamboo and less so as the Fishpole Bamboo is possibly the most popular and readily available Phyllostachys bamboo for sale in the UK. You're likely to see it in any garden centre and even DIY sheds tend to stock them in their outdoor plants and gardening section.

Phyllostachys aurea and their characteristic compressed lower nodes

We have several 'clumps' (it's a running bamboo and doesn't always remain a clump) of these in the garden and last weekend I spent some time tidying up a few of them. Some of them are meant to screen off something or look dense hence they on the whole left to do their thing. Others however are stripped to highlight their culms and their characteristic compressed nodes as well as impart a more airy feel to them and let light filter through the culms. The former are lesser maintenance while the latter requires more and will need regular pruning through the growing season.

Phyllostachys aurea can be dense growing and have branches all the way down and through the entire length of the culms (good for
screening). To appreciate it's nodes you may need to strip off the lower branches

I have been productive and managed to tackle a few of them and whilst admiring my work at the end of the day I was reminded how misleading the common name 'Golden Bamboo' really is. The culms never actually become golden in a bright yellow sort of way but. The closest to it becoming one is more like pale yellow on older culms a few years down the line when they become mature and nearing the end of their life (just for those culms that is, not the entire plant).

Most of the culms remain green for most of the time. Still a nice colour though but really it should be sold more with the common name Fishpole Bamboo rather than Golden Bamboo. Although admittedly the latter sounds more appealing than the former.

Saying that, there is actually a genuine golden form of the Golden Bamboo called Phyllostachys aurea 'Holochrysa' or it's synonym Phyllostachys aurea 'All Gold'

Phyllostachys aurea 'Holochrysa' - youngest culms start out green but can quickly turn bright/golden yellow.
Unlike the other one...

So why is the real golden form of the Golden Bamboo not sold readily as such, and instead the green form is?

Well the green form is more vigorous, more rewarding, propagates easily, and grows much quicker. The golden form doesn't,  it bulks up much slower...

Phyllostachys aurea 'Holochrysa'

Too slow to be commercially viable and for mass production. And besides, the species name aurea in latin means gold, hence the common stuck with it. And I don't think that can be shaken of.

But if you really want a really golden, bright yellow culmed Golden Bamboo, it is out there, just look for the right name.

Mark :-)

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A Season of Scheffleras

All the Scheffleras in our garden are busy flushing and putting out new growth at the moment. Like with many plants this year the burst of new growth has been delayed, much later than usual and the Scheffleras were no exception. But their current, almost simultaneous flushing are quite a sight to behold whenever we catch glimpse of them as we walk around the garden. A delight to see and never fails to bring a smile especially to Schefflera lovers like us. You can see just how many of these have grown by looking back at this post about our Scheffleras from a couple of years ago.

Schefflera taiwaniana

As they currently flush and grow away, here's my personal celebration and a glimpse of just some of this wonderful group of plants growing in our garden.

Schefflera digitata

Schefflera aff. chapana

Schefflera aff. myriocarpa

Schefflera rhododendrifolia (syn. impressa, Needham/Kew Form)

Each species behaves differently when it  comes to flushing, branching, and generally putting out new growth. On years when the growing season is relatively long (but not necessarily that warm, it rarely gets sultry warm here anyway) some of the Scheffleras put out several flushes from spring till early autumn, up to four flushes on such rare years. Whilst some only flush once and that's it for the year, concentrating its energy afterwards into flowering and later on producing seed.

Schefflera macrophylla

Schefflera alpina - this one has been kept in the pot it came in originally for over a year now and has grown since to a current height of 10' 
tall. Fortunately it is still thriving despite being on the neglected side. Must find it a permanent home soon.

Schefflera kornasii

Schefflera rhodendrifolia (syn. impressa, Garden House form)

Schefflera fantsipanensis

A resilient Schefflera taiwaniana - as we cut off large branches off the big tree near it a few months ago one of them fell directly on top of 
it, severely bending the main growing point. Fortunately we didn't cut it off as much to our surprise it just carried on growing from it, 
bendy at first but later straightening itself out.

Schefflera taiwaniana - from our biggest specimen

Schefflera delavayi

The growing season is still early, the season is still young. With its late appearance I am confused myself whether it is still spring or it is summer already. Whatever it may be, for me it is currently a season of Scheffleras.

Mark :-)

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Of the Three Giants

Of the three (potentially) giant hostas in the garden...

Hosta 'Jurassic Park'

Jurassic Park - looks like this 'dinosaur' is going to take awhile before it becomes a giant beast....that is, if it is indeed as large growing as it is reported to be. Looks like we'll just to wait several years and see.

Hosta 'Empress Wu'

Empress Wu - slowly sizing up and it is starting to look promising. Not immune to slugs and snails I'm afraid. Again it needs several more years before its potential size becomes more apparent but so far so good.

Hosta 'Sum and Substance' - oops, I should have taken off that twig before taking this photo!

Sum and Substance is still the one that is reigning supreme in our garden when it comes to size. And slugs and snail seems to leave it alone as well which is a great bonus!

Mark :-)

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Sinful Syneilesis

Year after year I continue to be impressed by this genus of woodland perennial. Not that we have lots of them, we only have two in the garden but they reliably come back in the spring (as you'd expect from a hardy perennial) and they get bigger and better each year.

We've referred to this plant as 'Cousin It' before on a previous blog post but once it has fully leafed it has no resemblance to this nickname whatsoever.

Sinfully lovely and leafy Syneilesis...

Syneilesis palmata

Syneilesis aconitifolia

Of the two which one is your favourite? Or do you equally like them both (or perhaps not at all)?

Cultural requirements? Dappled shade to shade, in a moisture retentive spot that doesn't get waterlogged either. 

Anyway, as an aside I just realised neither of us have posted anything about our garden for three weeks now, yikes!! The last post we made about our own garden was the one on the fourth of May, oops!

It's been such a hectic, incredibly busy, but fantastic past three weeks I must say. With the Cornwall trip and spending a few days covering the recently concluded Chelsea Flower Show, both events within close range between each other too (plus our own garden to sort out), there's so much material to write about. And although we have written some coverage already about both topics, there is still a backlog of subjects about them that I'd prefer to feature as separate posts. No doubt they will get featured eventually, gradually and interspersed between other subjects, no longer chronological but it will still happen...

But I thought it would be nice to bring it back again to the very root of this blog which is about our garden, even if it's just a short one (for now anyway).

Mark :-)

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Aesculus parviflora

We have grown Aesculus parviflora  (the bottlebrush buckeye) for a few years, and it really is a fabulous plant for all seasons. 

Unlike other Aesculus it is a much more modest sized plant growing to a maximum of between 3 and 5 metres, although it wont be allowed to reach that size in our garden. Its a native from 
southeastern United States found growing in fairly open woodlands. So is ideally suited to be used as an understory shrub.

Once in leaf it resembles the traditional leaf form expected from Aesculus, and although not tropical nor exotic also passes a reasonable resemblance to the schefflera family. It blooms in the mid summer, although we have only had a couple of fairly small flowers 

In spring when the young leaves are growing is probably the most exciting time for me with this plant, heaven! Unlike many of the more exotic plants in our garden this is quite an old introduction  being introduced to British horticulture by John Fraser a well known botanist following a trip to the American South in 1785.

By the summer the large palmate leaves give a lovely exotic effect before autumn arrives and you get the final display of the year.

This shrub is well worth looking out for especially if you don't have the space for a large Aesculus or want the effect of a Schefflera with a hardier plant.

Gaz

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Touched by The Dutch

Thankfully the snow on this plant has melted many days ago and I was finally able to take photos of it without that white stuff all over....

Mahonia 'Soft Caress'

What am I talking about? I had planned to write about this plant a couple of weeks or so ago but we had heavy snowfall then that hindered me from doing so. Fortunately all of that snow has melted seemingly ages ago and that snowy episode is nothing more now than just a distant memory (and may it not return till next winter!).

Oops! Soft Caress smothered by snow...

The plant I am referring to of course is the beautiful Mahonia 'Soft Caress'

I love the beautiful and tactile foliage of this plant, as well as its graceful habit and delicate appearance. It's very unique too compared to most Mahonias that you can readily buy here, in that the leaves are spineless, slender, and relatively dainty. And as the name suggests the leaves are so soft to the touch, almost inviting anyone who sees it to run their fingers through it (something you'd never do in other types of Mahonias, ouch!). An elegant plant that is both a pleasure to look at as well as to touch.

Now that's better! Same plant without the snow

I first heard about this plant a few years ago when it started to make the rounds amongst a few nurseries and enthusiasts across the pond. And it has been sporadically featured before on other gardening blogs based in the US. The moment I saw the photos, it was love at first sight. But alas, none seemed available here and the only way to get them then was to buy it in the US and get papers sorted so it can be shipped here. Too much hassle then, I'm sure it will eventually make its way here and I just needed to be patient.

Then last year I spotted this gorgeous (and significantly larger) specimen in one of the nurseries we visited:

Could it be? The knowledgeable and friendly owner of this nursery thinks it probably is. Not a hundred percent certain as when the plant was gifted to him it was already a big specimen (not too far off from what it looked like in the photo) and it came with no label, just a little tale of provenance.

What a gorgeous plant! Sadly it was the only one and certainly was not for sale. But if it was indeed a larger, more mature Mahonia 'Soft Caress' then it has given us a preview of what it could look like after a few years of growth. I only ever saw photos it as small plants before so to see something relatively big (and in the flesh) was a nice surprise. And I do like it grown like that, as a single trunk specimen looking like a palm or a parasol.

Speaking of 'not a hundred percent certain', if the plant above is not a 'Soft Caress', what else could it be? Apparently Mahonia 'Soft Caress' is a selection from plants identified as Mahonia eurybracteata var. ganpinensis, so there's a possibility that the plant above is actually the latter and not exactly the former. If that's the the case then the ID is almost but not quite....

But then again it could actually be a 'Soft Caress' (am I confusing you now?)....

From then, fast forward to October of last year. As we entered a general garden centre near us there it was, proudly featured by the main doors, a pot of Mahonia 'Soft Caress'. We were both speechless when we saw it, totally unexpected. Then inside there were loads of it, so many! After waiting for years, of what seemingly was a very rare plant there they were, pots and pots of it in front of us. In a general garden centre!

I read the label and saw where they came from. This plant has been touched by the Dutch...

By the Dutch tissue culture and plant mass production industry. And that's why it was there, loads of it in a general garden centre. And we spotted more of it in other garden centres we visited in the following months.

Did it matter to us that suddenly, a plant that was rare and elusive to us before was suddenly very available? Not at all, we couldn't care less and was just happy enough that it was finally available here, mass produced or not. We took home two pots right then and there and would be happy to buy more in the near future. We just absolutely love this plant. 

Eventually it was featured on the The Garden Magazine, which is a monthly publication of The RHS, as well as on television via Gardener's World (and rightfully praised by Carol Klein).

What about its hardiness? Well several gardeners in the US Pacific Northwest region have had it for years with very good reports. We've only had it for one winter and both pots were left outside, exposed and unprotected and they have both sailed through this winter looking unflawed. So far so good.

Mahonia 'Soft Caress'

And looks like this plant is destined to be popular this year and the coming years to come. The Dutch plant mass production industry has its share of issues and controversies on how it affects smaller and local plant nursery business. But I won't expound on those issues, and on this occasion just regard that at least this plant, something so beautiful is now readily available for more gardeners to enjoy. I have however also heard one or two people commenting on how their regard for this plant have lessened now that it is readily available, which I personally found really odd. Surely if you find this plant beautiful in the first place then that should matter the most and not let its commonality diminish your enjoyment of it.

Get over thy snobbery, beauty before rarity!

Mark :-)

[Update: May 2013 - This plant won plant of the year at the 2013 RHS Chelsea Flower Show]

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Oreopanax floribundus

Another fairly new plant for us is Oreopanax floribundus which we acquired earlier this year from Crug Farm.

A member of the Araliaceae family, it bears many of the classic traits of this family, which I must confess we have a great fondness of, having quite a number of other Aralieaceae in the garden.

Attractive purple new flush of Oreopanax floribundus

Crug explains on their site that while they were in the Americas they explored the stunning central mountain range of Colombia where they found Oreopanax floribundus (collection number BSWJ10669) "growing at high altitude on the edge of a dense forest. This species has distinct palmate leaves, covered in bristly hair thickly so on the contrasting pale undersides, while the individual plants are dioecious (plants either male or female) bearing large terminal paniculate inflorescences." 

As you can see from the photo (left) from Crug's website, it has a very exotic and interesting shape and form, looking from a distance very much like a Schefflera.




We had first seen this plant in person at the RHS London Plant and Design Show held back in February at the RHS Halls in London, although we were aware that Crug would have them for sale prior to that. As you can see from the plant on the stand below it has a lovely form and has kept the interesting leaf shape so far. Sometimes the younger leaves on other Araliaceae have a different shape to the much older ones on the same plant, or younger plants have a different leaf shape that gradually changes in appearance into something that looks totally different altogether as the plant itself matures.

Part of Crug Farms Display at the RHS London Plant and Design Show

Our plant is still on the small side and as it's pretty much untested outside yet we have opted to keep it in a pot and moved it to a warmer spot for winter. I think we will wait before testing it outside for winter until its been trialled by a few more people. At the moment there is not much information available on line, probably down to it not being easily available in the UK until Crug released plants recently. 

Our Oreopanax floribundus is now flushing.

Our plant has, however, decided that now would be a good time to push out a new flush of leaves. I would have preferred that it had not done this until the spring, but it clearly decided to do this now. It wasn't the warm conditions that promoted this as it was already flushing a new set of leaves whilst still outside with the cooler temperatures, prior to being brought into a warmer spot.

I suppose this is already an indication of its hardiness....

Gaz

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Tiny Treats, Teeny Treasures

Brrrr... it's cold outside but never mind, it's warm inside and I have some small plants to sort out...

One of the things I've been doing recently to keep the gardening bug ticking over during this relatively quiet period is I've been buying small succulents. I've been buying them gradually over the past few weeks and it's always nice to find a little package every so often by the front door every time I get back home from work.

Mangave 'Bloodspot' - can't get enough of this pretty Agave macroacantha x Manfreda maculosa (?) hybrid

I call them my tiny treats and teeny treasures, and yet none of them were dear, making very little dent in my pocket.

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The Jiggedy Jaggedy Plant

What's that layered looking plant again on the third raised bed, the one with jiggedy-jaggedy leaves? A visitor asked us very recently, via email upon returning home.

It took me awhile to think about what that jiggedy jaggedy plant could be, and looking layered too for whatever that meant. But the clue was the third raised bed. There could only be one plant there that has 'jiggedy jaggedy' leaves and looking layered too - Schefflera delavayi.

Schefflera delavayi

The use of the term jiggedy jaggedy to describe the the leaves of this plant made me smile. This was the first time I've heard anyone refer to the shape of the leaves of this plant as such. But looking at the following photos (from the newest to the more mature ones), the leaves are indeed 'jiggedy jaggedy' to varying degrees....

Okay, 'jiggedy jaggedy' is certainly not a proper botanical term to describe the leaves of this plant. But now that we are on the subject of proper botanical terms, I actually don't know myself how to properly describe the shape of its leaves (or at least with full certainty).

Anyone out there with more advanced botanical knowledge knows?

Do let me know if you do. Otherwise I may have to use the term 'jiggedy jaggedy' myself from now on. It is very catchy after all...

Mark :-)

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Colocasia gaoligongensis

One plant that has really come into its own for us this year is Colocasia gaoligongensis, which despite the tongue twister of a name really is an essential hardy plant for an exotic garden. It is often reported to be the hardiest Colocasia available, and can survive temperatures as low as -10C. It dies back to the ground in winter, only to re-emerge in the spring. We had one survive through the spate of bad winters the UK had from between 2009 and 2011. To be safe it is worth giving it a thick layer of mulch over winter. It likes to be in a moist soil with some shade. We actually lost a plant to drought that had survived the bad winters but was in a very dry spot.

This plant is in the raised bed next to the filter house, and as a very small plant in a pot survived being frozen solid last winter. It really is quite a tough plant.

Colocasia gaoligongensis in our garden

As you can see the leaves are quite a bright green with an almost black dot in the centre of the leaf plus quite a pronounced veining to them. It produces surface runners (stolons) that will spread out quite some distance from the mother plant that will grow "pups" (new plants) at the end when they anchor themselves into the soil. We have had it flower but somehow have managed to not take any photos of it before, however it produces a fairly typical aroid flower. 

Colocasia gaoligongensis flower illustrated on http://www.hort.net

Colocasia gaoligongensis can also be propagated by cutting off the stolons, these can be cut into sections between the nodes. Once cut they should be allowed to dry off slightly, for about a day before placing them horizontally in seed trays with a good quality multi purpose compost. They should be given a light covering of compost and kept moist but not waterlogged. If you can give them a little bit of bottom heat them they will respond well.  Once the plants sprout, allow them to grow on until late the following spring when they can be divided and potted on. It will grow reasonably quickly so small new plants will get to a good size quite quickly if kept moist and well fed. 

I'm really hoping this bulks up nicely next year and gives us a number of spare plants to put in other places in the garden.

Gaz

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Star Light, Star Bright

The first star I see tonight...

Or rather the first plant I tend to see whenever I step into the garden because it is so bright...

I have been meaning to feature this plant for quite some time now, but like anything else that got side stepped for some reason, never seemed able to until I had a quick wander down the garden earlier today and spotted this plant again, like I always do over and over again. So I thought I should actually take the time now and write this long overdue blog post, which is an homage to this beautiful plant.

The original plant I bought from CGF - Yucca gloriosa 'Bright Star'

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That Stripe-y Aloe

I was warned not to plant it out

Too unusual they say

I say, why not? 

Just because it is variegated it doesn't deserve a free root run? 

Much like all the rest?

But it is rare, they say

How many variegated Aloe polyphyllas do you see?

Not many I say

And it's not really that variegated

A few faint stripes don't make it rare

But to the eyes of a few it's rare

Yet to my eyes it's not rare

It's just like the rest from a plant fair

And I'm sure more will turn up one day, and it won't be that rare

So here it is planted

Much like all the others

A gamble they say

A well deserved spot I say

So high hopes I put on it

That it will thrive and sail through winters

Much like all the others be it

But if it doesn't and is no longer here next year

At least I can say

I may not have heeded the warning

But at least I can rest in the thought

That at one point I did have one here

Mark :)

I enjoyed doing this post, playing with words as I conveyed my thoughts. And it's possibly the quickest blog I've ever done (apart from the Wordless Wednesdays ones). Truthfully I think the striping of this aloe is not distinct enough for it to merit any extra special reverence compared with the others we have. But that's just me. I'm more concerned on how it gets on in the garden, hoping that it performs and thrives just as well as the others.

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