Indoors, Outdoors

In the summer of 2013, we had a number of major upheavals, mostly planned although not all! One of the planned upheavals was the addition of the conservatory on the back of the house, along with a number of internal changes.

Eighteen months on (time really does fly) and we are gaining the benefit of that addition, in several ways. There are the sensible benefits,  the house is warmer with the conservatory creating an air gap - acting as a porch and also helping us to keep the kitchen tidier. But also for the more fun reasons, having nice plants with sufficient space around them to enjoy them.

In the past we have had too many plants in the house, with the kitchen, hall way, lounge and just about any spare surface filled by plants. We made a decision to reduce how much came into the house, but the conservatory allows us to bring some in and enjoy them, rather than having to duck under or round large palms in the kitchen!

It is nice to sit in the conservatory with exotic plants around us, having a nice warm drink but with the space to enjoy it.

The plants have benefited from the warmth, light but also from not being too hot. In the past when we had plants in the main part of the house the central heating gives a very dry atmosphere that not everything appreciates.

We were talking about the changes we made to the house at the weekend and I mused whether we should have made the conservatory larger, however as that would have reduced the top patio by the house neither of us would have wanted it to be bigger. Overall I think we got the size about right. Large enough to sit in and not feel cramped but not a huge space. 

Lets hope the plants continue to enjoy it!

Gaz.

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The Party Continues Indoors

Summer this year has been a blast and it seemed to have flown by so quick! It almost felt like a party that started early but was so good that before you knew it it was morning the next day already.

Philodendron 'Xanadu'

Well the party doesn't have to stop, it can continue indoors.

Boxes and plastic bags are two of Twinkles' favourite things! Here she is 'helping' me tidy up!

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Root and Run

Remember the these two Agave attenuata that I mentioned on this post a few weeks ago?

As mentioned there they were growing at such a low lean that they looked silly and were occupying too much floor space. So they had to be chopped low down their existing trunk and buried in the hopes that they will re-root and grow upright from there.

Ideally the cut part should be left to callous first before being buried in potting soil to minimise the risk of rotting. But I ignored all that and shoved them straight in a pot of soil as soon as I cut them off and hoped for the best.

Well they remained static after that with no sign of distress thankfully. But when I gave them both a closer inspection last weekend, much to my surprise it looks like they have already re-rooted...

So quick! That was the most impressive bit. And some of the roots look like they're already in a bid to 'run away' too.

A Graptoveria leaf fell on the table and sent out new roots and produced a new rosette growing on to nothing. I thought of giving it a chance by moving it on to the gravel mulch of one the Agave attenuata

Both plants are looking great again and with them obviously having new set of roots now I have been watering them as usual (they require more moisture than other agaves).

Just crossing my fingers now that they will grow upright this time!

Mark :-)

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Summer Vacation from the Sun Room

A few days ago I moved some of the agaves taking almost permanent residence in the sun room out into the patio. I thought I better give them a break from being cooped up inside all the time and let it have a taste of fresh air and unfiltered sun.

Agave pedunculifera (?)

They've all done well actually from being taken indoors and staying in for months on end. Despite that I felt that they could do with a few days stint outdoors in the summer as I've also noticed that they were developing some 'permanently under glass' stress. Before things get worse I moved them out and this should do the trick and revitalise them.

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Summer in the White Room

The white room, you know, that room at the back of our house overlooking the garden? I must confess that up to now I'm still not comfortable using the word 'conservatory',  I'm not used to it and it feels weird saying but it is what it is...

Astrophytum myriostigma

Anyway, there are some summer plant activities going on in there too. Not as dramatic as the ones happening outside but active enough to be noticeable.

The Agave 'Cornelius' is busy putting out new leaves

The Pachira aquatica is growing away nicely looking very lush, with leaves not too dissimilar to my beloved Scheffleras

The Chamaedorea radicalis have been sending out flower spikes

Although one has been very sneaky...

Neither of us have noticed it before until I took the photo of the Bishop's Cap above, looked at the photo and noticed something strange in the midst of it all.

It turns out that one of the aerial roots of the Philodendron 'Xanadu' beside the cactus have leaped over its pot and has been inching its way out, perhaps over the past few days, or even weeks.

Triffid alert! A plant trying to invade the space!!

Philodendron 'Xanadu'

Good fun though! I'll leave it be and observe how far it will go or where it will end up. I'll leave it alone and will only start to interfere once it goes somewhere totally insensible (like the side of the door, or across the floor, etc). As for the plant itself, it is looking fine and dandy and enjoying its spot in the white room.

As for outside, well you won't be able to help but notice the very bright blooms of both the Eremurus and Kniphofia thomsonii var. thomsonii on the first raised bed, giving us a wonderful summer treat of hot orange and yellow colours!

Anyway, keep enjoying summer (we are!) and play well outside!

Mark :-)

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Where Light Floods In

So what did we get up to last summer that took up so much of our time and energy from the garden, and that up to now still is our main preoccupation (although definitely tapering off now)?

All but a few odds and ends of the house renovation have been completed and the most recent weeks have been spent decorating and recovering our house away from the builders, converting it from a building site into a home. Slowly but surely we're getting there starting from the back...

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The Chosen Ones - First Batch

Choosing plants to go in the conservatory feels like being a judge in a beauty pageant! You have to select the most beautiful amongst the already beautiful lot (well most of them anyway). But apart from beauty other criteria must be fulfilled such as:

So who are the lucky ones that will wear a crown (or in this case a Bishop's Cap)?

Tolerates conservatory conditions at least during the winter (some of them will go out again in the summer).

Does not mind central heating and the conditions it can cause (fluctuating temperatures and low humidity).

Tolerates enclosure during the winter (very little breeze and air movement).

Relatively easy and disease free under glass (okay, strictly speaking there is no such thing but with little effort and maintenance by the owner, should remain fine most of the time).

Will actually benefit from being overwintered under glass with warmer temperatures as compared to a minimally heated greenhouse (i.e. more tender plants. Some plants do need a bit of seasonal winter chill hence unsuitable to be kept in a greenhouse and yet will need a bit of protection in the winter. In such a case an unheated greenhouse will often suffice).

Appreciates brightness and sunlight during the winter, and tolerates artificial lighting too (some plants prefer gloomy winter conditions and detest artificial lighting).

Most of important criteria of all:

It must be beautiful and serve a decorative purpose.

Although the last criteria is also the most debatable of them all. If you have a conservatory, and you're a plant lover/hoarder, surely you should use it to cram in and protect as many 'not so hardy for you area' plants as possible, right? Maybe...

Some gardeners say yes do that exactly as that and we've even seen a few that their conservatory is so packed during the winter you could barely walk through and let alone in it. If that's what they want and the purpose of the space suits them then so be it. At least their plant collection is protected and they get to enjoy them even if the weather is adverse outside (that is, if they can still walk through the plants).

But personally, our answer is no and this is where we will draw the line from now on. On previous winters our house gets so crammed with plants that it becomes a literal jungle for months on end. Both of us got sick of it and made it a resolve not to go in that direction again from this year onwards. Hence we have been doing a gradual culling of 'not so hardy plants' all through the year and most of it actually happened before the house renovation began.

We're both gardeners and love plants but the house is for humans (and our cats). It may be a jungle/desert out there but it should never be like that in the house any more and at any point. How long will we keep this resolve? Will we be disciplined enough to remain as such? Who knows! But we have to start somewhere and the future is already looking promising.

And this resolve will apply in our conservatory too. It will have plants to define the space as such but the plants that will be chosen must primarily serve a purpose of being decorative to enhance the space rather than just sit there seeking protection from winter.They will be part of the decoration and design of the space. And in moderate quantities too (it's only a small conservatory), so as to have ample space for the human (and cat) dwellers to enjoy them properly.

Enough of the wiffle-waffle now and the first batch of chosen ones are:

Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor'

Agave 'Cornelius' - extra fond of this Agave as I bought this as an inch and a half only diameter plant five years ago

Agave weberi 'Arizona Star'

Agave pedunculifera - I better take really good care of this as this was entrusted to me by a lovely Cornish nurseryman and it took him years of persuasion to make him part with it! It still has some debris and will need to dry up so I can give it a more thorough clean.

Astrophytum myriostigma - a winner by default as this was bought at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show last July for the main purpose of being placed in the conservatory. It needs a nice new pot though!

Graptopetalum 'Ron Evans' RE611 - another one that needs a nice new pot but was chosen as it looked so good in the greenhouse. I think it deserves as upgrade of abode for the winter!

Strelitzia reginae - the first non succulent to have made it among the 'chosen ones'. Strelitzias on the whole seem tolerant of conservatory conditions all year round so that was a huge plus point as to why this was included. I tend not to bother with Strelitzias any more to be honest but this one made its way into our plant collection as this 'special one' was entrusted to us by another kind Cornish man. I just wish the variegation is more regular and pronounced. Still it's a nice plant! 

Some are in nice pots already (and have been featured previously) and by luck fit in with the planned decorative scheme of the space. Others will be re-potted on to nicer pots (there won't be leeway for functional looking pots indoors this time) and it should fun hunting down suitable ones in the next few days.

The conservatory itself is mostly finished with just a few bits of adjustment left to be done by the builders. Although these adjustments are minor, we can never really properly sort out the inside and decorate it until everything, as in completely everything that the builders needs to do have been done. Builders and delicate plants are rarely a good mix....

But the first batch have to start drying up so I can clean them thoroughly before they get their winter pride of place. It has been raining here almost everyday and it's quite astonishing how much dirt succulents can accumulate when wet and combined with autumn leaf fall. I have removed most of the dirt before I took them in but they really need to dry up first before I can 'polish them up' to perfection. At the moment they are on the floor but once the builders are all done I can move them to where they should be.

So far a few succulents and a Strelitzia have been chosen but what about more lush and leafy plants? That will have to be the second batch!

Mark :-)

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