Post Mortem Embrace

As I was tidying and removing some of the dead plants still dotted around the garden last weekend I noticed this in our utility area (i.e. where some dead plants are also stored to be sorted out later):

It's like the long dead Cyathea australis giving the newly dead Yucca thompsoniana a cuddle,  a post mortem embrace. Perhaps it is giving it commiseration or a welcome to plant hades.

The Yucca came to us many years ago bare root and needing TLC so it stayed in the greenhouse for quite some time. Not long after being repotted it flowered which took up a lot of energy from an already ailing plant. And instead of re-rooting, all pre existing roots that it had rotted away instead. It was a slow death for the poor plant as it lingered in the greenhouse for years, finally succumbing this spring despite being given special care all through those times. Nevermind. And so the remaining trunk is now stashed with other architectural lifeless plant bodies in the utility area.

And speaking of demise after flowering, one of my favourite bamboos in the garden, a very slow growing one yet so beautiful with its bright yellow culms with green stripe on its sulcus is flowering...

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Cut and Paste

One of the things we have resolved to do more this year is to use as much of the existing plants we have already for planting out rather than buy more. Easier said than done as resistance can be difficult when visiting nurseries. But doing so frees up storage space and efforts when preparing the garden for the winter months.

There are several areas in the garden that will need some replanting and plant editing, which includes the first raised bed in the koi pond area. In this bed was a rather sprawling Kniphofia caulescens. It's a good looking poker with blue leaves but they tend to only look good for a couple of months or so. The rest of the year it looks scruffy as it accumulates dead leaves which takes a long time to tidy up, plus the dead leaves seems to harbor aphids in our garden. With time being a premium enough as it is for us, it was time to let it go and be replaced with an equally good looking and much less maintenance plant. And that plant was going to be one of our existing potted Yucca rostrata.

I didn't get the chance to take a photo of the Kniphofia clump before I dug it up but to give you an idea on what it looked like pre-removal is this clump of the same plant on the third raised bed:

The plant that was dug up was a much bigger clump so took awhile to be removed, but finally after all that a suitable hole was prepared:

Ready to home this little beauty:

As it was going on a raised bed with good drainage already I didn't add extra grit on the planting hole. And based on our experience Yucca rostrata does very well on ordinary garden soil with no extra modification as long as the area doesn't get waterlogged. Also it's best not to tease out the roots when planting as they are brittle, breaking very easily if prodded too much which can set back the plant.

And voila!

A new Yucca for a predominantly blue leafed and yucca bed! A relatively quick cut and paste job.

Mark :-)

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Plastic Fantastic

A recent post on Piece of Eden wherein a plastic flower was mentioned has reminded me of our recent stopover at Beijing Airport en route to Tokyo. In the central departure area past the security there is this garden:

It looks cool and a relaxing enough spot and not that dissimilar to some of the gardens found within Changi Airport in Singapore.

On closer scrutiny though you quickly realize that the only things that were not 'plastic' (or inorganic more appropriately) were the gold fish and the water. Yep, all plants were plastic on the main area. But strangely at the back of the display were real ones.

Still it's an oasis in a place that can get chaotic during peak times. And to round up this quick post, a sign that made me smile:

Mark :-)

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Déjà vu Marché aux Fleurs

Supposed to be out and about in the garden today but alas rain has stopped play and I'm indoors now keeping myself dry.

So what else to do? Reminisce and write about it! I make it sound a bit negative but it is a wonderful thing to do, especially life can get so fast paced that looking back can become very tricky...

Not today anyway.

Only a few days ago we featured our visit to Marché aux Fleurs on our most recent visit to lovely Paris. Around the same time Loree of Danger Garden has featured it too. Now is my time to wade in as I share my take of this central Paris plant and flower market!

First things first, before we actually got in to the market we checked out one of the quirky knick knack shops we passed along en route and spotted these mini succulents and pots, nice! Forgot the name of the shop though, oops!

Although we can bring plants across the channel, we went away without buying any of these cute beauties. Now on to the market.

With spring finally descending upon Paris then (with London remarkably behind), there were lots of colour already going on in the market. Ahh Paris in the spring time!

And once in awhile you have to take customary 'pose with the plants' shot, with Gaz for scale.

Walking through the pathway I can't help but admire these vistas...

My favourite though were the stalls selling exotic plants and succulents.

I was intending to bring one of these back with us but alas we didn't get the chance to pass by here again the next day, Alocasia 'Stingray'.

Hopefully they'll still have some available on our next visit!

Mark :-)

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Plant Spotting in Venice

Venice was a beautiful dream, we really enjoyed our recent stay there. There was so much beauty in the place, and in almost every turn we made there was something noteworthy to behold.

More about this spectacular city on a separate post. For now I will focus on a few random plant vignettes that we've spotted on our walks in on the main island and a couple of nearby ones (Murano and Burano).

A rose garden on an exotic gardening blog? This will be a rarity for us but spotted this along the grand canal and couldn't help but note how quintessentially romantic the entire thing is: roses in full bloom, gently cascading on Italianate balustrades and statues, in a most desirable location of along the grand canal and surrounded by period buildings.

  
Ahh to be able to grow succulents like these on an outdoor windowsill! Not sure about an Opuntia though...

More likely Dasylirion longissimum (could be D. quadrangulatum) planted on urn. I understand the effect they wanted to achieve (i.e. fountains) but this is a harsh way of trimming these plants. They are best left with as much foliage as possible or just trimmed as 'half spheres' rather than just 'spurts'. Hope these still thrive well and for the long term.

Not sure about the identity of this climber, a Tetrastigma perhaps? The effect is beautiful.

Love this collection of plants in one of the many small squares within the main island. My eyes naturally zoomed in on the Aeonium perched on the slender shelf on the wall.

This Jasmine was everywhere and in full bloom, wafting a heady floral scent that makes strolling around extra pleasurable. Photo was taken in Murano.

Seen at the colourful island of Burano. Not many front gardens here but a few had a collection of potted plants at least. These ones were succulents.

And so was this one. Any ideas what those water bottles could be for?

More about Venice on a future post!

Mark :-)

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Camera Phone is the Way Forward

It was an intense weekend. There's no other way to describe it but as such as we got fully stuck in with gardening jobs especially as the weather was very favourable.

We managed to tick off several things from our spring gardening chores list. It helped that we were both in the mood to get the garden in shape for the coming warmer months ahead. But as it was intense, neither of us had the chance to chronicle what we've done with a series of photos.

Speaking of photos, during our lull from blogging I have already identified that the way forward would be to use our camera phones more than ever before. Doing so would make it much easier to juggle blogging with our increasingly busy life outside of blogosphere. 

Come to think of it, it's quite astonishing how it's come a long way with regards to the quality of photos taken using a phone. Gone are the days wherein the norm were hazy looking photos, nowadays it can be even better than ones taken with a compact digital camera. This is the very basis of Instagram I suppose, which has phenomenally risen in clout as the quality of cameras on phones has also increased. 

Anyway, I wasn't completely hopeless as I still managed to get a few random shots over the past two days...

Persicaria runcinata 'Purple Fantasy'

Loving this perennial, although I've heard a few grumbles already from other gardeners saying it's too aggressive in spreading. Not an issue for use, not yet at least. The name 'Purple Fantasy' is what it commonly goes round here in the nursery circuit but it is probably known as something else in other countries.

Ginkgo biloba 'Beijing Gold'

Really striking how zingy yellow the leaves of this variegated cultivar are, in contrast to the non variegated leaves of another cultivar as seen on this photo. The leaves darken up a bit later in the season but pretty much stay yellow all year round.

Have prepared several mixed succulent plantings this year, and with this one it's just a matter of waiting for it to bulk up now.

Schefflera taiwaniana

It's Schefflera flushing time too! All of ours are busy flushing away as we speak, and the photo above reminds me of a fireworks display.

Dicksonia antarctica

And so are the tree ferns!

Mark :-)

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