Week 24th October
Rain. Lots of it. As a consequence, not much gardening done, other than weeding. Fortunately, wet ground assists with weeding. Unfortunately the old body does little to accommodate it. Knees no longer allow kneeling or squatting (can't get up unaided plus painful), so weeding has to be done rather inelegantly by a bend from the waist. Sadly, the bobbing up and down upsets the old vertigo and after about an hour I start feeling sick, so weeding has to be meticulously planned. Heigh ho, the ageing body!
Last time, or maybe the time before, I posted a picture of our new Brugmansia. I thought it would have been settling down for winter by now, but no, it is covered in flowers and plenty of buds to come. I am delighted with it. It is Brugmansia sanguinea 'Aurantia' and we picked it up in the spring at our favourite nursery, Plant World near Newton Abbot.
From the same source is this Beschorneria yuccoides, also doing very well in our milder climate. It is in a directly south facing bed and has tripled in size in two years. I wasn't sure it would overwinter outside, but it seems to be ok so far. It's a native of Mexico, I think, and should be good down to about -5.
And another of our hopeful exotics is a Fascicularia bicolour. This is a bromeliad; a Chilean native and again good down to -5. It's been in a very sheltered spot for two years to get it established. I plan to move it to the top of a low south-facing wall which will help with drainage. It has fiercely serrated edges to the foliage though, so careful handling is a must. If it's happy it should develop a crimson red base to its foliage in late summer and produce a sort of proteus-like blue flower. If it works it will be weird, and wonderful.
Still flowering are some very cheerful Gazania. They have been good value, opening their bright, stripey faces to the sun since June. Regular deadheading has helped their longevity. I hope they keep going a little longer.
The nerines are out and providing the usual blowsy pink show. Very useful at this time of the year, these plants are pretty old and are pushing themselves further and further out of the ground. I can't decide whether to leave well alone, or to split and redistribute. I do know that they can be temperamental, so if anyone has nerine expertise I'd be grateful for advice. I also have a huge old crinum which is doing the same. To split, or not to split, that is the question. And while we are in that family of plants, the amaryllis belladonna, or Naked Ladies, have finished flowering and have formed fat seedheads full of white seeds, a bit like pomegranate seeds. Does anyone know if I can grow them on?
All these plants are in the same part of the garden - the borders at the front and side of the house, south and south-west facing. A bit exposed in winter, but one of the few parts of the garden that is reasonably well drained as it's on a bit of a slope. We also grow the canna and dahlias here, now over.
Well that's it for October. If you're not already part of 6-on-Saturday from the garden then join in with Jim. Leave your link in the comments section of his blog.