Big Boys and Dainty Damsels
Sunday, October 31, 2010
I had hoped that with the gardens now closed and with shortening
days I would have more time but forgot as I often do just how long
it takes to put the gardens to bed. There is so much to move under
cover and the tunnels frames and greenhouses are now bursting and
there is still more to try and fit in.
I also pay the price at this time of year for my dalliances with
tender perennials planted in the borders especially salvias, which
I dig up (usuully frantically at last minute and in the dark!!) to
provide cuttings for next year and hopefully to save the mature
plants to bed out next year when all risk of frost has gone.
Cuttings are so easy even now, provided they can be kept frost free
and a 100% strike rate is not unusual.
We much enjoyed the Plant Fair at Hergest Croft and spent far
more than we intended, as did many of the other vistors, judging by
the beaming smiles of the stallholders for whom this was the
last fair of the season.
We had the week off after the Plant Fair when our friends Sylvia
and Tony from Gloucestershire stayed with us and we had lots of
outings.
We are also pleased that this month Carmarthenshire Life
magazine ran a 2 page feature on the Gardens and the work of the
NGS with which we were well pleased.
Weather
Overall a very enjoyable month mostly mild and dry but with some
wetter interludes and 4 air frosts culminating on 24 October in an
overnight low of -5c. This saw off most of the tender stuff and
gave us the opportunity to start clearing up and putting plants
under cover where necessary. Heat is needed now in tunnels and
greenhouses on colder nights as there is still a lot in flower
there to lift the spirits
There was a brief but quite strong gale last Friday which
brought many leaves off the trees which was such a shame as they
had not quite reached their full glory. Fortunately the liquidamber
is still looking amazing in shades of deepest red, the euonymus
alatus is on fire and deepening all the time and 2 large cherries
which need a very special type of autumn to colour well, change
imperceptibly from day and are about to start their swansong red
stage. All the native trees in the surrounding countryside are in
their best autumn colours, a nice antidote to the depressing end of
summer time and the clocks going back. Brace yourselves for the
"mud, slush and the darkness"!
Garden update
A major job this month has been re-turfing areas of the lawns in
both Gardens to repair the ravages of last winter parts of which
have not quite recovered and the effect of having 750 visitors this
summer. I have also started to consider the impact of the plantings
in many of the borders, to replace plants which have out grown
their allotted spaces, or become tired as herbaceous perennials
tend to do after a few years. Better or new cultivars have become
available and our tastes change too. Visiting other people's
gardens also acts as a wake up call! It is amazing when you think
that some major public gardens refresh all their borders every year
and sometimes effect 2 or even 3 plantings a year. I can only
marvel at the energy, imagination and cost to do this which is far
beyond our capabilities. We also need to replant shrubs, trees and
some key anchor plants that have not recovered from last winter. If
we can do this soon their successors will have chance to settle in
before the worst of the winter weather arrives.
I have taken cuttings of many tender perennials to overwinter in
frost free conditions. They are so easy and a strike rate of 100%
can usually be guaranteed. Ideal subjects are salvias, verbenas,
arctotis, argyranthemum, plectranthus, brugmansias, penstemons,
fuchsias, and pelargoniums.
At last I have been able to gather a reasonable quantity of seed
from a good cross section of plants in the garden from annuals,
perennials, climbers and bulbs. It had been too wet to get many
before now or to dry them properly. There are paper bags hanging up
all over the propagation tunnel. At last count I had nearly 60
different types of seed for sowing. Some has already been sown such
as meconopsis and the buttercup tribe which need to be sown fresh
as they can go into dormancy and may never germinate. A cold frame
is all they need overwinter. The rest will be sown in early spring
and I usually find that germination rates from our own seed is far
better than from most commercial seed suppliers.
I have also started next seasons vegetable growing by planting
out garlic earlier in the month and sown more winter salad crops in
seed trays and mushroom crates to keep in the tunnels all winter
long. They just need to kept frost free with heating or fleece;
they can be brought into a cool room in the house or frost free
garage in cold spells. To save time I buy "living salad" packs from
supermarkets and prick out the already substantially lettuces into
trays for growing on. Living herbs too from supermarkets can also
be treated in the same way. Regularly harvested they will produce
leaves well into next year. Quick germinating seeds of oriental
leaves such as pak choi, mizuna, tasoi, various leaf mustards and
rocket can be sown throughout the winter and have also been very
succesful and come to harvest very quickly from seed. They add
piquancy to salads and can be used in stir fry dishes. Watercress
too is an amazing crop to grow and does not need to be in water to
flourish.
What's looking good?
Until the severe air frost last week the Gardens still had lots
of late colour from asters, dahlias, rudbeckias, echinaceas,
sedums, and salvias (some of which actually survived -5c) The stars
though are what I lovingly refer to as the Big Boys and Dainty
Damsels. In the perennial world many of the Big Boys need time to
reach their full potential so we have in no particular order a
variety of 6 foot plus helianthus and rudbeckias, salvias and
aconitums to 5 feet, brugmansias to 11 feet and the stars tree
dahlias to 8 foot and a tree fuchsia to 6 feet. All I can say is
Treemendous (corny yes but you must agree it makes a change from
absolutely fabulous!!) I love plants you can look up to and keep us
in our place.
However not to be outdone but in a more subtle and feminine way
are the Dainty Damsels. Many happen to be in shades of pink which
heightens the illusion. Stars are the naked ladies (colchicum
cutivars and species whose large but weather and slug susceptible
flowers come in huge numbers before the leaves hence the name),
cyclamen hederifolium with such lovely leaves that last well into
next year long after the flowers have gone (dainty but bone hardy)
and saxifraga fortuneii cultivars from the Far East - shade and
moisture lovers which is unexpected but welcome in this genus. Many
have good leaf colours, a liitle like heucheras to which they are
related, and wonderful starry flowers in shades of pink (again!)
and white. Some of my favourites are "Wada", "Conwy Snow", "Sugar
Plum Fairy" and "Black Ruby". If the weather is kind some will
flower until the end of November.
Final mention must go to a salvia I have coveted for a long time
and finally acquired this year from Special Plants near Bath (good
old Derry!) It is called Salvia splendens, like the bright red
bedding variety seen in municipal gardens and many front garden
bedding displays. However this is another Big Boy up to 4 feet. Van
Houttii is the one usually encountered and although it is a fine
plant there are numerous other cultivars which have the benefit of
flowering earlier in the season. From Derry I obtained "Jimi's Good
Red" and it has put on a brilliant show with large dark red flower
and purplish calyx. Comes easy from cuttings too. What more could
you ask? For more info. about Derry and her fabulous nursery go to
www.specialplants.net
Wildlife
The last swallows and martins gradually melted away in the first
week of the month. Sad to see them go as it reminds us that the
dark days of winter are not far away. Confirmation of that came
yesterday when before breakfast a raiding party of fieldfares
arrived from northern climates to feast on the rich berry harvest
especially good this year on the large hawthorn in the Paddock
Garden, They had almost cleared the tree before being disturbed by
a sparrowhawk, who I am glad to say went away without any
breakfast!
We see red kites here almost every day so when Moira suggested
that we went with Sylvia and Tony to the red kite feeding station
not far from where we live, I thought she must be nuts to want to
spend £3 to see them when we can see them for nothing at home!
Nothing could have prepared us for the spectacle of over 50 kites
(probably more) swooping down to feed no further than 30 yards from
the hides where we observed them. They are fed at 3.00pm (2.00pm in
winter) and circle around in ever decreasing circles towards the
food put out for them. Then almost on cue they all sweep down
brushing aside optimistic crows, magpies and buzzards that also
come to try and feed. No chance -they are so ungainly compared to
the kites. It is an unforgettable and moving sight when you
consider that less than 40 years ago there were under 10 breeding
pairs left in Wales. Go and see them if you can. For further
information see www.redkiteswales.co.uk
Visits and talks
Although the Gardens are now closed for the winter we are taking
bookings for groups and individuals next year from June until the
end of September. Please contact us if you would like to pay us a
visit.
We also give talks during the winter months and although we
already have 20 talks booked, still have some free dates if you
would like us to deliver a talk to you club or society. Our talk
range is shown elsewhere on this website, but other talks can be
considered if they are within the field of our experience and
sufficient notice is given.
Finally our NGS Open Day next year will be. on Sunday 24 July
from 1 - 5.00 pm with teas and plants for sale as always.