Tree Fern progress

Dicksonia antarctica very much alive.

I’ve noticed from the blog counter data that many people have found this blog as a result of a search on the topic “is my Tree fern dead?”

So this is a photo taken this evening of the new fronds (croziers) on my tall Tree Fern. ( a poor photo).

It has been a cold winter and all the fronds on my Dicksonia’s were killed by the frost. But the tallest Tree Fern is making rapid progress, perhaps too rapid? There seems to be about 30 new fronds coming up and that could mean that each frond will be small or that it is a sign that the whole tree feels threatened and might be on its last legs.

Meanwhile, the small tree fern has only just started to show new growth. I have been keeping the trunks damp by watering them as up until the last few days, it has been very dry weather.

Technorati Tags: Dicksonia antarctica,Tree fern

Osmunda regalis 'Purpurascens'

Osmunda regalis 'Purpurscens'
Originally uploaded by emagen

This photo of an emerging frond (croziers) of Osmunda regalis 'Purpurascens' was taken a couple of tears ago but shows exactly this fern's growth today. This fern's common name is the Purple-stemmed Royal Fern and, by rights, should be grown in damp ground in dappled shade. I grow mine under a very large tree in almost full shade of course! I, therefore, need to water it quite frequently but it does look good in the company of: Hosta 'Frances Williams' ; Smyrnium perfoliatum; Geranium macrorrhizum and Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona'.
All the ferns in the garden, including the Tree ferns, are now rapidly growing, sending up new fronds.
I would have posted a photo taken today but since the sunny weekend it has been wet & cold and I have been lazy!

Colocasia

Under Colocasias 2
Originally uploaded by emagen

Another survivor of the cold winter!
Although I have over-wintered some Colocasias in pots in my temporary plastic greenhouse, I'm pleased to note that there are signs of new shoots from those plants that were left 'in the ground'.
I know one is supposed to overwinter Colocasias by keeping their tubers in a cool dark place much like you are supposed to over-winter dahlia tubers. But I never have much success finding it difficult to get the correct environment I either end up with a rotten, mushy mess or dried, shrivelled dead tubers.
The over-wintered pots are now standing outside and doing quite well but I really welcome those plants that have survived alone and outside.
Whereas I used to have about 4 or 5 different varieties of Colocasia, I think I now am left with only the basic Colocasia esculenta. I may try and find some other varieties, probably on-line, to add some variation in the theme.
The photograph shows Colocasias last summer that had over-wintered unprotected. I tried a bit of an 'arty' shot from underneath the leaves!

Rushing past the Bluebells

IMG_3358
Originally uploaded by emagen

On the way to the plant sale today, we went through Challock Forest aka Kings Wood. I drive this road quite a lot and at this time of year think that I must make time of to go walking in the woods and take some photographs of the Bluebells. I've yet to do the walk but took this photo from the car and I rather like the blurred image of trees and Bluebells as we drive past.

NCCPG Plant sale, Godinton House

IMG_3378
Originally uploaded by emagen

Went to the local NCCPG (National Council for the Conservation of Garden Plants) at Godinton House near Ashford today.
A beautiful house with enormous gardens and grounds. Who can live in a place like this?
There were about 16 small, specialist plant nurseries there, the sun shone, it was warm, I bought plants. I bought Geraniums Heucheras, Hostas, an Echeveria and 2 Aloes. The Aloes look interesting although they are not named - I shall have to do some research.
I plan to plant the Aloes straight into the garden despite the advice of the seller. Live dangerously!

Musa Sikkimensis is alive!

Musa Sikkimensis
Originally uploaded by emagen

My Musa Sikkimensis is not dead!
I've been growing this banana for about 8 years. When I can be bothered I wrap the stems in fleece after the first frosts, other times I just let it fend for itself and it has come through the winter. Last autumn I was too lazy to wrap it up and justified this by the fact that it had come through the previous winter 'unwrapped'. The stems were reaching 10ft tall and they were 9 inches in diameter at their base, it was a magnificent plant and, I have to admit, I was rather proud of it. But this past winter seemed to have finally killed it off! The dead and rotten stems collapsed leaving nothing.
I've kept quite quiet about my loss and have been feeling rather ashamed of myself and, of course, bereaved. I've peered at the rotten stumps in the vain hope of finding new growth. How could I even have a blog named 'Musa' if I don't have any Musas!!
Good news! Just half an hour ago in what I assumed would be another fruitless search for new growth, I found a strong new shoot emerging from the ground!! We are back in business!
I've found that new shoots grow quite rapidly and I expect (hope) there will be more than one. I've tried growing Musa bajoo in the past but I thought it not as hardy as Musa sikkimensis, perhaps I was right.
I've decided to go out tonight to celebrate although I'm not sure if any of my favorite restaurants will have a table.

The photo above was taken last summer.

Time to think of buying plants

A really spring-like day with sunshine all day and good temperatures. There is still a cool edge to the breeze in this part of England caused by the wind coming from the direction of the cold North Sea. However, this is a good Spring compared to the past 2 years.
I've continued this evening to patch various bald areas of lawn from the grass I cut when widening a border at the weekend. It is a great joy to be able to come home from work and be able to do an hour or so in the garden before it gets too cold or dark. I've been tidying-up after the winter, removing dead growth and tackling the weeds at the back of the borders, this year I've waged war on Ivy - not sure who will win!
I'm beginning to think of buying new plants, my favorite options are:

• The plants fairs run by the Hardy Plant Society or the NCCPG (National Council for the Preservation of Garden Plants). Both these organisations run small local plant fairs that attract small specialist nurseries. These nurseries offer plants not usually found in garden centres but best of all they offer a wealth of advice and information as well.
• The big DIY chains often sell large specimens of palms and tree ferns etc. at low prices. They also sell loads of houseplants which are always worth experimenting with as a sort of summer bedding.
• Specialist exotic / tropical plant nurseries either to travel to or to access on the Internet.

There's just so much to do!

Macleaya cordata

Macleaya cordata
Originally uploaded by emagen

Beautiful spring day today, sunny and warm, although I didn't get to see a lot of it being stuck in an office all day.
I noticed this evening that the Macleaya cordata is now growing rapidly. This plant, common name Plume Poppy, makes a striking architectural feature growing to about 9ft with large, deep-cut, grey / green foliage. It carries sprays of buff coloured flowers atop its high stems.
This plant is 'as tough as old boots' but looks quite exotic and I find is great for the back of the border in difficult situations. I grow it at the back of a deep border at the foot of a very large tree, it has to deal with often dry and shady conditions. It's height is very useful in disguising a 6ft high fence and it easily outdoes some nasty weeds that live in the vicinity. Grown in better conditions, Macleaya might be difficult to control. The foliage always looks fresh, at least until it dies back to the ground in late autumn.
Definitely a plant I would recommend - if you have the space.

Ensete ventricosum 'Maurelii'

Red Ensete in the morning sunshine
Originally uploaded by emagen

This is the red form of the Abyssinian banana, Ensete ventricosum. The colour of the leaf is fantastic and can grow very large. 'Maurelli' is not as hardy as the basic green form and cannot be grown from seed. But never fear, you can now buy young plants in places like B&Q and Homebase in the UK, they should be available any time soon. I find it best to grow the plant in a pot for the first year then attempt to overwinter it somewhere frost free. In the second year I plant it out and it will produce a massive plant but, I find, it is then too big to dig up for the winter and it will die.
This year my timings are all wrong and I don't have any plants for planting out, so I'm waiting for them to become available again.
This year has been a bad year for bananas for me, largely due to my laziness and bad planning!
This photograph was taken the summer before last, this plant was standing about 10 ft tall and there is even my shadow on one of the leaves.

Tree Fern making new fronds!

Making new fronds!
Originally uploaded by emagen

As I have had vast numbers of people contacting this blog concerned that last winter (UK) had killed-off all their Tree Fern's fronds and fearing for the very survival of their plants, I thought I would post this photo, taken today, of one of my Tree Ferns making new fronds.
This particular Tree Fern is quite exposed and has had no protection from the cold. A smaller Tree Fern of mine is in a much more sheltered position but its new, coiled fronds are, as yet, barely visible.
So, I hope all Dicksonia antarctica's will have survived the cold winter.
Here's to old and new fronds everywhere!

Garden Archaeology

Garden Archaeology
Originally uploaded by emagen
Whilst widening a border and digging-up some of the lawn, I came across an unusual object. I carefully scraped away the soil using my trowel and gently lifted the object. I was able to identify the object as a toy car! As the toy car was under the lawn, I can positively estimate its age to be at least 10years old! This being the time we have lived in this house and the lawn has been there since we arrived. I'm unable to identify the exact model and age and am considering seeking expert advice as to its age and value.
Whilst digging the same border, I was fortunate in uncovering another piece of garden archaeology. I found a very ancient pair of secateurs! This find did not come from under the grassed area so I don't have any evidence of age. But I can identify them as secateurs once sold by a chain of shops called Woolworths (long since defunct).
My theory is that years ago some idiot threw the secateurs onto a compost heap along with a pile of prunings. Later the compost, along with the secateurs, was dug-out and spread on the border only to be discovered years later by me (the idiot)!
I wonder if any other gardeners have found similar 'interesting' things?

Philadelphus coronarius 'Aureus' flowers

Philadelphus coronarius 'Aureus' flowers
Originally uploaded by emagen

As in my previous post I talked about Philadelphus coronarius 'Aureus', I thought I'd post this photo of its flowers taken last May.

Phyllostachys nigra with Philadelphus coronarius 'Aureus'

I've been working from home today and its been raining and dull all day. Looking out of the window onto a dark and sodden garden everything looks gloomy. Except, almost as if lit by its own ray of sunshine, the yellow-green leaves of Philadelphus cornarius 'Aureus' really stand out. This shrub, common name Mock Orange, is the yellow (well yellow-green) leaved variety and is at its best in Spring. The leaves are at their brightest and most yellow at this time of year and the beautiful white blossom will soon follow. After the blossom is the best time to prune the shrub as it flowers on the previous year's growth and thus new growth will have a chance to develop over the summer. I actually think Philadelphus looks pretty drab during the summer.

Looking out of the window through the rain at the Philadelphus, I thought the canes of the Black Bamboo contrasted well with the yellow leaves. So I braved the rain to take a photo:

Also in this photo you can see the bare stump of a smallish Tree Fern (Dicksonia antarctica), I'm pleased to say that it is about to unfurl its new fronds.

France Trip

I said I would post some photos of out trip to France last week. Well here they are!

We went to stay with my sister and brother-in-law at their house in deepest Dordogneshire. We call their place Chateau Magimix, I'm not really sure why!
The first photo is of Chateau Magimix itself. From here their land stretches down a steep hill with flower borders at the top giving way to a large grassed area with plenty of trees.















The grassed area is partly mowed but with large areas left to grow as meadows into which they have introduced a variety of flowering plants. I supposed they are not, strictly speaking, meadows due to the introduced plants.






The meadow areas look great in the early morning sunshine when still covered in dew. The next two photos show plants in the meadow areas including dandelion which seems to be growing everywhere in this part of France this year.













The last photo shows me in my role as gardening advisor!

Musings

It’s been back to work today after over a week off. The weather has been quite good but with a cool breeze and only hazy sunshine. So, on my return home I went to look at how things are doing in the Musa acres. Truth to tell, there is nothing very astounding!

The thousands of tadpoles in the pond seem to be doing a very good job of clearing algae from all the rocks and and stones. I’m not sure if this is a good thing and wonder if it will upset the balance of the pond life. The herd of minnows are very hungry and I have to crush the pond-stick fish food into minnow bite-size pieces. My last remaining goldfish, Wattle (he used to have a friend called Daub) has been skulking under some vegetation, hardly moving and not eating. I’m quite worried about him, he is quite old (and very big). But when I give him a prod, he dashes off on a tour of the pond and looks and swims quite healthily.

On Sunday I took down and packed away for the summer the temporary plastic greenhouse. All the former inmates are now placed close to the house wall in their pots. Their numbers include a couple of Brugmansias both with large flower buds. I just have to hope that there will be no more frosts.

On my recent trip to the Dordogne Region of France, I noticed that this Spring seems to be the year of the Dandelion – they were everywhere, some fields looking almost completely yellow. I’m sure that there has been an abnormally large number this year. I’ll put-up  a photo of what I mean in my next post.

Dicksonia antarctica, Beschorneria yuccoides, Adiantum venustum and pear tree blossom. Signs of Spring!

As I’ve been saying for the past few weeks, Spring is definitely making its mark. Here are a few examples of what’s happening in my garden with photographs taken this evening:

Dicksonia antarctica

In this photograph you can clearly see the new fronds of this Tree Fern ready to unfurl. After such a cold winter and all last year’s fronds dying off, it is good to see new growth.

 

 

Beschorneria yuccoides

The Beshorneria yuccoides is still looking a bit tatty but has come through the winter very well. I’m sure it will flower this year which will be a bit of a shame as the main plant will die. I read, though, that the flowering process is quite spectacular.

Adiantum venustum

This fern’s common name is the Himalayan Maidenhair. This photograph shows its bright green new fronds. It seems to be one of the first ferns to get going again in the Spring. I’ve planted this delicate-looking fern in a couple of place in the garden in quite sunny positions and it does very well, gradually spreading to form a low clump about 1 ft high, it is also fairly easy to control.

Pear Blossom

Finally, I’ve included this photo of the pear tree in full blossom, lit by this evening’s last rays of sunshine. We never manage to harvest much of the fruit but I’ve a mind this year to try brewing or distilling some ‘hooch’ from it!

 

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: Beschorneria yuccoides,Dicksonia antarctica,Adiantum venustum,fern,pear,Tree fern

A busy day in the garden . . .

Not really sure what to write today! Been out in the garden all day, taken down the temporary plastic greenhouse. now we have table and chairs back on the . . . . Patio? . . . .  Terrace? . . . . . Yard? . . . . .Is there really a good word that describes the paved bit outside the backdoor in a suburban garden where you keep your table and chairs and occasionally (depending on the summer) eat burnt bits of meat from the barbeque. Patio sounds 70’s. Terrace sounds too grand. Yard now sounds american. What is the word?

Anyway, everything is now out! Hope there’s no more frosts!

Still a bit too early to report on anything exotic. So what took my eye was the Marsh Marigolds starting to bloom around the pond. I went to take a photo of them for this blog but instead found a rather appealing frog posing next to them. I’m afraid the photo completely misses out the flowers but is not bad as a frog shot and does, at least, show some Marsh Marigold leaves.

I hope to improve on this blogging lark but apart from being in the garden today, I’ve been uploading photos to Flickr from our recent trip to Chateau mMagimix in France. I might (might), in a later post, inform you of such things as Wine Chaps and the necessity of Verglas Frequent.

There are tons of photos of the 2009 Chateau Magimix trip on Flickr.

So . . . . here’s the frog shot:

spot the frog?

Technorati Tags: frog

Euphorbia mellifera, Humulus lupulus and other meanderings

Thinks are really starting to grow now in the Musa garden after a long cold winter.

Euphorbia mellifera has started to flower. It looked a bit bedraggled after winter and although it still looks a bit ‘leggy’ it has gained its bright emerald-green foliage.

The common name is Honey Spurge as, it is said, the flowers smell of honey, I can’t say I’ve ever really noticed. It does make a very neat dome shaped shrub, the specimen in the picture taken today will fill-out in a few weeks and not look so ‘leggy’. I’ve grown it close to a warm wall as advised in the books but it does seem quite hardy.

You can see in the photo the Golden Hop, Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’, starting to climb the trellis with a mission to take over the world! Within a few weeks it will completely cover the trellis and then, with a little guidance from me, make its way across the house and up to the 1st floor windows. The flowers in late summer are great for cutting and drying and the smell is of beer which I like! I think it’s a stunning plant but one that needs controlling. I’ve learnt never to water it as this seems to cause mildew on the leaves and flowers.

Other things of interest (OK of interest to me) are: Thousands of tadpoles in the pond. Dozens of newts in the pond. The breeding herd of minnows were very hungry when we got back from France. Looks like all the stems of Musa sikkimensis are dead, I should have wrapped them in fleece! Hosta are coming up. Everything is coming up. Is it time to dismantle the temporary plastic greenhouse? Should its occupants now make try to make it in the real world?

 

Technorati Tags: Euphorbia mellifera,Humulus lupulus 'Aureus',Golden Hop

I Apologise For The Break In Transmission - Normal Service Will Resume As Soon As Possible

I've been away for 6 days to Southwest France to advise my sister and brother-in-law on their garden. For security reasons I was unable to warn readers of Musa (Yes - there are some - I think) of the absence of any posts. I arrived home half an hour ago after driving non-stop for 600 miles. I actually stopped once for fuel and calls of nature. Tomorrow I will answer any comments left during my absence and post some gripping new stories from the exotic gardener!

Athyrium 'Ghost'

Athyrium 'Ghost'
Originally uploaded by emagen

Just hoping this fern - Athyrium 'Ghost' - comes back this year. The photograph was taken in late April last year. So, far there is no sign of it but there should be no reason why it shouldn't come back (unless I've accidentally dug it up).

Obviously it's a deciduous fern and looks quite delicate hence my concern. It has upright silvery-green fronds growing to about 30" tall. It is a hybrid fern whose parentage is Athyrium niponicum var. pictum and Athyrium filix-femina. OK - I admit - I've just looked-up this fact in a book.

I grow this fern in semi-shade at the feet of a black bamboo, Phylostachys nigra and partly under a small Tree Fern. Hostas, Heucheras, Colocasias and a Geranium share a bed with it. I think this fern shows up very well next to the black of the bamboo and the fresh green rounded leaves of the Hosta.

Definately a favourite fern!

The East Wind Blows (Still!)

Day off work today – hooray! But whilst the rest of the country basks in warm sunny Spring weather, this little corner of England is suffering a bone-chilling breeze straight of the North Sea. Instead of sunshine, we have low misty cloud and a temperature of 6 degrees. We’ve suffered from this East wind for the past week although we’ve had some sunny days.

Oh well. Despite the cold the garden is at least showing signs of Spring. The daffodils are still in flower whilst the pear tree looks ready to bloom any day now. Trees and shrubs are coming into leaf, hostas are starting to grow, the hop (Humulus lupulus ‘Aureas’) is starting its long journey across the back of the house.

The squirrels are starting to become a nuisance again, I blame them for destroying 2 pots of Semperivums over the past few days. However, the ‘festive fence’ seems to be working and there have been no more signs of cat mess for the past week or so.

The big question now is when to take down the temporary plastic greenhouse? Although I can control the minimum temperature, I can’t stop the temperatures soaring in sunny weather. If I leave plants in there too long they are inclined to rot in the hot humid atmosphere. Also getting rid of the greenhouse and putting back the table and chairs is always a milestone on the road to summer.

Have I said that the tree ferns are looking ready to put out new fronds soon? This year all the fronds were killed by the cold and I feared that the whole trees (?) had died. But no – within the hollow at the top of the trunks I can feel the coiled new fronds ready to unwind.