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Sunny Sunday Morning

So – Today is 10/10/10 and for once the sun is shining! It has been so dull and wet for what seems like weeks – but not today! Sitting having coffee, I noticed the low sunlight shining on the leaves of the plants nearest the backdoor, so I took a few photos (as I do).

There is a mixture of leaves above including: Ricinus Communis, Ensete ventricosum, Melianthus major and Canna ‘Striata’.

The above is a wider shot of the same and includes various succulents. The leaves of Colocasia fontanescii can be seen as can the flowers of Salvia ‘Cerro Potosi’.

The above shows Salvia ‘Cerro Potosi’ growing up a trellis accompanied by Aeonium ‘Schwartzkopf' and Black-Eyed Susan (Thunbergia alata). Growing amongst all this lot is the Golden Hop but that looks rather sad now at this time of year. Again, the large leaves of Colocasia fontanescii can be seen.

Anyway – Looks like being a good day as long as the east wind is not too chilly.

Salvia microphylla ‘Cerro Potosi’, Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ and Humulus lupulus 'Aureus'

Salvia, Aeonium and Hop (left to right). Picture taken this morning.

At the risk of continuing to be boring . . . . . Salvia ‘Cerro Potosi’ . . . . what a fantastic plant / shrub! I keep trying to get a decent photo, I can do OK on getting a good shot of individual blooms but can’t seem to get a shot of the entire shrub that does it justice. Above is yet another attempt! The plant pictured is in a large pot just outside the backdoor which means that you brush against it, releasing the scent of blackcurrants from its leaves. It grows in other parts of the garden plated in the soil and is very, very hardy. It flowers from April to November and only requires some pruning to stop it becoming too scruffy.

Also in the shot are Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ and the yellow-leaved hop, Humulus lupulus ‘Aureas’.

The strong winds have abated and there has been some warm sunshine. Everything is growing with vigour!

For the first time for many years, I’ve treated the back lawn with weedkiler. The lawn has large amounts of moss in it and since treatment the moss has turned black. I now have a sort of black lawn! Think I may have made a mistake!

Backdoor

The wind has dropped to nothing, it’s very overcast but not cold. I wandered around the garden this evening with camera looking for inspiration for this blog. I took some photos of hostas, of bamboo and some more ‘general’ shots. The low light made the photos look a bit gloomy and not very sharp so I gave up and retired inside for dinner and wine.

Sitting at the dinner table, I gazed out upon Salvia ‘Cerro Potosi’, an Aeonium (or two) and hops (Humulus lupulus ‘Aurea’) clambering up the trellis outside the window / door. I think it’s the yellow/green leaves of the hop and magenta flowers of the Salvia that made the scene look a whole lot brighter than the gloom of the rest of the garden. The almost black rosettes of Aeonium ‘Zwartkop'’ added contrast.

So I took a photo! I should be sitting in that chair enjoying a warm summer evening – maybe soon!

As I’ve said before Salvia ‘Cerro Potosi” is a fantastic plant, flowering from Spring to Autumn and happy in virtually every situation and completely hardy. I like to plant it where one is forced to brush against it, releasing the scent of blackcurrants from its leaves. I have to control the hop otherwise it would smother the Salvia and the Aeonium.

By the way – How many spellings of ‘Zwartkop' (as in Aeonium) are there? I’m currently using this spelling but it doesn’t feel right.

Technorati Tags: Salvia microphylla,Aeonium,Humulus lupulus 'Aureus'

Aeoniums

As yesterday I potted-up a few Aeonium cuttings (actually my daughter did the potting), I thought I would share with the avid readers of ‘Musa’ some words of Aeonium wisdom.

I grow 2 varieties: 'Zwartkop' (sometimes spelled Schwarzkopf) which is the one with deep purple rosettes and a pale green variety which is, I think, ‘Magnificum’. Aeoniums are easy to grow but won’t stand any frost which means overwintering in a greenhouse or bringing indoors. Strangely, for a succulent, they like quite a lot of water during the summer.

I’ve found that one can grow ‘Zwartkop’ quite tall and I have one plant which reaches about 4ft. I always knock branches off it when moving it to and from the greenhouse in autumn and Spring but the broken pieces make good cuttings.

I grow the 4ft specimen in a pot against a sunny wall with its branches tied to trellis for support. It shares this space with a rampant, yellow leaf hop: Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’ and a now large Salvia: Salvia microphylla 'Cerro Potosi'. I think the colours of the Aeonium, the yellow/green leaves of the hop and the Salvia’s magenta flowers probably clash. Certainly I’ve never really been able to get a good photo of the group and I’ve put this down to the strong contrast of colours. This is one of my better shots:

This is a great plant for an exotic garden and looks particularly eye-catching if grown big. Below is a photo of a rosette of Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ after the rain:

 

In a future post I will write extolling the virtues of Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’ and Salvia microphylla 'Cerro Potosi'

Technorati Tags: Aeonium