Musa

Spring Shrubs

May is a good time of year for 2 of my favourite and hardest working shrubs - Philadelphus coronarius 'Aureus' and Choisya 'Aztec Pearl'.
Philadelphus coronarius ‘Aureus’ has bright yellow-green leaves and really lights up the quite shady position it has along a boundary fence. It’s creamy-white scented flowers will soon bloom and for a couple of weeks it will look even more spectacular. Sadly after flowering the leaves lose some of their yellow-golden colour and become more green. This is the time of year to prune it back, as soon as it has finished flowering. In fact, as it blooms on the previous year’s growth, if you prune it later in the summer, you wont get any flowers the following spring.
The photo below shows Philadelphus coronarius ‘Aureus’ with the white flowers of Choisya ‘Aztec Pearl’ behind it, the black canes of the bamboo Phyllostachys nigra and a small Tree Fern – Dicksonia antarctica. The Tree Fern still has some green fronds of last year’s growth but you can just make out the new coils of fronds emerging.

Philadelphus coronarius 'Aureus' flowers

The flowers of Philadelphus coronarius ‘Aureus’ (photo taken last year)

Choisya 'Aztec Pearl' A variety of Choisya ternata but in my view infinitely better. I’ve grown the straight form and also the variety ‘Sundance’ which I’ve found to be a weak, anaemic looking plant with its yellowy leaves.
But ‘Aztec Pearl’ is great! I like it’s finger-like evergreen leaves and its scented flowers in May and it usually repeat flowers in late summer. It is supposed to be a tender shrub that should be grown in full sun. Mine grows in the shade of a north facing fence and a towering bamboo and seems perfectly healthy and flowers well. It is about 6ft high and I occasionally chop lumps from it when it gets too exuberant.

A Shady Place

I’ve been to some shady places in my time but this one is shadier than even the El Chico Club in Thanet in the late 60’s. (I can’t believe I’ve just written such rubbish!)

Anyway this shady corner of the garden has to contend with being in the deep shade of a thirsty Poplar tree that stands over 100ft high. Plus there is next door’s Leylandii tree and a 6ft high, ivy clad fence. All in all, its a challenging place to be for such a lazy gardener!

So . . . . This time of year, this shady corner is starting to look OK, even though it requires water to get it going. The following photo is how it looks now in mid May 2010:

(If you click on the above image, you get the Flickr photo which looks better – press the back button to return to the great Musa Blog.)

The plants in the photo include:

Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona' (far left)
Geranium macrorrhizum (above that)
Hosta 'Frances Williams' (bottom left)
Smyrnium perfoliatum (centre)
The violet blue flowers of Geranium pyrenaicum 'Bill Wallis' (right)
The shrub Fatsia japonica (right)
Ivy covering the fence

Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona' has large, kidney-shaped leaves that emerge red and fade to greenish bronze, with maroon backs and purple stems. The flowers are large orange daisies which appear in loose, flat-topped sprays in mid-summer. This plant is happy in some shade but likes moisture, something that there is little of in this shady, dry corner. It is also prone to slug attack and this part of the garden is an ancient homeland of the slug and they continually fight a guerrilla war against my plantings. So, this plant is in the wrong place really but I like it very much even if I do have to lug a watering can all the way down the garden every day from Spring onwards.

Flowers of Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona'

Geranium macrorrhizum

Geranium macrorrhizum . . . I think its common name is ‘The Bigroot Cranesbill’ and it does have thick rhizome-like roots which I guess helps it survive in dry places. I planted 4 plants at the base of the large Poplar (unpopular to me) tree some years ago. They have spread to form a dense evergreen covering and I think they are one of the few plants that would thrive in this inhospitable area. I think one of the varieties I planted was ‘Bevan’s Variety’. The foliage is said to emit a lemon - sherbet smell when crushed or touched but I must admit I seldom venture that far in to this part of the garden to find out. It has magenta – pink flowers in late spring to early summer and the foliage takes on a red tinge in the autumn.

Geranium macrorrhizum and

Smyrnium perfoliatum (foreground)

Smyrnium perfoliatum . . . I’ve already written about this plant in more detail, click on the label in the right-hand column to read that post.

Geranium pyrenaicum 'Bill Wallis' . . . Now I really, really like this plant! Geranium pyrenaicum's common name is the Hedgerow Geranium and as the name suggests it does well in dry shade which is useful for this dry, shady corner of the garden. This form is particularly good and (so far) is not invasive. It has violet / purple / blue flowers lasting from now (May) right through the summer. It seems quite happy in my shady, dry corner of the garden and all I ever do is clear some of the weeds and Ivy from its path.

Photos of Geranium pyrenaicum 'Bill Wallis':

So . . That’s enough for this post, I’ve got to go and water Ligularia dentata 'Desdemona'!

New Plants Bought Online

After a couple of cold winters I have lost some of the varieties of plants like Colcoasia. The winters have actually not been that bad, it is more the case that I have not taken basic precautions. I am a lazy gardener!

Anyway, the sort of stuff I want is not available locally and I didn’t feel like making the very long drive to a plant nursery that deals in exotic and tropical plants. So, it was with some doubt that I decided to buy ‘online’, I feared that I would end up with a few weak, small plants that had probably been crushed in transit. Nothing could be further from the truth!

I ordered 4 different varieties of Colocasia, 3 types of banana, an Alocasia and a variety of Aeonium. The plants averaged about £8 each. Three days later I arrived home to find a couple of large cardboard boxes left by the wheelie bins. Each box was open at the top and inside were some of the healthiest plants I have ever seen. They were not tiny seedlings as I expected but quite large plants in quite large pots. I would tell you the size of pot but I don’t understand litres, I’m happier with pints (of beer).

So, I can heartily recommend Amulree Exotics based near Norwich and trading under the name of Turn-It-Tropical. Their website address is:

http://www.turn-it-tropical.co.uk/

They have a vast range of tropical / exotic plants and have become a ‘Trusted Musa Supplier’.

My Birthday Today!!

Birthday!! And this was the card I got! Very apt
Originally uploaded by emagen
Today is my birthday. Yippeeeeee !! This is the card I got . . . . Very apt!

Humulus lupulus 'Aureus' (Golden Hop)

The Golden Hop – Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’ – has started its climb over the trellis and eventually over the house. The foliage is particularly bright at this time of year and looks really good with the sunlight on it. I try and train it to go where I want but I inevitably end up having to just pull out shoots that attempt to smother other plants.

It is a great climber for quickly covering a large area. It does die back to the ground in winter and one is left with the task of cutting out all the entwined dead growth. It also tends to sucker and these need digging out before the plant takes over the whole garden.

The green coloured hop flowers appear in late August and look and smell really good!

In recent years my plant has suffered from mildew which disfigures it and its flowers and gives me great disappointment. It may be that the rootstock has become too congested (its about ten years old) or that I am over or under watering it. I shall try and spray it at the first sign of mildew this year . . . . If I get round to it!

The photo below was taken on the 3rd May:

Tree Ferns - Dicksonia antarctica – May 2010

Both my Tree Ferns (Dicksonia antarctica) have survived the cold winter (so far!). In fact, they have faired better than last year. Last year the small Tree Fern was badly hit by the cold winter but the tall one suffered no ill effects. This time last year I thought I may have lost the small Tree Fern – coiled fronds, like claws that would have been the new growth had died. These dead coils then seemed to block any new growth coming through, I’m pleased to say that the new growth did get past the dead coils but it resulted in a bit of an uneven spread of fronds.

Last winter, I put old dead fronds around the top of the large Tree Fern and stuffed some fleece into the top of the smaller one. This has done the trick and both are now beginning to send up new growth (see photos below). However, it is still very cold and I hope we don’t get a severe frost now!

Some of last year’s fronds have turned black due to frost but I will leave them on the plant for a while longer yet because I have a theory that their weight helps bend their old stems downwards and out of the way from the new growth. This is only a theory!

Anyway . . . Below are a couple of photos of the new fronds emerging this year

Above: New fronds of Dicksonia antarctica

Click on the ‘Dicksonia’ or ‘Tree Fern’ labels for earlier posts.

Tetrapanax papyrifera – May 2010

After a cold Winter and a very cold Spring I believe I have lost some of my more exotic plants. But I am pleased to see that my Tetrapanax papyrifera ‘Rex’ (Rice Paper Plant) has started to sprout from the remains of its old stem. I had wrapped some fleece around the stem but not before the first bout of very cold weather just before Christmas (my excuse is that I was away in France). The top of the stem was definately dead and I thought the plant had ‘had it’. But it is now sending out new growth from further down the stem as the photo below shows:

Above: Tetrapanax papyrifera – new growth – 3 may 2010

This is one of my favorite plants and the giant leaves give a stunning effect. As I’ve said in one of my previous posts, I’ve not really planted it in the best position as it is too close to a path so I might try taking some cuttings from it this year.

By the way . . . . hasn’t it got a great name!

To access earlier posts on Tetrapanax papyrifera click on the name in the labels column on the right of this page.

Adrasan, Easter 2010

Before this blog gets back to the serious business of writing about gardens and plants, I must just post some final images of our stay in Adrasan this April. First . . . . .

The Land Beyond Efes

We set out on a trek aiming to get to Sazak Bay, a supposed journey of 2 to 3 hours, the path started behind the Arikanda Hotel and skirted the mountain of Musa Dag heading upwards. Our first mistake on this dreadful journey was to not understand the directions given by the hotel staff to reach the path! They told us to follow round the edge of the hotel to reach the path. They meant walk along the edge of the river. We went round the back of the hotel building, climbed the steps to the first-floor then leapt across a yawning chasm (probably with an owl in it) and through a hedge. This brought us into the garden of the neighbours (a lawyer) where we had to scramble through another hedge to reach the path to Sazak Bay. We all performed this feat again on our return!

It was a warm day and the path went relentlessly upwards! The first thing I noticed was the complete lack of anyone selling Efes beer! Bravely we carried on. The photo below shows the author exclaiming the lack of Efes outlets:

Having walked for what seemed like hours, we rested on a large rock named: ‘Uncomfortable Rock’. Photo below: resting on ‘Uncomfortable Rock’

It was at this point that I decided that the 2 youngest Musa’s were holding us back from achieving our target destination. As expedition leader, I took the decision to abandon them! We gave them a small amount of water and left them at ‘Uncomfortable Rock’. (They actually found their way back but not before first encountering a grimacing tortoise blocking the path. This tortoise had a particularly menacing grimace but, taking after their father, they managed to dodge past it. They eventually found their way to the Chill House Bar – just like their father would have done!).

Mrs Musa and I staggered on. Further up the path we could see the main track winding ahead but decided to take a left fork onto a small track that went steeply upwards. Why did we do that I hear you ask??!! Well, dear reader, you must realise that by now we were suffering the effects of lack of Efes, we were suffering from hallucinations and I was slipping in and out of consciousness! We climbed on until we reached a small meadow area, I looked in vain for a bar or anywhere selling Efes and then the dreadful realisation dawned: we were in The Land Beyond Efes !

The sun beat down and the trees swayed in the breeze with a moaning sound. We had to go back! We galumphed (a nod here to Arthur Ransome) down the mountain, not stopping until we reached ‘Uncomfortable Rock’ and from there galumphed on to the Arikanda River Garden. We again leapt the yawning chasm and collapsed onto seats by the river. Cold Efes was brought by concerned staff in an effort to revive us and it did the trick!

And so - that was our terrible adventure to The Land Beyond Efes !

Below is a view of the Bay taken from - The Land Beyond Efes !

Other Stuff . . .

We went with Vahit to the ruins of the ancient Lycian city of Arykanda – an amazing place and I always enjoy going there. It is virtually deserted, anywhere else you would expect to see hordes of tourists.

Photo below: the amphitheatre at Arykanda

Photo below: Ali’s boat ‘Rose’ ready for painting after repairs

Photo below: Holly’s foot and Musa Dag beyond

Photo below: Trying to be artistic with perspective and reflections.

Photo below: Musa Dag and skull

Photo below: The Bay and Musa Dag

Ramasan’s Bar, Adrasan Village

We’ve been visiting Adrasan (or Cavus) since 2004 and every year we go at least once to the market near the village which is held every Sunday. The best bit about going to the market is visiting Ramasan’s Bar afterwards! It seems a tradition for the ex-pat Brits and the regular visitors to do this on a Sunday.

I like sitting having a beer and watching village life go by and I always dream about buying this bar. It is not an old building and it is not what you might call picturesque. But it is has a certain faded charm, I like the fact that it is just a bar / cafe and I like Ramasan, the owner. Over the years we have got to know Ramasan and seen his daughter and son grow up.

Ramasan used to sell draught Efes and served it by the litre glass and I think that was particularly popular in the days when a package tour operator used to send people to Adrasan. Adrasan is no longer a destination for tour companies, that ended in 2003 (I think) and Ramasan no longer serves draught beer.

Photographs: The first is a collage of the 7 years we have visited Ramasan’s (2004 to 2010). The second was taken in April of this year, the one day when it rained a bit.

Chill House, Adrasan, April 2010

The Chill House was one of the few places open when we visited the bay in April. I was very pleased to find it open as it is one of my favourite places on the bay. It is a great place to have lunch or just a beer whilst enjoying a great view over the bay and Musa Dag. The place is run by Musti (I hope that is the correct spelling) and he is one of the nicest most genuine people I have ever met. The decor, ambience and music of this beach bar / restaurant remind me of the hippy days of the 60’s and 70’s.

The Chill House also has some sun loungers and cushions on the beach and we made good use of these during our stay, enjoying the warm Spring sunshine. However, we didn’t quite go swimming but did do some paddling. We also had fun collecting shells and interesting pieces of driftwood.

Musti and Mustafa (the chef) are great hosts and I always feel slightly younger when at the Chill House!

Above: The Musa females survey some jewellery outside the Chill House.

Above: Lunch at the Chill House

Above: The view from the Chill House

Above: Looking down the beach from the Chill House towards their sun loungers. Also a view of Musti’s back.

Above: One of our driftwood ‘creations’!

Arikanda River Garden, Adrasan, Turkey

So, the entire Musa family went off to their much frequented haunt of Adrasan in Turkey for a week over the Easter holidays. Adrasan is also known as Cavus, which I think is the newer name, it seems that increasingly people are going back to the name ‘Adrasan’. The actual bay is referred to, in Turkish, as Çavuşköy or Cavus Bay.

This trip we stayed at the Arikanda River Garden just up the river a short distance from the beach. The place is run by the brothers Vahit, Felamoz and Akif plus other brothers and family members. We’ve known them ever since we started going to Adrasan, about 7 years ago. The Arikanda River Garden is a restaurant / bar with seating set on platforms in the river. Last year they built a small hotel on site of about 8 rooms. Being April and the possibility of rain, the seating platforms have yet to be placed in the river in case of flooding. But there are tables along the edge of the river to sit and have breakfast, lunch, dinner or just a beer. The evenings were quite cool so we ate inside beside a log fire.

If this sounds like an advert, I suppose it is! The rooms are large with air con / heating, the balconies look over the river. The rooms are simply furnished but I believe they are going to add things like dressing tables, mirrors etc. The food is very good and they have a stone oven in which they bake the traditional pide bread. The brothers and staff are very friendly and will do everything to make the stay enjoyable including breaking into impromptu Turkish dancing! Room prices are very cheap compared to this country, it is just a pity that flights to Antalya are so expensive.

Clicking on the hotel logo at the top of this post will take you to the Arikanda Hotel website.

Image above is of the rest of the Musa family having breakfast. As you can see, the table is full of plates as breakfast consists of: bread, omelette, a plate of grilled mushrooms, plate of grilled tomatoes, plate of fresh tomatoes, plate of cucumber, plate of black olives, plate of green olives, plate of white (feta) cheese, plate of yellow cheese, plate of sliced oranges, bowl of yogurt, bowl of honey. And, of course, coffee and fruit juice. It is just marvellous sitting by the river eating this massive breakfast in the sunshine with the ducks waiting for any spare pieces of bread.

The photo above was also taken at breakfast. You can see the bridge that gives access to the hotel and restaurant.

The photo above was taken from the restaurant seating area, looking up-river with the new hotel block on the right.

Above: positioning the stencil for the new hotel sign. Mrs Musa can be seen lending a hand, holding down the ‘D’!

Above: the hotel with its newly painted sign.

Above: from the room balcony, looking down on the river and bridge.

Above: Felamoz leads the dancing

Above: sitting by the river drinking Efes in the late afternoon sunshine

I’m afraid I will post some more stuff about our stay in Adrasan and I will also add some links to sites that give more info on the area.

For more information on Adrasan including links to other hotels, walking routes etc. The following link takes you to a very good website: http://www.adrasan-cavuskoy.com