I know autumn has arrived when I spot clumps
of Japanese
anemone, their pretty white
or pink flowers peeping over the tops of garden
fences.
I love that some consider them to be almost
a weed only because they grow so easily and
have a happy habit of popping up in the most
appropriate places. To prevent them becoming
‘weeds’ all you need do is pull
out the seedlings when small, before they
have time to develop their large tap roots.
Seeing these flowers is a timely reminder
to us that the spring flowering anemone
bulbs are now available to purchase. They
are always one of the first spring bulbs to
arrive, along with freesias
and ranunculus.
Anemones and
ranunculus can be a little
shy to germinate so we advise you to give
them a good chilling in the fridge for several
weeks, then remove them and soak in tepid
water for a few hours before planting.
Reminding me of the single white anemone
and flowering at the same time, is Gordonia.
A new tree, good for small gardens, is looking
beautiful here at present. We have two cultivars,
Gordonia
yunnanensis “Moonlight
Magic", and a species
from South Vietnam.
They are closely related to, and look quite
like, camellias. The tree has lovely, light
green foliage maturing to a deep glossy green.
The pure white, flat single flowers are up
to 200mm across with very prominent centres
of yellow stamens. They don’t brown
on the plant, but drop cleanly to cover the
ground with a white carpet.
Another great new plant introduction.
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STUNNING AUTUMN
COLOURS
Aren’t we lucky to live in a temperate
climate where we enjoy these dramatic and
stunning autumn displays over several months.
One of the first to show its colours is Fraxinus
oxycarpa ‘Raywoodii’,
the claret ash. The deep green leaves turn
a glowing purple/red. This glorious specimen
tree needs to be sited carefully as little
will grow in the dry shade it creates.
For smaller gardens we recommend planting
this ash grafted onto a dwarfing rootstock.
We have a small supply of these each winter.
A grouping of deciduous shrubs with stunning
autumn foliage would make a very striking
feature in a sheltered part of the garden.
Include Cotinus
‘Velvet Cloak’ or
‘Royal Purple’, Cercis
‘Forest Pansy’
and any of the small Japanese maples.
A favorite maple is Acer
palmatum ‘Senkaki’ or
Coral Bark maple and there
is an alternative for small gardens, Acer
palmatum ‘Winter Flame’.
This grows to 1.5m with the same
bright coral pink stems and branches.
A shady area can become an absolute highlight,
full of foliage colour and texture.
The rusty brown weeping native gossamer grass,
Anemanthele
lessoniana, combines
very well with these exotics, thriving under
their shade.
Add some of the fashionable varieties of
heuchera
now available.
There is a dazzling palette of colours ranging
from purple, chocolate and black to pewter,
copper and bronze with wonderful names like
‘Southern
Comfort’, ‘Georgia Peach’,
‘Lime Rickey’, 'Marmalade', ‘Obsidian’
and
‘Midnight Rose’.
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POTATO TIME
AGAIN
The first seed
potatoes have arrived. To
start the season are Nadine, Swift, Rocket
and Agria. Or try this new variety, Purple
Passion, developed by Crop and Food Research’s
commercial potato breeding programme. This
has a purple skin and yellow flesh. Only think
about growing potatoes this early if your
garden is free from winter frosts. Check
out our potato growing article >>
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GARDENING CALENDAR
- MARCH
Our March issue covers lots about the kitchen
(vegetables and fruit) as well as the ornamental
garden, along with some tips about your lawns!
Click
here for the full calendar >>
