Odds and Ends

In an ideal world I suppose a blog should really have a theme but so often when working in the garden various odds and ends come to minds. For instance I do not think that in any of these blogs I have ever mentioned Paulownia tomentosa and yet in terms of growth at any rate it is our most successful tree, in seven years reaching about 5 meters. For those who do not know it it is a deciduous tree with very large leaves and in late Spring violet flowers which stand up rather like a horse chestnuts candelabras, or perhaps  a bit like a foxgloves' flowers, hence it is sometimes called the Foxglove tree. There is much to be said for it including its rapid rate of growth, but also the beauty of both its flowers and leaves, but like most things in life it is not perfect. I am still not sure what I think of its large buds which appear in the autumn or the large seed pods which linger on for perhaps rather too long. What I am sure about is that I dislike the fact that its leaves lack autumn colour and when they fall are rather ugly and a pain to sweep up. Incidentally some people will prune it heavily in Spring, as one might do with a buddleja in which case there are no flowers but instead you get an impressive architectural shrub with even larger leaves than on a mature tree and stems that will reach two or three meters in the one year.

Despite the snags I vote in favour of the Paulownia but vote against the Catalpa. In some ways they are rather similar with large leaves and attractive upright  flower clusters, though in the catalpa's case they are essentially white with purple and yellow blotches. These arrive in summer, after which things get worse: the flowers turn into haricot beans, which eventually turn black and persist throughout the winter, and there is no autumn colour. It is a tree that grows well enough in our area. There is a hybrid with yellow leaves, at least in the earlier part of the year - C.bignoides Aurea - which is very attractive, that is until the beans arrive, which reminds me to mention that the catalpa's common name is the Indian bean tree. There is also one with variagated leaves, which I have never seen.

I guess all in all there is quite a lot to be said in favour of the catalpas, but they are one of those plants that I am quite happy to see in other people's gardens, but not in my own. On the other hand we do have Chitalpa tashkentensis Pink Dawn, a curious offspring of a marriage between a catalpa and a Chilopsis. This has the flowers of the former, though as the name suggests pink rather than white, but the leaves of the latter, but above all no beans and even some autumn colour.

Another plant that I believe that I have never mentioned is Escallonia Iveyi, which in early summer here was looking lovely, though alas only briefly for the flowers, much loved by bees and other insects, do not last long. The escallonia is a very large family, but it is a plant that I mostly associate with Ireland, and indeed many of the hybrids were produced in the Donard nursery in Co.Down, and this for us is in many ways the problem. They certainly do not want to be too cold, but my experience is that they do not want to be too hot, and certainly not too dry, in these conditions soon showing signs of distress. Escallonia Iveyi is one of the exceptions, thriving in the heat, so that even if the flowering period, as mentioned already, is short its dark green, persistent foliage looks smart enough throughout the year.. Another variety, E.illinata, is also happy in heat, and its leaves smell rather of curry, which if you like curry is obviously an attraction, but I have found it a rather leggy shrub, and I would not rush out to buy it.

I have to confess that there has been a long gap since starting this blog, and I have rather forgotten what other plants I was keen to mention, but surely Buddleja Lochinch was one of them. I have certainly praised it before, but since for about a week as the flowers start coming into colour it ranks for me in the top ten of all shrubs I do not mind mentioning it again, and moreover after its peak of beauty its foliage always looks reasonably smart unlike some others of its family.


Meanwhile for the last month we have been battling with very high temperatures and no rain, at least until the last few days. No doubt some of you will be certain that this is further evidence of global warming. For my part I remind myself that in nearly fifty years of gardening this is by no means the first heatwave I have endured. And I will end with a quote from another keen gardener: "The Country and Parks are so burnt up and Exhausted that there is not a Verdant Spott to be seen, but all looks like the Sunburnt fields of Asia". The date is 1765.