Chinese Crackers

The absolute star of our Spring, or should I say early Summer garden has been the Lijiang Rose which as its name suggests has come to us from China, via in our case la Rosereraie du Desert. The flowers are very strong pink, but what gives it its 'gosh factor' is the immense quantity of flower, and the height to which it will grow. Ours is climbing up a dead tree and has only reached about 3 meters but apparently if circumstances permit it could go to ten. Alas, nothing is completely perfect in this world, and as regards the Lijiang Rose the sadness is that it is only once flowering and this early in the season. It also, as already suggested, needs a large space, so it is for the large garden, but its leaves are very healthy and not unattractive in their own right, so for a large Gascony garden I suggest that it is a must.

Technically it is not in fact a China Rose. Most of you will have come across some of these even if you did not know that they were China, for instance Mutabilis that large coppery single flowered rose that is almost continuously in flower, perhaps also Sanguinea, which one might call a red version of Mutabilis, and one of my favourites. But if you visit La Rosereraie you will find over fifty different varieties. For a Gascony gardener they have the great advantage of enjoying our summer heat while most of them repeat extremely well.  The nursery, situated near Aignan in the West Gers, is having a 'portes ouvertes' on Sunday May the 4th. I am told that the garden is looking particularly good this year as a result of our mild winter, so if you like a rose, make an effort to go. And I can guarantee you that even if you think that you know something about roses, you will see roses there that you have never seen before.

Our other Chinese Crackers have been the Tree paeonies. They flower earlier than the herbaceous ones, and ours are already over. Moreover, as with all paeonies their flowers are over in a thrice, which is to say about three days. On the other hand during those three days they are wondrous to behold, so if you are looking for 'gosh factors' they are well worth having, the only snag being that they are rather expensive to obtain. We are lucky enough in the Gers - at Montegut not far from Auch - to have in Richard Pardo at the La Pivoine Bleue a leading paeony expert and a visit to the nursery at this time of year is a mind blowing experience, but do not forget to take your check book with you as you can find yourself in three figure sums all too easily.  I was lucky enough to be given one of his Gansu Mudan tree paeony hybrids, and even luckier to have produced some new ones from seed. These have only taken three years to produce their first flowers. These do not come true but that is rather the fun of it, and I am very happy with what I have got. It should be said that you can find them at a rather more affordable price at a garden centre. The plant itself will be less good, and no doubt forced in order to produce a flower as early as possible, but, and this is really the only point that I wish to make, since I am in no way an expert, in my experience they are, despite appearances, extremely tough. Mine are planted on a south facing hillside and are given no special treatment, except by deer, which on fortunately only one occasion attacked them, and despite this they seem to flourish. And one last thing. The flowers may last all too briefly, but the foliage remains very attractive all summer long, so however you obtain them they are well worth having.

Don't forget the Ipheions

My impression is that they are rather neglected, which is a pity. For those who have never come across them, they are small bulbs, their leaves slightly smelling of onion, so that you might think that they are alliums, especially as their leaves have a rather allium look about them. Their flowers are star-shaped, none of the varieties more than 15cms high, and these appear early, which is to say right now. The bog standard I.uniflorum is what I would call a rather dirty white, though in the catalogues it will be a very pale blue, with apparently some scent, though I would not buy it on that account. I.un. Wisley Blue is certainly more blue and has moreover won for itself an Award of Garden Merit from the RHS, as has I.un. Froyle Mill, which is of a much stronger colour on the purplish side of blue. I.un. Jessie, this new to me, is a deep blue, while I.un.Charlotte Bishop is almost claret. All these are in fact worth having, as they clump up well to make a good show, die down quickly, if you forget where they are they do not seem to mind being disturbed, and they come free of problems. But for me the stars are I. Alberto Castillo and I.Rolf Fielder. The former looks much like the others so far mentioned but with bigger and definitely white flowers so creating a bigger impact. I.Rolf Fiedler is rather different being much lower to the ground, and it does not clump up in quite the same way, though it does slowly increase. You might think that this would make it a less desirable plant, but so intense is its blue, that even one flower will catch the eye from afar.

Also I suspect rather neglected are the early flowering buddlejas. We have got three in flower at this moment. Perhaps my least favourite is B.officinalis. Its flowers are a very pale lilac, but in sufficient quantity to make a good show. What I do not like about it is its habit, rather too upright, making a rather gaunt bush, even when pruned back after flowering.  B. agathosoma's flowers are also a pale lilac, but what makes this a particularly attractive plant is the combination of flower and leave, the colour of the leaves being a silvery grey. I have planted mine in a very difficult spot, that is to say towards the top of a South facing slope, and it suffers because of this, but it still gives me great pleasure, as apparently it does the great Irish gardener, Hellen Dillon, who recommended it in a recent edition of 'The Garden'. But the star of the show for me is B.officinalisVicomte de Noailles. It is the first year that it has done for me, as it has taken about three years to get to any size, but what a picture it is making. Its advantage over its cousin is the much stronger colour of its flower, better leaf colour, and a very attractive recumbent form. I am rather opposed to the current obsession with 'health and safety' but I suppose I ought to issue a slight health warning. These early buddleyas are slightly more tender than the bog standard B. davidii. My bible for all buddlejas is Le Jardin de Rochevielle's catalogue, where the three budlejas that I have mentioned are put in the minus 10.C. range, which means that for most winters they will be fine. No doubt the fact that we have had a very mild winter explains the fact they are looking particularly good, but even if there is a slight risk it is one that should be taken.