I am not sure that the Gaura is entirely 'unsung', since it has become quite a popular plant, but what I have in mind is the fact that one gaura on its own is not going to make much of an impact, in fact you might not even see it - it is rather spindly plant with smallish white, pink and now even red flowers. However en masse or as a background to other more glamorous plants it is attractive. Moreover it seems to like our climate, enjoying our hot, often dry summers, and perhaps more surprisingly our wet springs. You can now buy them in all sorts of shapes and sizes with such names as Cherry Brandy, Siskiyou Pink and Whirling Butterflies,but actually I prefer the bog standard G. lindheimeri: I am not against the pink or red but what I am not so keen on is what I think the catalogues call 'compact', not to say squat, since for me the whole point of the plant is its airiness.
One disadvantage of the gaura is that, like say the cistus, by the end of its day it loses its petals, so what in the morning was a haze of white or pink, is no longer. This is not the case with the plant I have, as mentioned in these blogs, fallen in love with, Erigeron annuus, or Eastern daisy fleabane. Like the gaura, this is not a 'gosh factor' plant,indeed in the USA where it hails from,it is often considered a weed, but it performs the same role as the gaura in providing a lovely in its case, only white background to other plants, but with the great advantage that it does not lose its petals on a daily basis. After a long dry spell it can look a little tatty, but a bit of deadheading will soon get them going again, so that one has flowers really from June to November, which cannot be bad news.
Both the above plants perform the same role as the now more famous Verbena bonariensis in providing an attractive background to other plants over a long season. My only problem is that I cannot grow it, or rather it will not stay the course with me. In fact it is never a long lived plant, but when happy will self-seed in some quantity, which is what one wants. I guess the reason for my failure is our wet Springs and lack of drainage, but where you can grow it it is a very useful plant, and famously much enjoyed by butterflies and other insects.
A modest plant family that I used to rather look down on is Amsonia. There are various varieties on the market all I think hailing from North America. They are of medium height with some might say rather wishy-washy light blue flowers, but for me there are three good reasons for having them in one's garden. They do not require staking. Their foliage remains attractive after flowering. In the Autumn this foliage goes a very attractive yellow. Incidentally Rhazya orientalis is very similar and I see that Piet Oudulf calls it Amsonia orientalis, as indeed does my now very out-of-date RHS Plant Finder, though I should perhaps add that it does not hail from across the Atlantic..
Finally the Sedums which I believe are in the process of having a name change, since some of them should now be called hylotelephium. Here I will stick to sedum and will not consider the low growing varieties, of which there are very many. These could certainly be called 'unsung heroes' but the reason I am leaving them out is that to my shame I have had very little success with them, even with an old favourite, S.sieboldi, yet again the problem, or perhaps the excuse, being winter wet and poor drainage. The taller varieties - 40-60cms - flourish, with the exception of S.Mr.Goodbud . This is a recent variety that I bought from Le Jardin de Taurignan which incidentally has a very good selection, and allowed it to die, on this occasion the fault being entirely mine. I will certainly try it again for it has all the qualities that I admire in this family. It comes into its own in the second half the year when other plants may begin to look tired, and puts up well with our secheresse. It does not need staking, and en principe looks after itself. Bees and butterflies enjoy it. Above all it has a certain presence which shows up well amongst the grasses and rather frothy perennials such as asters which also come into the own in the Autumn. Some of you may have already got S. Matrona, which it is similar to, though the flower heads are more impressive, one catalogue suggesting that they resemble a cauliflower, which may or may not warm them to you.
When I started gardening in England, now many years ago, the common varieties were S.Autumn Joy/Herbsfreude and S. spectabile Brilliant and both are still readily available and worth having. In recent years there has been a spate of varieties with purple leaves and flowers with names such as S. Chocolate Drop and S. Purple Emperor, but in this range the one that I like most is S. Jose Aubergine, whose name says it all both as regards its colour and the slightly shiny, almost florescent, appearance of its foliage. This I bought from my favourite nurseryman, Bernard Lacrouts, though it seems sadly that he no longer supplies it. But all these sedums are worth considering. They may not get into one's 'Top Ten' but they provide a lot of pleasure over a long period.
Saturday, 21 October 2017
Tuesday, 15 August 2017
High Summer
It has been a funny old year in the garden so far,which I guess makes it much like any other year! Still what for me has been the feature has been the changeability if such a word exists. It was a mild winter but with two very cold spells, one late which is what no gardener wants. Then we have had some very hot spells with temperatures well over 30.c which along with a dry spring and early summer is a great worry since our main rainfall falls in this period. But then came a wetter than usual July with colder temperatures and this weather has so far continued into August. And what a difference a drop of rain makes both cheering up the garden and myself. The result is an unusual air of optimism, this despite the usual crop of weeds - the other day a visitor, I think intending it as a compliment, exclaimed:"oh I do like your wild garden. " - a bad back which makes all gardening more difficult, and far too many visitors which limits gardening time.
I guess that what is pleasing me most is that after just over ten years of activity the garden is at last taking on an air of maturity. Shrubs and trees have grown and are beginning to fill their allotted space, paths look meant, and there are not too many dead areas. Looking best at the moment is what used to be called a shrubbery, though the word at least has rather gone out of fashion. That said it also has one or two trees, the most important of which being Prunus x subhirtella Autumnalis Rosea. I have praised it often before so I will not go on about here, except to say that I consider it a must for a Gascony garden. For some reason the Malus Prairie Fire has not looked so good this year. I am hoping it is not the dreaded Fire blight to which the malus family is prone to but rather the dry winter and spring, because it is a very attractive small tree. There are a number of buddlejas, one essentially a tree rather than a shrub being at least four meters high. I think it is B.macrostachya but I have my doubts - foliage effective, flowers disappointing. Of the others I would particularly recommend B.alternifolia argentea with good lilac flowers in early summer but making an attractive bush at all times. Then there are one or two Vitexes - Vitex agnus-castus , I guess latifolia - with the small blue candelabras in summer. These do not last very long but the seed heads are quite attractive as is the foliage, and as it seems to be trouble free another 'must'.
Then there are one or two Lagerstroemia indicas in flower at this moment, as also Oleanders/neriums, and then what is perhaps making the most impact at the moment a Cotinus Grace. All cotinuses are good news. There candy floss flowers are attractive and whatever the colour of their foliage in summer they all colour well in autumn. C.Grace has soft purplish red leaves, not as purple as the more common C.coggyrigia Royal Purple, particularly attractive if back-lit. It is vigorous plant, but like I think all the shrubs so far mentioned can be heavily pruned in early spring, and is probably the better for that.
Two other shrubs are worth mentioning, though one I hope will eventually become a tree. I am not a great fan Arbutus unedo, the Killarney strawberry tree, though we have some in the hope that one day they might enable us to have a colony of my favourite butterfly, the Two-tailed Pasha which is such a feature of the Herault. It is evergreen, and the 'strawberries' look quite nice, but somehow it always seems to be rather scruffy. A.andrachne and A.x andrachnoides are much smarter, which is to say more tree-like, so that the cinnamon coloured flaking bark, a feature of the whole family, is much more prominently displayed. We have got a newer cross, A.Marina. This will eventually make a smallish tree, again with the attractive bark but according to the catalogues with slightly more showy flowers and fruits.
Into this mix add one or two different abelias, very common but for the good reason that they are trouble free and in flower for a long period, potentillas, very scruffy in winter but cheerful in summer, and quite a few shrub roses. Again I have said a lot about them in previous blogs, so I will just re-emphasize my love for the now in some cases almost hundred years old Hybrid musks. They are all good but for sheer flower power from early summer to late autumn Penelope is very hard to beat, while my love for Vanity only increases. Ours is now almost three meters wide by one and half high, sending out long sprays of single, strong pink/red flowers over a long period. Also starring in this mix is David Austin's Crown Princess Margareta, and Perle d'Or, another rose that flowers its heart out, this time with clusters of smallish pale apricot fading to pink flowers and dating back to 1884.
I guess that what is pleasing me most is that after just over ten years of activity the garden is at last taking on an air of maturity. Shrubs and trees have grown and are beginning to fill their allotted space, paths look meant, and there are not too many dead areas. Looking best at the moment is what used to be called a shrubbery, though the word at least has rather gone out of fashion. That said it also has one or two trees, the most important of which being Prunus x subhirtella Autumnalis Rosea. I have praised it often before so I will not go on about here, except to say that I consider it a must for a Gascony garden. For some reason the Malus Prairie Fire has not looked so good this year. I am hoping it is not the dreaded Fire blight to which the malus family is prone to but rather the dry winter and spring, because it is a very attractive small tree. There are a number of buddlejas, one essentially a tree rather than a shrub being at least four meters high. I think it is B.macrostachya but I have my doubts - foliage effective, flowers disappointing. Of the others I would particularly recommend B.alternifolia argentea with good lilac flowers in early summer but making an attractive bush at all times. Then there are one or two Vitexes - Vitex agnus-castus , I guess latifolia - with the small blue candelabras in summer. These do not last very long but the seed heads are quite attractive as is the foliage, and as it seems to be trouble free another 'must'.
Then there are one or two Lagerstroemia indicas in flower at this moment, as also Oleanders/neriums, and then what is perhaps making the most impact at the moment a Cotinus Grace. All cotinuses are good news. There candy floss flowers are attractive and whatever the colour of their foliage in summer they all colour well in autumn. C.Grace has soft purplish red leaves, not as purple as the more common C.coggyrigia Royal Purple, particularly attractive if back-lit. It is vigorous plant, but like I think all the shrubs so far mentioned can be heavily pruned in early spring, and is probably the better for that.
Two other shrubs are worth mentioning, though one I hope will eventually become a tree. I am not a great fan Arbutus unedo, the Killarney strawberry tree, though we have some in the hope that one day they might enable us to have a colony of my favourite butterfly, the Two-tailed Pasha which is such a feature of the Herault. It is evergreen, and the 'strawberries' look quite nice, but somehow it always seems to be rather scruffy. A.andrachne and A.x andrachnoides are much smarter, which is to say more tree-like, so that the cinnamon coloured flaking bark, a feature of the whole family, is much more prominently displayed. We have got a newer cross, A.Marina. This will eventually make a smallish tree, again with the attractive bark but according to the catalogues with slightly more showy flowers and fruits.
Into this mix add one or two different abelias, very common but for the good reason that they are trouble free and in flower for a long period, potentillas, very scruffy in winter but cheerful in summer, and quite a few shrub roses. Again I have said a lot about them in previous blogs, so I will just re-emphasize my love for the now in some cases almost hundred years old Hybrid musks. They are all good but for sheer flower power from early summer to late autumn Penelope is very hard to beat, while my love for Vanity only increases. Ours is now almost three meters wide by one and half high, sending out long sprays of single, strong pink/red flowers over a long period. Also starring in this mix is David Austin's Crown Princess Margareta, and Perle d'Or, another rose that flowers its heart out, this time with clusters of smallish pale apricot fading to pink flowers and dating back to 1884.
Wednesday, 14 June 2017
A Success and Two Questions
When visiting the famous Cornish Gardens some three Springs ago it was difficult not to notice amongst all the splendours provided by the stars of Cornish garden in Spring - azealeas, camellias, magnolias and rhododendrons to name the most obvious - a rather more modest shrub, Olearia x scilloniensis, or White Daisy Bush. It is a medium sized shrub with greyish foliage - imagine a ceanothus impressus but with grey rather than dark green foliage - with in the Spring masses of white daisy type flowers which makes an impact from a distance. In terms of garden use I guess it is slightly similar to Spirea Arguta also smothered in white flowers at the same time of year but the Olearia is evergreen, or rather evergrey. I was not sure how it would do here - Cornish gardens have rather more rain than we do and our probably milder in winter, depending on how close to the Atlantic you are, but mine have settled in well and I am encouraged to obtain more, not that they seem to be readily available here. I also acquired the rather more showy Olearia phlogopappa Comber's Blue but that is struggling and I am not sure that it is going to survive.
Also as a result of my Cornish trip I acquired Philadelphus maculatus Mexican Jewel. I was too early to see it in flower, and it is quite a new introduction, so I guess that there were not many to be seen. But it was given a very upbeat write-up in the Pan Global Plant catalogue with special praise for its fragrance. Something that distinguishes it from many Mock Oranges' is that the flowers hang down in what might be considered to be a rather dainty fashion, but 'weedy' is so far the impression that mine gives, so I have to admit that it has been a great disappointment. As so often with plants the fault may be the gardeners for putting it in the wrong place, and my Mexican Jewel must certainly be given a second chance elsewhere; If we had a slopeing rockery that might be ideal, but as we haven't . . . Incidentally Pan Global list a number of what appear to be exciting new philadelphus, but you have been warned!
My questions concern two of the stars of the Spring and Early Summer garden, Flowering Dogwoods (cornus) and magnolias, and what I would like to know is what success people have with them here? Of course 'here' in these blogs, given its title, 'Gardening in Gascony', covers a rather wide geographical area, and again I am quite sure that the nearer one is to the Atlantic the more likely they are to flourish. Our garden is situated in the East Gers so not on the right side. It contains its full share of what I call Gersois Clay, though there are some much more sandy areas, and I would not say that we are very calcaire. We have tried about half a dozen varieties of both of the two families, and I can only report that the results have not been very encouraging. Obviously they are expected to do well here since they are fairly readily available; for instance you will see plenty of them at Mirande's Jardin d'Embaloge, the nearest that I know of to an English Garden Centre. Moreover there is a nurseryman not far from Aire sur l'Adour, Pép. Vivès, who specializes in Flowering Dogwoods, and I have to say that his stands at the various plant fairs always look spectacular. Our Flowering Dogwoods do not, ditto our magnolias.
Of our half a dozen or so attempts at the Flowering Dogwoods I guess that C. Porlock has been the least disappointing, and this despite the fact that it has been moved. Amongst other things it has managed to flower every year which is more than can be said for the others. It is actually still in flower, though in fact what you see is bracts not petals, but somehow it manages to look stressed though given that we are enduring temperatures in the 30.Cs this is perhaps not surprising. The biggest disappointment has been C. Satomi. This should have deep salmon pink bracts but in seven years it has failed to produce any. Like so many of these dogwoods it should display very strong autumn colours but since the plant has struggled to survive this apsect of the plant has hardly been a feature. The one cornus that has in one sense flourished is C. kousa chinensis which is now well over two metres high but so far in about five years it has failed to be 'smothered in white bracts', indeed it has not produced one!
Our efforts with magnolias have been marginally more successful, which is to say that flowers have been produced on a regular basis but growth has been incredibaly slow. It is true that one at least had a battle with a deer and essentially lost. This was Magnolia Star Wars of which we seem to have ended up with two. It has lovely strong pink flowers and there are signs that they are at last getting away so cautiously I would recommend them. It is also the case that Magnolia stellatas, a much smaller variety, usually more a bush than a tree, but with masses of lovely white flowers, have done reasonably well.
It is clear that magnolias can flourish in Gascony. Driving around the Gers for example one comes across a few very fine specimens, very often I suspect M.soulangeana Rustica Rubra, a big tree with rosy-red cup-shaped flowers, but given the beauty of almost all magnolias not all that often. I suppose that as with the Dogwoods summer heat and drought is the main reason for this. They also suffer from what all spring flowers do in our region: if the weather is good the sun is very strong and the flowers very quickly pass over which is a little disappointing. Still if there is anyone out there reading this blog who has experience of growing successfully these two stars of the Early Summer season - Flowering Dogwoods and magnolias - do please let me know your secret.
Also as a result of my Cornish trip I acquired Philadelphus maculatus Mexican Jewel. I was too early to see it in flower, and it is quite a new introduction, so I guess that there were not many to be seen. But it was given a very upbeat write-up in the Pan Global Plant catalogue with special praise for its fragrance. Something that distinguishes it from many Mock Oranges' is that the flowers hang down in what might be considered to be a rather dainty fashion, but 'weedy' is so far the impression that mine gives, so I have to admit that it has been a great disappointment. As so often with plants the fault may be the gardeners for putting it in the wrong place, and my Mexican Jewel must certainly be given a second chance elsewhere; If we had a slopeing rockery that might be ideal, but as we haven't . . . Incidentally Pan Global list a number of what appear to be exciting new philadelphus, but you have been warned!
My questions concern two of the stars of the Spring and Early Summer garden, Flowering Dogwoods (cornus) and magnolias, and what I would like to know is what success people have with them here? Of course 'here' in these blogs, given its title, 'Gardening in Gascony', covers a rather wide geographical area, and again I am quite sure that the nearer one is to the Atlantic the more likely they are to flourish. Our garden is situated in the East Gers so not on the right side. It contains its full share of what I call Gersois Clay, though there are some much more sandy areas, and I would not say that we are very calcaire. We have tried about half a dozen varieties of both of the two families, and I can only report that the results have not been very encouraging. Obviously they are expected to do well here since they are fairly readily available; for instance you will see plenty of them at Mirande's Jardin d'Embaloge, the nearest that I know of to an English Garden Centre. Moreover there is a nurseryman not far from Aire sur l'Adour, Pép. Vivès, who specializes in Flowering Dogwoods, and I have to say that his stands at the various plant fairs always look spectacular. Our Flowering Dogwoods do not, ditto our magnolias.
Of our half a dozen or so attempts at the Flowering Dogwoods I guess that C. Porlock has been the least disappointing, and this despite the fact that it has been moved. Amongst other things it has managed to flower every year which is more than can be said for the others. It is actually still in flower, though in fact what you see is bracts not petals, but somehow it manages to look stressed though given that we are enduring temperatures in the 30.Cs this is perhaps not surprising. The biggest disappointment has been C. Satomi. This should have deep salmon pink bracts but in seven years it has failed to produce any. Like so many of these dogwoods it should display very strong autumn colours but since the plant has struggled to survive this apsect of the plant has hardly been a feature. The one cornus that has in one sense flourished is C. kousa chinensis which is now well over two metres high but so far in about five years it has failed to be 'smothered in white bracts', indeed it has not produced one!
Our efforts with magnolias have been marginally more successful, which is to say that flowers have been produced on a regular basis but growth has been incredibaly slow. It is true that one at least had a battle with a deer and essentially lost. This was Magnolia Star Wars of which we seem to have ended up with two. It has lovely strong pink flowers and there are signs that they are at last getting away so cautiously I would recommend them. It is also the case that Magnolia stellatas, a much smaller variety, usually more a bush than a tree, but with masses of lovely white flowers, have done reasonably well.
It is clear that magnolias can flourish in Gascony. Driving around the Gers for example one comes across a few very fine specimens, very often I suspect M.soulangeana Rustica Rubra, a big tree with rosy-red cup-shaped flowers, but given the beauty of almost all magnolias not all that often. I suppose that as with the Dogwoods summer heat and drought is the main reason for this. They also suffer from what all spring flowers do in our region: if the weather is good the sun is very strong and the flowers very quickly pass over which is a little disappointing. Still if there is anyone out there reading this blog who has experience of growing successfully these two stars of the Early Summer season - Flowering Dogwoods and magnolias - do please let me know your secret.
Saturday, 15 April 2017
Actualité
Readers of these blogs will know that I am really an 'Autumn Man' which is not to say that Spring is not an exciting time in the garden. After a dry start in January we have had plenty of rain, and despite one very cold week, plenty of warmth so that everything is bursting into life. My impression is that that the blossom has never been so wonderful, especially a little earlier Blackthorn (sloes), then peach, pear, plum and cherry, but may be one thinks that every year.
Am I right in thinking that in Gascony Mahonias are under used? Perhaps people are put off by the prickly leaves but in fact since they are evergreen, they make an imposing shrub throughout the year. Then starting in the Autumn, but in some varieties going on into early Spring, come the cheerful yellow flowers often with fragrance. The most commonly available are M. media Charity and Winter Sun, and there is nothing wrong with either. Surprisingly difficult to find in France is M.japonica. It is far less upright then the two just mentioned making a big bush wider than high with more drooping yellow flowers that for me are the most fragrant. With in theory rather beautuful glaucous leaves is M. freemontii, but I have never had much success with it. More recently there has come on the market M. eurybracteata with in particular 'Soft Caress' whose leaves are virtually free of prickles. It is one of what in a previous blog I have called 'Celebrity Plants' which for a year or two dominate a plant fair - Ceanothus Concha was one such plant - and then is often forgotten. Our M. 'Soft Caress' is still rather small and I have not yet fallen in love with it but maybe I will. It is incidentally autumn flowering.
What other plants are making a show? Our two ornamental pears - Pyrus calleryanna Chanticleer and Redspire - were a mass of white flowers while our various peach trees, which we seem to grow chiefly for their blossom as we seem to end up with very little fruit - ditto apple trees! - were a mass of pink. One way or another we have good selection of Viburnums all of which have done well this Spring. It is true that the flowers of what I call the smelly ones - V. burkwoodii, carlesii, and perhaps my favourite Mohawk which is a mixture of the two - are rather too fleeting, but one of the great features of almost all viburnums is that they have good autumn colour so they really are useful shrubs. And this year our V. plicatum Lanarth has proved my worries about its ability to cope with our hot and often dry summers unfounded by flowering its heart out. That said I am not sure that a south facing bank with very little tree cover, the conditions with which many of us have to put up with, is ideal but tant pis!
I cannot say that our spring bulbs are hugely successful. Of the many hundreds of snowdrops originally planted none after ten years have survived. Our crocus, chiefly C.tommasinianus, have survived but have not greatly increased, I am very greatful to Narcissus February Gold - small, elegantly formed yellow flowers, and as the name suggests early flowering - which continue to look good. Best of all for our conditions are the Cyclamen coums, which amongst other things no animal seems to want to eat. We do incidentally have resident badgers, which unlike Robin Lane Fox's do not seem very interested in our bulbs, perhaps because their quality is on the poor side.
One of the glories of our garden at this time of year are the Ceanothus with their marvellous blue flowers and in many cases dark evergreen leaaves so that even out of flower they can make an impact. Moreover coming from California it likes are hot summers and can cope well with drought, less well with our wet winters so I advise planting them on a slope. We seem to have ended up with many varieties including of course the almost ubiquitous C. repens. To my shame I am not sure that I can any longer identify them. Recently I know that I bought a newish C. Victoria which some consider to be the hardiest of the evergreen Ceanothus, while in the past I have certainly acquired C. Concha, Italian Skies, Skylark and Yankee Point but which is which now defeats me. They are in fact very similar. The blue may vary but mostly they are on the dark side, and the leaves look much the same, but the advantage of having different ones is that their flowering period will vary slightly so that the season is prolonged, though all the ones that I have mentioned are Spring flowering. But for me the outstanding ceanothus for the intensity of its dark blue almost purple flowers is C. Puget Blue. For a period C. Concha appeared to have pushed it into the background so that it was difficult to find, but it seems to be making a comeback, rightly so for if you are in search of a 'Gosh Factor' it is the one to have.
As mentioned in previous blogs we do have a number of early flowering buddlejas, including B agathosoma and B officinalis. They did not particularly like our very cold week this winter, down to minus 7.C, but all have flowered reasonably well despite this. But the real star is undoubtedly B. x Bel Argent with its wonderful strong purple drooping flowers and good grey/silver foliage. It is certainly in my list of top ten sbrubs, and something that everybody should have in their garden.
Am I right in thinking that in Gascony Mahonias are under used? Perhaps people are put off by the prickly leaves but in fact since they are evergreen, they make an imposing shrub throughout the year. Then starting in the Autumn, but in some varieties going on into early Spring, come the cheerful yellow flowers often with fragrance. The most commonly available are M. media Charity and Winter Sun, and there is nothing wrong with either. Surprisingly difficult to find in France is M.japonica. It is far less upright then the two just mentioned making a big bush wider than high with more drooping yellow flowers that for me are the most fragrant. With in theory rather beautuful glaucous leaves is M. freemontii, but I have never had much success with it. More recently there has come on the market M. eurybracteata with in particular 'Soft Caress' whose leaves are virtually free of prickles. It is one of what in a previous blog I have called 'Celebrity Plants' which for a year or two dominate a plant fair - Ceanothus Concha was one such plant - and then is often forgotten. Our M. 'Soft Caress' is still rather small and I have not yet fallen in love with it but maybe I will. It is incidentally autumn flowering.
What other plants are making a show? Our two ornamental pears - Pyrus calleryanna Chanticleer and Redspire - were a mass of white flowers while our various peach trees, which we seem to grow chiefly for their blossom as we seem to end up with very little fruit - ditto apple trees! - were a mass of pink. One way or another we have good selection of Viburnums all of which have done well this Spring. It is true that the flowers of what I call the smelly ones - V. burkwoodii, carlesii, and perhaps my favourite Mohawk which is a mixture of the two - are rather too fleeting, but one of the great features of almost all viburnums is that they have good autumn colour so they really are useful shrubs. And this year our V. plicatum Lanarth has proved my worries about its ability to cope with our hot and often dry summers unfounded by flowering its heart out. That said I am not sure that a south facing bank with very little tree cover, the conditions with which many of us have to put up with, is ideal but tant pis!
I cannot say that our spring bulbs are hugely successful. Of the many hundreds of snowdrops originally planted none after ten years have survived. Our crocus, chiefly C.tommasinianus, have survived but have not greatly increased, I am very greatful to Narcissus February Gold - small, elegantly formed yellow flowers, and as the name suggests early flowering - which continue to look good. Best of all for our conditions are the Cyclamen coums, which amongst other things no animal seems to want to eat. We do incidentally have resident badgers, which unlike Robin Lane Fox's do not seem very interested in our bulbs, perhaps because their quality is on the poor side.
One of the glories of our garden at this time of year are the Ceanothus with their marvellous blue flowers and in many cases dark evergreen leaaves so that even out of flower they can make an impact. Moreover coming from California it likes are hot summers and can cope well with drought, less well with our wet winters so I advise planting them on a slope. We seem to have ended up with many varieties including of course the almost ubiquitous C. repens. To my shame I am not sure that I can any longer identify them. Recently I know that I bought a newish C. Victoria which some consider to be the hardiest of the evergreen Ceanothus, while in the past I have certainly acquired C. Concha, Italian Skies, Skylark and Yankee Point but which is which now defeats me. They are in fact very similar. The blue may vary but mostly they are on the dark side, and the leaves look much the same, but the advantage of having different ones is that their flowering period will vary slightly so that the season is prolonged, though all the ones that I have mentioned are Spring flowering. But for me the outstanding ceanothus for the intensity of its dark blue almost purple flowers is C. Puget Blue. For a period C. Concha appeared to have pushed it into the background so that it was difficult to find, but it seems to be making a comeback, rightly so for if you are in search of a 'Gosh Factor' it is the one to have.
As mentioned in previous blogs we do have a number of early flowering buddlejas, including B agathosoma and B officinalis. They did not particularly like our very cold week this winter, down to minus 7.C, but all have flowered reasonably well despite this. But the real star is undoubtedly B. x Bel Argent with its wonderful strong purple drooping flowers and good grey/silver foliage. It is certainly in my list of top ten sbrubs, and something that everybody should have in their garden.
Monday, 20 February 2017
Plant of the Year 2016
But first a correction. In the equivalent blog for 2015 I strongly recommended Euphorbia Copton Ash. Now I am pretty certain that I should have written E. ceratocarpa. E. Copton Ash has much greyer foliage than my plant and is not nearly so imposing - mine was was almost 1 m. high by 1m wide - and I say 'was' because this summer it rather let me down . Much of it became woody and had to be cut back, this only in its second year. A section of it, which seems to have been a layer, remains and is beginning to make an impact, but nothing like it was in its first year. Renée Boy Faget grows it in her garden - Le Jardin d'Entêoulet - not all that far from here (see an earlier blog), and for her it appears to self seed; not alas here. She also writes that her first plant was a cutting from a friend. I have never thought of making cuttings from euphorbias: E.characias wulfeni is so generous with its seedlings, and anyway I would have thought that the milky excretion would have made cuttings difficult, but I am certainly going to try with what is left of my plant.
In my view all euphorbias are good news but not quite good enough to win this prestigous prize! The same might be said of the humble rue usually seen in the garden in its form Ruta graevolens 'Jackman's Blue'. I have grown this in previous gardens without being too excited by it, but it does have quite pretty smallish, almost clover like leaves which are persistent, making a small bush with smallish yellow flowers. When visiting two years ago the 'medieval garden' in Uzes I was very attracted by a largish shrub which I did not immediately recognize as a rue, but it turned out to be Ruta chalepensis, though it was on sale as Rue d'Alep. In English it is apparently called Fringed Rue. On close inspection it is not unlike 'Jackman's Blue - the leaf is more or less the same colour blue, and the smell is equally as strong which one may or may not appreciate - but to my eye at any rate it is a much prettier shrub, and one growing to about 80cms. Though I believe it is North African in origin my two plants appear to have survived our recent cold spell.
During 2016 I renewed my love of a fairly ordinary herbaceous plant, Achillea Moonshine. In size it is half way between the A fillpendulinas at around about a meter high, of which in my view A.fill. Parker's Variety is the most long lived, and the much shorter A. millefoliums, much hybridized in recent years with names such a A.m.Cerise Queen and Paprika, which are round about 50cms. These latter should be one of the glories of a Gascony garden, and no doubt in some gardens they are. Here, however, they appear to dislike our wettish Springs since I have failed with them completely in the so-called Gravel Garden. Achillea Moonshine is a slightly taller, or at any rate a slightly more solid plant than the millefoliums and the combination of a very luminous yellow and feathery silver leaves is very attractive. It is not in my experience very long lived but cuttings can be made quite easily and I strongly reommend it.
However my plant of the year is in fact a bulb. Tulbaghia violacea is a member of the Allium/onion family which any bruising of its leaves will quickly tell you. From a clumb of narrow grey green leaves, the pale lilac flowers grow to about 40cms, and one of the plants chief attractions is that the flowers appear throughout the summer. It has to be said that the plant lacks what might be called a Gosh factor, but over the years I have come to appreciate it more and more. It is said to self seed but so far not obviously with us. On the other hand the clumps can easily be separated to create more. There exists a variety with a silver edging to its foliage. It is said to be a little less resistant to frost, though it has survived here this winter, but I am not sure that the siver edge, and hence the name, T.Silver Lace', adds a great deal to the plant as to my eye it is not very noticeable. Smaller but very pretty is, I think, T.cominsii, which along with the others mentioned can be found at my favourite garden, La Corsiana
In my view all euphorbias are good news but not quite good enough to win this prestigous prize! The same might be said of the humble rue usually seen in the garden in its form Ruta graevolens 'Jackman's Blue'. I have grown this in previous gardens without being too excited by it, but it does have quite pretty smallish, almost clover like leaves which are persistent, making a small bush with smallish yellow flowers. When visiting two years ago the 'medieval garden' in Uzes I was very attracted by a largish shrub which I did not immediately recognize as a rue, but it turned out to be Ruta chalepensis, though it was on sale as Rue d'Alep. In English it is apparently called Fringed Rue. On close inspection it is not unlike 'Jackman's Blue - the leaf is more or less the same colour blue, and the smell is equally as strong which one may or may not appreciate - but to my eye at any rate it is a much prettier shrub, and one growing to about 80cms. Though I believe it is North African in origin my two plants appear to have survived our recent cold spell.
During 2016 I renewed my love of a fairly ordinary herbaceous plant, Achillea Moonshine. In size it is half way between the A fillpendulinas at around about a meter high, of which in my view A.fill. Parker's Variety is the most long lived, and the much shorter A. millefoliums, much hybridized in recent years with names such a A.m.Cerise Queen and Paprika, which are round about 50cms. These latter should be one of the glories of a Gascony garden, and no doubt in some gardens they are. Here, however, they appear to dislike our wettish Springs since I have failed with them completely in the so-called Gravel Garden. Achillea Moonshine is a slightly taller, or at any rate a slightly more solid plant than the millefoliums and the combination of a very luminous yellow and feathery silver leaves is very attractive. It is not in my experience very long lived but cuttings can be made quite easily and I strongly reommend it.
However my plant of the year is in fact a bulb. Tulbaghia violacea is a member of the Allium/onion family which any bruising of its leaves will quickly tell you. From a clumb of narrow grey green leaves, the pale lilac flowers grow to about 40cms, and one of the plants chief attractions is that the flowers appear throughout the summer. It has to be said that the plant lacks what might be called a Gosh factor, but over the years I have come to appreciate it more and more. It is said to self seed but so far not obviously with us. On the other hand the clumps can easily be separated to create more. There exists a variety with a silver edging to its foliage. It is said to be a little less resistant to frost, though it has survived here this winter, but I am not sure that the siver edge, and hence the name, T.Silver Lace', adds a great deal to the plant as to my eye it is not very noticeable. Smaller but very pretty is, I think, T.cominsii, which along with the others mentioned can be found at my favourite garden, La Corsiana
Monday, 26 December 2016
Disappointments
The chief disappointments have been amongst the herbaceous plants but I will start with a family of trees/shrubs, The Cornus family is very large but I am here thinking of what are sometimes called American Dogwoods , though since quite a lot started life in Japan and Korea, perhaps better to call them Flowering Dogwoods, In fact as regards the ones I am thinking of - essentially Cornus Florida and C. Kousa, and their many hybrids - it is not the flowers that are the feature, but their bracts which come in various shades of red, pink and white. Thy are amongst my favourite trees/shrubs spectacular when in 'bract', but also in the autumn when most of them have wonderful colouring. Of the half a dozen or so that we possess only one grown well but so far without any 'flowers'. It was sold to me as C. kousa chinensis but I am beginning to have doubts. All the others have 'flowered', this year rather better than in previous ones, perhaps because of the wet Spring, perhaps just because they are older. Probably our most successful dogwood is C. Porlock followed by what I think is C. Aurora, but C.Satomi looks miserable, C. capitata is dead! Now itis clear that dogwoods can be grown in S-W France. There is a flourishing C.capitata at the Gaujacq planterium, and I have occasionally seen other varieties looking good. Moreover there is always a selection at the excellent garden centre at Mirande, Le Jardin d'Embaloge and one or two other specialised nurseries, so people must be buying them. I suspect that the nearer that you are to the Atlantic the more likely you are to have success - a bit more rain, and perhaps more acidic soil though I do not think that the latter requirement is essential. And with all these recommendation the different conditions within your own garden - shade or lack of it, sloping or flat, north, south, east or west - play a vital part, For instance our C. capitata was planted on a dry bank in a rather inaccessible corner of the garden so not easy to water. No wonder it died! And finally as regards the dogwoods there is view that chez nous those with C.kousa blood in them suit our conditions a little better than those derived from C. florida, though in fact some have the blood of both !
Another death this year was the newly planted Sinocalycanthus raulstonii Hartlage Wine. This was strongly recommended by Helen Dillon and is seemingly a shrub not demanding any very special treatment, which did not prevent it taking a strong dislike to us! In fact I do not think that we will replace it for there is something rather too artificial about the flowers for my liking. On the other hand the newly planted Olearia x scilloniensis which I enjoyed so much in the Cornish gardens, have done reasonably well, this a little to my surprise, since I thought that they might find our summers too hot and dry. By no means dead but nevertheless disappointing is the also newly planted Philadelphus maculatus Mexican Jewel. This came highly recommended by Nick Macer of pan Global Plants,an English nursery full of interesting plants, but of course you have got to get the plants over here, so they cost. Anyway I think that I may be at fault in planting it in the wrong place. It turns out to be a much more delicate plant both in flower and foliage than your every day mock orange - a biggish rockery where you could see it from below would I guess suit it better than our rather overgrown bank - but it maybe that I am just being too impatient.
But as mentioned earlier the great disappointments have to do with the vivaces. Our so-called Prairie Garden needed revving up. It has plenty of grasses, chiefly different miscanthus, macleayas otherwise plume poppies, quite a lot of yellow daises, made up of different sorts of helianthus and rubeckias, blue and purple asters, bits of this and that, but above all and dominating what I shall call the front of the Prairie Garden visible from the house and pool a lot of gaura, chiefly of the bog standard G. lindheimeri, essentially white with just a touch of pink - there are some more strongly pink, not to say red plants available but for some reason chez nous they do not flourish in the same way. What I wanted to do was to add a bit more colour especially in high summer before the tall grasses really take over, and I thought that the answer might be what I used to call polygonums, but which are now called pesicarias, otherwise knotweed, and perhaps also some sanguisorbas - little bottlebrushes on tall stems in reds and whites. These plants are very much the staple diet of a Piet Oudolf's prairie planting so I did not think that there would be any problems with them. but,if for the most part they have not actually died, they have certainly not looked happy. The ground is flat having been cut out wedgelike out of a south facing slope, and made up of fairly typical Gersois clay, though some areas are a little bit more sandy. Because it is flat in Winter it can become a little waterlogged. In Summer, because it is south facing and there is very little overhead shade it is hot and quickly dries out. As regards my persicarias and sanguisorbas I guess that it was the latter that caused the disappointment. And over the years there have been quite a lot of other plants which one associates with a Prairie Garden that have not flourished. For instance it has been too wet in winter for agastaches and verbenas to flourish, and too hot in summer for many more prairie stalwarts such cimicifugas, eupatoriums, heleniums and veronicastrums to mention just a few. Still the grasses cover up a multitude of sins, or rather omissions, and looking out of the window as I write this on Boxing Day the Prairie garden does not look too bad!
Another death this year was the newly planted Sinocalycanthus raulstonii Hartlage Wine. This was strongly recommended by Helen Dillon and is seemingly a shrub not demanding any very special treatment, which did not prevent it taking a strong dislike to us! In fact I do not think that we will replace it for there is something rather too artificial about the flowers for my liking. On the other hand the newly planted Olearia x scilloniensis which I enjoyed so much in the Cornish gardens, have done reasonably well, this a little to my surprise, since I thought that they might find our summers too hot and dry. By no means dead but nevertheless disappointing is the also newly planted Philadelphus maculatus Mexican Jewel. This came highly recommended by Nick Macer of pan Global Plants,an English nursery full of interesting plants, but of course you have got to get the plants over here, so they cost. Anyway I think that I may be at fault in planting it in the wrong place. It turns out to be a much more delicate plant both in flower and foliage than your every day mock orange - a biggish rockery where you could see it from below would I guess suit it better than our rather overgrown bank - but it maybe that I am just being too impatient.
But as mentioned earlier the great disappointments have to do with the vivaces. Our so-called Prairie Garden needed revving up. It has plenty of grasses, chiefly different miscanthus, macleayas otherwise plume poppies, quite a lot of yellow daises, made up of different sorts of helianthus and rubeckias, blue and purple asters, bits of this and that, but above all and dominating what I shall call the front of the Prairie Garden visible from the house and pool a lot of gaura, chiefly of the bog standard G. lindheimeri, essentially white with just a touch of pink - there are some more strongly pink, not to say red plants available but for some reason chez nous they do not flourish in the same way. What I wanted to do was to add a bit more colour especially in high summer before the tall grasses really take over, and I thought that the answer might be what I used to call polygonums, but which are now called pesicarias, otherwise knotweed, and perhaps also some sanguisorbas - little bottlebrushes on tall stems in reds and whites. These plants are very much the staple diet of a Piet Oudolf's prairie planting so I did not think that there would be any problems with them. but,if for the most part they have not actually died, they have certainly not looked happy. The ground is flat having been cut out wedgelike out of a south facing slope, and made up of fairly typical Gersois clay, though some areas are a little bit more sandy. Because it is flat in Winter it can become a little waterlogged. In Summer, because it is south facing and there is very little overhead shade it is hot and quickly dries out. As regards my persicarias and sanguisorbas I guess that it was the latter that caused the disappointment. And over the years there have been quite a lot of other plants which one associates with a Prairie Garden that have not flourished. For instance it has been too wet in winter for agastaches and verbenas to flourish, and too hot in summer for many more prairie stalwarts such cimicifugas, eupatoriums, heleniums and veronicastrums to mention just a few. Still the grasses cover up a multitude of sins, or rather omissions, and looking out of the window as I write this on Boxing Day the Prairie garden does not look too bad!
Wednesday, 9 November 2016
Brexit Blues
One way and another it has not been a good summer, not helped by in my view the extremely foolish decision of my country to leave the European Union, not that I was allowed to vote on the matter. Moreover, a seriously bad back and too many visitors have meant that the garden has suffered, along with this blog, my last effort being as long ago as May. Back then I had intended to write a little bit more about roses, but I now cannot recall what I had in mind, except perhaps to recommend a rose that goes under the not very promising name of Bossa Nova. Its flowers, which are pink and fully double, remind me very much of the I am tempted to say 'iconic', since I fear that I have caught the disease, but anyway well known hybrid musk, Felicia. Its growth however is different making a lowish bush. Indeed the Quest-Ritsons' in the RHS Rose Dictionary point out that it was originally grown as a ground cover plant and in their view could also be grown a small climber. This is not at all what I want, but happily neither mine nor the one I first saw at La Coursiana shows any sign of either characteristic. And while on the subject of roses I would also like to recommend Thérèse Bugnet. Probably by mistake we have ended up with two plants neither of which got off to a good start. Now one of them has got away, and at this moment is very eye-catching, not in fact because of its flowers but because of the autumn colouring of its leaves. Thérèse Bugnet's parentage is rather complicated but there is certainly rugosa blood in it, which no doubt explains the wonderful colouring, a feature of all rugosas. But this may also explain its slow start. I may well have mentioned this before but in my view rugosas are not in our neck of the woods the fail safe roses that they are cracked up to be, often for instance suggested as hedges. I guess what they really like is poor soil, not our heavy clay soil which in winter can often result in water logging. Thus though I am recommending Thérèse, my advice would be to plant her on a bank where there is at least some chance of excessive water running off. And incidentally there is nothing wrong with her flowers, which are a fully double pink and repeat well.
Our garden has also suffered from lack of rain, though statistically it has to be said our rainfall amounts are still above average for the year, this because of the very wet first half. But apart from two downpours in September we have had very little rain since the end of July and this combined with high temperatures has meant that we have never been so dry. As a result much in the garden has suffered with for instance repeat flowering roses being very reluctant to repeat. This being the case I thought that it might be helpful to highlight plants that have not suffered. Of the trees I can strongly recommend four acers - A.discolor, A.oliverianum, A.Pacfic Sunset, and A.truncatum - that have come through with flying colours and are now all in their full autumn glory. Perhaps the A.oliverianum is the most interesting in that it resembles what are called the Japanese maples - A.palmatum. In my view they are amongst the most attractive small trees/shrubs as regards both the foliage and form, not to mention their autumn colouring, but alas they are difficult to grow in Gascony since they want acid soil, shade and a certain amount of dampness. A. oliverianum appears to survive without any of these things, or at least it copes well with dryness. And on the subject of acers and acid soil, I have to say that I am a little wary of some of the outstanding autumn colour performers such as A.rubrum, A.saccharinum, and A.saccharum. It seems clear that they do not need acid soil , but my suspicion is that they would prefer it. Certainly I have come across some showing signs of chlorosis - i.e. unnatural yellowing of young leaves - but maybe the result of winter wet and lack of drainage rather than lack of acidity. And incidentally I would say the same about many of the North American oaks.
Other small trees that flourish in the dry would include Maclura pomifera; I could do without the fruit which resemble a very wrinkled lemon, and the thorns are seriously vicious, but the hotter the weather the greener and shinier become its leaves, until they go a lovely autumn yellow. Also with yellow autumn colour is Melia azedarach, I would suggest that this is a must for Gascon gardens, what with flowers, fruit and scent, similarly Koelreuteria paniculata, which the Hillier catalogue pronounces to be 'easy on all soils but flowering and fruiting best in hot,dry summers". I guess the same can be said about the various Sumachs (rhus) and Sorbarias. Some will find them a bit too much in their face both as regards flowers and autumn colouring, and they all should come with a 'health warning' since they produce suckers in large quantities. But on the other hand they are very quick to make an impact, and if planted in grass the suckers can be kept at bay by mowing. I have a soft spot for the slightly lesser known R. chinensis; this with whitish rather than deep red 'candelabras' and with to my mind slightly more nuanced autumn colour, and incidentally on sale at La Coursiana.
Finally since time and space is running out four more trees that appear not to be affected by the secheresse. Our Pistacia chinensis have grown remarkably quickly, from around one meter to five in as many years. It is an attractive tree at all times with its glossy pinnate leaves, but brilliant autumn colour is when it really comes into its own. I am sure that it should be better known. Ptelea trifoliata is perhaps a little nondescript, but I was encouraged to obtain it on account of its fragrant yellowish flowers and attractive hop-like fruits, one of its common names being Hop Tree. Another is Swamp dogwood, but ours shows no sign of needing a swamp, or indeed very much moisture. I am rather new to Staphlea colchica first seeing it in a deserted quarry having initially mistaken it, with its pretty white flowers in late Spring for some kind of cherry. It is perhaps more of a large shrub than tree though growing up to four meters at least, but very much multi-stemmed. At first glance it does not look as if it would be happy in dry conditions, but ours is on a south facing bank, and showed no sign of wilting. Lastly Tetradium/Euodia danielli. This like the Ptelia has whitish flowers with attractive scent, though the flowers make more of an impact, followed by in its case strong reddish fruits. It is very similar to the Phellodendrons - japanese Cork and Amur cork trees. In fact all three make attractive medium sized trees, but if I had to choose between them I would go for Tetradium on account of the scent, but also with less conviction because I suspect that it copes with the dryness a little better.
There are of course other trees that cope well enough with Gascon summers, amongst them being the large Fraxinus family, or in other words the Ashes. Nor have I got time to tackle the even larger Quercus/Oak family, though some of these cope much better with dry than others. Meanwhile there have been quite a lot of disappointments, but more about these in my next blog;
Our garden has also suffered from lack of rain, though statistically it has to be said our rainfall amounts are still above average for the year, this because of the very wet first half. But apart from two downpours in September we have had very little rain since the end of July and this combined with high temperatures has meant that we have never been so dry. As a result much in the garden has suffered with for instance repeat flowering roses being very reluctant to repeat. This being the case I thought that it might be helpful to highlight plants that have not suffered. Of the trees I can strongly recommend four acers - A.discolor, A.oliverianum, A.Pacfic Sunset, and A.truncatum - that have come through with flying colours and are now all in their full autumn glory. Perhaps the A.oliverianum is the most interesting in that it resembles what are called the Japanese maples - A.palmatum. In my view they are amongst the most attractive small trees/shrubs as regards both the foliage and form, not to mention their autumn colouring, but alas they are difficult to grow in Gascony since they want acid soil, shade and a certain amount of dampness. A. oliverianum appears to survive without any of these things, or at least it copes well with dryness. And on the subject of acers and acid soil, I have to say that I am a little wary of some of the outstanding autumn colour performers such as A.rubrum, A.saccharinum, and A.saccharum. It seems clear that they do not need acid soil , but my suspicion is that they would prefer it. Certainly I have come across some showing signs of chlorosis - i.e. unnatural yellowing of young leaves - but maybe the result of winter wet and lack of drainage rather than lack of acidity. And incidentally I would say the same about many of the North American oaks.
Other small trees that flourish in the dry would include Maclura pomifera; I could do without the fruit which resemble a very wrinkled lemon, and the thorns are seriously vicious, but the hotter the weather the greener and shinier become its leaves, until they go a lovely autumn yellow. Also with yellow autumn colour is Melia azedarach, I would suggest that this is a must for Gascon gardens, what with flowers, fruit and scent, similarly Koelreuteria paniculata, which the Hillier catalogue pronounces to be 'easy on all soils but flowering and fruiting best in hot,dry summers". I guess the same can be said about the various Sumachs (rhus) and Sorbarias. Some will find them a bit too much in their face both as regards flowers and autumn colouring, and they all should come with a 'health warning' since they produce suckers in large quantities. But on the other hand they are very quick to make an impact, and if planted in grass the suckers can be kept at bay by mowing. I have a soft spot for the slightly lesser known R. chinensis; this with whitish rather than deep red 'candelabras' and with to my mind slightly more nuanced autumn colour, and incidentally on sale at La Coursiana.
Finally since time and space is running out four more trees that appear not to be affected by the secheresse. Our Pistacia chinensis have grown remarkably quickly, from around one meter to five in as many years. It is an attractive tree at all times with its glossy pinnate leaves, but brilliant autumn colour is when it really comes into its own. I am sure that it should be better known. Ptelea trifoliata is perhaps a little nondescript, but I was encouraged to obtain it on account of its fragrant yellowish flowers and attractive hop-like fruits, one of its common names being Hop Tree. Another is Swamp dogwood, but ours shows no sign of needing a swamp, or indeed very much moisture. I am rather new to Staphlea colchica first seeing it in a deserted quarry having initially mistaken it, with its pretty white flowers in late Spring for some kind of cherry. It is perhaps more of a large shrub than tree though growing up to four meters at least, but very much multi-stemmed. At first glance it does not look as if it would be happy in dry conditions, but ours is on a south facing bank, and showed no sign of wilting. Lastly Tetradium/Euodia danielli. This like the Ptelia has whitish flowers with attractive scent, though the flowers make more of an impact, followed by in its case strong reddish fruits. It is very similar to the Phellodendrons - japanese Cork and Amur cork trees. In fact all three make attractive medium sized trees, but if I had to choose between them I would go for Tetradium on account of the scent, but also with less conviction because I suspect that it copes with the dryness a little better.
There are of course other trees that cope well enough with Gascon summers, amongst them being the large Fraxinus family, or in other words the Ashes. Nor have I got time to tackle the even larger Quercus/Oak family, though some of these cope much better with dry than others. Meanwhile there have been quite a lot of disappointments, but more about these in my next blog;
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