Things in the garden are looking good! It has been an interesting year as June and July were very hot and very dry. I am sure that a hosepipe ban may be imminent.
As a quick overview of where we are at:
So far this year I have got through about 25 bags of well-rotted
manure and 35 bags of compost, a new record! where does it go?
The heat has done a great job at kick starting the banana trees
into life and they were out early and have been putting out new leaves super
quick.
Colocasia Pink China has also been doing really well and is a bit of star of the garden. The contrast with the other Colocasia I grow C.gaoligongensis is quite marked as Pink China was up and running whilst the other was still sulking.
Plants that haven’t coped include the Schlefferas and I lost
3 young plant which is rather frustrating. The stuff I bed out like the Tithonias,
Ricinus and dahlia have also struggled to get going and still need some love.
The Dicksonia tree fern also did something very weird in the
heat in that the crown lost all its structure….it has been a bit like someone
has sat on the crown causing all the fronds to go into weird directions. I have
had to spend a lot of time and string trying to tie them all up!
A small tree I had an obsession over and which is doing well with me is the Paper Mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) look at those leaves! After growing a bit too well for me it has thankfully responded well to a hard prune. I have been trying to propagate it and the cuttings I took last autumn are still alive but sulking. However it has been popping up all over the place so takes well from root cuttings!
Rarer things and slight obsessions include with Oreopanax, Brassiopsis hispidia (but I would love a B. mitis) and Impatiens auricoma. I hope I have just finally bought a Mandevilla laxa
As always, we are looking forward to our garden opening and are enjoying visiting other gardens. I have been particularly inspired by Jonathan and Robs garden in Sears Street, Camberwell. They have a true plantsman’s garden full of things which I couldn’t name!
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