Some might say I am potty

April - 2020

Horticultural Industry

Covid-19 has reeked havoc with the horticultural industry. Although some forecasts look very bleak with many growers going out of business I do hope that they are able to survive this dreadful situation. The plant business is so different from many others in that the product you create has to be sold in a certain time period. If not then it is lost. My heart goes out to all those small individual growers. Have you ever been to a plant fair and met all those lovely exhibitors? Filled with passion for plants and gardens and eager with enthusiasm and advice to help you nurture and enjoy the plants that you buy from them. I wish all of them well and look forward to seeing them again.

The big garden centres I trust will survive but I wonder if they will make changes for the future. Some have geared their business to selling online and I have noticed their hasty methods to correct this are far from perfect. So perhaps the website builders will be getting a batch of new clients when all this is over.

Where Passion Takes You

Have you ever enjoyed listening to someone who is passionate about their hobby. Even if it is a subject you know little about. Their infectious enthusiasm can be quite mesmerising. It is quite possible that a touch of jealousy can creep in on your part. But they have you hooked. Sometimes such an occasion can truly enthral you and in some circumstances even change your life.

I have a cousin called Patrick who lives in Hexham in Northumberland. He is just a few years older than me but he seems to have inherited the Nicholson trait for trying to do something to the very best of his ability. Throughout my life I have seen him tackle new ventures. Including breeding Angel fish in Malaysia and returning from there with butterflies which he donated to the Natural History Museum. One of the butterflies he was told, Bibabis Tuckeri, was so rare you could count the number caught on one hand. Using his own lathe beautiful and breathtaking natural hand turned wood bowls .

And now for the big one. Orchids and more orchids. To be more precise Phalaenopsis. Specially built orchid houses with a gas boiler which feeds radiators just like you have in a house. All temperature controlled to 70 degrees Fahrenheit in the daytime dropping to 62 degrees at night. Extractor fans come when the temperature rises too high. Should the greenhouse temperature at night drop to 56 degrees then an alarm goes off. It is usually Jean his wife that hears this first, owing to Patrick's hearing. She wakes him up and he goes down to light the Tempest gas heaters.

Committment is an act, not a word

Jean-Paul Sartre

Magazine

Patrick was a founder member of this American magazine. One of his Phalanopsis plants is illustrated on the front cover which also lists one of his articles in the magazine - Tips on raising seedlings

Dwarf Narcissus

This year I tried a new double form of the amazing Tete-e-Tete named Narcissus Tete Boucle. I will have to make a decision for next year but at the moment I am leaning towards the staying with the single form.

Some Might Say I am Potty

I have a good sized garden with many flower beds but it appears it is not enough. Some four years ago or so I started buying quite a number of square grey fibre clay containers. A classical design available in two sizes, 30cm and 37 cm. Into these I put in all kinds of plants. I make a display, rearranging the planters so as to exhibit the best plants that were in flower at the time. The collection continued to grow and reached a total of about 60. Early last year I realised that it was getting too much for me to move the containers as when planted up they were too heavy to lift into the wheelbarrow. I had to move them a fair distance to a storage area of the garden when they were not fit to display. Then one day I had an idea to remove all the plants from the heavy containers and replant them in much lighter square black plastic containers. These took a bit of finding but now I have increased the classic planters to about 100 and have some 200 of the plastic containers. These I bring up to the stage areas and change over so as to try and keep an ever changing fresh selection.

I have experimented with many plants but to date I think the most successful ones are patio Roses, Hydrangeas, Hebes, Euphorbias, Agapanthusas well as Nerines, Tulips, Hyacinths and Dwarf Daffodils. This year I will be trying Hostas and some perennial flowers including Astilbes

Some of my garden plants looking good this week

Strawberries

Many years ago I had success in growing strawberries in my greenhouse. I started again last year. After fruiting I rooted a number of runners. I was not sure what to do with the old plants as there was conflicting information to keep them for two or three years or throw them away. So I have decided to keep the old plants but they are all marked with a red plant label so I can compare them with the new plants. I will report back later in the year.

Simply the Best

Over the years one of my Christmas presents has often been an Amaryllis bulb. Last Christmas I received another and later I bought a few for myself. I think I have found my favourite which I would certainly like to grow again. It is Bogota illustrated above. A beautiful star shaped rich red and coral. Outstanding.

Get organised

You might notice I have been able to put a name to each plant illustrated. This is not because I can remember the names. In fact I am hopless at plant names as witnessed whenever the Christleton Garden Club have a quiz. The answer is a Brother Label Printer. I have devised a system of a two letter code to indicate from whom I bought the plant and the date. Extremely useful even if the plant dies!

Garden Ramble 2018

Garden Ramble 2019

Garden Ramble 2022