Top ten list of garden plants

  • Abutilons of all kinds
  • Buddlejas old and new
  • Epiphytic orchids and ferns
  • Gordonia species
  • Heliotrope, Lemon verbena, Fennel and herbs
  • Michelias of all sorts
  • Perennial Salvias large and small
  • Species Camellias
  • Tea and China Roses
  • Weigela of all types

Montville Rose

Monday, August 19, 2013

Spring in August. Orchids are early



Argyranthemum  in August
With a visit today by the "Red Hat Ladies"  the garden was full of spring flowers. Shrubs and Orchids which usually flower from mid-September are in full display in mid August this year. Also our run of reliable showery weather has dried up, it seems , for the next few weeks.
Eupatorium was definitely a feature in late September 2012 for a book launch and garden party. It's about to burst now, as is Eranthemum pulchelum. All of this while Camellia japonica are still in flower and Magnolia liliiflora and Azaleas are fully out.
We have no Open gardens planned thank heavens because it would seem difficult to predict a best time with such different seasons.
Thelychiton speciosus

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Busy Busy Bees at The Shambles

Camellia japonica just about finished for 2013 "The Shambles"

Busy Busy Bees
A busy time because of our lack of winter and advent of spring at "The Shambles'
We are always adding more and new plants. Also there is a real chance to strike more plants for a planned Plant Sale and Opening Easter next year. Very kindly Rowena Cavanagh who lives nearly in Montville allowed us with Kate Stock to take plant material for next year. Some is listed below.

A couple of specimens of red and also white Rosa multioflora were moved from a hopeless position in the fenced rose garden to the trellises in the South Rose garden. We added a new rose "Renae" Moore, USA 1941 a climbing polyantha. This rose will share a trellis with a fairly derelict "Albertine" and roses "Violette" and "Bloomfield Courage". We'll see who wins.
 We removed a big, but sparsely flowering "Spray Cecile brunner" and in it's place put a semi-mature Magnolia acuminata x denudata Butterflies'. 
Thinking of Magnolias made me do a little more research on "Kay Parris" and Magnolia × loebneri which we already had
Magnolia grandiflora "Kay Parris" Named for Katherine Killingsworth Parris. She was the mother of the horticulturalist Kevin Parris, sometime Arboretum Director at Spartanburg Community College in South Carolina who first discovered the cultivar. Central Shrub garden (We added this in 2010)
Dodonaea triquetra, known as Common Hop Bush or Large Leaf Hop Bush, is a species of shrub occurring in eastern Australia Described by J.C. Wendland Botanische Beobachtungen (Botanical Observations) 1798 collector unknown Rainforest corner
Magnolia × loebneri This small tree is a cros of M. kobus and M. stellata. It has star-shaped flowers (3 to 5 inches across) with 10 to 14 narrow white petals, sometimes tinted in lilac-purple or pale pink.North Rose garden (added in 2011)
Magnolia acuminata x denudata Butterflies' usually forms a small tree with an upright central leader or sometimes a multi-stemmed shrub. It has yellow cup to star-shaped flowers . Genus name honors Pierre Magnol, French botanist (1638-1715). Bred by Phil Savage USA  South Rose garden
Arisaema candississimum It has been a popular garden plant since its introduction from Yunnan by George Forrest in 1914. Hydrangea Walk
Beaumontea grandiflora Easter lily Vine. Himalayan tropics. 
Hiptage benghalensis ,Hiptage is a member of the Malpighiaceae plant family and is native to India and south-eastern Asia (i.e. Sri Lanka, southern China, Taiwan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines). It is not yet a declared weed Not going to plant this. 
Nephrolepis exaltata 'Rita's Gold' Slightly more compact than classic Boston ferns, this golden-leaved selection features striking chartreuse fronds that prefer shade but will tolerate intermittent sun. Fernery and elsewhere 
Neomarica caerulea is a rhizomatous plant from Brazil with tall, attractive fans of evergreen architectural foliage (ht to 1 m) Blue trellis garden & Criss Cross garden 
Farfugium japonicum 'Aureo-maculata' (Leopard Plant) East Asia Hydangea walk 
Selaginella moellendorffii Spikemoss. Belongs to an ancient non seeded group of plants called lycophytes and often classed as fern allies. Fernery & Central Shrub garden
Eomecon chionantha Snow Poppy. a perennial from China, with white, cuplike flowers in sprays. First described by Henry Fletcher Hance in 1884.Central Shrub garden  
Anenome hupehensis  All throughout.
Scutellaria ventenatii
Sinningia cardinalis  first published as Gesneria in 1850 by Carl freidrich Phillip Von Martius. Tropical South 

There are early spring flowers everywhere, including >20 sprays on our big orchid 

Thelychiton speciosus formerly Dendrobium speciosum. Having become dry inthe last couple of weeks we now find it necessary to water again. What a cycle life in the garden is.
MS