NOVEMBER 2012 NEWS FROM THE NURSERY
The autumn colour has been rather splendid this year and our Arboretums (is that the plural or should it be Arboreti) have been doing a brisk trade in leaf peepers. What with it being half term and the need for a day out looming. Plenty of fresh air, mud and no doubt tea and cake, what more could you possibly require.
Many of our National Trust properties and privately owned gardens open to the public also have good autumn colour. For example Stourhead - Wiltshire (N.T), Forde Abbey - Dorset (privately owned).
I have been moving some of our plants under cover – not because they’re tender but they are in danger of water logging which causes root rot. The environment agency is warning of potential flooding in the South West, Wales and North West. Here at seasideplants we are on a south facing slope and not likely to flood, but it does give an indication that the rain is going to continue. With our plants in mostly 2 or 3 litre pots outside and feet on polypropylene ground cover material they are staying too wet. This can also be the case with planted containers in the garden where the bottom of the pot is flush with paving for example. Try to raise them up on little feet bought from the garden centre or invent something like stones or bricks, which will allow the excess water to drain out. Plants that really don’t like prolonged wet such as Agapanthus can be taken into a cold greenhouse and kept dry or just placed in the rain shadow of a wall. Being dry insulates the vulnerable roots from damage as the soil has air spaces and is not filled up with water that may freeze.
Although the days at this time of year can be dreary and wet, it’s nice to look out into the garden where something is doing its thing. We have a large and very splendid Mahonia x media Charity that is in full colour and very popular with bumble bees that come out on milder days. Birds also eat the berries later. The evergreen winter flowering Viburnums are starting to look good, Viburnum tinus Lucidum is also fragrant. The deciduous Viburnum x bodnantense Dawn are good for winter as they just flower forever – coming in bursts throughout winter and into spring.
The evergreen Elaeagnus (excellent wind break/hedges for coastal especially Elaeagnus x ebbingei) have been flowering – small flowers big fragrance.
Talking of hedges, they are being planted in preferences to fencing (often replacing fences) in our windy coastal area as they thrive when fences unfortunately get blown down. Euonymus japonicus is another very wind and coastal hedge plant and can be kept quite tidy by clipping it a more formal look if required. Less fess formal but very tolerant of coastal conditions are Tamarix tetranda and Atriplex halimus.
