February 2014 News from the Nursery

There is no disguising the reality of our prolonged wet and windy spell of weather. Due to the mildness of this winter, we have not had to take plants in because of the cold freezing the compost solid, but more to dry them out and reduce root death from waterlogging.
Thankfully unless a garden is flooded, once in the ground the roots cope well with wet spells. When exposed to extreme windy conditions and wet soil, shrubs and trees can be blown over and need straightening up, firming in and re-staking where needed. Cover any exposed roots and its a good idea to check tree ties.

Any herbaceous and grasses not pruned down are now looking rather the worse for wear and need cutting down before the new shoots emerge and get damaged in the process.
Some plants like Helleborus orientalis, Pulmonaria Blue Ensign and Sissinghurst White are coming into flower, what a welcome sight they are.

I can't wait to start splitting things up and getting on with potting, but I must confess the miserable weather puts a damper on things.

There are plants that bring scent as well as colour into the garden at this time of year like Coronilla valentina glauca, with its deep yellow clusters of flowers, flowering for months and giving wafts of its fruity scent. Planted in a sunny position it really performs.

My clump of Iris unguicularis has been good this year and due to the battering weather I have been picking the flowers. They last well in water and can be picked in bud and then they unfurl indoors.

I have been writing these notes to the background noise of a chainsaw, as another casualty of the weather is dealt with. A large Hawthorn, which made a bushy tree prized by us as part of the sheltering boundary on the windy westerly side of the nursery. We now have a gaping hole in our defences and a favourite nesting site for our birds is no more. We do fortunately have an inner defence of some Griselinia littoralis, which we will allow to grow up higher in front of the gap.
In coastal areas Griselinia is much used as it is tolerant of salt air and windy conditions. Its smooth, glossy lightish green leaves always look good. Another storm proof hedging plant for coastal and other areas is Elaeagnus x ebbingei, which has a darker leaf – silvery underneath and small highly scented flowers in late summer.
The large growing Fuchsia riccartonii is also very tolerant of coastal and other windy conditions and although not evergreen gives good shelter as it filters and slows the wind down as well as flowering for months.