Sunday, March 09, 2014
Mark and Gaz
It seems like spring has finally arrived here this weekend with both days being gloriously sunny and dry and temperatures rising to high teens in centigrade, very conducive to gardening!
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| Dasylirion quadrangulatum and Twinkles |
The garden is waking and so have we. Still feeling in a daze and almost out of practice after a winter slumber, the process of 'waking up' started last weekend and continued this weekend. If the weather continues to be great as it was over the past few days and we don't get any more surprises (it's only March after all) then we should be fully awake by next week, awake to gardening.
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| Sun, glorious sun! |
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| Do love Crocus, their blooms always looks so iridescent |
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| Sambucus nigra f. porphyrophylla 'Gerda' (syn. Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace') - botanists do love their long names! |
We were planning to watch a rugby match on Saturday afternoon but guess what, just like what happened last week instead of going the pull of the garden was too much to resist. And so we stayed.
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| Trachycarpus filifera? No, just fortunei it's just the leaves of this one got shredded as it rubbed repeatedly and violently against the nearby bamboo during the storms earlier this year. |
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| A new variegated Fatsia japonica? No, just scorched from the fire last year. Wish it was real variegation though, looks unique! |
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| Hydrangea aspera from Gong Shan |
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| The Prunus serrula 'Tibetica' we planted last weekend, bark up close |
We continued where we left off last weekend, sorting out the jungle area that was damaged by the fire. And did some more tidying and other chores on other parts of the garden. A bit random but fun nevertheless.
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| This Schefflera alpina that has been in a pot and living on the side passage since February 2012 has finally been planted out. It's the tallest potted Schefflera we've planted out so far. |
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| And the fallen Dicksonia antarctica has now been replanted |
Being only early March it's still too early to do any more plant shopping (apart from the RHS show last February) so the main focus for now will be clearing and tidying up. The next plant fair we're thinking of attending won't be until the latter part of March, that is if we actually manage prize ourselves from the irresistible grip of just staying and gardening!
Mark :-)
This gardening blog follows our journey as we create our Tropical and Exotic themed garden. We hope you'll enjoy the journey as much as we do. We started our Exotic Garden in 2005 and this site will show its development, as well as our travels, both abroad and within the UK to gardens, nurseries and friends.
I love that spurt of energy that comes with the onset of spring--when the sun is warm and you want nothing more than to be outside gardening.
ReplyDeleteWe have two Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace'. I love how beautiful the emerging leaves look.
And that Fatsia japonica, OMG, my jaw dropped when I saw your photo!
Same here Gerhard, with the minimal gardening activity in the winter it's great to spend time outside again, in the garden at the first warm and sunny day of spring. The variegation of the fatsia leaves look great, if only they were real. Interestingly it hasn't gone brown though.
DeleteTree ferns are looking good. I read they prefer a bit of shade, which is good for here as I've always wanted one. Would they be OK with soil on the moist side?
ReplyDeleteTree ferns would love your area and the conditions you have, I reckon they'll do very well in your garden :) they'd love soil in the moist side, not waterlogged or boggy but if moisture retentive they will thrive there. They like their crowns kept moist during the growing season too.
DeleteSpring anywhere in the world is the best time to be in the garden and Twinkles has obviously found the best spot.
ReplyDeleteTwinkles certainly always know where the best spot is to bask under the sun Missy :)
DeleteDon't resist the pull of the garden. It is too powerful for us helpless addicts. What are the coldest temperatures you experience? Do you protect your Dicksonias in winter? I have a small one in a 4 inch pot. Obviously it will be many years before I even think about planting it in the ground, but someday I'd like to.
ReplyDeleteIndeed Evan, the garden on such a sunny and fine weather is extra hard to resist :) this winter gone past has been exceptionally mild but on previous winters we usually see lows of around -6/7 Celsius, sometimes a bit lower but rarely it stays that low for long. Bigger ones with fat trunks are the best ones for planting out if your conditions are similar to ours. We protect ours by putting on scrunched up frost fleece on the crown as well a fleece scarf of the neck, that's about it. Leaves remain evergreen if temps don't go below -6C.
DeleteWhile I would willingly give up spring to not experience winter I do and thus I enjoy (did that make sense?). Anyway, I'm glad you guys are in the thick of it and feeling the love...
ReplyDeleteTrue Loree, the presence of winter and experiencing it makes one appreciate spring even more :)
DeleteHello Mark and Gaz:
ReplyDeleteThere is something deeply satisfying, or so we used to find, about rediscovering the garden after the winter period. And whilst there is always more to do than one imagined, it is great fun to be outside once more and seeing everything coming to life. Now for us, if it was a choice between time spent in the garden and a rugby match.......!!
Indeed Lance and Jane, after all those dark and gloomy winter months to bask on a sunny and warm spring day is such a joy. The garden on a sunny day will always win :)
DeleteYea, Spring has sprung. We have a million and one projects going at the house. And I've taken on a project for a nice couple. I am putting in a 6 X 10 ft succulent garden. It's going to be fun for sure. Then the S.F. Flower and Garden show coming up! Lots of fun spring stuff to look forward to. And I love the red bark on that Prunus. Very cool looking.
ReplyDeleteIt all sounds very exciting Candice, busy but fun! Looking forward to seeing the garden you will be doing kindly for somebody else, as well as your own :)
DeleteGood to see that your garden is coming back to life. The weather over the weekend must have had us all out in our gardens, tidying everything that should have been done earlier when it was torrential rain. This is the best time of year in the garden, it is so full of promise.
ReplyDeleteThank you Pauline, full of promise indeed :) and yes you are right, it seemed loads of people were out gardening in full force. When we went to the recycling tip we were turned down as the tip was so full of garden trimmings already, first time that's ever happened!
DeleteWe've had a short warmup but back to cold on Wed. I'd love to start out there like you guys are but am finishing up some inside work, hopefully his week. It's hard not to go out and do things but like you said, it's still March. :)
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
Finish off as much as you can inside Cher whilst it's only March. So when spring arrives later you can dedicate most of your time gardening :)
Delete"The Awakening" is coming in dribs and drabs here, but the anticipation is building.
ReplyDeleteSlowly but surely Ricki!
DeleteThe first days feeling like spring are awesome, full of excitement!!! I love to see how plants awaken. Staying in the garden is the best thing to do!!! :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely Lisa :) although I can imagine where you are spring always arrives early!
DeleteActually in Madrid spring comes early, but my modest garden is in Cuenca, near Madrid but in the mountains. It is colder and there are always late spring frosts, so it is not really spring until may-june. But my crocuses are now in flower too!! :)
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting to hear Lisa, with your climate sounding similar to ours and yet in Spain.
DeleteI'm feeling the constant pull of the garden myself. I love those crocus! Only a few of mine came back this year.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that Kris! Interesting to hear about the Crocus, similar experience here, we planted loads of different colours a few years ago and only the white and purple ones came back.
DeleteGood to see some fresh green growth coming through under the scorched Fatsia leaves - I'm astonished at the resilience of so many of your plants after the dreadful inferno! It was a fabulous weekend for weather, I managed a short spell outside despite a landslide of college work - little and often is the way forward I think!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely Caro, especially on busy periods. Can't wait for the weekend already!
DeleteThe resilience of plants is amazing! Our gardens certainly do call to us at this time of year.
ReplyDeleteOh yes Peter!
DeleteStill loving Tibetica's bark! It's great to feel the sunshine and wake up to gardening. It doesn't take much to get me going in the garden, and we have had some gorgeous days. Happy spring!
ReplyDeleteAnd Happy spring to you too Debs!
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