Galanthus

Colchicum 'The Giant'

They are called 'naked ladies' on account of their sudden appearance in autumn, flowers and no leaves. Later in winter and at the beginning of Spring the leaves appear, to die back and recharge the bulbs for the next glowering period. They appear in the garden just as cyclamen hederifolium are on the decline. 'The Giant' oozers out of the bulb, a splurge of colour in a rapidly darkening landscape.

Galanthus 'Cambridge' (reginae-olgae subsp)

Autumn flowering snowdrops are not my favourites. Yes it's novel to see them so early in the year but they are overshadowed by the brighter colours still around at this time of the year. So 'Cambridge' is a lovely fresh snowdrop beside a showy colchicum and huge dinner plate dahlias. Everything has its own season. Perhaps in a pot, on the display bench, it might look better. For the record, 'Cambridge' has slightly textured petals and clumps up well. If snowdrops float your boat in October, there are few nicer than this variety.

Dinner Plate Dahlias

I watched a YouTube video in which a man and woman sold three varieties of exotic dinner plate dahlias on a shopping channel. $20 or so, less postage. Their son had discovered these 'hard to obtain' plants from the Netherlands, that's Holland we were informed. Last year I bought some by mail order. These are spectacular plants and have flowered here from the third week in July onwards. There is a drawback. When the huge flowers get saturated in our English summer they topple over like pins hit by a bowling ball. So support is the answer, something I'll attend to next year. I've already bought pointed 4ft and 6ft wooden stakes for only fractionally more than than their bamboo cane equivalents. That's for next year. Meanwhile this I believe is 'Islander' and a stunner. My favourite. The plant is so large that until the frosts cut it down I simply can't discover my obviously too small label. I've got another fifteen on order for next year at a small cost. Perhaps I'll set up my own shopping channel. Inexpensive and glorious plants.

Colchicum autumnale 'Alboplenum'.

Autumn crocus varieties have come on a lot from the days when anaemic shoots toppled over in a mess in the border and my wife complained they made her feel queasy. In fact they are not crocus but from the lily family. Colchicum autumnale 'Alboplenum' is a stunner with huge double white, rather scruffy blooms appearing at a time when other plants are receding.

Galanthus 'Prague Spring'

'Prague Spring' pictured on the 23rd February this year. I first saw it in John Morley's North Green catalogue three or four years ago though I obtained it from another source. The virescent snowdrop is distinctive enough though it was the name that captured my attention, As a schoolboy preparing for the General Studies examination I used to read 'The Guardian' newspaper's account of Alexander Dubček's all too brief liberalisation of Czechoslovakia in 1968. The Russians put paid to that. More prosaically the bulb was found in Prague in spring. One of my favourite cities and a lovely snowdrop. No emblem of freedom however.

October Snowdrop - Galanthus elwesii 'Rainbow Farm Early'

Over time labels, especially near grass and therefore lawnmower range, disappear so I'm not entirely sure of the variety of this first survivor of a tidy-up. It could be one of the following: Galanthus reginae-olgae 'Cambridge', Galanthus elwesii monostictus ‘Barnes’ or Galanthus peshmenii. All three snowdrops are pushing up now and soon I'll be able to compare them. I'm not so sure about my feelings about snowdrops this early. There's still a lot of colour in the garden. And by the retrospective laws of blogging I can now confirm, having found the label, that this is 'Rainbow Farm Early'.

Galanthus plicatus "Three Ships"

On a bright and mild Christmas Eve it is lovely to see the ships come sailing into harbour.

Galanthus "Three Ships"

Galanthus 'Three Ships' is a most reliable bulb. Christmas arrives and it's nice to have those little rituals: panicking over last minute shopping, gifts, tidiness, visitors, waistline. Then the eyes sweep the garden noting the lawn edges ruined by encroaching summer plants, the mud, the dead twigs. We note the shoots promising so much but not at the moment...... to alight on flowers at their very height. In tune with the season. 'Three Ships' is a must have for every garden. It was discovered in Suffolk's Henham Park way back in 1984 by John Morley, he of North Green Snowdrops fame, who brought us 'Comet', 'Trump', 'Remember Remember' and 'Mother Goose' - a snowdrop that is encouragingly clumping out in the garden for February flowering.

I have many new varieties this season. However the older ones are hard to beat. Happy Christmas.

Clematis cirrhosa var. purpurascens 'Freckles' from underneath!

Photographs tell lies. Have a look at this beauty photographed on the one quiet point in a dreadfully windy and wet day.

Clematis cirrhosa var. purpurascens 'Freckles' looks a million dollars at any time of year but in December and January it's priceless particularly as it has been festooned in delicate clusters of flowers for weeks, with the occasional one showing all through the year. However before you run off to purchase one, and let me say that it would be a good buy, make sure you have a position from where you can look up to admire the flowers. I had to gaze upwards with the camera to take this shot.

I have another winter flowering clematis with a flawed beauty to consider in a few weeks when all the buds burst into flower.

Northern Spain and Wild Flowers, 6th June 2019

Our early summer trip to Northern Spain was enjoyable. A long way from the beaches or the sophisticated cities, the cable car from the foot of Fuente De to the top of the Picos Massif was spectacular, if icy cold at the summit. But it was the wildly beautiful wild flowers that so impressed. When we returned from the top one of the 'gardeners' had scythed through flowers just like these by the cable platform. We were lucky to get down. The wind had struck up and the cable cars were terminated as high winds settled for the week. You can hear the wind in this short clip.

Galanthus 'Remember Remember'

First post of the season and it's the first showing of the year albeit in December rather than the preferred November. 'Remember Remember' has clumped out dramatically since last year but only two of the shoots are in flower. The snowdrops have been in bud for well over a week and this morning the temperature rose to 14°C and, hey presto, the flowers opened out. I've been experimenting with cameras. This was taken with my smart phone, a Samsung S9+ with a little darkening of the background to highlight the white flowers. Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'll take the same shot with a rather more specialist camera and expensive lens to see if it's worth it or has Samsung rendered my equipment redundant.

Plants to savour at Felley Priory

Felley Priory in North Nottinghamshire is just off the M1 motorway and we pass there at least every fortnight. It has a lovely cafe and garden centre, plus the most amazing gardens packed out with plants in immaculate condition and presided over by gardeners who know their stuff. I always end up buying something. Not the following however, plants for my wish list, and yours perhaps.

The Japanese flowering apricot, Prunus mume 'Beni-chidori' is first, a stunning sight this early, still in winter. Its deep pink blossom stands out like a beacon among the muted colours.

Prunus mume 'Beni-chidori'

Hamamelis x intermedia 'Spanish Spider' was only a young specimen and a comparatively unknown variety. I'm not sure about the similarity to Iberian spiders but I do feel even those suffering from arachnophobia would like this particular arthropod.