Talkback: Keeping up with the weather
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Thanks for your comments - and interesting too, I think we could do with a top-50 good performers despite the grotty weather list! Yes, I've also found that some of the Argyranthemums do suprisingly well, and Vanilla Osteospermum. Just wish all the veg were as happy!
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The recent change from Monty Don to Toby for health reasons meant, as an 'Older' viewer, I cast my eye back to GW presenters of the past. Geoffrey Smith was one of my favourites and I understand that he sadly died recently.
I ESPECIALLY enjoyed his 'World of Flowers Series', which, for me, Bridged the Gap between Gardening & Botany. [& Botanical History]
Could the BBC consider a 'Re-Run' & perhaps make this series available in DVD format [To Buy]
One of the Best Gardening series.
More practical for the garden are two others which are certainly hardy here and always overwinter. Neither are named, but one came from a neighbour (white with a mauve rim to the centre) and another from a cutting taken from a stand growing wild by the seashore of a West Cornwall fishing cove (pale mauve/violet with a dark mauve centre). Both spread to good size patches and have been in full bloom now for six weeks or more. They will go on to autumn.
Also good doers with me are a couple of Argyranthemums, with ten extra marks for not closing their flowers in the evening! These are a single pink and a simple single white, both with glaucous foliage. Not reliably hardy here and needing overwintering as cuttings, but when they do overwinter, boy, do they make spectacular plants next year! So I always leave some in to see! This year they were ‘somthing else’!
Then, while on the tender perennial daisies, what about dahlias? The commercially available Bishop’s Children seed earned top marks last year. However several years ago I grew on seed from a Bishop of Llandaff pod and now have two very nice singles, a very free flowering orange red and a Bishop like crimson but with a yellow centre. Both are in full flower just now and along with the Bishop himself are making a very bright show.
…marigolds and other successes this year so far? Ah! but this was just supposed to be a comment!
This year osteospermums have been something I’ve found especially hard to resist – who wouldn’t, with those large, silken petal daisy flowers? I saw a wonderful variety recently – it was a sort of terracotta colour with cream. It wasn’t one I’d seen before and I’d really set my heart on it. I couldn’t find it at the local garden centre, but fortunately the weekly market came up trumps (and at a fraction of the price).
I duly planted up several colours in several containers – some of them with unusual planting companions (kids do have some very firm ideas about what they want to do!). They’ve been on display on the front steps, and dotted around the garden for several weeks now and were looked great when basking in the hot, bright sun. But the recent rains had started me wondering whether I should’ve planted moisture-lovers instead. But although I expected those osteospermums to flop and develop grey mould, they’ve continued to look great, admittedly with a bit of extra deadheading needed. The added bonus is that slugs are totally disinterested in them, and even the local rabbit population (which is totally out of hand, and only safe because I’m a veggie!) has shunned them…
Post a comment/10 Comments/PermalinkCommentsPosted by Brian Bliss at 11:34 pm on Monday 16 July 2007 Link to comment Report comment Funny about the weather isn’t it? Not at all osteospermum weather here in East Cornwall. I bought a named collection this spring and all are so slow in growth and yet to flower. But I have grown ‘Silver Sparkler’ now for some years, keeping it going from cuttings and greenhouse over wintering. It does much better in pots rather than in the garden but I can’t resist its pristine white flowers with their blue centres plus the green and creamy white variegated leaves.
More practical for the garden are two others which are certainly hardy here and always overwinter. Neither are named, but one came from a neighbour (white with a mauve rim to the centre) and another from a cutting taken from a stand growing wild by the seashore of a West Cornwall fishing cove (pale mauve/violet with a dark mauve centre). Both spread to good size patches and have been in full bloom now for six weeks or more. They will go on to autumn.
Also good doers with me are a couple of Argyranthemums, with ten extra marks for not closing their flowers in the evening! These are a single pink and a simple single white, both with glaucous foliage. Not reliably hardy here and needing overwintering as cuttings, but when they do overwinter, boy, do they make spectacular plants next year! So I always leave some in to see! This year they were ‘somthing else’!
Then, while on the tender perennial daisies, what about dahlias? The commercially available Bishop’s Children seed earned top marks last year. However several years ago I grew on seed from a Bishop of Llandaff pod and now have two very nice singles, a very free flowering orange red and a Bishop like crimson but with a yellow centre. Both are in full flower just now and along with the Bishop himself are making a very bright show.
…marigolds and other successes this year so far? Ah! but this was just supposed to be a comment!
Posted by Pippa Greenwood at 12:07 pm on Wednesday 25 July 2007 Link to comment Report comment Thanks for your comments – and interesting too, I think we could do with a top-50 good performers despite the grotty weather list! Yes, I’ve also found that some of the Argyranthemums do suprisingly well, and Vanilla Osteospermum. Just wish all the veg were as happy!
Posted by Debbie Smitj at 7:11 pm on Wednesday 22 August 2007 Link to co