Mark's Inspiring Plants

Cyclamen persicum - a beautiful weed

2012-01-29T15:19:00.000Z

As defined a weed is a plant that grows where you don't want it to. In that case my greenhouse is full of weeds!

Several Cyclamen species have a habit of seeding into the sand plunge, or seed pots or pots of other Cyclamen species.

Cyclamen persifum is one of them - I usually leave them out of laziness and because quite often they outlive a pot's original occupants.

Also with Cyclamen you do get some variation from the parents - this one has a lovely pure pink shading - a bit different from other plants I have.

As an added bonus many of these self sown seedlings are quite vigorous having undergone some natural selection to my greenhouse environment and routines.

Almost spring

2012-01-22T19:17:00.000Z

It's a polyanthus rather than a true primrose, but it's close.

New Year's Plants

2012-01-15T23:13:00.000Z

Some pictures of flowers ushering the very early "Spring". Primula allionii Elizabeth Burrow, Narcissus romieuxii rifanus (it may or may not be, I grew it from seed), Viala reniforme (possibly better known as V. hederacea and an early Cyclamen persicum.

Ipheion "Rolf Fielder"

2011-12-31T16:55:00.000Z

Ipheion "Rolf Fielder" is a bit of a mystery. Allegedly given to someone by Rolf at an International Plant conference the species has not been as far as I am aware, identified yet. It was under I. uniflorum but it's believed to be another species.

I've had it for several years now - this is just a seedling that escaped - I must get the main plant up into the light to flower.

It's related to the onions - the leaves and bulbs smell quite strongly.

Cyclamen colchicum

2011-12-20T18:59:00.000Z

While I took this picture in October, right now this plant doesn't look too much different. I think I first came accross a mention of this plant in an article by Otto Schartz about the Alpine House at Jena in the AGS bulletin in 1974 - I can't remember what name it was under at the time. Since then it got moved under C. purpurascens and is now back as a species in it's own right.

I have a number of plants, one I bought as a tuber and some others I grew from seed - they are virtually identical but then I think they possibly came from the same original source.

The 1974 article described the single tuber in the Alpine House as being very slow growing and self sterile, grown in complete shade. I think there may have been a comment about it also being the slowest to flower from seed.

I think I got mine to flower from seed in about 18 months which made it one of the fastest to flower - I also got it to set seed from a single plant. I find it quite likes sun (as does C. purpurascens - sometimes).

Bearing in mind it can be rash to talk about a plant based on a single specimen, or single clone or even several collections, the plants I have apart from having the characteristic horny toothed leaf margins comes over as a more succulent, chunky version of C. purpurascens - uncannily paralleling the relationship between C. mirabile and C. cilicium and to a lesser extent C. africanum and C. hederifolium.

If anything it seems in the alpine house at least easier and more consitent than C. purpurascens - it also tends to flower later and with a more concentrated display. In my plants the fragrence is like that of it's relative - but much weaker.

Red Admiral on Buddleia x weyeriana (Yellow Buddleia)

2011-11-27T18:51:00.004Z

Red Admiral butterfly photographed today on our yellow Buddleia, presumably B. x weyeriana. It came with a lable "Dark Knight" or something similar - but I bought it in flower so I knew it was yellow.

Rosemary

2011-11-20T16:23:00.001Z

Something simple. The rosemary by the garden gate on a misty November late afternoon.

Cyclamen africanum

2011-10-03T03:32:00.001+01:00

Just one pic today after a long period of quiet. This is my Cyclamen africanum - one of the few Cyclamen I have that I didn't grow from seed - this one I bought from Tilebarn nursery in 1990.
Despite having it all that time today was the first time I've been able to detect a fragrance - but then it's not usually 80F in October in the UK.

Cyclamen hederifolium ssp crassifolium

2010-11-16T17:22:00.000Z

A not very good picture of Cyclamen hederifolium ssp crassifolium a "new" subspecies that originally came to me as C. hederifolium ssp confusum (now C. confusum). From memory there has been for some time talk that the C. hederifolium of Crete and southern Greece were different and in some ways were more similar to C.africanum. It now seems those populations are split into C. hederifolium hederifolium, ssp crassifolium and C.confusum.

I got this as seed in 1991 from the Cyclamen Society labelled confusum Fotio, Peloponnese. The flowers don't look much different (I must see if they are scented) but the leaves seem a little different from the "usual" hederifolium.

Cyclamen cyprium, Cyclamen africanum, Cyclamen intaminatum (Tale of Three Sisters)

2010-10-31T12:34:00.000Z

Sometimes it seems to me that the genus Cyclamen is like a large, extraordinarily gifted family. In such family any child that is attractive and intelligent will, tragically, always be compared with it’s more extravagant siblings and found wanting. Of course, if it was born into any other family it would have praise and attention heaped upon it. As an avid reader of books on Cyclamen, articles and general bulb or alpine books, I have noted that some “children” seem to have suffered through; unfair comparisons, outright criticism, damning by faint praise or simple lack of attention.

This piece speaks out for them and tries to redress the balance. To start with my judicial researches looked at the autumnal species.

Cyclamen cyprium seems to have had mixed reviews, many general books left it out possibly because of it’s hardiness. Roy Elliott in a chapter on Alpine Houses said “…next comes Cyclamen cyprium, not the loveliest of the race, and difficult to flower – but which carries us over until…(name withheld)” Ouch! I can imagine cyprium hiding in its bedroom for weeks after that. Chris Grey-Wilson however offers some encouragement in “Cyclamen, a guide for gardeners, horticulturists and botanists” (an absolute must for all members of this society I would think) by telling us it “is a splendid plant when well grown”. But then he points out it is one of the least hardy species and that he doesn’t find it that easy to grow. Oddly on the hardiness front, when I started re growing cyclamen about ten years ago, I lost many species in an unheated greenhouse during a particularly frosty period but Cyclamen cyprium E.S form came through untouched. I find that it is one of the species that sometimes takes a year off. That is it fails to come into growth for an entire year and then reappears the next year with a sort of sleepy air as if to say “did I miss anything?” . Strangely it seems when this happens, that sometimes all of my plants of a particular species take the year off, even though they came from different sources, are of differing ages and in different locations in the greenhouse. Last year was cyprium’s turn, but this year they are all back. I do find that it does not flower quite as freely as I would like but even so they seem to make quite a good show, with unmistakable white flowers (sometimes a pale pink) and a series of magenta markings at the auricles. It is very sweetly scented and I find it has a pleasing habit, some flowers open before the leaves but at it’s peak it usually presents itself well, with a mound of leaves and a central bunching of flowers. As to the leaves these vary, a single sowing gave me plants with plain olive leaves bar two lighter spots at the leaf apex to one with leaves a mixture mainly a sage green with darker markings. There is also E.S form, which stands for Elizabeth Strangman, which has leaves spotted and splashed with white, which is quite fun.

Cyclamen africanum has an unhappy fate, sometimes unaccountably it is the only plant not illustrated in a book or sometimes it is just plain ignored. Something a bit like an old style communist leader that gets quietly erased when they fall out of favour. Paranoia aside it seems to get much less column inches than perhaps it deserves. It gets more of a write up in reports of the Cyclamen Society’s shows though. I think part of the problem is that it seems so close to hederifolium, but hederifolium is so much more versatile and generally more flamboyant. Africanum’s twin is hardy, more variable and comes in several named forms (I have plants of Cyclamen africanum album, but wonder what they will turn out to be). The other problem is that there is confusion over what is and what isn’t africanum with allegations that many of the plants in cultivation are in fact hybrids with hederifolium. My own plant of “africanum” does appear as a slightly bigger version of hederifolium but the petals are a little floppy, which detracts from its appearance. I do however have seedlings of the “genuine” plant from original seed collections in Algeria. One flowered this year and paradoxically appeared as a smaller, stiffer version of hederifolium. Very prim and proper with very broad mid green glossy leaves with four medium pink flowers, of a uniform size and height, it has considerable appeal. Most of my other plants from this sowing have similar leaves, while plants from JCA855 are equally distinct with greyish green arrow leaves, satisfactorily succulent with a horny tooth edge. A recent visit to Wisley revealed plants with mainly pale pink blooms on tall stems with one plant approximating to the miniature that I had flowered this year. Among the plants in the “For sale” frames I found a plant with a single deep rose pink flower unaccompanied by leaf (too late, it’s gone now!)

An objective description of the “typical” Cyclamen intaminatum would hardly thrill. It would read something like, “small, dark plain leaves, with unscented, small off white flowers with grey veining”. Even so as it matures you can end up with a dainty potful and a sowing from a single seedpod, planted in a shady trough has allowed it to show off a certain pixie charm outside. I have a few plants with patterned leaves but these seem much weaker which is a shame, just giving a few leaves and flowers after several years. Losses of this form seem to be quite high while the plain leaved form seems reasonably tough. I do have one unusual plant which I think appeared in the plunge material of my greenhouse. It seems to be a pale pink intaminatum, pale pink petals shading to a white nose with grey veining and patterned leaves rather large for intaminatum. It’s vigour, coupled with it’s appearance in the plunge material when I don’t think any of the patterned intaminatums had set seed makes me wonder if it is a hybrid. It could be a cross between the two forms of intaminatum, or intaminatum x cilicium or intaminatum x mirabile. I was shown an almost identical plant by a local plantswoman so I wonder if other members have similar plants?

I hope this has done a little to even the scales of horticultural fairness and that now my own plants of C.africanum, cyprium and intaminatum will show their gratitude by increasing and flowering with an as yet unheard of exuberance.

Mark Griffiths, November 1999 (Originally published in the Alpine Garden Society journal)

Phalaenopsis Culture

2010-10-15T10:12:00.000+01:00

In this post I'll attempt to tell you how I grow and flower Phaleanopsis in the home.

First a bit of background to explain why the treatment of these plants is somewhat different from “normal” house plants.

In nature phaleanopsis are generally epiphytes, hanging upside down with roots like sphagetti over the surface of branches, in moss or leaf litter. The plants have adapted to having a compost with a lot more air in it than normal ground plants, with a very low level of mineral salts.

In cultivation Phaleanopsis require a very open compost, either based on bark, but it can be stones or even foam chunks. The main function of the compost is to give the plant something to hang onto.

Phaleanopsis need fresh air in the compost. The way you achieve that is by pouring water through the compost, this forces stale air out – and as the water drains out it sucks new air in. So you can pour a pint or two through when you water them. If you pour the water in like that, it should pour out almost immediately come back out again. Don’t allow plants to stand in water.

The pot must have drainage holes, and the compost very free draining, if you use normal plant pots you might want to add extra holes in the side of the pot.

Because tap water will tend to have salts, chlorine etc it is better to use rainwater if you can. If you have to use tap water, filtered and then allowed to stand for 24hrs (to lose the chlorine). The water should be tepid, not cold.

Water once a week.

Use orchid feed, if you can get the flower fertilizer and growth fertilizer all the better. I feed for 3 weeks in the month and give them a week off – this is used to flush out any salts building up from the fertilizer.

Phaleanopsis like a bright position, but no direct sun. Some will be ok in quite dark situations but they may not flower as much.

Make sure they are not in drafts, avoid places where it gets cold at night – so although a north facing window might be ideal, bear in mind close to windows can get cold (especially if you close curtains).

Avoid fruit . Yes really, it causes the flower buds to drop, because of the ethylene. Gas Fires are not good either. Putting them over a radiator is likely to dry them out.

They like warm and fairly humid. Planters with damp stones can help with the humidity – but don’t let them stand in water. Don’t get water on the leaves (especially in the centre) – if you due use a kitchen towel to just suck up the drops.

If it stops flowering but the stalk remains green, I leave it. If it goes brown at the end just cut it back to the little leaf/bud on the stem. The reason is they often then flower again from old stalks.

Pictures from the top: Phal Cordova, Phal mariae, Phal Brother Princess.

Trough a year on.

2010-05-30T21:43:00.003+01:00

Last year after several years with various "normal alpines" that either failed because it was too shady or eaten by slugs (it's real stone and attached to a stone wall so it can't be re-sited) I replanted the trough with various gesneriads.

Oddly the Haberleas did not flower, one is looking poorly and the Ramonda myconi has yet to do anything but the R. nathaliae were magnificent!

Iris Katherine Hodgkin & Primula allionii Malcolm

2010-03-14T12:28:00.003Z

Iris Katherine Hodgkin, some people love it, others hate it. I like it. I bought it in bud and will try it outside. I inherited a number of reticulate irises when I came to this garden and they seem to do very well, so hopefully this will follow suit.

The second flower is Primula allionii "Malcolm" which I've had for years now.

Cyclamen alpinum

2010-01-30T16:17:00.001Z

Bit quiet on the plant front at the moment as the "winter" season is only just getting started. I have a few Cyclamen coum out, mainly in the garden (frozen solid today) and this one Cyclamen alpinum out in the greenhouse.

Winter Freeze

2010-01-10T15:41:00.001Z

Well blogger seems to now have a mind of it's own about where it places text and images, no doubt as a result of some "improvement to the system". I have been intending to start putting up pictures every week but the cold weather here has meant that everything has gone into a state of suspended animation and for the last week we have had snow which is pretty but not particularly illuminationg (" the plants are under there somewhere") so I'm posting some pictures from the week before where we had a cold snap so that you can see the build up of ice crystals on fennel, then on the spent anemone japonica stalks and finally I think on a euphorbia. Enjoy and keep warm!

Looking a little closer

2009-12-13T15:13:00.000Z

One thing about winter is that it is a simpler time in the garden and the moments between the rain when I go out, I can really appreciate the little things. Top left, a Euphorbia after the rain, right the lime green flower buds of Helleborus feotidus, moss on the apple tree and finally a pink pulmonaria.

Solanum laxum alba

2009-12-08T22:12:00.000Z

My late flowering Solanum laxum alba, a potato vine. Not too many flowers this year, it's in too shady a spot I think and I've not been pruning it. I'll try and remember next year.

2009-11-29T17:35:00.000Z

The Fuschia by the kitchen door is getting BIG. And this after cutting it back and after some fairly major branches had got broken by the builders. Some of the branches now require a hacksaw to cut.

The flowers start in summer and it just gets better and better until the severe frosts. I've taken a cutting as insurance because I think one year it's not going to come back.

Schizostylis coccinea

2009-11-22T17:21:00.000Z

It's almost over now but this is Schizostylis coccinea of some kind. It flowers mainly in the autumn here and the flowers contrast well with the soft green leaves. I saw something in the local paper that this needs moisture, sort of the opposite to what I thought for a just hard bulb from South Africa. Mind you, the rhodohypoxis need moisture too. I also have a soft pink form, I think it is called "Pink Pearl".

Buddleia

2009-11-15T12:26:00.003Z

It was t-shirt weather in the garden today. A bit bedraggled after a storm this is my yellow buddleia, probably B. x weyeriana. I asked at the local garden retail outlet (rather than a nursery) what it was and the person looked at the label and declared it to be "Black Knight" somehow missing that the picture on the label was of dark purple flowers while the plant actually had orange/yellow flowers. Ah well.

I've been cutting back a normal Buddleia until the wheezing set in. I always find when cutting it back something catches on the back of my throat and I have to stop. I know I shouldn't cut it back hard now but really I don't mind if I lose it. I have about fifty seedlings on tufa in the troughs and I could always buy a new one. Might have to buy it in flower though.

Geocities Disaster

2009-10-29T12:07:00.003Z

As I thought it might, the closing down of Geocities has messed up the 90% of Inspiring Plants built before I went across to paying for my hosting. I guess I was just naive in thinking that Yahoo would do something intelligent. As the pages were mainly built with Yahoo's simple online Pagebuilder, there is no back up offline. The new material was built with Frontpage which I find a lot slower and more fiddly working with an image rich site, that being the main reason why very little has been added in the past few years. Maybe I will switch over to largely publishing via this blog. Time will tell.

In the meantime, a picture of my Cyclamen colchicum which is having a good year. Not exactly the most elegant or best coloured flower but it is very sweetly scented, filling the greenhouse with it's perfume. I remember reading about this for the first time in the 70s when the plant was virtually unknown in the west where it was stated it took the longest time to come into flower from seed and was self sterile. I flowered plants within about a year and they do set limited seed. So much for recieved wisdom.

First Pleiones of the year

2009-03-30T18:01:00.004+01:00

First two pleiones of the year, Pleione "krakatoa" (top) and Pleione Shantung "Gwen".

Yellow Muscari, Muscari macrocarpum

2009-03-24T17:49:00.005Z

I only grow one Muscari at the moment and that is macrocarpum. I have the "normal" form which has yet to flower and a number of years back I bought "Golden Fragrance" which seems to have greener leaves but has done very well for me.

Meanwhile, in the garden...

2009-03-21T16:51:00.004Z

First, the "art shot" Helloborus foetidus, then just a few primulas that lurk in one of the darkest corners, following that a pink lungwort (Pulmonaria) and finally something new, Chinodoxa Pink Giant..at about 5 inches tall (and not very pink either) but rather lovely.

"Chilean Blue Crocus" Tecophilaea

2009-03-15T14:19:00.003Z

Top: Tecophilaea cyanocrocus var leichtlinii and the type plant, Tecophilaea cyanocrocus below.

Three Frits

2009-03-13T15:15:00.004Z

Top: Frit. kotschyana, I find this one a little overblown? Something not very subtle about it.

Middle: Frit aurea, one of the few yellows with this round flower shape.

Bottom: Frit davisii, I gerw this from seed. I waited 13 years for the flowers which even for Frits is a very long time. In yet it's supposed to be easy and quick. Frits are always full of suprises.

A few Primula allionii

2009-03-08T15:59:00.003Z

In order from the top; P.allionii "Marion", P. allionii "Lacewing", P.allionii "Flute", P. allionii "Eureka" and P.allionii "Anne"

Narcissistic? Moi?

2009-03-07T16:11:00.005Z

Top, Narcissus watieri grown from seed.

Middle, Narcissus romieuxii rifanus(?) also from seed.

Bottom Narcissus marvieri.

InspiringPlants is back

2009-03-06T17:56:00.002Z

Fritillaria pluriflora. I got this many years ago by mistake for the (marginally) more common F.liliacea. Past few years I have let it set seed and distributed it. I sowed some last year and it has come up like grass.

Roses and more roses

2007-06-30T14:12:00.000+01:00

Lots are out at the moment. The rain has meant that they are growing strongly and the new ones are establishing well. The downside is that some of the more flouncy flowers are prone to rot. This one doesn't care and is a bit of a thug but it's beautiful now and in the autumn with small hips and is a magnet for the hibernating ladybird population.

Helichrysum fridgidum

2007-06-16T16:55:00.002+01:00

One of my favourite foliage plants for the alpine house, Helichrysum fridgidum from Corsica. It tends to get a bit brown at the base and needs to be cut back to keep it neat and silver. It sometimes gets attacked by greenfly that kill it by covering it with honey dew that goes moldy, but it's easy to keep going from cuttings. It also roots branches if they lean out into the plunge sand.

Gift

2007-05-12T15:16:00.000+01:00

Some rooted cuttings of Pelegonium "Morweena" from my father. What a fantastic colour and texture. Thanks Dad!

Caterpillar surprise

2007-05-03T17:38:00.000+01:00

I went out a little while ago to tidy up some nettles in front of the garden wall before the butterflies got to them (I have some other little corners where last year I had Red Admiral and Comma caterpillars that I'm allowing to grow this year) but too late! I saw this and first I thought it was a Small Tortoiseshell but then I realised..it looks more like a Scarlet Tiger moth. The irony is that for two years running I've been out at nature reserves to find this but with no luck. I've seen it a couple of times in Newbury town centre and Oxford, but never in a non urban setting. It seems an odd place to be, I thought they liked damp places and here we on on dry hills.

Enjoy it while you can

2007-04-28T15:28:00.000+01:00

I understand Bluebell woods are a bit of an English speciality. Where the canopy is not too dense woods primary in the south are wreathed in a blue ground mist at this time of year and the air is filled with a subtle scent of hyacynths. Individually the plants don't look that great, but they grow in their thousands in some places, flowering now before the broadleaf forest cuts out the light and steals all the water. This particular patch is in an arboretum, there are others in local nature reserves. After surviving development or the neglest of woodland (leading to over density of trees) the threat is now from global warming and hybridisation with the more garden worthy spanish bluebell that has escaped from gardens, so enjoy them while you can!

A trough in Spring

2007-04-21T17:26:00.000+01:00

The troughs have not really been a success. Everything in the new Zealand trough and the biggest one has lost a number of plants though some very unexpected ones, e.g Asperula daphneola and a Sarcocapnos survived for several years. generally it is too shady, but as it's attached to a wall that's not an easy thing to put right. It's a bit shallow too..if it sounds like a disaster it's worth pointing out it is a genuine stone item, not a sink but something else and it's old!

Well, it's been incredibly dry here. The water butt ran out over two weeks ago and yesterday I noticed the trough was really dry, it's quickly recovered and you can see Gentiana verna, a small Androsace sempervoides (I love the way the eye of the flowers go from yellow to red on many of the Androsace's) and one of my favourite willows, Salix reticulata.

Joy of Pears - part2

2007-04-14T18:24:00.000+01:00

Apart from eating the fruit and making artwork out of the multicoloured autumn leaves, I also love the blossom and the new pear leaves. Overall unlike apples and cherry, that look great now it seems to keep a smart appearance when the leaves mature too. So let's hear it for pears!

A variety of Fritillaria...

2007-04-01T16:52:00.001+01:00

Just a few to show they don't all look alike. From the top, F.davisii (from seed), F.conica (yellow), F.recurva the red Frit (from seed), then F. amana and finally F. erhartii (again from seed).

The most obvious plants for the last month...

2007-03-17T16:01:00.000Z

All in the greenhouse, as I'm a bit behind with posting i thought I would do these as a job lot. First up, Tecophilaea in it's pale form, Cyclamen libanoticum (representing the various Cylamen out at the moment, the tail end of C.coum, P.persicum, C. pseudo-ibericum and the repandum group). The Muscari macrocarpum Golden Fragrance rising above the Tecophilaeas. Although this may not be as visually imposing it has been filling the greenhouse with it's spicy scent for a month now. Finally, one of the Primula allionii forms. This one is Crystal, opens pure white and fades to mid pink.

A snowy scene

2007-02-09T18:42:00.000Z

We don't often get snow here so I took the opportunity to get out and take some pics..this is one of the Quinces, Pink Lady possibly..it flowers throughout the winter and seems indestructable.

Saxifrage starting it's engine

2007-02-02T21:04:00.002Z

Despite half of the cushion disappearing in summer (slugs? birds? alien abduction?) this particular one has come back and should do something interesting soon. I moved the trough (it's a light weight one) to just outside the back door so it can be admired even from inside.

back to the world of the sensible...

2007-01-13T12:15:00.000Z

Something is flowering at it's proper time. This is Cyclamen coum forma albumissum (I think that's right). That is the pure white Coum, no plum purple blotch (pallidum). The "nose" on this one is a sort of grey/transparent shade. What you can't see is a set of dark magenta buds, these were raised from Cyclamen Society seed and inevitably they don't all breed true. But there seem to be at least two white plants in the pot. I'm still trying to get back one of the other white Coums, "Golan Heights" which is different in having plain green leaves and from memory was an even better flower. I have young seedlings and I think that strain does breed true, so fingers crossed!

What's pink, shrubby and flowers in mid Winter?

2007-01-13T12:10:00.000Z

..apparently it's a floribunda rose. Not stopped flowering since Summer. In theory, without frosts I guess it could go through the whole year. No leaves mind you, so it's going to be a bit tired by spring.

Something exotic

2006-11-18T12:16:00.000Z

In suitably warm autumnal colours, LC. Blazing Saddles adds an exotic touch to my study.

Joy of Pears....

2006-10-28T21:04:00.000+01:00

One of the great things about the garden is the three cordon pears next to the greenhouse. They have a pleasing dark bark in the winter, white blossom and attractive leaves. And we have the pears! Unlike the apples where the big tree gives us lots of rather tasteless fruit and the cordons give us one or two apples if we are lucky, the pears do really well. I'm starting to pick them now and after a day or two indoors they are ready for eating and are truly wonderful! Something else I found you can make out of pears...is the second picture of a leaf turning colour..put it through some digital transformations and you have a very pretty picture.

Quick, cheap and easy..and ORANGE

2006-10-27T21:32:00.000+01:00

It's suddenly become very grey in England and so these almost virulent orange blooms are most welcome. I mistakenly thought these liked dry stoney places and they didn't make much of a show until the rains came. When we have frosts they will turn overnight into a mush but the seeds are cheap so I'll get some more for next year. They make great plants for bare patches and when you decide exactly what you want in a space it's not so much of a heartache to pull them up. The white butterflies like them too!

10 years on..flowers at last!

2006-10-06T20:01:00.000+01:00

At last I have reflowered Cyclamen rohlfsianum! I have had flowering sized plants, some even bought it flower, but never managed to coax a flower from it myself. Last year I increased the minimum temperature in the greenhouse to 5C. But probably the main thing was to give more water during the summer rest and when starting to grow. For two years previously I had buds but they aborted, I assumed because I had over watered. Now it seems I had underwatered. maybe a little too much water this time as the flowers are obscured by the leaves. Still, I have three plants in flower right now. The next challenge is to get seedlings into flower, I read that if you have one in a pot they sulk, however until a few years back I only ever got one to germinate at any one sowing.

Michaelmas Daisy

2006-10-06T19:53:00.000+01:00

The traditional Michaelmas daisy photographed in the late afternoon sun. I love these plants and luckily here they seem to be free of mildrew, it's just to windy for the fungus perhaps.

Cattleya

2006-09-21T12:08:00.001+01:00

I think this is LC "Tropical Pointer", I picked it out a number of years ago and I really like this one. Since moving two years ago the orchids have really suffered. I have lost most of the Oncid types, some of the Phals but most of the Cattleya types have kept going.
These don't flower very regularly and the flowers last 3-4 weeks so when they do come out it is more an an event!

Daisy Autumn

2006-09-21T12:00:00.000+01:00

Summer is coming to an end and the various daisies are coming to the fore. This one has been out since August, it will continue until October. The other dominant daisy is the Michaelmas Daisy, there are several in the garden and travelling on trains now you can see drifts of them flowering by the track side.

Something else blue

2006-09-01T15:12:00.000+01:00

Something from my local travels, an Adonis Blue pictured on a cloudy day at Lardon Chase about 30mins drive from here. I'm hoping one day to put up a webpage on butterflies but progress is slow..they move more than my plants do! Anyway back to the Adonis Blue, these are somewhat rare, confined to hot Chalk downland, they are probably at their northern limit in the UK around here. In the garden, for the UK, the most common blue butterfly is the Holly Blue, a sort of powder blue with a dark edge and silvery underwings, feeding on Holly berries in the springtime and with a second brood lays eggs on Ivy berries. If you are interested in such things I recommend joining Butterfly Conservation who help conserve butterflies and moths and their habitats http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/index.php

End of Summer?

2006-08-31T20:12:00.000+01:00

Maybe..it's certainly cloudy and cooler. It's also rained more so many plants are now reblooming. left is our big white hibiscus, it doesn't start flowering until quite late, but it's worth the wait!

Another blue thing...

2006-08-01T20:52:00.000+01:00

This time a Campanula, Campanula Bumblebee. I originally bought it for a trough but when I saw that half of it disappeared within two days of planting it out, I hastily moved it to the Alpine House. It's nothing like as vigorous as I expected and I could almost pass it off as Campanula piperi....

Trachelium asperuloides

2006-07-15T16:26:00.000+01:00

Hope I got the name right, this plant had an even longer name a few years back. A great favourite of Roy Elliott I first got this in the mid 70s. When I restarted my collection in the 90s it was one of the first plants I got. A cushion (actually it is a campanula relative which runs slightly so if the main cushion goes it can sometimes be recovered, I even divided an 8 inch pan after ants built their nest in the middle of a plant) which in July is covered for 2-3 weeks with flowers, it's moment of glory.

Silene hookeri

2006-07-15T16:19:00.000+01:00

A bit of a hooray moment, this is Silene hookeri. There are many imposters going around, especially in seed exchanges, but this is the true plant. Sowed this year I had about 6 plants in flower, all slightly different, this one is the darkest. Hopefully I will have some seed to keep these going as they really are lovely, about 2 inches and sprawling less than the rather poor small flowered forms I was able to but from nurseries.

June catch up2

2006-07-15T16:15:00.000+01:00

Part of the rose thicket, this is the smaller flowered rose, just fantstic June to early July!

June catchup

2006-07-15T16:07:00.000+01:00

Alstroemeria hookeri...probably. I got this from wild collected seed and while it's similar to the normal hookeri (about 6-8inches tall) the ground colour isn't pale salmon and green, this one is a sort of faded red velvet colour. After moving from the last greenhouse I thought I had lost all of these..they have a habit of escaping from the pot, the fleshy tuber like roots come out through the pot holes and into the sand, when you lift the pot the roots sever and the bits in the sand don't have growth points. I seem to have lost a yellow one (so that wasn't hookeri) but the "normal" hookeri and several of this one have survived. I'm tryin them under unshaded glass to keep them more compact and they do look better this year.

May 2

2006-07-15T16:03:00.000+01:00

Same family and just as beautiful as the Anchusa, the forget-me-not. What a colour!

May 1 (Long time, no post)

2006-07-15T15:49:00.000+01:00

Time pressure has meant I've got a bit behind on both the web page and the blog. But the pictures have been taken so I'm going to catch up on the blog. The plant left is Anchusa caespitosa, something that set the alpine world afire (well just a bit) back in the 60s. Then it became common and now it seems difficult to get again. Problem is that it grows very fast out of character under glass unless you are careful and I don't think it would survive outdoors here. Still a small plant but still a stunner.

Primula allionii page now up

2006-04-24T17:31:00.001+01:00

Rather, the revised page is now up with the pictures from this season. All at http://markgriffiths.org/inspiringplants/alpines/primula_allionii.html

Website update - February Cottage Garden

2006-03-21T20:15:00.000Z

At last the February Cottage garden page is up! It's been a very slow spring this year, but hopefully it will get there soon (please!). Go to http://markgriffiths.org/inspiringplants/world_gardens/cottagegarden_feb.html

Reticulate Iris

2006-02-25T17:09:00.001Z

Just a taster for the Feb Cottage garden pages which hopefully be up in the next fortnight!

Primula allionii "Elizabeth Burrow"

2006-02-17T17:19:00.001Z

First of the Primula allionii to flower this year, hopefully lots more to come. I'll be updating the current Primula allionii pages with new pictures as more plants come into flower.

A small celebration of spring....

2006-02-14T16:56:00.000Z

ok, I admit it, I succumbed to the tempation of instant gardening with these cream primulas. I put these in a small planter outside the kitchen window. No doubt they have been grown under cover to be in bloom now, certainly they look pristine compared to their snail bitten brethren in the garden. Later they will go out into the top garden, hopefully before the vine weevil find them!

OOps, this didn't post previously!!!

More website updates - Cyclamen and Alpine house

2006-02-05T17:29:00.001Z

Updates! The Cyclamen cyprium page is now up at http://markgriffiths.org/inspiringplants/cyclamen/cyclamen_cyprium.html Also added an "alpine house" page at http://markgriffiths.org/inspiringplants/alpines/alpinehouse.html

The year turns....

2006-02-03T20:00:00.000Z

And the snowdrops are out to prove it! You can now see the pictures from the garden for December and January on my website at http://markgriffiths.org/inspiringplants/world_gardens/cottagegardenindex.html

The first daffodil...

2006-01-27T17:40:00.001Z

well sort of, this is Narcissus romieuxii from Morrocco out in the greenhouse. I love the dwarf species Narcissus but they are self involved they rarely have time to love me back so they just fade away. I'm trying a few again and will try and remember to feed them more, that might have been the problem before.

Winter flowers...

2006-01-22T15:49:00.000Z

Not so many out right now in this garden..I will have to start working on that! Here is a true winter flowering cherry, I'll have to look it up but whatever it is it's most welcome right now.

Something for nothing...

2006-01-15T17:27:00.000Z

Well almost nothing. In October 2004 when I was packing up to move I "rescued" a number of Cyclamen seedlings that were growing in the sand in the old greenhouse. Most were C.coum but I found some that looked different. They looked like C.persicum which was odd as these seedlings were in the plunge material on the other side to the C.persicum stock. Perhaps I had shifted some sand or maybe the ants had moved them (I had an ant infestation in that area a few years ago and ants distribute the seed in the wild being atracted to the sticky seeds). Whatever, potted up they are the first C.persicum in flower this year, out just before Christmas.
These plants were line bred to create the "florist cyclamen" which are popular house plants. I find the original more attractive. I hope to renew the web page for this species. Apart from pale pink, there are almost white with a purple blotch, all pink, all white and all carmine.

Different ways of looking at things...

2005-12-17T14:41:00.000Z

The picture here is of a very common plant, grown for it's flowers..but it's not in flower. It's a flowering currant, ribes but I took a picture of the yellowing leaves in the low December sun. Even in this month a combination of a plant and the winter light can produce something special. I've been hard pressed over the past few weeks to get pictures of flowers, we're in a gap between the autumn and the early spring. The garden needs a few winter flowering plants and I hope to get some in next year, something you can only see after living with a new garden for a while...

Windowsill Orchids

2005-11-27T15:59:00.000Z

Now that the weather has turned cold, I'm focusing on indoor tasks. To the left is Phal. equestris "Sorea Firewings" that I bought bare rooted at a plant sale from Sorea Nursery (they had come over from the States to the UK). If it looks a little odd, it is. It's a peloric form. That means an irregular shaped flower that has mutated to a form more regular. Normally I don't like that much but I love the colour and with flowers about 1 1/4 inches on a 4 inch stem it's a very neat plant. I have a small collection of orchids on various windowsills that I'm still trying to get over the shock of their move a year ago, but there are now signs that some at least are settling in. More orchids at http://markgriffiths.org/orchidindex.html

Turn of the season...

2005-11-19T17:03:00.001Z

A big change in the weather here. Gone are the (unusually) warm days and nights. There has now been a frost for several nights and some frost has lingered through the day also. The picture is of one of our "species" roses, still in flower. After several days the flowers still look good. The fuschia's look as if they have been boiled however! At last I've added the start of the cottage garden section, one year after arriving here. The new pages are at http://markgriffiths.org/inspiringplants/world_gardens/cottagegardenindex.html Enjoy! Mark

Rainy Sunday afternoon...

2005-10-23T15:21:00.001+01:00

Well only just started raining. The morning and early afternoon was wonderful, sunny and warm. I thought I had cut the grass for the last time a few weeks ago, but the warm weather has meant it needed to be done again today. Hopefully, this really is the last time. While mowing you see all those other little jobs that need doing too!

One of the best plants right now are the fuschias that seem to be peaking now and growing strongly. With luck they will flower until the frosts, then the flowers and leaves will all drop. They are particularly welcome as they are right by the kitchen door and there is another a few yards further on. They bring a lovely exotic touch..all I need now is a hummingbird to complete the picture!

Web updates

2005-10-21T21:06:00.000+01:00

I've now created a new page for Cyclamen africanum based on pictures of the flowers taken in September and leaves taken this month. The page is at http://markgriffiths.org/inspiringplants/cyclamen/cyclamen_africanum.html

I've also added a number of US nurseries for Cyclamen for those US visitors looking for suppliers, they can be found under "Links".

Cyclamen are very much to mind at the moment, the season progresses with Cyclamen cyprium out now and Cyclamen elegans and Cyclamen persicum budding up nicely. Also the seed from the Cyclamen Society http://www.cyclamen.org/indexCS.html has arrived this week so there are 30 packets of seed to soak and plant.

Website updates

2005-10-01T22:49:00.001+01:00

At last I've got some pages up using the new camera to it's full advantage. So today I've loaded two new Cyclamen pages, http://markgriffiths.org/inspiringplants/cyclamen/cyclamen_mirabile.html covers the Cyclamen mirabile a species in flower now with pink marbled leaves. Cyclamen cilicium, a closely related but easy garden plant is at http://markgriffiths.org/inspiringplants/cyclamen/cyclamen_cilicium.html
On the latter page there is also a view of the newly planted small cyclamen bed.

Sunny Sunday afternoon....

2005-09-25T15:33:00.001+01:00

Just finished tidying up in the garden, preparing for winter, never a particularly happy activity but you do get to see how much things have grown.And..are still growing. The rains means that the roses are back in bloom and the fushias are flowering again and growing rapidly. I’ve had to cut back the fushias today just so we can get out the back door and back gate. It also probably explains why they stopped growing and flowering in the summer, they were simply too dry..so a mental note to water them next summer and be ready with the hedge trimmer!

On the constructive side (although I do like to see the tidying up as constructive too) I’ve just created a cyclamen bed. There is an odd corner, about two and a half feet square. Walls on two sides, a fence on the other. The bed is raised by retaining wall on the fourth side. Previous occupants, one climbing rose and a Clematis “The president”. Also a veronica, a silene and aubrietia. The soil seems to be clay and sand. The result of the lack of light is that the “alpines” are very straggly. So they are out (into pots for possibly planting elsewhere in spring), compost added with a number of cyclamen. I’m trying a few C.purpurascens, some selected C.coum, a C.repandum ssp repandum (I have very few) and one C.graecum seedling as an experiment. Interestingly amongst the C.cilicium, there is a pure white one. These are quite common now but I’m not sure how it got there. I have a recollection of having a pot of C.cilicium album seedlings that were all pink, maybe this was from that batch? Strangely I don’t think I have any other C.cilicium album, I lost my adult plants in pots. I was thinking about this earlier, and remembered that from four dried “C.hederifolium” corms bought dry in the mid 80s I had got two C.cilicium and two C.mirabile. The C.mirabile are still with me, the C.cilicium are long gone. Perhaps they don’t like pots or simply not so long lived?

I’ve taken pictures and am about to produce new webpages for C.africanum (I’m waiting for the leaves to photograph), C.cilicium and C.mirabile. I’ll do a blog post when they are ready.

On the subject of pictures, something odd happened the other day. I decided to use google images as a way to finding interesting cyclamen sites. So I put in the names of a few species. The one image caught my eye. It was one of my pictures. It had a company’s logo stamped on it. Then I found another..then another. I’ve complained and had an abject apology. I’ve had a few people ask for images in the past, mainly journalists and we always sort something out. I probably would even allow commercial companies to use them for a small fee to help with my hosting costs. But for a company to take the images to use them for their catalogues and even stamp their logo on it is just plain….naughty.

A new venture for Inspiring Plants!

2005-09-24T17:46:00.000+01:00

Hello, this is a new element for Inspiring Plants, a hobbyist plant site from the UK. It's mainly so I can update what's new on the website, but I'll probably also use it as a kind of plant diary. Hope people will find it useful!