Spritzhenry's Outbox

Did you write it, Reg? or was it the fairies...

Oh, Reg. I want to walk round your garden!

It's beautiful but is it a Camellia or a Gardenia?

It's C.orientalis, might be a named variety called 'Bill Mckenzie'. i've got this and it's VERY vigorous! - cut down to the ground in early spring, it grew about 10 feet during the summer.

Do you know what variety it is? Can't tell from photo. When does it flower? Can you take a photo of leaves close up, that would help.

Reg - of course we do! They brighten up the dreary days and are a pleasure to look at! Keep them coming.

A warning note - Clematis armandii is vigorous and can climb to about 20 feet or more once it gets going. I don't really think it's suitable for a tub.

Welcome to Grows on You! What a beautiful border! Have you got any more photos we can see?

You'll probably have lots of baby apple trees where you didn't expect them next year!

Weather also wet, chilly and dreary down in the SW. I've been catching up with my tottering pile of gardening magazines, cutting out useful articles to file. My friend likes to take them from me then she passes them on to another friend. They swear they don't mind the missing bits! Had about 45 minutes in the garden before it rained again, rescued 4 fuchsias from the pot that blew over (and broke) in the last winds. Husband says he'll try to mend it. Looks too bad to me. :-(

Thanks both. I think I'll wrap them when frost is forecast. majeeka, I don't know if it's hand made, I'll ask my Mum, who passed it on to me this summer when she decided she couldn't cope with pots any more - well, she is 98! Yes, really. :-)

I do remove leaves from precious plants that might get eaten by slugs and snails hiding under the rotting leaves, but it's impossible to get every one off in a large garden. That's another good reason for logging where you plant things, in order to rescue them.

Was it this variety? If this succeeds, I'd like to try a different colour.

I'm a bit surprised to hear that - the owner of the Nursery is a very knowledgeable (and a well known plantswoman) and told me that in our area it would probably hold off during bad weather but would flower again during 'milder' spells.I couldn't find a reference to it in my RHS books. Just have to wait and see what happens, I suppose!

Thanks for the comment on my 'system', Holly. To go alongside my photo journal, earlier this year I bought an RHS five-year Gardeners' Logbook. I find this very useful for notes of what and when I've done certain tasks, e.g. pruning, what to look for, where to find it, plants I've seen during Garden visits, suppliers etc. As the journal says, it does away with the endless bits of paper I used to have scattered around. Just thought it worth a mention, it would make a good Christmas gift for a keen gardener!

I guess that it's a Hypoestes - common name 'Freckle Face'. It's grown for its leaves, and it's recommended that you pinch out the flowers (if you can bear to do it!) usually grown as an annual, easily grown from seeds (I did it some years ago and they all germinated)

Ah, Andrew, you are a techie! My simple system will just have to do...:-)

Next question - when do you want it to flower? If you want something for a long flowering period, try Eccremocarpus scaber. You could team it with annual Ipomoea lobata.
By the way, I agree with Andrew about the Trachelospermum. mine is againnst a warm sheltered wall, if you have chilly winds it probably won't survive.

Not many clues in my RHS book, 'conditions needed are full light, red spider mites may be a problem'. Otherwise, sorry, don't know.

Hello - what a beautiful bird! I've only ever seen one once - in Kent - we often get visits from a pair of green woodpeckers here. Yesterday a pair of Fieldfares came into the garden. I had to look them up in my book, I didn't know what they were! Like you, we are getting a lot more hungry birds on the bird table since it turned colder. Hope your plants are OK.