Tropically Inspired

After my trip to Brittany I was inspired to make more of some of my plants.

Once again I potted up this

and these,

and stuck half this plant in the ground ( the rest can live in its pot as the planted out one may fall foul of frost later in the year) to replicate the one I saw in Brittany.

And here it is, hardy to minus 5 degrees C, a plant, that until now had been a mystery to me.

It's good to get inspiration for the garden from the experts.

I'll take some piccys over the next week of their progress as this work was done about 2 months ago - I think!

Mock Trop Grasses etc

It's about time I let you have a close look at the plants that help fill the gaps in this patch of earth. If you look at a jungle/rain forest, there's always the big stuff to draw the eye, but close to the ground, covering the soil is a host of little gems. In our sometimes freezing country, it can be hard to replicate the TROPICAL LOOK, but fun to have a go. 

Here are some of the ground covering plants I've found most useful and reliable so far.

Mad bright green grass - 50p from a private house in THORNBURY. Worth every penny. Last year it was 5ins across, now it's over a foot. I'll split it over this Autumn.

A russet tufted grass, given to me by a friend. Again a fast grower.

This was a tufted variegated grass. Very slow growing, it's now almost entirely green, but with a good habit, worth keeping.

This variegated sedge cost me a fair bit from a tropical specialist in CORNWALL (name long forgotten), It has spread like Topsey. Great value for money.

2 strange horizontal 'grasses' in yellow and green, and  white and green. Creeps about. Slow growing and very effective for this sort of job.

One tufted blue grass and the almost black, very slow growing, mini sedge.

Amazingly handy plant? 

It can be left to troop, pulled out where not wanted - easy. 

A run of plants - LILLYS in a pot, HOUSE LEEKS,  BULBS, variegated CUCKOO PINT, RHUBARB.

Back Wall - Wednesday 13.4.11

The back yard needs a freshen up, and that's an understatement.

After a good scrub it looked a bit better - kinda.

Once repainted, it looks , to be honest, a bit livid. Still, it'll go all green and slimy in no time and that'll tone it down.

Mock Trop - Wednsday 6.4.11

While I was checking out my seedlings, in their propagator, under the little veranda (now doesn't that sound OH SO SMART?), I thought I'd catch a few shots of the BACK GARDEN.

I should move this little perennial  forget-me-not. It's too cottagey.

Although small, these lilies are exotic and completely hardy. Perfect combination.

Rhubarb may seem a strange, even odd choice, but it sits well in a tropical style garden, and it's food, something I'm trying to encourage through the property.

Hyacinths just about make it into this garden, but not the pink ones - too cottagey - again. White would be OK though.

Reeds, rushes and

grasses all add interest to this, sometimes, rather bare garden.

Between Frosts Wash and Brush Up - Sunday 2.1.11

The MOCK TROP is MOCKING ME.

WHAT A MESS.

A great chance to Christen our NEW SECATEURS. I'm a very lucky gardener - these are a really good gift.

Over the summer we had MINI TOMATOES growing in a couple of HANGING BASKETS. The frost came on so early and so fast, that they were left there ...... until now!

Anything like that had to go, compost and all. Ready for another lot of TOMS this coming season.

It was time to sweep down all the walls as they're dappled with cobwebs, dead spiders and leaves.

Under the VERANDA I have a couple IKEA MIRRORS. Man they get filthy, as you can see - or not - if you get my drift : )

They transform the garden

after a wash down and polish. 

The other jobs are less pleasant, but essential. All leaves swept from the patio slabs and raked off the beds. It's amazing how they weld themselves to every surface when frozen. The COPPER BEECH leaves fell after the frosts bit HARD, in huge volumes, from the huge tree in the neighbours garden and had to wait until this warmer spell before they could be dealt with.The little path through the border was given a really good sweep too, even though they're muddy, because the BADGERS keep wandering about on them with their dirty feet, a sweep helps improve things.

Finally, everything that I had left needing a trim .... I trimmed. AND I STOOD UP THE CANDLES, despite knowing that the badgers will BULLDOZE them again at their first opportunity!

Looking at the before and after snaps - I'm not sure the Mock Trop looks that much better, but it was a nice day in the garden.

Back Garden Sunday 17.10.10

This will sound like the opening lyrics to a classic style blues song:

I woke up this morning

Cold frost all around

Red line's hitting zero

Winter's just been found.

The veranda roof had iced over and

the max min thermometer had hit zero over night.

We got on with the garden. Today I would get out the roots of the  BEARS BREECHES which I left behind last year. I got a whole trug full out of a patch about a metre square! It'll be back next year, I'm sure, as some of it was over a metre down and STILL DIVING. I broke off several of these thick, deep roots. I can see I'm going to have trouble with these in the coming years. It's a great plant as long as you leave it to naturalise and simply contain it within the area YOU want it.

All the plants are now in. There are a few cosmetics to be done so that the garden will look acceptable for much of the winter; that's about 7 months.

A long time.

Photos next weekend....after I've cleaned and painted the wall and pressure washed the patio slabs.

Mock Trop Makeover Saturday 16.10.10

This year The back garden, MOCK TROP, has thrown up a few surprises, such as this banana, MUSA BASJO, which was unwrapped and snapped off by the BADGERS at the beginning of last winter. I'd swaddled the plant in HORTICULTURAL FLEECE to keep the frost away, the Badgers took the fleece for bedding. The parent plant was broken off  at the base, so I gave it up for dead. Then we had minus 14 degrees c for night after night.

It wasn't until July that this little baby appeared!

Well, today I cut off the leaves and was left with this root and stem to replant in a new, Badger free area of the MOCK TROP.

There was  also this rooty lump with the Banana. It's the original root and stem that was left behind  last winter. It looks in good nick to me, so I planted again, in the hope it might regrow - next year.

Similarly, his little, puny, CORDYLINE died off completely last winter, a victim of the unusually prolonged, mega cold spell. Imagine my surprise at finding  this offspring struggling for life! Once again I dug it up and have put it in a place of honour. With the other mature cordylines having died off, this little beauty is a real bonus.

I don't know the name of this plant. I do know that I love all 8 feet (3 metres) of it, but it's in the wrong place, the front garden, so I cut it down,

and threw it on the ground, showing the pale under leaf.

The problem I found with it, is that it's very invasive; roots every where. I dug out as many as possible, but there are probably a few bits left in. They'll have to be dug out the moment they sprout. They're planted in a pot now that I've buried  in the back garden, forming part of the MOCK TROP look. 

And here we are, Saturday evening, and the MOCK TROP back garden looks a treat

NOT!

Tomorrow should see an improvement?

More Sun Than Is Good For Me Weekend 16 - 17.5.10

Just had to grab a few shots of the first of the REAL SUMMER flowers to appear in the garden.

DARLING STARLING

One of two families of Starlings that visit our tiny, courtyard, back garden. The young from one family ( the town birds) have now fledged.

This is the only parsnip plant that germinated. I've pricked it out into a tub in the back garden. Can't wait to cook it. Hard to know which recipe to go for!

Bistort. This is a tall one. Very useful for flower arranging and it looks really statuesque in the border. Has  a long flowering season.

My QUINCE tree came into bloom this weekend. The leaves are velvety and the flowers; to die for.

My 2 ferns, out back, are looking lush right now. Probably their best time of the year.

Lilly Of The Valley may be small, and highly perfumed, but it takes a good few years to establish enough to give a posy to put in the house . Then it spreads everywhere.

Saxifrage: the leaves last all year round, then the flowers appear, lovely and long lasting. Hefty leaves, delicate flowers.

Variegated Arum is a basic for any MOCK TROP garden. Difficult to get going in the garden. Slow to spread and dies back completely once fruited. Showy plant.

Carex Ice Dance. May be another Sedge. Forms lovely clumps and is evergreen. Again a  MOCK TROP   essential.

At the moment the front garden is caught between the spring flowers and the summer ones, so not much to see then!