It was a glorious weekend down south. So glorious that I felt like taking all my clothes off...
... Off the plants, that is.
I know we have a bit of cold weather still heading our way, but the forecast is reasonably mild for London and anything really tender is still fleeced or dead.
Yeah, lost a few plants over the winter. I showed once and for all that I have no talent for growing proteas. I killed a Banksia spinulosa over the summer, and the Leucospermum "Scarlet Ribbons" croaked too. The kill list for the winter includes Protea neriifolia and Dryandra formosa, and sadly I suspect Leucadendron "Safari Sunset". Protea cynaroides is hanging on with odd orange-coloured leaves, and Grevillea juniperina and Banksia ericifolia look like they've spent the whole winter at Botany Bay.
I think there will be some fern casualties, but as most of them are deciduous I need to wait a couple of months before consigning them to the compost heap.
But I'm happy - Blechnum tabulare, despite looking a bit brown round the edges, has done really well. That was really my top purchase of 2008, especially when I look back at how tiny it was the day I bought it.
The fleece is close to hand in case we do get an absolute stonker of a frost forecast, and there's no way any of the Ensete "Maurelii" are being unwrapped until Easter!
Have any of you had a sneaky peek under the fleece? Or have you thrown all caution to the wind like I have and exposed the plants to the elements at least a month earlier than a sensible person should?
... Off the plants, that is.
I know we have a bit of cold weather still heading our way, but the forecast is reasonably mild for London and anything really tender is still fleeced or dead.
Yeah, lost a few plants over the winter. I showed once and for all that I have no talent for growing proteas. I killed a Banksia spinulosa over the summer, and the Leucospermum "Scarlet Ribbons" croaked too. The kill list for the winter includes Protea neriifolia and Dryandra formosa, and sadly I suspect Leucadendron "Safari Sunset". Protea cynaroides is hanging on with odd orange-coloured leaves, and Grevillea juniperina and Banksia ericifolia look like they've spent the whole winter at Botany Bay.
I think there will be some fern casualties, but as most of them are deciduous I need to wait a couple of months before consigning them to the compost heap.
But I'm happy - Blechnum tabulare, despite looking a bit brown round the edges, has done really well. That was really my top purchase of 2008, especially when I look back at how tiny it was the day I bought it.
The fleece is close to hand in case we do get an absolute stonker of a frost forecast, and there's no way any of the Ensete "Maurelii" are being unwrapped until Easter!
Have any of you had a sneaky peek under the fleece? Or have you thrown all caution to the wind like I have and exposed the plants to the elements at least a month earlier than a sensible person should?
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