On 20/05/2014 08:14, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Mon, 19 May 2014 22:30:12 +0100, David Hill
wrote:

I was thinking this evening that you don't often see Phlomis grow these days
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...psd8f6169f.jpg

The same goes for Genista hispanica
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps435065d5.jpg

and before anyone asks, that's a Rhodo flower on the background.
David@ a thundery side of Swansea Bay

Phlomis is fairly common down here, and I have one in the garden,
flowering now, as is my G. hispanica. The Phlomis was relatively
unscathed by the winter storms (and I use the word advisedly, as in
far stronger than gales, the worst I've known in 15 years), although
the genista was completely burnt to a silvery grey (as was all the
gorse in the area). It has nearly recovered now and is a mass of
bloom.

Talking of storms, all the pines and firs down here for miles around
were burnt completely brown on the windward side, which I've never
seen before. Long stands of windbreaks, all rusty brown on one side,
green on the other. I'm glad to say the pines are putting out fresh
green growth, so they'll recover, but I'm not sure about the firs yet,
bearing in mind how Leylandii doesn't like being hard pruned. Time
will tell, I guess.

People forget that gales coming in off the sea carry a lot of salt, and
the damage can at times be seen many miles inland.