"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 31/3/09 22:15, in article , "Spider"
wrote:
Here you a
http://i41.tinypic.com/16k49l0.jpg

To the left of the pic there will be a Rosa banksia lutea and a
Clematis
redehriana flowering in due course!
--

Wow, Sacha, that is amazingly beautiful! Mine is flowering well this
year,
but it's a twig by comparison. Pruning does seem to help, although
I'm
not
sure I've got it snip-perfect yet, but it certainly seems to make a
difference.

Spider

I don't think there would be any snip perfect here, to be honest. More
a
question of hack it back and get over it! It was planted a long time
ago,
Spider, at least 50 years and Ray thinks - thinks- it's Knaphill Scarlet
but
we can't be certain. Hyams swapped plants between Agatha Christie, the
Elmhirsts at Dartington and himself so when it comes to things he
planted,
there's no knowing always what we have.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
Exotic plants, shrubs & perennials online


Indeed, I didn't really think Ray had snipped it twig by twig :~)!
Perhaps
there's a Chaenomeles expert out there somewhere, but it doesn't really
matter which one it is (except that we all want one now!); that's such a
lovely story that it's a kind of provenance in itself. Quite a
responsibility to look after a magnificent plant with like that such a
history.

Spider


It's sad that when Hyams left here, he gave a lot of things back to
Dartington. OTOH, when Ray bought this place, the garden was so neglected
that it's quite possible many would have died anyway. We do have a
wonderful Magnolia delavayi which was given to Hyams by Agatha Christie as
a
clone of one of hers and it's a huge thing now. Obviously, there are
other
lovely things he planted but that's a known provenance because her old
gardener - now dead - was a friend of Ray's and came here often.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
Exotic plants, shrubs & perennials online

(snipped a bit)

You must really enjoy seeing these plants flower, knowing their history.
What a lovely thing to be part of and continue to nurture. You're so lucky.
Thanks for sharing that picture; it gives me something to aim for :~)

Spider