Hi All,

I'm blitzing a flowerbed that has been overgrown for a few years, and
have found three plants that i'd like to know more about.

http://www.dentonmiller.net/Site/Stu...se_plants.html

1)

A nice little shrub

2) A tall thin thing with nice coloured leaves

3) A rather leggy and leafy thing with very bright purple indigo
flowers that stain quite badly if you touch them.....

Any ideas? The shrub is obviously a keeper, but I'm not sure about the
others....

On Jun 17, 4:39 pm, adm wrote:
Hi All,

I'm blitzing a flowerbed that has been overgrown for a few years, and
have found three plants that i'd like to know more about.

http://www.dentonmiller.net/Site/Stu...7_What_are_the...

1)

A nice little shrub

2) A tall thin thing with nice coloured leaves

3) A rather leggy and leafy thing with very bright purple indigo
flowers that stain quite badly if you touch them.....

Any ideas? The shrub is obviously a keeper, but I'm not sure about the
others....

the blue thing is a Tradescantia. Why would you not want to keep it?
Nice blue flowers?

On 17/6/08 16:39, in article 2008061716393316807-adm1@fastmailfm, "adm"
wrote:

Hi All,

I'm blitzing a flowerbed that has been overgrown for a few years, and
have found three plants that i'd like to know more about.

http://www.dentonmiller.net/Site/Stu...e_these_plants
.html

1)

A nice little shrub

2) A tall thin thing with nice coloured leaves

3) A rather leggy and leafy thing with very bright purple indigo
flowers that stain quite badly if you touch them.....

Any ideas? The shrub is obviously a keeper, but I'm not sure about the
others....


Not sure but a close up would help - the shrub might be a Pittosporum, the
red thing is, perhaps, a Photinia and the purple thing is a highly desirable
and very beautiful Tradescantia, possibly T. andersoniana. Here's a link to
Cerney, which has a National Collection
http://www.cerneygardens.com/default...escantiaCollec
tion.asp
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online but not completed - shop to come and some mild tweaking
to do!)

On 2008-06-17 16:50:25 +0100, Des Higgins said:

On Jun 17, 4:39 pm, adm wrote:
Hi All,

I'm blitzing a flowerbed that has been overgrown for a few years, and
have found three plants that i'd like to know more about.

http://www.dentonmiller.net/Site/Stu...7_What_are_the...

1)

A nice little shrub

2) A tall thin thing with nice coloured leaves

3) A rather leggy and leafy thing with very bright purple indigo
flowers that stain quite badly if you touch them.....

Any ideas? The shrub is obviously a keeper, but I'm not sure about the
others....

the blue thing is a Tradescantia. Why would you not want to keep it?
Nice blue flowers?

Well - it's got a rather high leaf to flower ration and is a bit tatty.
Nothing that can't be repaired though I'd imagine - after all, it's
been covered by nettles and weeds for a while. The flowers are
certainly nice....but they don't half stain children!

We'll keep it!

adm writes
Hi All,

I'm blitzing a flowerbed that has been overgrown for a few years, and
have found three plants that i'd like to know more about.

http://www.dentonmiller.net/Site/Stu...hat_are_these_
plants.html

1)
A nice little shrub

A bit difficult to id without more detail. I couldn't get the pic to
enlarge.

2) A tall thin thing with nice coloured leaves

Again, a bit difficult. I wondered if it might be a coloured-leaved
yellow loosestrife. Try googling Lysimachia 'Firecracker'.

3) A rather leggy and leafy thing with very bright purple indigo
flowers that stain quite badly if you touch them.....

Tradescantia, I think. See, for example, www.gapphotos.com

Any ideas? The shrub is obviously a keeper, but I'm not sure about the
others....



--
Kay

On 17/6/08 16:56, in article 2008061716560916807-adm1@fastmailfm, "adm"
wrote:

On 2008-06-17 16:50:25 +0100, Des Higgins said:

On Jun 17, 4:39 pm, adm wrote:
Hi All,

I'm blitzing a flowerbed that has been overgrown for a few years, and
have found three plants that i'd like to know more about.

http://www.dentonmiller.net/Site/Stu...7_What_are_the...

1)

A nice little shrub

2) A tall thin thing with nice coloured leaves

3) A rather leggy and leafy thing with very bright purple indigo
flowers that stain quite badly if you touch them.....

Any ideas? The shrub is obviously a keeper, but I'm not sure about the
others....

the blue thing is a Tradescantia. Why would you not want to keep it?
Nice blue flowers?

Well - it's got a rather high leaf to flower ration and is a bit tatty.
Nothing that can't be repaired though I'd imagine - after all, it's
been covered by nettles and weeds for a while. The flowers are
certainly nice....but they don't half stain children!

We'll keep it!



It will look a lot better next year. ;-)
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online but not completed - shop to come and some mild tweaking
to do!)

On 2008-06-17 17:03:55 +0100, Sacha said:

On 17/6/08 16:56, in article 2008061716560916807-adm1@fastmailfm, "adm"
wrote:

On 2008-06-17 16:50:25 +0100, Des Higgins said:

On Jun 17, 4:39 pm, adm wrote:
Hi All,

I'm blitzing a flowerbed that has been overgrown for a few years, and
have found three plants that i'd like to know more about.

http://www.dentonmiller.net/Site/Stu...7_What_are_the...

1)

A nice little shrub

2) A tall thin thing with nice coloured leaves

3) A rather leggy and leafy thing with very bright purple indigo
flowers that stain quite badly if you touch them.....

Any ideas? The shrub is obviously a keeper, but I'm not sure about the
others....

the blue thing is a Tradescantia. Why would you not want to keep it?
Nice blue flowers?

Well - it's got a rather high leaf to flower ration and is a bit tatty.
Nothing that can't be repaired though I'd imagine - after all, it's
been covered by nettles and weeds for a while. The flowers are
certainly nice....but they don't half stain children!

We'll keep it!



It will look a lot better next year. ;-)

I just read that you are meant to cut it down to the ground once it's
done flowering for the year. Does that sound about right ?

On 2008-06-17 16:53:49 +0100, Sacha said:

On 17/6/08 16:39, in article 2008061716393316807-adm1@fastmailfm, "adm"
wrote:

Hi All,

I'm blitzing a flowerbed that has been overgrown for a few years, and
have found three plants that i'd like to know more about.

http://www.dentonmiller.net/Site/Stu...e_these_plants
.html

1)

A nice little shrub

2) A tall thin thing with nice coloured leaves

3) A rather leggy and leafy thing with very bright purple indigo
flowers that stain quite badly if you touch them.....

Any ideas? The shrub is obviously a keeper, but I'm not sure about the
others....


Not sure but a close up would help - the shrub might be a Pittosporum, the
red thing is, perhaps, a Photinia and the purple thing is a highly desirable
and very beautiful Tradescantia, possibly T. andersoniana. Here's a link to
Cerney, which has a National Collection
http://www.cerneygardens.com/default...escantiaCollec
tion.asp

Thanks. I've zoomed the photos of the first two a bit:

http://www.dentonmiller.net/Site/Stu...se_plants.html

On 2008-06-17 17:31:21 +0100, adm said:

On 2008-06-17 16:53:49 +0100, Sacha said:

On 17/6/08 16:39, in article 2008061716393316807-adm1@fastmailfm, "adm"
wrote:

Hi All,

I'm blitzing a flowerbed that has been overgrown for a few years, and
have found three plants that i'd like to know more about.

http://www.dentonmiller.net/Site/Stu...e_these_plants
.html

1)

A nice little shrub

2) A tall thin thing with nice coloured leaves

3) A rather leggy and leafy thing with very bright purple indigo
flowers that stain quite badly if you touch them.....

Any ideas? The shrub is obviously a keeper, but I'm not sure about the
others....


Not sure but a close up would help - the shrub might be a Pittosporum, the
red thing is, perhaps, a Photinia and the purple thing is a highly desirable
and very beautiful Tradescantia, possibly T. andersoniana. Here's a link to
Cerney, which has a National Collection
http://www.cerneygardens.com/default...escantiaCollec
tion.asp

Thanks. I've zoomed the photos of the first two a bit:

http://www.dentonmiller.net/Site/Stu...se_plants.html


Cheers

for the answers so far.....now I've got a couple mo

http://www.dentonmiller.net/Site/Stu...orrisits!.html

The

first is a big woody bush/hedge type thing with nasty spikes and
berries that birds seem to like. It appears to have spread via suckers
- it's up against one wall of my house and is beginning to cover up
some windows, so what is it and how far can it be cut back?

The second - well. I don't quite know how to describe it - the leaves
are quite attractive, but I don't like the look of the flower bud?
spears....any idea. This is also a bit messed up from bed clearance,
but if the flowers are going to do something nice, I'll see if it can
be salvaged!

thanks in advance.....


Alasdair

In article 200806171808148930-adm1@fastmailfm, adm writes:
|
| first is a big woody bush/hedge type thing with nasty spikes and
| berries that birds seem to like. It appears to have spread via suckers
| - it's up against one wall of my house and is beginning to cover up
| some windows, so what is it and how far can it be cut back?

Pyracantha, almost certainly, and one of its close relatives if not.
HARD. Even now.

| The second - well. I don't quite know how to describe it - the leaves
| are quite attractive, but I don't like the look of the flower bud?
| spears....any idea. This is also a bit messed up from bed clearance,
| but if the flowers are going to do something nice, I'll see if it can
| be salvaged!

An Arum, I think, and definitely an aroid. I doubt that the flowers
are up to much. It may be a variety of the common wild one (A. maculatum,
Lords and Ladies, Cuckoo Spit) with more marked leaves than the usual
form. Anyway, it will be grown for the leaves.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"adm" wrote in message
news:2008061716393316807-adm1@fastmailfm...
Hi All,

I'm blitzing a flowerbed that has been overgrown for a few years, and have
found three plants that i'd like to know more about.

http://www.dentonmiller.net/Site/Stu...se_plants.html

1)
A nice little shrub

Looks like a pieris

No idea about the others but would like to know.

Mary

On 2008-06-17 19:00:42 +0100, (Nick Maclaren) said:


In article 200806171808148930-adm1@fastmailfm, adm writes:
|
| first is a big woody bush/hedge type thing with nasty spikes and
| berries that birds seem to like. It appears to have spread via suckers
| - it's up against one wall of my house and is beginning to cover up
| some windows, so what is it and how far can it be cut back?

Pyracantha, almost certainly, and one of its close relatives if not.
HARD. Even now.

Righty ho then......that's good because I've been out with the loppers
and petrol hedge trimmer this evening....

It certainly seems to be a pyracantha now I've googled it....and I
don't feel so bad about cutting most of it away.


| The second - well. I don't quite know how to describe it - the leaves
| are quite attractive, but I don't like the look of the flower bud?
| spears....any idea. This is also a bit messed up from bed clearance,
| but if the flowers are going to do something nice, I'll see if it can
| be salvaged!

An Arum, I think, and definitely an aroid. I doubt that the flowers
are up to much. It may be a variety of the common wild one (A. maculatum,
Lords and Ladies, Cuckoo Spit) with more marked leaves than the usual
form. Anyway, it will be grown for the leaves.

Aha - looks like this: Arum Italicum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:C...ves_2000px.jpg

Now you have named it, I remember seeing these flower spikes last year:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:A..._%28aka%29.jpg

which are apparently highly poisonous.

Still- the leaves are quite attractive.

Thanks everybody for the help on all of these - there may well be a few
more of these "worrisits" as I slowly uncover my garden beds. I moved
into a big old victorian house on the surrey/sussex borders three years
ago, and with three small kids to contend with, we've just managed to
get the house structurally sound, got the lawn sorted(ish) and are now
working on the neglected beds.

All in all, it seems we have a lot of good, mature plants and shrubs
but nothing has been done for years and a lot of them have either got
buried in the weeds, or gone mental....

On 2008-06-17 19:04:21 +0100, "Mary Fisher" said:


"adm" wrote in message
news:2008061716393316807-adm1@fastmailfm...
Hi All,

I'm blitzing a flowerbed that has been overgrown for a few years, and have
found three plants that i'd like to know more about.

http://www.dentonmiller.net/Site/Stu...se_plants.html

1)
A

nice little shrub

Looks like a pieris

Maybe this?:

http://www.banwnursery.co.uk/images/...g%20silver.jpg

Although the leaves are very small - and I don't know yet if it starts
off red....

One day, I'll know what all these things are - rather than just "the
purple thing", "the spiky thing" etc....

In article 2008061720452916807-adm1@fastmailfm, adm writes:
|
| An Arum, I think, and definitely an aroid. I doubt that the flowers
| are up to much. It may be a variety of the common wild one (A. maculatum,
| Lords and Ladies, Cuckoo Spit) with more marked leaves than the usual
| form. Anyway, it will be grown for the leaves.
|
| Aha - looks like this: Arum Italicum
|
| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:C...ves_2000px.jpg

That is a subspecies of A. maculatum, according to some authorities.
I had forgotten about that one!

| Now you have named it, I remember seeing these flower spikes last year:
|
| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:A..._%28aka%29.jpg
|
| which are apparently highly poisonous.

Nah. Irritant and somewhat poisonous. Don't believe all that
Wikipedia tells you!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Sacha writes

the
red thing is, perhaps, a Photinia

Definitely not. On seeing the larger version, I'm more convinced that
it's the Lysimachia.

and the purple thing is a highly desirable
and very beautiful Tradescantia, possibly T. andersoniana.

Yep.

--
Kay