Rod5/1/04 7:42
erlin.de

Sacha wrote:

The NT garden Trelissick, reports having 250 different things in flower,
including something like 38 species of Camellia.
I was amazed to see our Cassea corymbosa in full flower just the other day -
it is a very strange winter but a pleasant one in those terms!

2 of our 50 or so Camellias, C. japonica 'Nobilissima, C. x Williamsii
'Inspiration' - C. x Williamsii 'St. Ewe' (one of my favourites) won't be long
and C. j. 'Cornish Snow' will probably open this week. Our poor little
Hammamelis 'Pallida' is at last looking as though it's here to stay. It's the
second attempt in that spot - the first one was doa and this one has been in
about 8 years. As so often with Hammamelis it was bought in flower in a
container which had been kept far too wet so it survived the first year by the
skin of its teeth, since then a Horse Chestnut dropped half of its crown on
it,
then a nearby Beech dropped a limb on it and a storm last winter dropped a
couple of big lumps of Oak on it. What's left is a reasonable shape and it's
full of flowers and smelling wonderful. Nearly enough sweet violets to fill a
tiny vase but I resisted the temptation.

Our Sarcococcas are going great guns, the Lonicera purpusii is flowering its
socks off (probably because I hacked it to bits earlier this year) the
Gordonia axillaris is still going and the mimosa has just started to flower.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the 'x' to email me)

Sacha wrote:

Our Sarcococcas are going great guns...

After a lengthy time away, I thought I might pop-in to see who is still around. I ditched Demon a while ago and am temporarily accessing this via the web.

What an extraordinary winter so far! It is usually very mild here, but this year it may go for the record. The coldest was 3°C in late November but for much of the time, night lows have remained between 7 - 12°C.

This has been the best winter in a few years for flowering of Jasminum polyanthum. Normally, this slightly tender species gets knocked about by cold winds and doesn't really make a good show until February. In recent weeks, the fence has been a mass of white - highly fragrant too. Red/purple Passion flowers (P. x coeruleo-racemosa) are still opening and Pandorea jasminoides has several clusters of its large, velvet-maroon throated, pink trumpets outside the back door.

Quite a few gingers (Hedychiums) are still trying to flower and there's a fine orange laden with fruit and newly opened flowers close to the house wall. Still plenty of flowers on the cannas, but they are now looking a bit ragged. They are already shooting and will have to be lifted and divided soon.

Ah well, roll-on spring - not far away by the look of things here.