Barry: These are all most encouraging signs, especially the outdoors examples! Spring is on her way... eventually. I love the photos you have added to your sidebar. How old is that stand of Syneilesis in the first photo?
Anonymous said…
Dear Barry, 'The Darling Buds of May' [with apologies to H.E. Bates] have arrived early. Perfect!
Teza, Well, of corse. I am down here on the Lake Ontario Riviera. And you are right there are encouraging signs of Spring, most significant for me, is that the vents in my greenhouse opened on Thursday, which means the sun was strong enough to raise the interior temperature to over 15c. Glad you like the additions to the sidebars. The Syneilesis I've had for about 4 years.
Dear Edith, Miraculously, the Witch-hazel blooms here in February. It takes advantage of any warm day and just closes up if the weather turns cold. I can't imagine why every Canadian household doesn't have this heroic little bloomer ( I say little , mine is over 10 feet tall). All this, is of course, in preparation for Bloom Day, which in the past I forget about until it's too late, but this month I'm ready. So please check in tomorrow to see the Hamamelis in bloom.
For a person visiting San Francisco from "The Great White North", one is struck not only the weather but also by the plant life that flourishes in this ideal mediterranean climate. I've just returned from a week in this lovely city, and again I was impressed by the quality, variety and creativity of gardening that I found there. In this post I am paying particular attention to the gardens I found in the front gardens which often overflowed onto the sidewalks and boulevards. Many of the plants that I saw there are the same that I grow outdoors and have to move indoors from November to April. And since the San Francisco plants are grown in the ground they are huge compared to my container grown collection.
Last year I had a rather autocratic message from the UK suggesting that my love of limey, gold and chartreuse plants could lead me down the path to "brassy" tastelessness.
I bristled at this, but tried to ascertain whether this was a fair comment. My critic, perhaps had not taken into account that I live in a completely different environment from her, and that the quality of light and extremes of climate affect our reaction to colour in a different way.
In our hot, humid summers and brilliant sunshine, I find that these yellow/greens are actually cooling and rather than being strident, are very subdued and complimentary to other colours in the garden.
Well, judge for yourself. I'm showing here an arrangement of plants at my front door, which I find very pleasing, A cooling vignette in the last few days of a very hot summer.
Plants at my front door.
Durantia, Angelonia 'Purple Stripe' and purple Callibrachoa.
Coleus 'Fishnet Stockings...
Comments
These are all most encouraging signs, especially the outdoors examples! Spring is on her way... eventually. I love the photos you have added to your sidebar. How old is that stand of Syneilesis in the first photo?
Glad you like the additions to the sidebars. The Syneilesis I've had for about 4 years.