Whats looking exotic in April 2014

Lotus making a comeback,

 

That's brilliant Pete

 

Of all the plants that I've ever grown, this gives my Sollyas a run for their money as far as prolific and long flowering plants go.

What's the secret? Surely it wasn't there all winter?

 

No, not outside all winter, in a cool greenhouse near a fan to stop it rotting.
Also, quite dry all winter.

 

Thanks Pete - that was something that had been puzzling me. But it seems very early into flower even so.

I still can't trust stuff outside yet. It was -1C last night. Perhaps the last frost - perhaps not.

 

The Pleione orchid in my garden, looking great!

 

Easter cactus flowers bang on time.
A week ago


Right now

The only trouble with it is it drips nectar a lot so it's rather messy, hence the newspaper on the windowsill and nearby floor.

Fuchsia puniculata

 

Pink epiphyllum


Arisaema kiushianum

 

That's a lovely Arisaema Nigel!

 

Thank you. Haven't had this one long, rather small though so it will probably live in a pot otherwise it would get lost.

 

Clianthus puniceus......................


One of my absolute favourites

 

That Clianthus is lovely LongK.

I have just returned from a few days in Devon. On the way down I called in at the Old Walled Garden nursery outside Evesham, that you put me onto LongK - thank you, and picked up a Thunbergia battiscombii. I also have a Thunbergia mysorensis on order from there, but the cuttings are not ready yet. My trip was a bit of a Thunbergia hunt as I also bought a T. grandiflora and a T. gregorii from Hill House Nursery in Devon.

 

Good luck with the T.mysorensis Peter. Well worth trying in my opinion.

On the subject of T.gregorii, Sues has come through the winter outdoors. Admittedly it was a mild winter, but I'm still impressed.

 

I am planning to grow them all inside - LongK. It can get very cold up here and I don't trust anything other than hardy perennials to overwinter outside.

The T. grandiflora mother plant at Hill House was in flower, when I was there. And it was a lovely sight with larger flowers than I had thought.

 

I was certainly not suggesting otherwise. I am just a little surprised that it has proven to be even that hardy.

In the tunnel? Some of the stock plants in there are rather incredible.