What's Looking Good March 2025

Thunbergia alata and Lantana montevidensis in their third year (both go right through Winter) ...

 

Thanks @LunarSea - another excuse to visit Farmyard Nurseries I think! There's also one that seems to do two-tone pink, but I can't remember the name.
Some hellebores


And trillium on its way

 

Agree about Nepenthes, they are not hardy enough to be outdoors especially this time of the year. Have never heard about watering the "cups". We have the cobra lily which has been in the bog garden since 2010 and doing really well and continues to produce new offsets each year. Our Sarracenias are very fussy about being outdoors. They are in pots and when the weather is warmer in the summer (?) we do give them a holiday but still bring them inside in the evening.

 

I only ever grew the common Nepenthes alata, and I used to put it outside for summer, I think they secrete the digestive juices into the cups and dont need or want water putting into them.
I left it in a hanging basket, from and apple tree, one year and it just turned into a climber, with tendrils and the traps became very small.

I believe they have juvenile and adult growth, the juvenile being the more attractive.

 

I had one in my last garden @ViewAhead and thought it would suit that location. This is what it should look like in a few weeks:

 

But then thinking a bit more when it rains carnivorous plants do have rain water go into their pitchers but with our plants we have never done this. We have them sitting in rain water which is changed frequently. We also have 1 remaining Pinguicula (Butterwort) which has been growing in the same trough for over 20 years. It (or should I say they) continue to flower all year round. This winter they didn't go into their normal small winter rosettes but have produced huge sticky leaves and yet more flowers. Hope it doesn't mean they are on the way out! They are great on the kitchen window sill as they catch those pesky little flies.

 

A lot of pitcher plants Sarracenia, Darlingtonia and Nepenthes have a flap or cover over the top of the pitcher one of the reasons for this is to keep out rain water.
Heliamphora however don't and certainly some of these drown the insects that come in rather than secreting enzymes to digest them.

 

My phone ID brought it up as this but I wasn't sure and found where I bought the seeds in 2022 and it is
Verbena tenuisecta venosa ... but it appears to be the same.

 

@NigelJ good point and one that I should have known.

 

The flowers are very very similar, but they are two distinct plants. The lantana grows from a woody rootstock but Verbena venosa has running white roots and shoots pop up everywhere from those.

 

Very little in flower in the garden.
The Sophora is starting to flower.

 

My last variety of Iris reticulata has opened today. This one is Louise, described as white, but it's a very pale yellow.

 

First of the daffodils

 

Dpouble Tete-a-tete



Single Tete-a-tete



Hellebore

 

Crocus rujanensis

Blue Hyacinth

Corydalis paschei; my favourite corydalis flowers are nearly finished and by Easter it will be back below ground.


Muscari pulchellum