What are we doing in the garden 2025

Well the old story I heard was they always grew them under glass in the big houses until the war and all the gardeners went off to fight and the greenhouses fell into disrepair, but the camellias survived.
Now that may just be a myth, I really don't know.

 

The Chiswick Conservatory fell into disrepair and eventually they noticed that the old camellias were flowering and very old varieties at which point they tidied everything up to see what they actually had.
The old camellias have been propagated and the new plants planted outside, because camellias do better outside than under glass.

 

Started the task of pruning all the shrubs. They're all overgrown and the investment of a hedge trimmer last week has made a big difference time wise.

 

They used to bring their camellias inside for winter at Beechgrove. They do get trashed in spring here, as I'd said earlier, and it's why I don't have them now. They just don't reliably earn their keep, much as I like them, and although they're very easy to grow here, apart from the whites, it's not worthwhile. Some of the pink ones are among the easiest, but there are so many varieties, I wouldn't know which ones those are.
I didn't do much yesterday, as the weather decided it was largely 'rain with a few drier spells', rather than showers. I got some bundles of buddleia etc chopped, and sorted [I use some as plant supports] and bagged up for the tip, and I got a couple of other things done, but it kept raining, so it wasn't worth doing much else. I've done most of my chopping, so there isn't much of that stuff left to do apart from one hefty branch on the conifer, but it's not urgent.
Today is supposed to be dry, but it's been raining since I got up just before 7, and even their own forecasts don't tally with their pictures or radar! I'll have to play it by ear again, but daughter's coming over this afternoon, and that's probably when it'll be dry.
Waterproofs for my walk anyway this morning- got properly drookit yesterday too. Such is life...

 

I've always thought people get tempted to buy the early flowering camllias, the garden centres sell them in flower late Feb and it's just not a good time for most tender stuff to flower in this part of the country.
I see lots of them with brown frosted flowers.
The couple I have rarely flower before April and can be May some years before fully flowering.

 

I got two small pink Salvia microphyllias yesterday so planted them on either side of a white one I have had since c 2007 ...


This us the white one i March 2008 ...

 

That's a good point @pete , re the camellias on sale early in GCs. Same as the hydrangeas and then the annuals. I don't often visit GCs though, so haven't been aware of it.
We can get a mix of rough weather and also lots of frosts/snow [even in a mild winter] at that time of year [April] so it's usually later on that you see them flowering in gardens. If anyone had an early flowering variety, it wouldn't work very well in this area.
In the last couple of years, I've seen a few white ones flowering, which shows the differences in the weather/climate now. The whites are notoriously tricky up here.

 

My Camellia sasanquha can start to flower as early as November and carry on into Jan/Feb any frost will blast open flowers, but generally the buds come through and a warmer day sees blooms again.
The Camellia japonica seldom flower before mid March down here

 

Today I was intending to pot up some violas I bought in the garden centre this morning but got distracted by other tasks which needed doing and took longer than I expected, always the way . I decided to tidy up two large Phormiums which have suffered a bit over summer, removing all the brown, yellow, and damaged leaves. They are on a slope so a bit tricky to access. Not wanting to repeat last year’s attempt, when I fell backwards down the steps, I was more cautious this time . I then cleared up all the leaf litter around one of my clumps of bamboo, also removing five runners, each about a foot long but easy to pull up and then cut with secateurs. I finished off by cleaning the steps, putting some supports around two clumps of anemones and deadheading a couple of dahlias. The potting up can wait until tomorrow.

 

@Plantminded Thats great. It seems that should not work so well but is thriving. You have clearly got something there , the camellia is happy and doesnt know it has a rule book to follow! Love it , hopefully hopefully mine will also do well and i will add some extra grit in the planting holes now for luck on the strength of your experience!

 

A second session pruning shrubs this afternoon.

 

They [camellias] certainly don't like being waterlogged @Robert Bowen, so just do the best prep you can. Some are faster growing - it's always down to the type you have
Yes - those certainly flower earlier @NigelJ . I'm not sure how many people grow them - most tend to look at camellias as spring flowering shrubs, but -like rhodos/azaleas, there are varieties which will flower at various times of year. The flowering period is short though, so weather plays a big part in how successful the flowers are. Wind/frost/ice/rain - [or a mix of all of them!] can play havoc just at the wrong moment.
You never really see any in flower in early spring here @NigelJ , even if they're basically 'spring into early summer' flowering varieties. In sheltered spots, maybe mid to late April is the usual. I had one i n the garden round the corner, and it had decent shelter from early frost, but it was that wind/rain that was the bigger problem. I'd probably have been better having it in the front garden - easier to keep it sheltered from everything!

I didn't do much yesterday, as daughter was over earlier. We enjoyed doing bruschetta for dinner with all the Toddler tomatoes that are suddenly ripening. I only did a few bits and pieces once it cleared up late morning, after my walk. I relocated a young clematis into a pot, as I've decided to get a white one for the pergola. The nursery has one I like, so I may go there today....bad idea probably! Deadheading etc, and moved a few pots around to keep interest going.
It's to be mainly wet today, so I'll just wait and see. Nothing urgent, so I won't feel too guilty about the nursery...

 

After a night of rain I had a look at the ferns and they are a lot happier, I think I've lost a Japanese Painted fern though, been waiting for some rain before I plant out one I bought a couple of months ago. The good news is that my Polypodium calirhiza which disappears at the end of spring is pushing up fresh green fronds after the recent rain.

 

We were having trouble with torrential rain showers overfilling the two linked water butts in the Courtyard and puddling on the newly relaid sandstone paving so I grabbed some plastic piping, jammed it over each tap in turn and emptied both down the kitchen drain. Went against the grain in view of the drought situation just a week or so away but needs must. I think we'll have to keep the piping in place on the overflow butt all over the winter.

What do other people do?