What's looking good in December 2014

I went to the garden center yesterday to buy one of the 'painted' hybrids for my friend and also got myself another for the patio table decoration ... a shocking pink one ...



I mentioned to the sales clerk that mine was 4 meters tall and she was surprised and said 'you must have one of the trees'. I confirmed I did and she said they have been unable to purchase them for years although they have tried various suppliers but can only get the hybrids produced in greenhouses.

 

Cut this thing down twice, still haven't managed to kill it

 

This Fatsia in my chicken run is doing well

 

Chickens don't do Fatsia then?

Baawwwk, what is it? Bawwwk, don't know but it don't taste nice. Baawk, where's the human slave feeder? Baawwk.

 

Yesterday:

 

Beautiful Charlie...
a touch of early Spring
Jenny

 

Thank you Jenny. To be honest I have spent the whole year failing to see any redeeming feature in the dogwoods...now winter is here I suddenly get why old Ernie planted them many years ago.

 

I saw a Rhododendron today in full bloom, shame I didn't have my camera with me!

 

Hiya Clive

No, I have never seen pink or white planted out ... and to be honest, you rarely see the red in gardens ... I can think of perhaps a half dozen Portuguese homes! When I bought it oh some 12 years ago was it?, I was asked if I wanted 'um para casa or um para rua?', ie, one for the house or one for the road as, according to the Portuguese they are different species and you are lucky if you could ever grow one that was intended as a house plant. Obviously, mine is a 'rua' species.

I did however buy one of the hybrids five years ago because it looked unique , but it didn't survive the winter ...

View attachment 40973

PS Clive, that's one of the Jacarandas it's climbing into and Charlie the Brug it's towering over ... which himself is more than two meters tall now ...

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I think that what we have are poinsettias that have been reverse engineered. The 'para casa' have been forced to perform, leaving them exhausted and they use all their energy and die. 'para rua' are easily rooted - just stick the prunings in the ground and they will grow. Mine:

And since they grow so tall in one season; here it is from below:

 

I noticed today the crocuses I planted late October are coming up.

 

Lachenalia are a genus of winter flowering South African bulbous plants. My L.nelsonii has flowered too early due to the mild weather and this has resulted in poor colour and a low number of flowers on each stem................

 

I have four Climbing Roses on my garden entrance arch still flowering.
Six hanging baskets of trailing Geraniums outside my front door still growing new shoots,leaves,buds. It's been an unusual garden year.
We have had lots of rain but no frost or snow, just damp/wet with unusual temperatures. .

 

Down here on the 'mild' South coast we have had three frost this month which killed off my Geraniums!!!