Tuesday, May 12, 2009

THE NURSERYMAN'S NIGHTMARE - HOT AND WINDY!!

No, not a really good curry - but the WEATHER at the moment! Blue skies and BLAZING HOT SUN - sounds great, but for the last two days, it has been accompanied by a 30 mph GALE-FORCE WIND. It comes swooping down the valley into the nursery, knocking everything flat, and sucking the moisture out of the fresh new leaves of all our lovely plants. I HATE IT - AND THE PLANTS HATE IT TOO! The sales areas look like World War 3 - and the nursery staff all seem to have hoses permanently attached to their arms! As a customer very kindly told me today, you do seem to have a wind problem!!! Yep, great, thanks!!

It is actually fairly normal in this part of East Anglia at this time of the year- but it does not help my mood - I do feel for my plants when they are battered left, right and centre.
On a more POSITIVE NOTE - there are some very nice shrubs in season at the moment. I mentioned a dwarf LILAC in my last entry, and here is a piccy.


SYRINGA 'PALIBIN' - a nice LILAC - smaller-leaved than it's bigger cousins- but with the same delicious SCENT - and a rather nice colour too. They tend to be much easier to look after as well.

I often find, that they flower again in September - if they are kept well-fed and watered.



This is also the season of another of my favourite shrubs - VIBURNUM PLICATUM 'MARIESII'- a superb horizontal tiered plant - with a simply gorgeous flower - consisting of bracts and a central disc - as seen on the right - all against a fresh green leaf - what a cracker!! A wonderful plant for the edges of beds and borders - in my own garden at home, it is sited on the bend of a path - and the effect is simply breathtaking!!
There now, you see I'm starting to feel better already- I almost forgot the gale blowing outside! The weather forecasts suggest that we will actually get some much-needed rain on Thursday and Friday - plus the winds will die down - and then I REALLY WILL BE A HAPPY BUNNY!!
Until next time,
RICHARD







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