Tag Archives: Abbie Jury

Plant Collector: Swainsona formosa

The remarkable Sturt Desert Pea or Swainsona formosa

The remarkable Sturt Desert Pea or Swainsona formosa

Continuing the Australian theme this week, I was very taken by this striking flower, commonly referred to as the Sturt Desert Pea, after Charles Sturt who recorded it flowering extensively in central Australia during his 1840’s explorations. This particular plant was in a tub outside the bookshop at Canberra’s botanic gardens. The scant foliage was visibly leguminous but it was the flowers that were spectacular. They are up to 9cm long and bright scarlet with a showy black boss in the centre, held in clusters. They a little pea-like (as indeed wisterias are) but more distinctive than any pea I have seen before.

It is regarded as one of Australia’s showiest wildflowers. While native to the central and north western areas, it is found throughout much of the country so maybe it is worth a try here in a sunny, dry position. Generally it is a low growing annual, flowering in spring though to early summer before setting seed and dying off.

I bought a packet of seed, unsure on whether I could bring it in to NZ but figuring it was only $4 lost if it was confiscated at the border. There was no problem. It is on the list as being here already so is a permitted import. In fact doing it all properly and declaring it got me through customs faster than had I lined up with everybody else for baggage x-ray. I have seen enough to be a strong supporter of good border control.

First published in the Waikato Times and reprinted here with their permission.

Garden Lore

“I am sensibly obliged, my dear Lord, by your great goodness, and am most disposed to take the gardener you recommend, if I can…. I have a gardener that has lived with me above five-and-twenty years; he is incredibly ignorant, and a mule. When I wrote to your Lordship, my patience was worn out, and I resolved at least to have a gardener for flowers. On your not being able to give me one, I half consented to keep my own; not on his amendment, but because he will not leave me, presuming on my long suffering. I have offered him fifteen pounds a year to leave me, and when he pleads that he is too old, and that nobody else will take him, I plead that I am old too, and it is rather hard that am not to have a few flowers, or a little fruit as long as I live.”

Horace Walpole, Letter to the Earl of Harcourt, October 18, 1777.

007 - CopySummer pruning

Pruning time is over for most woody plants because cutting back is best carried out in winter and spring but there are a few exceptions. Cherry trees (prunus) are one. These are best pruned in mid summer (so January or early February). This greatly reduces the likelihood of the dreaded silver blight getting in through the wounds. There is no differentiation between fruiting and ornamental varieties when it comes to timing of pruning. Other close relatives which are best summer pruned include plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots and almonds.

Wisterias will need pruning, probably right now. This is not complicated. Just trim back the long growths at this time to keep them under some semblance of control. Hedgeclippers or secateurs are fine. The winter prune is the important one to manage flowering. Remove any growth around the base or it will escape and layer, forming roots as it slithers along the ground.

Roses can be gently summer pruned as you deadhead, to keep a good shape. Take the time to gather up any diseased leaves while you are about it and burn the lot if you can. Keeping up the water and nutrition levels encourages roses to keep growing so new leaves will continue to form, along with more flower buds on repeat flowering varieties.

Hybrid clematis can be cut back very hard after their flowering flush has finished – and by hard, I mean to about 20cm. Feed them and keep them watered and most will reward you with another flush in about six week’s time. This works for most large flowered types and the advice came from a clematis specialist.

First published in the Waikato Times and reprinted here with their permission.

Plant Collector: Rosa Mme Plantier

Scented, healthy and lovely in every way, but only once flowering - Mme Plantier

Scented, healthy and lovely in every way, but only once flowering – Mme Plantier

It has taken years, nay decades, to get a name on this pretty old rose but finally a visiting rosarian sorted it out for us. Mme Plantier is in the oldie but goodie class. It is currently smothered in fragrant white flowers, like soft pompoms measuring about 7cm across. The buds (and there are many more to open) are soft pink but that colour disappears entirely as the flower matures. Add in two more highly desirable characteristics. Basically it is thorn and prickle-free and it is so healthy that it keeps good foliage right through to autumn without ever having seen even the faintest hint of spray.

What is not to like? It is only once flowering and these days the majority of the buying public demand that roses repeat flower. We accept that a rhododendron may only flower for 3 weeks but woe betide any rose that fails to throw up blooms for 6 months. We must get close to 6 weeks from Mme Plantier and her all round performance is so good that we are happy to live with that.

The doyen of English roses, David Austin, has Mme Plantier on his recommended list and notes that it is a cross between an Alba and a Noisette. This may mean more to readers who are better versed in rose species and classifications than I am. All I can say is that it is a top garden variety in our experience.

First published in the Waikato Times and reprinted here with their permission.

Plant Collector: Rhododendron sino nuttallii

Just beautiful - R. sino nuttallii

Just beautiful – R. sino nuttallii

Oh my, but we are besotted with the nuttallii rhododendrons which flower on even as November draws into December. We would rate these in the elite class as far as rhododendrons go. Not only are the heavy, waxy trumpets large and showy, they are also very fragrant. This one is planted on a bank which was a good decision because we can look down on it and the scent wafts up. Some of the others here are several metres above nose and eye level so the scent is a bit academic because they are best viewed from afar.

The foliage is large and heavily textured (bullate for the botanical or like heavy seersucker for those of a sewing disposition) and over time the main stems develop beautiful shiny, peeling bark in a cinnamon colour. These are large and open growing shrubs so do not fit the tight and tidy mould preferred by some.

‘Sino’ just means it is the Chinese form of the species, as opposed to R. nuttallii which is found in Tibet, North Burma and northern India. The Chinese form is bigger and showier and more sensitive to cold temperatures. These plants are rarely offered for sale though you can sometimes find some of the hybrids that have been bred from them.

Rhododendron sino nuttallii

Rhododendron sino nuttallii

First published in the Waikato Times and reprinted here with their permission.

Maples in the garden

???????????????????????????????Maples. They are acers, botanically speaking and there are plenty of them. They are often seen in gardens too, though the majority are probably what is commonly referred to as the Japanese maple – A. palmatum usually dissectum. There are multitudes of selected forms of this around, many of them carrying Japanese names. One of the reasons I have not written much about Japanese maples is because we don’t have names on many of the ones in our garden here and I have not gone to the trouble of working out which varieties they are. This failure is irrelevant when it comes to their role in the garden but it matters rather more when I write about them.

A random collection of maple leaves from around the garden

A random collection of maple leaves from around the garden

The world of maples goes well beyond those feathery Japanese ones. Maple syrup, dear readers does indeed come from maple trees, unless it is a synthetic version. Acer saccharum – the sugar maple – and that is the inspiration for the Canadian maple leaf emblem. It is also a major contributor to the autumn colours we associate with North America, along with Acer negundo. These are large landscape trees, not dainty little garden specimens though Acer negundo ‘Flamingo’, a pretty variegated form, is widely sold here and stays small enough to be a good option.

Autumn colour supreme

Autumn colour supreme

Maples are classified botanically and share certain characteristics including curious winged seeds which are designed to be dispersed by wind. In a gardening or landscape context, they have some common ground too. The foliage is soft so almost all of them are unsuitable for windy locations. They need adequate moisture levels in summer so are never going to like baking in hot, dry conditions. Many of them are happy in semi shade though some will lose their colour and become dull green in low light levels. Many colour up beautifully in autumn, even in milder climates.

Beyond that, rather than looking at pictures and deciding that you want a particular variety, this is one plant family where I suggest you go to your garden centre and read the plant labels. If you are really lucky, you may even strike someone there who knows about maples. You need to make decisions about whether you want a tree (and if so, what sized tree) or a little dwarf – often called patio maples. Also whether you want weeping or arching growth, or a more upright habit. Then there is the colour and whether you want one that keeps the same colour through spring and summer because some of them change colour as the leaves age.

I would counsel caution against buying too many red or burgundy foliaged maples. These are very dominant colours in the garden landscape and best used sparingly as feature plants. And if you feel compelled to plant a collection of maples, bear in mind that there may not be a huge difference in style between the dreaded conifer garden of the 1970s and the maple garden of more modern times. Enough said on that issue.
???????????????????????????????Besides feature trees which add to the skyline, we find the smaller growing maples combine well in a variety of situations. I really like the little weeping one we have planted with roses growing through it. It is a very pretty combination, especially with perennials also in flower. Pretty too are the ones in a semi- shaded bed with clematis scrambling around them and seasonal bulbs at their base. We have more upright forms in the rockery where we can keep their bases clear and they give good year-round form.
???????????????????????????????But one of the unsung delights of the smaller growing maples is that as they grow older, they can be gently encouraged into natural bonsai forms which give shape and interest in winter when they are fully naked. We do a bit of thinning and shaping but not much is required to make a feature of a maple with a good skeleton.

Plants which delight with distinctive, fresh spring foliage, last all summer, colour up in autumn and then have a really interesting shape in winter justify their garden position all year round. Add in their adaptability to a range of situations and their happy characteristic of combining with all sorts of other plants. It all comes down to making the right decisions on the variety and the garden position from the start. These are good staple plants to incorporate into any sheltered garden.

First published in the Waikato Times and reprinted here with their permission.