Tag Archives: Mark and Abbie Jury

Plant Collector: Erythronium revolutum

The transient delight of dogs tooth violets - Erythronium revolutum

The transient delight of dogs tooth violets – Erythronium revolutum

Of all the fleeting seasonal delights, the dogs tooth violets or erythroniums might take the award for ephemera. They are so pretty and dainty and they are here today and gone pretty soon after. We probably only get ten days out of them in flower and a bad bout of weather can knock the display for the year. But we still get a great deal of pleasure from them. The flowers are like nodding hats while the compact foliage is often gently mottled or marbled in green and maroon.

There are about 20 different species, all in the Liliaceae family, but some of them just won’t perform in our climate. Many prefer cooler conditions and dry summers. As far as we know, what we have are mainly seed raised E. revolutum which is native to the west coast of USA. They thrive in humus rich conditions on woodland margins where the soil stays moist and there are reasonable light levels. The corms are interesting, being long and narrow and alarmingly easy to snap in two when disturbed. They find their own depth, often burrowing down quite deep, out of harm’s way.

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

Plant Collector: Magnolia Burgundy Star

Magnolia Burgundy Star in full glory

Magnolia Burgundy Star in full glory

It is perhaps not widely realised that New Zealand leads the world when it comes to red magnolias, both in terms of breeding them and in the intensity of colour we get. We put this down to a combination of soil conditions and light. What flowers with good rich colour here can look pretty washed out and murky at times in the UK and Europe. New Zealanders tend to take the red colours for granted while magnolia enthusiasts overseas turn green with envy.

This one is Burgundy Star. It forms a narrow pillar shaped tree, not wider than two metres maximum. Because of this shape (described as fastigiate), it makes a splendid feature where space is limited, such as beside driveways. It gives height without much width. The flowers are towards the stellata (or star) magnolias in form but much larger and with firmer petals so they don’t get as floppy. And red. The stellatas are predominantly white, sometimes tinged pink. Because it sets flower buds down the stem, the season is extended. Magnolias which only set buds on the tips have a big display and are then pretty much over for the season.

Any of the deep coloured magnolias look best when planted in a position where the flowers are viewed with the light shining from behind.

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

Garden lore

I fear I am a little impatient of the school of gardening that encourages the selection of plants merely as artistic furniture, chosen for colours only, like ribbons or embroidery silk. I feel sorry for plants that are obliged to make a struggle for life in uncongenial situations because their owner wishes all things of those shades of pink, blue or orange to fit in next to the grey or crimson planting.

Edward Augustus Bowles My Garden in Spring (1914)

If you don’t want to use chemical weedkillers, boiling water can be a simple alternative, particularly between pavers or on cracks or joins in concrete. The boiling water not only kills weeds instantly, it also sterilises the soil to reduce more weed seeds germinating in the area. However, don’t use it near the base of plants that you want to continue growing. Obviously you need to be extremely careful and avoid carting the hot water jug when you have pets or small children around. Wearing covered footwear is also a good safety precaution.

More Tikorangi tui – in Prunus Te Mara this week

New post on Magnolia Diary.

Magnolia Mark Jury - what else could it be?

Magnolia Mark Jury – what else could it be?

Three years ago, I charted the magnolia flowering season here in a Magnolia Diary. Just posted is an update explaining why, despite raising hundreds of different magnolias over a period of 60 years here, we have only ever named eleven – eight of Felix Jury’s breeding and three of Mark’s (with a fourth in the pipeline). In the meantime, our magnolia display here goees from strength to strength, with both named varieties (our own, and others) and also-rans from the breeding programme.

Sweetheart is not one of ours, though we would be happy if it was

Sweetheart is not one of ours, though we would be happy if it was