Recently asked what is your favourite Salvia I found myself stumped. There are just so many different species and they are very few that I don’t appreciate in one way or another. Saying that in the top 10 this year has to be Salvia oxyphora. Its the first time I have grown it, its not nearly […]
Why has my hot lips lost its lips?
Today at a plant sale I got asked about Salvia ‘Hot Lips’, why has it lost its ‘lips’? That being the pink edge to the flowers. Salvia ‘Hot Lips’ appears to be quite unstable, sometimes it comes all white, sometimes all pink, and sometimes you get the two tone pink and white flowers. I don’t […]
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Salvias – 3 – Success
An update on the Californian salvia cuttings; I took cuttings from the following salvias, S. mellifera S. clevelandii S. apiana S. leucophylla S. brandegei S. caespitosa I now have at least one plant of everything bar the Salvia caespitosa which unfortunately I lost. Not sure what happened as it looks to be healthy and growing. […]
Salvias – 2 – We have leaves!
Yup. I am super excited as we have new leaves coming on one of the cuttings. Firstly as a quick update all of the cuttings are still alive a week and a half on. Always a good start. Everything looks healthy and looks as though its still getting water. There are some very tiny hairs […]
Salvia ‘Black and Blue’ – I think….
There are a variety of Salvia guaranitica’s on the market, many calling themselves “Black and Blue”. Whether or not they are the original true ‘Black and Blue’ is another question. So here is an initial picture and description of what I am reasonably confident is an original ‘Black and Blue’. The first thing to note is how […]
Salvias – 1 – Propagation Day
Today I have picked up 7 new Salvia’s from Lynsey and John Pink (holders of National Collection of Salvia species). 1 of these is in a pot and ready to go, the other 6 I was given propagation material and we are going to see if I can get any of them to root. Apparently […]
The Old Workshop – January 2019
When I moved to Hayling (January 2012) my husband said it never snows on Hayling. Since then we have had snow every year, in 2013 we were dog sitting for my parents and the snow was so deep Bertie was up to his shoulders in snow. Last year the ‘Beast from the East’ came just […]
Winter Gardening
Many gardeners find themselves out of work at this time of year, with clients looking out into the garden and thinking that there is nothing to do asking their gardeners not to come back till spring. Not only is there plenty to do during the winter, but us gardeners often appreciate the time to get […]
Catkins (and more…)
Last week I managed to capture one of natures little secrets. I say secret, its actually very obvious when you stop and look closely – that is the female flowers of many trees. If you can see catkins, the male flowers, the chances are the female flowers will be there somewhere too. Often much smaller, […]
Lavandula pinnata
I bought this lovely Lavender from Pepper Pots Herb Nursery whilst attending a tour organised by the Surrey branch of Plant Heritage. It has performed amazingly here on Hayling, flowering continuously from July until now! I had been boasting about how well it was doing, only to find it blackened by the frosts and -3C […]