| Greg's garden: flowers in late spring 2020 |
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These are the flowers we had in the garden in late spring 2020, mainly taken on 21 November 2020, a month before the December solstice. They're not all overly pretty, but the purpose of the photos is to record what was in the garden at the time.
Somehow the garden is not doing well. We've been here for 5½ years, and there's almost nothing to show for it. A comparison after the same time in Kleins Road makes that very clear.
In particular, the Paulownia kawakamii looks as if it will never grow. It's still only about 1 m high. Here it is next to the parent tree in Kleins Road taken at the same age:
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It's not dead; there are still leaves on it.
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But it seems to have gone backwards in the last month or so. Water? Took a look round and found:
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Both of those appear to have been accidents when Paul mowed the lawn. The first is on the corner of the riding arena, and while it didn't directly impact the Paulownia, it might have reduced the flow. The second is more direct: it's the dripper for the Corymbia ficifolia. Not surprisingly, it's not looking happy:
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And then there was an area round the entrance to the north garden, where it seems that a lot of water has got out:
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It'll be fun finding that.
But it's not all just watering. The Buddleja × weyeriana that I planted two months ago was already looking sick earlier in the week:
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But since then it deteriorated rapidly. I had planned to put it in a pot, but by the time I got round to it it looks as if it was too late:
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It was moist, it had fertilizer, but it just died. Why? In Kleins Road they grew like fury. It seems as if the roots had rotted away. Fortunately I have one more plant, but where can I plant it?
Plants that aren't doing quite as badly are the ornamental cherry tree and the Banksia integrifolia. The latter seems happier than last month, though there have been relatively few flowers:
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Then there are plants like the Camellia japonica, which has flowered, but despite large quantities of fertilizer, the leaves are still yellow. And it's hardly any bigger than when we bought it ten years ago.. I suppose the positive way to look at it is that it has survived that long.
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The bed around it is full of Tropaeolum, which is looking very happy:
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I wonder if it's a question of root competition.
Another plant that has—indirectly—survived 10 years is my last remaining cutting of the Hibiscus rosa-sinensis “Uncle Max”, which I got on my 60th birthday 12 years ago. The original cutting has died, but the one I planted outside is showing some signs of recovery:
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I suppose it's an indication of the sad state of affairs that that seems to be progress. But later in the summer I'll take some cuttings and try to cultivate it indoors again.
The Clematis are doing acceptably. The “General Sikorski” is flowering relatively well, while the mistreated “Edo Murasaki” is at least growing; hopefully we'll see some flowers in the autumn.
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About the only things that seem to be doing really well are the roses, as I've noted this time last year and the year before:
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If I continue with gardening—and currently I'm certainly not sure—it would make sense to plant more roses.
Here are the rest:
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