Woohoo! New website is live! www.bencandlin.co.uk

It's all been rather quiet on here lately. I guess that means that I've failed at keeping number 6 in my new year resolutions already. Ah well, such is life.

The will to blog has been strong, but time has not been so easy to come by. But just as the garden is finally springing into life with the gradual onset of spring, so will the blog fire into life again this season. I hope!

Part of the reason for my slackness on the computer keyboard is this: www.bencandlin.co.uk
I'm pleased to announce that my brand new website is now live!

It has taken a long time to put the content together, sort photos and generally get ready, but the wait has been worth it. It is now possible to purchase my aroid tubers in one easy online transaction rather than pinging emails back and forth. Much better for all concerned! There is a growing range of Arisaema for sale, along with various Amorphophallus tubers available in season.

Please do take a look at the website. If anyone wants to add any feedback on the design etc then it would be gratefully received - either positive or negative! Just leave a comment at the bottom of this blog post.

In the meantime, I leave you with the shot of the dark coloured form of Arisaeam concinnum. Just so you have something to look at! 

Taccarum weddellianum

I've just been sorting through a couple of boxes of assorted aroid tubers - I tend to store many of them completely dry and out of their pots whilst dormant. There is less risk of rotting that way and it saves a load of space!

It was nice to see that one or two are showing signs of life, hopefully signalling a promising start to the coming growing season. I'm particularly looking forward to seeing what this large Taccarum weddellianum tuber produces. It is flowering sized, and at 11cm in diameter and weighing 280g I'm hoping for a decent display!

In common with other Taccarum species, Taccarum weddellianum is a pretty crazy plant. Both the leaf and inflorescence should be spectacular, and I'll make sure I update this blog with some shots, along with other notable aroid flowers as and when they come along.

I can't wait!

Taccarum weddellianum tuber. Just starting into life!

National Botanic Gardens of Wales - Great Glasshouse

Following on from my last post about the Tropical House at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, I have added a few shots from the Great Glasshouse - the other large glass house in the gardens. 

The Great Glasshouse is well named. It is indeed 'great', both in terms of its size and by virtue of being, well, quite simply, great! This is the largest single span greenhouse in the world and stepping inside one immediately senses the large open space within. Often a glasshouse can feel confined, simply by its nature. Not so with this one. It takes the form of a vast dome 110 metres long and 60 metres wide, with the temperature inside never falling below 9 degrees.

The vast interior of the Great Glasshouse

 The planting consists of many rare and endangered plants from 6 areas of the globe: 

California

Australia

Canary Islands 

Chile 

South Africa

Mediterranean

Each of these areas have climates that generally experience hot, dry summers and cool winters (not cold and wet) along with strong sunlight and wind. Many of the Canary endemic species were familiar to me already, having enjoyed a couple of plant -spotting visits to Tenerife in the past.

Echium wildpretii. This was a familiar plant from the Teide caldera on Tenerife - and one I have grown from seed in the past.

Echium candicans. This plant appeared to have shorter flower spikes than normal.

Sonchus species (I've always struggled to tell them apart, and I didn't write down the label on this one!)

Another Sonchus. I could get to like our native Sow Thistles if they formed trunks like this!

Being interested in tuberous aroids, I had wondered whether I might see a few Arisarum or Dracuncuus species. Sadly there were none on display, although there were a few Arum concinnatum plants and a really beautiful form of Arum oriental, known as subspecies sintenisii. I have yet to add this species to my own collection.

Arum orientale ssp sintenisii

The South African zone was particularly impressive, as might be expected from this florally rich country. Numerous Aloes were in flower and many Leucadendron were looking stunning.

Leucadendron 'Safari Sunset'

Aloes in the Great Glasshouse

It's always nice when you're introduced to a new plant, and I was most taken with Barnadesia caryophylla, shown below. This was a completely new genus to me. Originating from Chilie, this is a small shrubby tree with the most amazing pink, furry flowers. I'd love to find a source for this plant or obtain seeds. If anyone reading this happens to find some please let me know!

Barnadesia caryophylla

Barnadesia caryophylla

I could easily have spent many hours wondering around the network of paths within this spectacular greenhouse, but it began to get dark far to soon, putting an end to my visit, and this short photo tour. I guess it means I'll be back again at some point as my short visit simply did not do the place justice.

Once again, hope you enjoyed the photos. And if anyone knows a source for the Barnadesia I'd be most grateful!

Evening light in the Great Glasshouse

National Botanic Gardens of Wales - Tropical House

Between Christmas and new year I was fortunate enough to make a visit to the National Botanic Garden of Wales, near Camarthen. Unfortunately it was only a fleeting call, but it gave just enough time to dash around the Tropical House and Great Glass House before the daylight gave out.

The garden is well worth a visit, and although, as expected, there wasn't a huge amount going on outside in the depths of winter, the glasshouses were both in spectacular shape. I can imagine that the grounds will look stunning later in the season. I don't tend to see too much written about the place, which is a shame really. Being only 5 minutes off the A48 it's pretty easy to get to.

I was keen to visit the Tropical House for its collection of monocot plants, as well as the chance to escape the bitterly cold wind outside. Orchids, Palms, Bromeliads, and of most interest to me, Aroids, were all on display in its warm and steamy interior.

I will admit that my knowledge of some of the tropical foliage aroids such as Philodendron and Anthurium is not that great, so any names are as shown on the ID labels (I did notice one or two mislabelled plants). If I could provide the conditions these species need (year round warmth and humidity) I would just love to grow some of these, but I guess I'll just have to stick to the tuberous aroid species instead!

As I write, it is trying to snow outside. A kind of wet slushy snow, not far off being sleet. My mornings gardening work has been delayed a little until it passes, so I figured what better way to warm up than by sorting through and sharing a few photos of warm tropical plants! Trying to take photographs on a gloomy day in the darkest month of the year was a bit of a struggle, but hopefully the shots will give a taster of the greenhouse.

The Tropical House, National Botanic Garden of Wales



Alocasia 'portodora' had reached impressive proportions! This is a hybrid between A. ordora and A. portei.

Another shot of Alocasia 'portodora' this time of an old inflorescence. A couple of new buds were also showing.



Anthurium 'Jungle King'. This plant is sometimes found as a houseplant in UK but is unlikely to do well in the average centrally heated house.

Unlabelled Anthurium species.

There were many bromeliads in flower. Sadly most were unlabelled.

Another unidentified bromeliad.



A young Dypsis lutescens growing with a Monstera and other aroids. I've been meaning to get hold of this palm - there is something about the yellow petioles that I like.

Musa velutina in flower, complete with pink bananas! This is a commonly grown species often seen in seed catalogues. I've grown it in the past. Perhaps I'll give it another try this year...

The wonderful foliage on Philodendron xanadu

Spathiphyllum wallisii

Xanthosoma sagittifolium growing part submerged.

That's about it for now. I have a load of photos of the Great Glass House to sort through too which I'll feature in my next post. This is the largest single span greenhouse in the world and is absolutely stunning, both in terms of its architecture and the plants it contains.

Hope you enjoyed the photos!

Gardening Resolutions

Happy new year everyone!

The start of a new year gives the opportunity for a fresh start, although the same could be said for any other arbitrary point in time! But with this in mind, I thought I'd use this blog post to jot down a few new years gardening resolutions, along with some general aims for 2013.

I should add that I don't normally make new years resolutions - by mid January I have usually broken them anyway! However, even if (when) I fail with these, if I can be that little bit better then I suppose that is a good thing. Besides, right now in the depths of winter, it feels like a good time for such things before the garden gets back into growth again with the onset of spring in a few months time.

So, here goes:

• I resolve to keep better notes on my growing and gardening, especially with regards to my ever growing collection of tuberous aroids. So often I can't remember what method I previously used to propagate a tricky plant, or how long germination took, or what size an aroid tuber was before it flowered etc.

• I will try to give better care to the numerous seedlings and batches of seeds that I have sprouting everywhere around the house. The trouble with being a plant addict is that the numbers of pots soon out grow the available space and chaos reigns! I must be better organised this year.

• The same could be said of the organisation in the cold frames!

•  To not take on too much gardening work at once. I seem to get this wrong each year which makes for a stressful existence!

• I quite fancy trying to successfully artificially pollinate a couple of my aroids. It would be nice to experiment with making a cross between two species. My past efforts have been failures, so it will be interesting to try this again in 2013.

• Finally, I resolve to keep this blog page more regularly updated with useful and relevant content (ha!)

How about you? Anyone got any gardening new years resolutions to share?

21st December. A cure for SAD!

 21st December. I must confess that I love this date! It's the shortest day of the year. Which means that from this point onwards the sun will slowly start to climb higher in the sky, and impercetibly, each day will be very slightly longer than the last. Ok, so any change in daylength will not be noticed for a good few weeks yet but it is still a cheerful thought, especially for those of us who suffer from a bit of winter Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD!

This year it's not just the short days that have been contributing to the gloomy feel. After a very wet summer, autumn has followed suit and produced some extremely wet weather. The ground here in the South West has been well and truly saturated for some time now, making my regular gardening work rather challenging at times. Working the soil has been completely out of the question in some gardens, with pools of standing water appearing in some borders.

Fatsia japonica 'variegata'. This poor plant has it's roots in standing water. 

Whilst Woodbury and the surrounding villages have thankfully been spared the terrible flooding that other areas of Devon and Cornwall have suffered this autumn, the streams have been in impressive flow. As have the roads! Some winter sun would not go amiss right now to dry things out a little!



One of the drier lanes around Woodbury!

Gilbrook, Woodbury.

Yet despite the lack of sun, copious rainfall and soggy ground, there are signs of life stirring in the garden. Mahonia japonica is budding up nicely, ready for its winter display of highly scented yellow flowers.

Buds on Mahonia japonica. With raindrops!

A number of spring flowering bulbs are poking their heads above ground too, in particular, the snowdrops are doing well. It's won't be many weeks before these are in full flower. Always a joy in the depths of winter!

Snowdrops will soon be making a carpet of colour.

Numerous species of Arum are now leafing up. I may make a further post about these at a later date, but for now, here are a couple of shots of our native species, Arum maculatum starting into growth. This is a neat little plant, and whilst not suited to a manicured garden, it makes an excellent addition to a woodland garden or a wild corner.

The first leaves on Arum maculatum, growing up through saturated ground!

Arum maculatum

I'll leave you with this final photo of a lichen encrusted wind chime and cherry tree trunk. It's the kind of effect that only only be achieved with the passing of time, and I love the way nature has taken over in this scene. If the passing of the shortest day of the year is not a cure for SAD, then taking time to reflect on the nature that surrounds us in the garden will surely lift the spirits!

 



A Devon Jungle Garden - Part 2!

The litter of fallen maple leaves that are currently covering my small area of lawn serve to remind me that the main season for exotic style gardening is coming to an end. It won't be long now before Jack Frost makes his first visit of the season and I'll need to get busy bringing in the tender plants before he appears.

At this time of the year, I like to look back at the past season's growth and evaluate what has been a success and what has been disappointing. With that in mind, here is a quick run down of a garden I've been working on now for a few years. I featured it way back in September 2010 here. It's nice to see how it has developed since then.

In their own words, my clients wanted a 'Jungle Garden' and asked me to help. No problem! Such a request is pretty much the dream brief for a gardener like me! Since then, the site has been gradually changed from a pleasant but rather un-jungly plot into an unusual and quirky jungle garden, bursting with large leaved plants and interesting flowers.

This year, not all has been plain sailing in this garden. 2012 has brought more than its fair share of wind, rain and cool temperatures. Earlier in the year, a strong gale brought down a beautiful Laburnum anagyroides in full bloom. This was one of the oldest trees on the site and it was a great shame to lose it.

Laburnum anagyroides - felled by a freak gale in full flower. A great shame!

A few weeks later, a day of unbelievable rain caused the stream at the bottom of the garden to burst it's banks (the first time water has ever actually flowed into the garden, as far as I'm aware) and washed away a few tubs and large quantities of mulched woodchip from the borders. Sometimes, gardening can be hugely frustrating!

One or two plants have noticeably struggled this year. In particular, the Ricinus have never really got going and are much smaller in stature than in previous years. This is normally a useful plant for a jungle style garden. Grown from seed each spring, it is cheap and can potentially reach impressive proportions over the course of a season.

Conversely, other plants have obviously enjoyed the rain. The large Trachycarpus fortunei, planted from a 90L tub back in 2010 has really taken off this year, producing many new leaves. This palm is really starting to have impact in this area of the garden and I have been especially pleased with it's progress. The shot below was taken in early summer this year. 

The main exotic border. Trachycarpus, ensete, zantedeschia and various hostas. A large Ceonothus in flower behind.

A series of large Ensete maurelii have also done well. These have been absolutely reliable each year and never fail to put on a good foliage display. The largest are into their third year and have simply become more and more impressive over time. They get overwintered totally dry in a cold conservatory for the winter at temperatures low enough to slow growth to a virtual standstill, but not so cold as to cause damage. This is another low cost plant that does very well in this type of planting.

Ensete maurelii. Liriodendron tulipifera, The Tulip Tree is planted behind. I plan to pollard this in the future to obtain maximum leaf size.

Ensete maurelii and the variegated bamboo Hibanobambusa tranquillans "Shiroshima"

Another Ensete maurelii along with Dicksonia antarctica and Crocosmia 'Golden Fleece'

Unsurprisingly, Bamboos and Ferns have also thrived in the damp. As have the Zantedeschia and Colocasia. I would not be without either of these two aroids in any garden! Colocasia esculenta 'illustris' has reached four feet in height and is starting to produce offsets, helping to make a clumping effect. This is especially welcome as it only seems to carry around four leaves at any one time. Colocasia 'Jacks Giant' has not done so well, my guess is that it has been too cool for any decent growth. 

Colocasia esculenta 'illustris''

Another gratuitous shot of Colocasia esculenta 'illustris'

Zantedeschia aethiopica

Dahlia imperialis, the aptly named Tree Dahlia, flowered last year, but not until December. This is an impressive plant that wilts at the first hint of frost. Such late flowering means that we rarely see them bloom in the UK. Will we be so lucky again this year?! I'd always been under the impression that the large, woody tubers were tender, so some were lifted for the winter whilst others were left in the ground as an experiment. I was pleasantly surprised when they sprouted back into life in the spring, from under their warm layer of insulating mulch. Flowers or not, such a large and rapidly growing plant is a useful addition to the garden.

Looking up at Dahlia imperialis December 2011

Dahlia imperialis. Will we see flowers again this year?

Dracunculus vulgaris flowered spectacularly back in late June / July, and the smell was rather overpowering for a day or two, with five inflorescences opening in succession! The largest reached nearly a metre in length. These plants have long since retreated back to their underground tuber, but have been replaced by some curiously coloured toadstools! If anyone can enlighten me on the species I'd be grateful!

Emerging spathes on Dracunculus vulgaris

Spathe detail on Dracuculus vulgaris

Dracunculus vulgaris in all its smelly glory! The largerst 'flower' that can be grown outside in the UK!

I just love these glossy blue toadstools that have appeared! I have no idea what they are, but they fit in well with the exotic theme!

One of the main tasks for this year was converting an old, leaky pond into something a little more functional and attractive. The mass of duck weed covered black slime has been replaced by a sunken seating area, surrounded by tall bamboos and a couple of Fatsia japonica. One half of the hole has been converted into a bog garden, planted with Gunnera manicata, Rodgersia pinnata and Rheum palmatum. Given all the rain, this has done rather well! The planting will need time to mature and settle in, but I've been pleased with how this area of the garden has done in the space of just a few months.

New sunken seating area on the site of an old pond

The new sunken seating area with bog garden beyond.

I hope you enjoyed the brief tour! There are various other new plantings planned for this garden for next spring, and for me, this is an exciting garden to work in. If anyone has any comments or criticisms, then please let feel free to post. It is always helpful to have feedback on planting combinations!

A final shot, looking past a large urn towards the mock ruin at the bottom of the garden. The Paulownia tormentosa has done well this year!