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Spring/Autumn gardens

Betty-Ann Kelly wrote:

>I am a great fan of cordyline australis, our native
>'cabbage trees' and derive great satisfaction from seeing
>the amount of height they have put on. Clumps of arthropodium
>cirratum have thickened up, and the seed capsules have
>ripened. Under my bedroom window the chaos of salvia ulignosa
>has flowered for months, such a satisfying blue.

We are inundated with this member of the lily family  (Cordyline
australis) - often finding seedlings popping up like grass between
paving stones.  I rather like it and so too apparently, do our local
council who years ago, adopted it as an emblem for the town.  Here it
is locally known as the 'Torbay Palm' - a double mis-nomer since it is
most definitely neither a palm, nor indigenous to Torbay.  It grows
very well here, enjoying the normally humid, warm almost oceanic,
summer climate and the comparatively frost free winters in most years.
It flowers quite early in the summer, producing huge panicles of white
flowers which are rapidly followed by great bunches of white berries
which remain attractive until well into winter. 

 A lot of colour variants are making a noticeable appearance - the
most colourful being 'Torbay Dazzler' : a bright multi-coloured sport
with leaves striped pink, cream, white and grey/green, whilst 'Purple
Tower' is a very broad leafed form with rich red-purple leaves edged
with red.  The latter appears to be more akin to the broader leaved
Australian - Cordyline indivisa, which is reputedly more tender,
although not noticeably so, here in South Devon.

Whilst not an entirely suitable topic for mediterranean plants, I must
add to your mention of Tovara 'Painter's Palette'.  This is the most
wonderful herbaceous perennial which does especially well in a shady,
moist border in my garden.  I find its broad, almost velvety leaves -
each splashed with a kaleidoscope of cream, pink, velvet maroon and
lime green almost too alluring for words.  It forms a broad hummock 
about  2.5  feet high and across which remains attractive right until
late autumn/early winter.  At the moment, masses of fresh leaves are
appearing and I'm having to do battle with snails which also find the
plant too attractive to ignore!  This Japanese perennial does well in
cool, moist conditions and seems to appreciate a slightly acid, peaty
soil.

Fuchsias which seemed to have been cut down by our abnormally cold
winter have in fact, started into growth, apparently untouched and
with the exception of Fuchsia fulgens, are sprouting well  from old
wood.  This latter is very hardy with us since it tends to be somewhat
herbaceous - dying back to a woody 'ligno-tuber' when frosts are
severe.  It's growth is sufficiently vigorous for it to grow to over 5
feet by early autumn, when the shrub is at its best - hung with great
pendulous racemes of green tinted, light scarlet, tubular flowers.  I
love it and shall be planting F. boliviensis 'Alba' as a companion
this year.  Luckily we do not seem to be bothered with the mite that
seems to afflict those plants grown by our Californian friends.

David Poole
-- 
                        dave_poole@ilsham.demon.co.uk
                        http://www.ilsham.demon.co.uk        
                                      TORQUAY  UK
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