Re: Hallo

Reg wrote:

> As a net novice may I take advantage of my ignorance of Netiquette to share 
>with you the attached view of my small Mediterranean "style"  garden in 
>Sydenham in South East London.  No doubt members will instruct me on the 
>disadvantages of jamming bandwidths with unwanted JPG's. 

My first reaction was a 'sharp intake of breath', but having seen what
it contained I think it was well worth the d/load.  Very nice Reg,
very nice indeed.  Its good to see Cheiranthus 'Bowles' Mauve' in such
a setting.  Odd that the man himself did not think much to it - it's
such a reliable, hardy thing for so many situations as long as it's in
sun.  Good long flowering period too.  Down here it flowers from late
January until December and in most years, always has at least a few
flowers open.

>I am told by a neighbour that South East London is one of the warmest spots 
>in England.  He grows Brugmansia  outside so he should know.  

We grow them out of doors here too - their only dislike is that of
cold winds which occasionally rip down the English Channel and freeze
dry the thin bark.  At worst, they spring back from the roots as soon
as the weather warms up.

> I have 
>overwintered Oleander and a small olive tree outside and have a 10 year old 
>Eriobotrya which only occasionally shows frost damage to the tips of its new 
>leaves. I did not to take a risk with  Plumbago or Bougainvillea but as our 
>climate here really does seem to changing for the better, maybe next Winter I 
>will leave them out in a sheltered spot perhaps a warm window sill. 

Plumbago auriculata seems to be a lot hardier than originally thought
and is now quite widely grown out of doors in the south and west.  I
know of a lovely low 'hedge' of it at Dawlish and it is a mass of
powder blue for much of the summer.  Bougainvillea does pose a bit of
a problem since it is very prone to boytritus mould which affects not
only the thin bark, but also kills the incipient growth buds.  I find
that the 'ordinary' B. spectabilis is by far the most vigorous and
less likely to suffer in this way.  An occasional spray of a systemic
fungicide won't go amiss.  My plant has over wintered out on a west
wall extremely well and already tiny flower buds are showing with the
new growth. If frosts are any harder than say minus 3C., the roots
need to be kept fairly dry - not always the easiest thing to do during
a typically wet, English winter.

>garden is full of aromatic herbs, Lavander, Rosemary, Myrtle, Hissop ,Thyme, 
>Cotton Lavender, Basil some  in large terracotta pots others in the ground.  
[snip]
>the wailing of police car and ambulance sirens which on occasion make 
>Sydenham sound more like New York , but I'm working on it, a conservatory 
>perhaps !!

Sounds absolutely wonderful, there's nothing nicer than the resinous
fragrance of many of these macquis style plants - all you need is a
decent glass of wine and the chirrup of crickets and you're in a
seventh heaven.

David Poole
TORQUAY  UK
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