that IS a lot of orange Jude....................................... too much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Favorite Plants in the Cottage Garden
you wouldnt believe how full i can pack that small greenhouse in winter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A few crocosmia...................
Mark, on the right in the pic of the greenhouse, what is that gorgeous purple leaf? That's a must have!
Its called a Cotinus............................ but i dont know which variety it is!!
Lovely though isnt it
ahhhhhh, lovely is putting it mildly.
they are widely available in USA i believe.......................
Do you like Roses Jude??????????????????
Love roses, what girl doesn't?
I wanted to ask you if you have any veggies in your gardens or if you keep them separate. curious minds want to know
There's a relatively new lime green variety out now too. I finally got one last year.
The purple one like Mark's.
do either of you think it would survive in heat? If not, could I maybe have a large houseplant?
Awwwwwww, yes true.............. most girls do!!
No, i dont really do veggies much! I do some runner beans and potatoes now and again................
Why do you ask?? is that something you like to do?????
I was thinking of adding veggies to my garden and see what happens. Could be interesting
i think they are good from Zone 5 to 10
hey_jude - do you mean cotinus? they are small trees yeah know! If you prune them, you can keep them
to shrub size. Plantfiles says they are hardy to zone 8. What zone are you? I see someone says they grow
in Roswell New Mexico ... is that similar climate to yours?
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/56257/index.html
Tam
What zone are you Jude????????????????????
Veggies should be fun, but you will have to water them well....................
Mark, I'm in the desert southwest. EVERYTHING has to watered at least once a day in the heat of summer.
herbs for me are winter not summer as well as all salad greens. but we grow oranges , grapefruits and lemons like crazy.
I have just read up on Cotinus.................. depending on what variety you get, they are hardy from zone 3 to zone 10
you are in the desert........................OMG!!!!!!
How hot does it get there?????????????????????????????
Oh how cool.......................... wish i could grow citrus fruits........................ yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmy
we hit 112 -115 as a regular thing, but that doesn't last for long.
OH......................................... wow and heres me thinking 80 is hot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
80 is nice weather for us here.
believe it or not, one does kind of get used to it, and it never requires shoveling to clear a driveway, car park or the like
Mark, just went and checked out your web site. Very, very nice. I, too, had no idea there were that many varieties of croscomia. the colors are just gorgeous. they must just glow in your garden! ....I want to walk up that path to your GH and see what's packed in there :0)
I got some astrantia seed from a generous DG friend, so I hope to have some for my new cottage garden next spring. but YOU, Mark, showed me the first pic I ever saw of it, so it;s YOUR fault I fell in love with it! the belamcanda and toad lily are still on my wish list, but I can't do it all at once.
Jude, I never liked orange flowers much, especially the tiger lilies. But orange is growing on me. I've decided that you just can't overdo it, and must combine it with the right colors and it can be a wonderful accent. never liked white flowers before either, but now I can see that gardens can't do without them.
Hey Jan
Thank you, I am so pleased you like my site................... will be much better next year when i get out there with my camera again!!!
There are a lot more crocosmia than even i have..................... I cannot understand still why there arent that many available in Th US.
Oh you would be suprised whats packed in there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, you got some astrantia seed................... what astrantia is it???? I have around 10 or 12 varieties!!
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww how sweet that I got you to fall in love with astrantias!!!!! Hey if you want some belamcanda seed Jan, i will send you some!!!
I will see if i can get some toad lily seeds for you also........................... Going to the garden centre tomorrow so i will have a look round and see what i can find for you!!!!
Mark
Well its now 1.30am here........................ so i am off to my bed!!!!!!!!!!!
Thought i would leave you with a pic of Dahlia 'Arabian Night' with the sun shining through its petals.............. quite stunning (well i think so)..................
Night Night
Mark
Mark, Nice garden, nice pictures and nice website!
Dave
Mark, I had no idea there were that many Crocosmia, either! I bought some this spring and they never came up, so I didn't bother to dig them up and couldn't find them anyway, although I have a broad idea. You'll have to tell us how to grow them so they come up and bloom!
You have a lovely cottage garden...do your neighbors garden, too? Or are you odd man out lie so many of us?
Suzy
Hey Dave................. Thank you very much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Suzy
Not many people do realise there are so many different crocosmia!!
Firstly it depends on what kind of soil you have there................. if it is sandy then not many will grow!!!! But you could always grow them in pots................ all mine are in pots!!!
If your soil is regular good soil, then you should be fine...................... as you are in a cold area, the idea is to bury them deeper than the frost can penetrate your soil in the winter! Here where i am it penetrates around 4" at the most! So i bury mine around 5 or 6 inches deep! I would imagine where you are you want to be burying the corms at leasy 8" deep and put a good layer of mulch on the top when its winter!! That way they will be fine and grow for you.................. but you are on the bottom of the hardiness zone i think, so you will have to chose some that are very hardy and not the half hardy and tender one!
Also, you must feed them well in summer when yhey are flowering................ Bone Meal is excellent for that!!
Yep my neighbours garden too.................... in fact most of their garden is from my garden!! They are on limited income so i help them out with spare plants etc................ Nice to help out people where you can i think!!
People in England Suzy tend to be gardening mad............... its the crazy english pastime!!
Mark
To start the day off with a pretty photo!!!!!!!!!
What a wonderful blue! Mark, I saw your list of the croscomia that you are looking for. Guess it will take a while to fill it all ;0) are there many in the UK who are fascinated with them?
I don't know the variety of the astrantia seed I was sent. just that they are burgundy and pink. they are so beautiful!
I'd love to have some of your belamcanda seed, but isn't it expensive to send? Can I send you stamps or something? I don't know if I have anything else you might like.
Mark, I am so enjoying your photos, posts, and your website. I have quite a bit of Crocosmia, but only the orange variety (which spread so much it makes me nuts). I had bought a couple others, but they got lost in an overgrown garden, never to be found again. This zone must be perfect for them because I could dig up a clump, leave it sitting in the driveway all winter, and it would still grow! (Of course, once it gets too thick with corms, it tends to bloom less until it is divided.)
Grampapa (Jan).................. That one is Pulmonaria 'Blue Ensign'............... Do you have Pulmonaria over there????
Some of the crocosmia on my wish list will never ever be seen......................... they are very old varieties that were probably lost due to the dig for victory in the second world war.........
There are one or two that are fascinated with crocosmia, but not that many........... i converted quite a few of them!!! LOL
There are lots of astrantia that are burgundy and pink.................
Nooooooooooooooo, its not that expensive to send.............. D-mail me your address and i will send you some, ok?
No i dont want stamps or whatever.................. dont worry, i will be just happy to send you some!!!!
As i am sending those, is there anything else you want??????
Hi Murmur............................Awwwwwwww thank you, i am pleased you are enjoying them.........
Seems everyone in the US has the orange one that drives you all nuts.....................LOL
Shame you lost the other ones you had..................... maybe you should start a just crocosmia patch!!!!!!!
That would be soooooooooooooooooooooooo pretty when they all flower!!!!
I take it that is the orange one that you can dig up and leave on the drive all winter.................????
I am afraid they arent all that hardy...................... in fact some are tender even here!! yes they all like some room.....so tend to flower less when they need splitting!!!
Mark, I think the ones I lost were a George Davidson and an Emily McKenzie (not sure if I remember those names correctly) and I will try them again. Yes, it is the beloved orange that drives us all nuts (however, I also like it at the same time!).
I have some nasty barren property in back of me (clear cut a couple years ago) and I scattered a gazillion corms in September or October. I've no idea if any will take hold, but it was worth a try!
Yep could be Gerorge Davison and Emily McKenzie.................. they seem to be quite popular over there!!!!
I have seen the dreaded orange one and yes it is quite pretty, but then again, they all are!!!!
Wow a gazillion........................LOL. You scattered them??? not planted them????????????????
You never know, they may do........................... will be pretty cool to see it if the do take hold!!!
Yes, I just scattered them - the ground back there is not particularly easy to dig (plus it's not mine!) and I had so many that if they take fine, if not, I couldn't have done anything with them anyway!
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm seems like a good idea then............................... better than wasting them!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
dont you just love pretty photos
I like this last one a lot Mark,
I like real flowers better than the photos.
Late arriving today, have been too tied up to do much online. trying to catch up some now.