2023

[AndyC]

The gingers have all flowered well this year, some still going strong
Hedychium aurantiacum with the maroon underside of the leaves


Hedychium urophylum, one I haven't seen grown elsewhere


Colocasias perhaps a little too happy with life and will need thinning out (not something I would have dreamt of having to do when I was first introduced to the genus)


I bought this plant last year labelled 'Triarrhena lutarioriparia', now 3M tall


On my last visit to PGP (this time last year), Nick had a more mature specimen in a large pot outside his office cabin, magnificent. He labels it 'Miscanthis lutarioriparius', which I'm gussing is more correct.
This year 3m tall, next year who knows (tis in a root barrier)

[charlie]

Just back from France and having managed to get the grass cut and watering sorted I had a quick gallop around with the Camera, nothing terribly exciting I am afraid

Abutilon Westfield Bronze 0018 by charliepridham, on Flickr

A. milleri may not be the flashiest of the Abutilons but it flowers nearly all year even last winter didnt stop it

Abutilon Milleri by charliepridham, on Flickr

Abutilon Marion 0017 by charliepridham, on Flickr

Cobaea pringeli by charliepridham, on Flickr

Clematis Wyvale by charliepridham, on Flickr

Begonia grandis evansiana by charliepridham, on Flickr

The keenly observant will notice signs of work in the background - more of which later!

DSC_0029 by charliepridham, on Flickr

Lapageria Flesh Pink & Ongol by charliepridham, on Flickr

I notice the plant finder have changed my entry back to T.grandifolia from heteromalla?? just doing next years entry when I noticed - wish they would make up their minds

Tibouchina grandifolia by charliepridham, on Flickr

schisandra grandiflora seed 2 by charliepridham, on Flickr

A croccosmia we bought last year and I have already forgotten the name of!

DSC_0034 by charliepridham, on Flickr

DSC_0027 by charliepridham, on Flickr

DSC_0020 by charliepridham, on Flickr

Pontederia cordata

DSC_0022 by charliepridham, on Flickr

[Chad]

I notice the plant finder have changed my entry back to T.grandifolia from heteromalla?? just doing next years entry when I noticed - wish they would make up their minds

Fill the form in as Pleroma heteromallum and be ahead of the curve!

Chad

ps. Tibouchina herbacea could go in as Chaetogastra herbacea at the same time.

[Tony King]

Charlie, love the fruits on the Schisandra, how decorative. I am taking it you have male and female plants of this one together or close by each other?

I have Schisandra chinensis 'rubrifolia' which I bought from the once great Cally gardens after seeing 'rubriflora' in bloom at Kew. Of course years later when it flowered it is white (I should have known the difference between rubrifolia and flora, clue in the name!!!) I must have had a dyslexic moment.

I have never been entirely sure if my plant is male or female, think it is female, but of course without a pollinator no chance of the spectacular fruits clusters you have on your plant.

[charlie]

This is my boy, he is close by the S. grandiflora. I do have a male grandiflora also close by but seldom see it in flower, the male plants are difficult to get hold of and according to one of the retired curators at Kew a much lower percentage when seed is sown

Schisandra arisanensis 018 by charliepridham, on Flickr

[Tony King]

That is interesting to learn Charlie, adds extra likelihood that my plant is a female as I suspected.

[AndyC]

Later flowering Hedychium
Hedychium greenii

Hedychium maximum

Hedychium urophylum

Hedychium 'Himalayan Lipstick'


Cautleya spicata Robusta flowering over but attractive white fruits that contain jet black seeds

[Paul S]

Lovely. It's amazing what happens if you get a bit of rain!

[AndyC]

Lovely. It's amazing what happens if you get a bit of rain!

I have noticed this summer that certain plants have done a lot better than in previous years. One of them is the pampas grass in the background of the first picture that has produced many more and larger flower heads this year.
It is a plant I inherited that I have pondered about removing but hesitated for two reasons. Firstly, I removed one from my old garden but only with a great deal of effort and pain from cuts to my arms and face and secondly, the sparrows love to collect bits of the old flowers for lining their nests. They will have nests with a very high tog rating next season.

[Paul S]

I also inherited some pampas grasses. Not particularly nice ones, dirty cream, scruffy heads. The biggest problem was the badgers here used to maul the clumps to bits and take the leaves for bedding. They would bundle the leaves into a ball and then roll ithe bundle backwards to the sett, leaving a trail of leaves behind. Tough creatures.

As a sort of pampas lookalike I have some Ampelodesmos mauritanicus, a grass from Mallorca. Kind of half way between a pampas and Stipa gigantea. So far the badgers have left it be.