Some pics of my garden

[Andrew in Germany]

I’ve never been one to blow my own horn on such knowledgeable sites, well, because I stand in awe of just about everyone’s gardens and depth of know how.
But what the hell here goes with a few pics of the various corners in my garden. The back garden has to allow for a multitude of activities from my kids. So a lot of grass. The front garden is pure garden. Wild and on the boarder of taking over the street, which gives it a special charm, which my neighbour has willingly learned to drive around.
Last year I had an Agave wocomahi flower and give me thousands of viable seed. Some I sowed, the majority I sent off to other enthusiasts around the world, in trade for seeds of other enjoyables.
A few pics -
Seedlings of Yucca rigida and agave wocomahi, not much to get worked up on…




A lot of grass but the kids and football…


The bananas have been growing here with various stages of success, many years with lots of fruits but always depending on how much energy I have in November for covering them.



A wall of Fargesia sp. Jiuzhaigou. Very well behaved as are all Fargesias and growing to about 3 / 4 meters tall.



Here I’ve finally managed to get 3 Paw Paw trees growing. The front one is from a seed I spat out, flowers profusely and now that I have 2 more varieties behind it I’m hopeful for some fruit next year.





Triarrhena lutarioriparia growing for a number of years in a pot, finally got one of them into a large enough pot so it grows unhindered. It’s now about 4m tall. Needs lots of water and food. Never plant this in the ground if your smart!






Fargesia robusta Cambell as another wall.



Philodendron (selloum) bipinnatifidum. I’ve grown this for decades, let it get cut down from the frost, keep it in a pot too small and generally treat it as an old old friend. Keeps going but too much attention and I wouldn’t be able to keep it over the winter.
Underneath are some Canna Stuttgarts, spluttering along. I’ve moved them to the shade because of browning off of the whites. Many years ago I saw a great majestic colony of this in a roundabout in Provence. Blazing hot temps in full sun and looking stunning. No browning off. We’ve had a few hours of sun this season and things aren’t looking too good. Oh well…







2 pics of a part of the agave and other sticklers.
Manfreda 'Macha Mocha' (xMangave) x6. These are all pups from the same parent, planted out last year, all the same size and all in the same medium of rubble etc. All went through the same winter obviously, with the same over head protection. 1 died, 2 were reduced to half their size, 3 did very well and one of those 3 has become a monster. No protection other than an over head plastic panel. No explanation for why the discrepancy in survival except to say that’s the way it goes.

Also three agave wocomahis that sailed through the winter without mentioning it.

In there is also a Trichocereus schickendantzi which gave me 1 masssive flower 3 weeks ago.
A Trichocerus pachanoi which I got as a cutting back in the winter, it rooted without a problem quickly and has since put on about 10cm of growth. Also a T terscheckii which went through the winter in situ and survived, but with the rains we’ve had has not been too pleased.













And the last one for tonight a happy Phormium tenax tricolour in full flower. Last year it gave me 3 flowers, this year 5. The seeds however all produce white seedlings that cave in a few weeks after germination.



A lot of work posting this lot. Good gardening, could do it all day…

[AndyC]

You have a lovely garden Andrew and your house fits into it very well. Is that a typical style of house in Germany?

Triarrhena lutarioriparia growing for a number of years in a pot, finally got one of them into a large enough pot so it grows unhindered. It’s now about 4m tall. Needs lots of water and food. Never plant this in the ground if your smart!

I am usually one to make that kind of mistake but was forewarned. I first saw the plant growing in a large tub outside Nick's 'office' at PGP but he didn't have any for sale at the time so I got one elsewhere.
It is in the ground but completely encircled by deep root barrier (about 0.8M diameter). This is only its second full season in the ground but its is already 3M high.
I think that it has now been lumped into the genus Miscanthus?

[Andrew in Germany]

Our house is not typical in Germany. It was built in 1985 using large hollow styrofoam building blocks, sort of like Lego blocks, basically stacked on top of each other. Then cement was poured into the structure. All the walls inside and out, floors and roof. It allowed the architect to do a lot of things like make round corners for one, as well as being very solid and insulated against heat and cold. It doesn’t burn either. It was a system imported as I understand from Switzerland back then, but for what ever reason didn’t catch on all that much.

I believe Nick got his Triarrhena from me some years ago. I made the long trip up to his place and got an Arbutus Marina, he was one of the only places selling them. It is still alive but gets cut back in hard winters. It’ll never be the tree I was hoping for, but it doesn’t seem to die! Just looks like a shrub.

My first year with Triarrhena I had it planted out in the garden and it was clear from the 2 week that it was going to be a nightmare if I didn’t do something. So I dug it up, every little bit that had screwed it its way through holes in the root systems of large trees and so on. It is every bit a problem as Phyllostachys can be. Anyway… it’s in a sort of prison now and living it up. They are not supposed to be particularly winter hardy and I’ve had some die in pots, but put cover over the pot in the winter and it seems to be ok.

[MartinNicklin]

Great garden Andrew and some super plants indeed. Very different to the gardens I remember when I lived in Germany full of Hydrangeas, Astilbes, Phlox paniculata, Rudbeckia etc .... but that was decades ago! Having said that, I adore Hydrangeas and the best I've seen were in Germany, hence, I suppose, so many have German names.

I've had my Triarrhena 3 years. Reached the roof last year ... but: I planted mine in a huge pot and it only produces 3 or 4 canes. Already this year one is almost 2 storeys tall but, looking at yours, I wonder if it resents being overpotted. Your pot is packed to the gunnels.

Did your Smallanthus pull through? My other cutting reached the roof of the greenhouse (over 2M) but promptly died when repotted. My stock plant in the garden was hacked down by malicious neighbours so is way behind this year and swamped by other stuff. I must try to propagate it. If you did get it going, it should survive outdoors with a mulch a bit like a Dahlia.

[Andrew in Germany]

Hi Martin, the Smallanthus never made it unfortunately. However as lovely as it is, I think my garden is going more in the direction of xeric than lush. Having said that we’ve had nothing but rain since November, flooding everywhere. Lush green plants abound all over, and my cactus/agave etc are not amused. Your memories of the normal German gardens are still pretty accurate. So in trying for a more individual look and style I’ve not got any astilbes or hydrangeas or the like. My front garden is where I’ve put most of my attentions and I’m very proud of it, so hopefully I’ll get to posting some more later.

[Andrew in Germany]

some pics of the front

[MartinNicklin]

Marvellous Andrew! Looks like you have quite a big plot. When I lived in Düsseldorf many people had what they called a Schrebergarten. I guess this was a little like our allotments but it was always a joy to go round them. Most of them were immaculately planted little gardens with a summerhouse where the family could spend the day. Are there such things in your town (aren't you near Aachen?) or is there more room in the area for plots of land attached to houses?

[Andrew in Germany]

a Schrebergarten… they are still everywhere and are the same as allotments in Britain. They are very sought after and often handed down the generations. I live on the outskirts of Aachen and there’s a huge housing and land shortage problem here too, but we bought at a better time. Now house prices are astronomical like everywhere it seems.

[Andrew in Germany]

Give Triarrhena lutarioriparia a good clean up, pull all the dead leaves off and it comes up looking a nice blue/green and purple.

[Andrew in Germany]

and with all the rain we've had the crocosmias have really bulked up this year.








and the Cylindropuntia viridiflora carries on