Oh and ... a couple of Begonias that are proving winter hardy here.
This is Begonia sp. U614 as yet unidentified and put out by Cally gardens as B. sikkimensis, which it most certainly is not:
It is highly variable with seedlings that may be almost plain green, but all have a strong red edge to the leaves. The best is this silver form of which I now have several. During winter 2011/12 it remained evergreen, but the persistent, near freezing winds during March just past have reduced my clumps to leafless rhizomes. Happily, they are starting to leaf up again.
The other was ordered from Himalayan Gardens as B. josephii, although the pic on their site showed B. flaviflora. This was pointed out to me by John Boggan and I ordered rhizomes in the hope that it would turn out to be B. flaviflora. At first it looked as though the Begonia was going to be flaviflora, but as time went on the leaves became progressively too large and strongly marked for that sp. Flowering took place late last summer with quite large, palest pink flowers revealing it to be a fine form of Begonia palmata. It's not the easiest to grow on account of its dislike of any hint of artificial heat and the need for constant, cool humidity. However, I think I've got it reasonably well sited and it has survived the winter for a second time. Glorious leaves!
