January 2024
Hello Everyone
As a new year begins with all of its hopes, I want to share with you some news of our dear cat Sam who lived with us for eighteen years. As nearly everyone who receives my newsletter has visited the garden, many of you will remember Sam. He enjoyed garden visitors for sixteen years, and if our friends or family members were sitting inside, he would decide on a lap immediately; the lap's owner would have no say in this decision.
Happy with his life here, he remained in excellent health until kidney failure set in and he lost much of his sight. During these times he was my constant companion.
Now when you come to the garden our other cat Malfi will be here to welcome you.
This is the time of the year for deadheading and cutting back perennials which will flourish again in March.
After the photos of dear Sam, photos of some plants which are flowering now are:
Allium sphaeracephalum: Much admired in our garden, this allium has been growing for many years here and doesn’t seem to be that well known. It likes free-draining poorer soil, so no compost or food is necessary for this bulb.
Clematis ‘Niobe’ flowers for weeks and again has been in the garden for many years.
I’m a passionate clematis fan and have grow many varieties for at least twenty five years. As many visitors will know, I’ve allowed clematis to weave through the perennial gardens without any training from us. In the pink-mauve perennial garden, Clematis ‘Kiri Te Kanawa’, a double deep mauve, has given added interest to the garden with her flowers popping up wherever they please. Now all clematis are left to roam and they are doing so much better with their new-found freedom. Clematis ‘Recta’ now spills gently onto the brick steps instead of being tied to a pole, and Clematis jouiniana, with its strong stems, wanders freely onto the courtyard; the overall effect being that it makes a much more relaxed garden for me. Clematis aren’t used enough, I think, and maybe that is due to gardener’s misunderstanding of them.
Nemesias are just right and the various colours available can be mixed with any planting scheme. Again, as with other perennials, give them a good hard cut back now and they will be producing another lovely display in March.
Ptelea trifoliata. Does anyone grow this? I took this photo in a friend’s garden in England and it was flowering in July.
There is so much to write about as always, but I also realise that there is so much more material out there. It is great to have an over abundance of information.
I have a lot of reading to catch up on, my next book on the pile to read is Endless Pleasures: Exploring and collecting among the byways of gardens and gardening; by Trevor Nottle. There are “contributions from garden experts, garden writers, plant and garden lovers, collectors, food writers, chefs, artists, gallery curators and antiquarians.” I can’t wait to get into this book with its superb illustrations.
Best wishes to you all, for a happy new year,
Margaret
