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All Washed Up

© Michael Campbell

We have just come to the end of one of the worst summers (if that is not too strong a word for it) that I can remember.The wettest August since records began. My hanging baskets and patio containers suffered considerable damage from four days and nights of continuous rain and high temperatures at the beginning of August; all but three of the baskets had to be replanted. Only the baskets planted with busy lizzie's , begonias,and Osteospermum 'gweek' survived the heavy rain, and one from last year filled with Felicia amelloides which survived outside all winter (as did gweek.)

It would be interesting to hear from someone further from the coast on these two plants as they are not listed as hardy.

I refilled the baskets with some plants of gweek that I did not have time to pot on from their 3 inch pots, and some nonstop begonias.The patio planters were replanted with New Guinea busy lizzie's and much to my surprise they are doing fine, something I didn't expect since they are facing south and I usually have to shade them from the midday sun as they scorch easily.

I lost a lot of my cushion alpines with the wet, and even some Australiasian and New Zealand plants such as Helichrysum corralioides, but much to my surprise Dionysia aretioides survived outside and even looks much healthier than I have seen it for years

When I was tidying up the cold plunge frames for the winter, removing the moss and liverwort and raking the sand before replacing the pots, mostly cyclamen and primulas I discovered a number or primula seedlings growing in the plunge; these were potted up in the usual primula compost of equal parts leaf mould, soilbased compost and grit and a handful of slow release fertiliser.I will be watching with interest for the results as I think one of the parents was Old Irish Blue .

Saturday saw the sun appear at last and I set to work giving the griselinia hedge the final cut of the season.I like it to get a little growth before the winter and not have that regimental look of a fresh cut for the next six months . At the bottom of the hedge next to a large plant of Camellia 'Donation' I almost stepped on the new flower spikes of Nerine bowdenii protruding from the bottom of the hedge where they had been planted for protection from the wind. Together with the colchicum they give that little sparkle to the end of summer

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