glowing and growing
Strangely winter is the time I think most of summers past. Last year my garden looked glorious. I say this not in a smug way, but rather in gratitude because the reasons for all its beauty were out of my control: pleasant temperatures and ample, well-timed rainfall. All I had to do was to wander about outside then come inside to chant a mantra of sorts to anyone who was within earshot – “I can’t believe how much everything has grown”, or the other version of this which goes something like, “the plants are literally glowing”.
Glowing and growing – that’s all any good gardener wants, and I was lucky enough to have it happening in my garden because Mother Nature was being very generous. But then we all know she isn’t always so kind. Which is why it’s good to have a couple of aces up your sleeve, which I do. By way of explanation here’s an analogy...
Imagine your garden is like a mountain path, the sort that runs along a ridge with a sharpish fall on either side. When the mist comes in and covers the drop, the path seems fine, wide enough to walk along and no sense that a step or two to the right or left would lead to a tumble downhill. Now gardening is a bit like this. When Mother Nature is benevolent the path seems wide. The sun shines, the rain falls in the early morning and the garden grows and glows. And under this scenario, it doesn’t matter what you’re growing – even fussy or tricky plants - everything is doing wonderfully.
But if growing conditions get tough – the equivalent of having the mountain mist lifting – and it’s too hot or too dry, then you’ll need plants that can manage to thrive in these conditions. In other words, pick plants which aren’t fussy or tricky and you’ll have growth and glowing good health despite the vagaries of Mother Nature, or back to that mountain path, a sheer drop on either side.
What plants do I recommend? Obviously the ones I know very, very well – both from a professional viewpoint and from growing them at home. Here are three of the best – Storm™ agapanthus, Festival™ Burgundy cordyline, the Tropicanna ® cannas and Bonfire® begonia. Click on these links to find out more, but know that each of these plants ticks the boxes: they’re easy to grow, require absolute minimal maintenance, have fabulous resistance to diseases and pests and above all, are simply beautiful things to have growing in your garden.
So enjoy, as I do, when Nature is kind to us gardeners, but don’t be a fool to think it will always be like this. Use winter to plan to plant things which can cope with both the good and the not-so-good times, and you’ll enjoy a beautiful garden regardless of what’s being dished out weather-wise.
hot spot
Did you take my advice and bring home Festival™ Burgundy cordyline before the winter set in? If you did, and you’d set it beside the front door, I’m confident it would have generated a bit of favourable comment because it’s just that sort of plant – lustrous good looks with a fair amount of presence and style (it never forms a trunk). But now’s the time to bring this New Zealand cordyline inside for more adoration, and to protect it from the winter chills. And if you don’t have one, go out and bring one home to set out in the conservatory or sunroom simply because a thing of beauty does make you smile.
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