Green Fingers: Some more unusual seasonal plants
The Mimosa or Acacia is a highly desirable evergreen plant and is sold either as a pot plant in florists but also in mild coastal counties as a small tree, which has yellow flowers and attractive foliage.
Regardless of our experience in gardening, we all need a reminder now and then on what to do and when, and I will continue to give a nudge or ‘heads up’ in plenty of time so there need not be a panic attack.
It is a quiet time in the garden but it is not asleep and some plants can surprise you by being cheerful amid the duller conditions that we have been experiencing.
I walked around the garden on one of those rare, beautiful, warm sunny days and noticed a number of plants that, despite the recent frost, rain and storm, looked fresh and bright with flowers and I will mention a few of them now.
The Mimosa or Acacia is a highly desirable evergreen plant and is sold either as a pot plant in florists but also in mild coastal counties as a small tree, which has yellow flowers and attractive foliage. You might be surprised to know there are over 1,200 Acacia species and the small selection available in Ireland includes some of the best types.
Acacia Baileyana has blue tinged foliage and freely produced yellow flowers in winter and spring.
A.b ‘Purpurea’ is similar but with deep purple young foliage.
A.dealbata has fern-like silvery-green foliage with fragrant flowers from late winter to early spring.
A.longifolia has long willow-like foliage with 5cm (2”) flowers.
A.pravisssima has unusual blue triangular leaflets and clusters of yellow flowers in early spring.
All the four species mentioned are very different from each other and give an elegant structure and feature in the garden.
This plant comes from a smaller family of about 50 species of usually fragrant shrubs.
Some are native to Europe and easy to grow but, for the highly fragrant non-native types, you must give it your best position, which is a good, rich, moisture-retentive but free-draining soil in a reasonably sheltered position.
I do not think it is much to ask for such a beautiful plant, such as Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’.
Thinking of this plant group brings me back to when we used to grow and sell over 35 types of these beautiful plants but, due to rationalisation and other reasons, we now list only eight. It is a pity that many very worthwhile plants across the whole range have gone by the wayside in favour of mass-produced, instant, visually pleasing plants.
There are two viburnums that are flowering now and both cannot be more different.
Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Charles Lamont’ is a hardy upright shrub with clusters of richly fragrant flowers from late October until the end of March.
Viburnum tinus ‘Eve Price’ is one of the most popular evergreen shrubs with dark glossy green foliage from which numerous carmine-buds open to pink-tinged white flowers from October until April.
It is a fun thing to use natural plant supports for flowers and vegetables that need a help to stay upright, and they include willow, birch and hazel. At this time of year we cut enough branches for our needs and let them dry out a bit under an open shed until needed from May onwards.
If you have any comments or queries you are welcome to share them with me on 051-384273 or orchardstowngardencentre@hotmail.com and if of general interest I will include them in a future article.
