Tried a decent sized wildpretii plant in Liverpool in the early 00's. Died as soon as any kind of frost hit. Pity as I love them! They are not nearly as hardy as pininana and are truly tender imo. Although the RHS says as hardy as pininana?I love an Echium. I've only got 3 in my garden in flower this year, but the ground is covered in thousands of seedlings for next year.
I've just ordered 3 packets of these;
Echium X Wildpretii 'Red Rocket' Seeds (15+ seeds) (Tower of Jewels) - Plant World Seeds
Echium X Wildpretii 'Red Rocket' Seeds (15+ seeds) (Tower of Jewels) - Plant World Seeds. The amazing show-stopper, Echium wildpretii, is one of the world's most impressive plants with its 3 to 4 foot spike of raspberry-red flowers erupting from a swan's nest of thin, grey hairy leaves. But it...www.plant-world-seeds.com
Great Dixter was the place that inspired me to create an exotic looking garden.
I'm afraid my knowledge on Gladiloli is probably no greater than yours! Sorry.
The chap who runs it - Fergus Garrett, used to work under me in the Valley Gardens Area in Brighton in the mid-eighties. I'm told that I was quite influencial in how he developed in to the horticuluralist he is today! That's my only claim to faim.
I remember Fergus on TV. Didn't he live in Hastings? I am genuinely grateful to you for passing on your knowledge and love of plants to him. I always had it in my mind, that he was the main instigator of the tropical garden there.
Don't worry - the thing about this thread is there's always an expert on hand.
He still does, as far as I'm aware. He and his team came and designed a couple of our beds at work. We used to over winter some of their stock in our polytunnels too.
I love Christopher Lloyd's attitude. Just planting colours that traditionally would be frowned upon as companion plants.
You won't get many shrubs for shade that flower.
One way of getting a bit of colour under shade is to use variegated plants. Some lose their variegation in shade, but this one doesn't. - Aucuba crotonifolia.
GCCM suggested Aucuba or Fatsia. Both have varigated varieties, but the one above is the one for me.
Buy Aucuba japonica Crotonifolia (Spotted Laurel) in the UK
Buy Aucuba japonica Crotonifolia (Spotted Laurel) online from Jacksons Nurseries. Guaranteed best value, low prices, fast delivery, special offers.www.jacksonsnurseries.co.uk
You haven't seen round the corner!!!!
When he joined us in Valley Gardens, he had already made up his mind to make horticulture his carreer. What he got from me was my work ethic, high standards and cracking the whip! He was one of the few staff who were on board with that. Others that were there just to pick up a wage packet didn't enjoy themselves like Fergus did!
