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| Anemonopsis macrophylla 'Alba' |
As many of you will know, our garden is surrounded on three sides by trees, so I am always on the lookout for beautiful plants that will flourish in semi-shaded conditions. So I was particularly intrigued when I read about this gorgeous little plant from Japan which likes those particular conditions: Anemonopsis macrophylla 'Alba'. It grows to between 1 and 2 feet high, and has nice ferny type leaves (which scorch in full sunshine, as I found out when I left it in its pot for a few days before planting it!). In a lot of ways it looks like a delicate Japanese anemone, but (allegedly), does not have its thuggish tendencies. We will see. I've planted this in the north garden where it will get some protection from other plants close-by.
The more usual form is lilac, which I am still on the lookout for. If I can't find a reasonably priced plant on line, I shall try some seed from Plant World Seeds. I have used their seeds in the past and have found them to be both reasonably priced and most of their seed has germinated easily (I put the failures down to my handling of the seed which is not always perfect - seeds don't like waiting to be sown, and if you can - always replicate their ideal conditions!)
This particular plant was purchased from Elizabeth Macgregor's nursery in Kirkcudbright, southern Scotland.It's a gem of a nursery for those who like their plants a little off the beaten track that the garden centres and superstores tend to go for. We called in on our way to Logan Botanic Garden in June.
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| Tree ferns - a Logan speciality For those of you who find themselves in the vicinity of Stranraer and have a spare hour or two on your hands, you could do worse than pay it a visit. Logan specializes in plants from the Southern Hemisphere, and is probably at its best in high summer, early autumn. We'll have to go again then! |
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| Senecio (purple/pink flowers) and Aeonium |
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| Dactylorhiza foliosa from Madeira (It is a terrestial orchid, despite what our guide tried to tell us - that it wasn't an orchid - perhaps she was referring to epiphytic orchids which are indeed quite different in many ways) |