Hupor's Hardy Horticultural Blog

[huporhaha]

And a happy fatty......

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My one remaining cordyline indivisa - hanging on to life - smaller than it was 3 years ago.........

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Not very tropical but nice and bright..........

[Adam D]

Nasty wind damage Hupor, which is sad to see

Other things are looking good though. I have started growing snowdrops in the last year or two and I am looking forward to them bulking up over the years and putting on a display like yours

[huporhaha]

Thanks Adam - lovely day again today - plants being fooled into thinking spring is here...............they are in for a shock in the next few days think!

Took these snaps this afternoon - earliest I have had daffs right up here.

[fern Rob]

What type of Eucalyptus is the one in picture three, it looks open and perfect for the smaller garden.

[huporhaha]

What type of Eucalyptus is the one in picture three, it looks open and perfect for the smaller garden.

It is Eucalyptus pauciflora subsp. niphophila Rob.

I was thinking I might put up deatails of my eucalypts - how well they do in the nW Highlands and what damage to expect at what temperature.

I want to create a database that will help others. I know there is already a load of info about hardy eucs available online but winter 2010 has rewritten some of the history books.

[huporhaha]

I want heron pie................wretched things have ignore my decoys and step over my trip wires - 60 - 70 frogs in my pond on Saturday - went out for the day yesterday - nil, zilch and a muddy pond - utter carnage again despite all the best laid trip hazards. Why can't they go fishing somewhere else?

[huporhaha]

Definitely been a dayus horriblus today - things can only get better.

Pond is a disaster area again - newts and frogs all inside Mr and Mrs Heron

I tried to get a tree stake up and it broke off and I hit my head - saw stars for a while and now have a very sore head.

To top it all - I have lost my varifocals somewhere in a three quarter acre area of garden this morning. Have had my head in massive phormiums and bamboo clumps searching hampered by the fact that I couldn't see very well without my glasses.

I need a tropical plant buying fix to cheer me up.................

And a mortgage on a new pair of glasses. It is the first time I have not bothered to get them insured..............

Bring me sunshine

[huporhaha]

Well, I do feel sorry for all of you further east and further south. We have not had much snow at all. We've had a bitterly cold week and biting winds but in this NW corner we have had more sun than most I believe.

Garden news - not a lot really. Having a bit of fun and games in the greenhouse - temps dropping by 20 degrees overnight only to be like a sauna in the afternoons. Cannas have not moved yet despite being on a shelf over the heater in there. Banas started to grow again but outer wrapped leaves have gone a sort of processed pea colour. I think they are okay inside though (all still in greenhouse).

Pond has taken on the look of a crime scene. Frogs came out last week - those that the heron didn't gobble were frozen in time, caught in the very act - bless them. The frogspawn froze and when it melted the cells in the jelly broke exposing a black mess.

The daffodils are trying to grow but most are still just a few inches high. My dicksonia is still wrapped as is my cordline banksii.

The jury is out on my eucalyptus stellulata - all the leaves have burnt to a crisp and one of my chusquea couleou looks decidedly unhappy.

Its too cold to go out with a camera but the only way is s-u-m-m-e-r............

[huporhaha]

It hasn't been the best week garden-wise. The nights have been very cold after the mild spell a couple of weeks ago and anything that thought spring was on the way had an unexpected shock this last week.

I wandered into the greenhouse this morning to inspect my plants and found that somehow the heater had become unplugged and the thermometer was reading minus 4........ Poor little cannas were shivering in their pots and other tender exotics looking sad. I have no idea how the plug was pulled but I'll just put it down to someone's senior moment.....

[Yorkshire Kris]

Just catching up. Really nice to see some flowers but sad to see so much wind damage. Was that Grevelia flowering outdoors in January? Are you moving back down south?

[huporhaha]

Just been talking about possible move southwards............maybe next year if we can sell Kris.

[huporhaha]

Some have enquired after my Hercules. I took these pics today........

Three offspring from my Calla Hercules.

A bit like Daddy Bear, Mummy Bear, and Baby Bear.

The parent of these three is huge - I couldn't manouvre it into place for a photo shot.........

It is a 2 litre bottle for size comparison.

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Cold, wet and miserable - need I say more.................