Although the shortsighted Clarence Shepard Day Jr. is firm behind us , the bitter bulk of wintertime lies in advance . We ’ve go off lightly here in Broadstairs . It has been wet and windy ; cold at times , but not frosty , so far . My garden is small enough to be undemanding through the winter calendar month , leaving me time to focus on indoors . Here , in the tender and dry , my houseplant collection is burgeon . Unlike outdoors , there ’s still way for a few more .
There are always tender works which do n’t quite make it into the garden room or greenhouse in fall , either because they are too large and gangly , or because I am too lazy to move them . These outcasts have to resist for themselves . I give them the best possible chance by moving them into the tax shelter of a wall or position them under an evergreen plant Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree . Those that can cope with low unclouded - levels live in the garage . However , some plant life just ca n’t be protect . Such is the lawsuit withCobaea scandens , the cupful and saucer vine , which has throw together 20 ft into a tree , from whence it is cascading earthward again . at times one of the swinging vines is toss upwards into a neighbouring tree by the wind , and a new canopy is regain to scramble over .
Last year my cobaea almost made it through the winter unscathed . We had some air frost in February that yellow the leaves covering the most endanger part of the canopy , but lower down the bloom never contain coming . These brave bloom of youth run to be a short bit insipid , never quite achieving the deep , satin - purpleness of summer . Even trapped in their greenish - mauve phase they are pretty and unco alien to calculate at .
Glancing up this morning , I noted a heavy crop of drying fruits which will provide me with sizeable seed if I want to grow more in spring . I would wish to try growingCobaea pringlei , a closemouthed relative with large ivory peak on elegant stems . The relative zip of both climbers does not phase me , as I like the jungly look . Cobaea are splendid plants if you want to shroud something unsightly quickly and temporarily .
I ’ll be very fortunate if I get my cobaea through another wintertime unblemished . Even if frost comes , the roots are well enough protected that the plant is highly unlikely to be damaged fatally . My only challenge is getting up into the tree to remove any dead or engorged vines . For that labor , it ’s me that take to be dauntless . TFG .
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Categories : Climbers , Flowers , Our Coastal Garden , Plants , Weather
post by The Frustrated Gardener
