Pink Glow

As usual spring has come in a rush over the last few days and now a lot of the early flowerers are coming through thick and fast.

I was a little caught out earlier this week when the gardens' owner Chris James pointed out that the view of a pink Rhododendron just outside the walled garden was being obscured by a self set Fuchsia Ricartonii. I was forced to admit I had not noticed that this particular Rhodo was in flower. Shortly after coffee I went to investigate and sure enough, there was a beautiful specimen of R. Calophytum in full flower. It is a lovely pale pink form standing about 2.5 meters high with long drooping leaves. My excuse was that the colour from a distance is not disimilar to the Christmas Cheer that stands only a few yards away and had been flowering for about the last month so I think I had just been seeing a pink glow in that general direction. Not a very good excuse I know, anyway the wild Fuchsia has gone now.

As well as the buds of various Rhodos swelling fast, our Camellias are starting to flower including our pair of C. Donation on the steps leading down to the walled Garden. They are definitely the best that I have ever seen of this variety. As you know, usually they are very straggly but these two are very bushy.


A few weeks ago I reported that we had an Aeonium Urbicum Zwartkop that had so far survived outside in a container. I am pleased to report that it is now starting to bud up and send out some very bushy new growth. I was also suprised to notice today that the one Zonal Geranium we had accidentally left outside in an open position, near the tea room, has also survived. I was also quite relieved to see that all the Echeveria Harmsii that I planted sideways in a wall outside the Gardener's Cottage have come through the winter unscathed.

Lastly on my list of heros is my old favourite Arctotis. Just a couple of plants managed to hang on in a position that had less sun than the others but they were in a corner and so less exposed. It's not exactly been a mild winter here - our coldest night was only -2C but from what I gather, our losses have been fewer than lots of places in Devon and even Cornwall.