VALENTINES DAY THOUGHTS
As we head through
winter in the knowledge that spring is not too far away, we look back at happy
moments over Christmas and New Year; great events that cheer us up on cold
gloomy winter days. However Valentines Day is the next great event, especially
for those of us with a romantic nature. Age is not a barrier for romantic
notions.
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| Say it with flowers |
The weather is on our side as wee feel just a bit of warmth on those
few sunny days and the garden begins to come alive. Romance and creativity are
closely entwined whether through art, music, dance and gardening where those
with green fingers and a creative mind design landscapes to please the eye of
many admirers.
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| Aconites |
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| Dahlia My Love |
The gift of flowers at
Valentines Day is a hugely romantic gesture, and there is plenty to choose from
as shops, nurseries, garden centres, gardens and greenhouses are amass with
them for this event. The romantic gardener can plan ahead to make sure he has a
few selected pot plants in flower, such as snowdrops, aconites or even a red
Amaryllis if you can get your timing right. A pot of scented red or pink
hyacinths is also feasible, but again timing is crucial. There is also plenty
pansies and primroses in flower at garden centres ready to pot up for instant
use. Another favourite for this occasion is an orchid in full bloom available
in a wide variety of colours, and with good care the flowers can last for many
months. Cut flowers of daffodils, tulips and lilies are always welcome as they
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| Japanese maple |
have impact, bright colours and many come with a beautiful scent. Cut flower
roses are also popular, especially red ones for this occasion, but it is just a
pity no-one has bred a scented cut flower rose. Whilst it is a great
achievement to grow our own flowers for Valentines Day, we have to work with
the weather and it is not always in our favour, so if flowers from the garden are
hard to find, resist picking that massive cabbage from the vegetable patch even
though it has been grown over many months with love and care and a fair bit of
manure, as it will just not get you many brownie points. However all is not
lost as we can still purchase a large bunch of red roses from the supermarket,
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| orchid |
but for garden lovers with a bit of spacem, select that special garden plant
that will always bring back loving memories. We travel abroad on holidays and
honeymoons and may see some wonderful flower or plant which sets a memory, or
the name of the location may well be used in a plant name. Another
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| Rhododendron Elizabeth |
option is
finding a plant with your partners name such as Rose (Margaret) Merrill, (Dawn)
Chorus, (Evelyn) Fison, Anna’s Promise, (Anna) Pavlova, no relation to the
Russian dog!!! Then there is Rhododendron Elizabeth and Viburnum Dawn, and many
more.
Plants associated with memories
of a location are always favourite. Rose Lovers Meeting fits the bill as does
Celebration. I grow shrub rose Wisley as that’s where I sat my National Diploma
exams, and I always grew an Atlas Cedar as I was very impressed by one at the
College in Essex where I
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| Red camellia |
studied, but after
ten or more years they just get too big for a small garden.
Plants can also be
bought if you know your partner has a favourite such as oriental scented lilies.
Another romantic gesture is to buy that red scented rose bush for the occasion,
such as E H Morse, Alec’s Red, Deep Secret and Thinking of You. If you have spare
wall space the red climbing rose Dublin
Bay, which unfortunately
has no scent though climbing rose Ena Harkness is highly scented. There are
plenty other plants to mark the occasion which may be more expensive but then more
memorable such as the red Camellia Adolphe Audusson, or pink Donation, the red
twigged maple Acer Sango Kaku, or the pink flowering cherry Prunus Amanogawa.
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| Rose Dublin Bay |
However
on a more practical note the bramble Helen is thornless with smooth skin and
the fruit is very sweet.
Wee jobs to do this week
As daylight lengthens we are all looking for some signs of
the arrival of spring so to what could be better than a trip to the Snowdrop
Festival at Cambo Estate open from end January to 11 March 2018 to see over 300
different varieties as they hold the national Collection. As well as snowdrops
they have winter gardens and numerous activities arranged for adults and the
kids.
END
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