Bulb 'escapees' give me a lovely surprise
I've been lifting the dahlia tubers, it's a major job. They have been growing quite late and producing flowers but I like to get the job done by mid-November. When I was planting out my dahlias last May I took some late cuttings. These were rooted and potted up in 10cm (4in) pots. The potted plants have been growing outside and will have grown compact (pot) tubers. I just cut back the foliage and store the pots in a frost-free garage until spring. My autumn crocus
(C. speciosus) flowered well. The bulbs 'escaped' in discarded potting compost and gave me a surprise as they flowered in different parts of the garden. There’s usually a succession of short-lived, dark blue flowers, but unfortunately the flower stems are weak and they're easily beaten down by wind or heavy rain. Cyclamen coum awakened with leaf growth appearing before the flowers. Raised from seed they show variation in leaf colour, from silver to dark green and many combinations in between.
I’ve picked all the ‘Bramley’s Seedling' apples, though the crop is lighter this year as immature fruit was blown down during a late summer storm. Interestingly, fruit that were facing south show a lot more colour than others shaded from the sun.
I divided my primroses in late spring and they spent the summer in pots outside under a tree. I’ve now moved them into the tunnel so I can enjoy some early flowers. I also divided a begonia that had been in the same pot for a couple of years. This begonia has attractive leaves and small, pink flowers in early summer. Now I've over a dozen strong-growing plants in 10cm (4in) pots. Christmas cacti grown from cuttings are also showing flower buds despite their small size.
Inside, ivy leaf and zonal geraniums are still flowering. I've an attractive dark-leafed geranium that has contrasting pink flowers. Another variegated geranium has leaves showing yellow/red and green colours. In the conservatory a small rebutia cactus is sporting a late flower. The main flowering time is June but this rebutia has occasional flowers through the rest of the year. When not in flower the soft, white spines covering the plant are very attractive.
One of my epiphyllums is unusual in that it has a flower and ripening seed pod on the same leaf. Speaking of seeds, my agapanthus opened its seed pods to show quite large black seeds. I’ve saved some of these to sow next spring.
My highlight
My rebutia has a lovely, colourful orange flower to brighten the winter conservatory.