Flowers are giving the garden a colour boost
Avery pretty shrub flowering in the garden in time for the festive season is camellia ‘Yuletide’. It’s well-named for its profusion of rich red flowers at this time of year. Each crimson bloom boasts a golden crown of stamens at its centre, creating a vibrant festive display. Mine started to flower last month and should reach its peak in time for Christmas when the garden is most in need of a splash of colour. The glossy, evergreen foliage adds year-round structure to my patio and is a superb hardy specimen shrub that requires virtually no maintenance once established. I bought mine in memory of a friend who died just before Christmas several years ago, so it’s called ‘Peggy’. I have several large containers of chrysanthemums throughout the garden. They’re incredibly useful additions to lift and place where colour is lacking in autumn and early winter. They’re still looking good, even now, as the weather has been much milder through November and early December. Three containers are each carefully positioned in the border, looking as though they live there permanently in the ground.
I’m the proud owner of two fatsia ‘Spider’s Web’. They’ve wonderfully variegated white and medium green foliage that appears as though it’s been dusted with icing sugar, very appropriate for this time of year. I’ve found they’re superb evergreens, providing interest in shady areas where other plants may struggle to grow. They also make a wonderful specimen, particularly when planted near white-flowering plants that complement the leaf variegations.
Meanwhile, in the beach garden at the front of the house there’s still a lot going on. The pyracantha has produced so many berries this year and looks stunning to the left of the front door. The Helleborus argutifolius has started to flower beneath the Coronilla glauca, which is all going to look pretty amazing once they’re all in full bloom.
Over the years I’ve collected marine debris for the garden, and last month a friend told me of a couple of large lobster pots she knew of. Needless to say, I had to have them to add to my collection. One was placed in the beach garden at the front and one in the gravel bed at the back. It always amazes me how I manage to find room for them all as well as the plants!
I recently filmed a short video about my ever-growing, collection of houseplants, which the National Garden Scheme posted on its website. I’ve over 120 now, including many cacti and succulents.
Read more about Geoff’s garden at www.driftwoodbysea.co.uk.