At the start of the week it felt like winter, yesterday it was much milder. Leaf fall here, even with the storm over the previous weekend, is late. The Fuchsias are still flowering, whilst I have noticed the very tips of some of the spring bulbs are just about breaking the soil surface.
1. Right up by the back door, is the small grafted Acer Wakaranai (Japanese for 'unknown'), with a close up of the leaf detail, for identification for those experts out there. Until Wednesday there was no hint of colour.
2. Acer Corner acer too has shown very little colour compared to previous years.
3. The silver bush on the left bottom is a very small flowering fuchsia which yesterday still had bees visiting. This is Fuchsia Silver Linings which is one my cherished plants given to me as memory of a great day at Bourton House Gardens and Cotswold Garden Flowers with gardening friends from Kenilworth.
4. Continuing on the tour of the start of December, both Cornus Mid Winter Fires are not yet completely bare.
5. Over on that side of the garden another Fuchsia is still looking far too lovely to be cut down. It might be Riccatonii or it might be something else as I don't think the branches are that arching: they are strong and upright. Maybe someone might be able to name it.
6. Him inside was complaining about one of my plants dropping sticky stuff on our new window sill in the study.
On closer inspection I found the culprit: scale insects.
Luckily this is the only plant in this room, and it appears that no other plants around the house are affected. It was likely contaminated when it went out into the garden for a little summer holiday. I've spent quite some time wiping all those individual leaves, with some inevitably falling off.
Taking it outside in the good light yesterday I saw a few more very tiny ones. Some spray was applied, and more in a fortnight of so.
Jon The Prop needs to get his hands dirty this week planting bulbs. If the weather is anything like it is just now in his neck of the woods, he should have the job done in time.
Happy gardening, or planning or reading everyone.
Your garden is looking surprisingly leafy still, and very pretty it is too.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, these days it's the battle against mealybugs that proliferate on houseplants. I have some in my orchids (but also some succulents...) Neem oil spray and black soap...
ReplyDeleteVery nice pot with this little Acer Wakaranai
For reasons unknown my Fuchsia 'Silver Linings' didn't survive last winter. I was going to copy your planting of silver cyclamen beneath it but never got the chance. Yours is looking fabulous for December. I can unhelpfully tell you that the Fuchsia isn't 'Ricartonii', but I don't know what it is. It looks familiar, but then most of them do.
ReplyDeleteThe Acer is very pretty. Fuchsias are such great, long flowering plants. I have two young Fuchsias I was given that I need to find room for in the garden next year.
ReplyDeleteOh that fuchsia is rather lovely Noelle . What is it the underplanting? I can't quite work it out even with my specs on. It makes for a lovely contrasting splash though. Glad to hear that the bees were still flying yesterday. Here it has been another very wild, wet and windy day so have seen little in the way of airbourne creatures even birds 😥
ReplyDeleteThat is a silver leaved Cyclamen hederifolium.
DeleteNot too bad picking off scale insects from a houseplant - fiddly perhaps but easier than a large immoveable plant outside. I used to get them on my blackcurrants
ReplyDelete